Replies

1. 
   MikeHennessy | May 03, 2007 02:28pm | #1

   Somehting similar to this is what I use:

   View Image

   http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4939

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

1. 
   wdrite | May 05, 2007 03:15am | #5

   Good choice.  I have two on my bench.  One is a Taiwan job I got several years ago for around $50 and the other is a Wilton that you can get for just over $100.  I would get them with the quick acting feature.  It saves a lot of cranking.

   Edited 5/4/2007 8:16 pm ET by wdrite

2. 
   Jfrostjr | May 03, 2007 06:25pm | #2

   I have used a Jorgenson vise similar to Mike's for many years. I'm very satisfied. I have magetic, felt covered pads covering the vise faces. They are excellent.

   Frosty

3. 
   BG | May 03, 2007 08:06pm | #3

   Zappa,

   It kinda depends on what you want to spend and how you want to cut your dovetails. Perhaps the least expensive and most traditional is to use one or two holdfasts. The quick release vises will run from about from $90-160. You can also use a couple of veneer press screws, drilled into the apron of your work bench, they caost about $18 each. 

4. 
   RDNZL | May 04, 2007 04:07am | #4

   Mr. (?) Zappa

   Other than the fact that I'm also, although not urgently, looking into a first "real" vise for woodworking, do you suppose we might have something in common?

5. 
   AdamCherubini | May 06, 2007 03:58am | #6

   The best vise I have come across for dovetailing small boxes or drawers is the twin screw. The vise shown in the post above was really designed for the stock to be held directly above the screw. Used as designed, this limits the length of the board to be dt'ed. You can get away with clamping it to one side. The vise will rack eventually ( a cheap vise may rack out of the box) and you'll need more pressure to keep the piece from moving. This can marr the work piece. So guys get into special jaws, special spacer blocks, etc. But the best solution is just to use a vise designed for this.

   Tage Frid's shoulder vise was designed for this work. A leg vise can work, as long as the bench screw is far enough down from the top to allow the clamping of whatever length piece you need.

   ======
   For this application, you can make your own twin screw out of pipe clamps or any commercial bench screw. As long as the jaw is stiff and the back jaw is stiffly attached to the bench top, and the work piece is held at least between their centers, it will work. Clamping above the screws won't work, however, and no amount of engineering the jaw to the screws will help. You're just fighting physics at that point.

   The secret to the traditional twin screw is that the screws have large integral heads- maybe 4" in diameter. If you wish to clamp stock above the screws, as long as it is behind the screws' heads, you'll get good stiffness. Such vises are usually designed so that the heads are less than an inch below the bench surface. This allows for clamping of fairly narrow stock. The jaw should have oversized clearance holes and need not be "keyed" (with a garter) to move with the screws. In fact, having the jaw loose allows clam,ping of irregular or tapered stock.

   Good luck with your vise and have fun dovetailing. Remember- there's no such thing as a perfect set of dovetails, so be happy with your work.

   Adam