how do i mount my vise to my new workbench?

[Conor]

i understand the static jaw is supposed to be flush to the edge of the bench.

what i'm not exactly sure on is where the mounting holes are supposed to be oriented. (I THINK i have them the right way in the pics)

see the birds eye pics hopefully someone can explain this to me.

thanks!

and 2 of the bench setup i just got

 

[JasonW]

Never thought about there being a proper way to mount a vise so I probably shouldn't comment but I can see the logic in your alignment; the holes do not exactly line up in the grain and that would wear better in the long term. Couldn't help but notice the cool band saw. Haven't seen one like that before.

 

[Outlawmws]

Staggering the hols a bit wont hurt, but don't just go flush with the edge and the static jaw; go a bit over the edge. Also, move the vise to the right so it can swing over the side as well and clear either edge. Use large fender washers or spreader plates on the bottom of the top.

 

[kngkong]

Nice vise!

Yeah, looks good to me. I would go with the wider spaced mounting holes at the front like you have. Just even it up so the front holes are the same distance to the table edge and swivel the vice a couple degrees so its back to square again.

and Outlawmws makes a very good point "move the vise to the right so it can swing over the side as well and clear either edge"

 

[Conor]

Thanks for all the input! I appreciate it.

Couldn't help but notice the cool band saw. Haven't seen one like that before.

The bandsaw is a portaband with a swag off road table setup. Its awesome for fabrication. I originally learned about it from Jack Olsen's garage thread

 

[JimVonBaden]

Before you mount it, make sure that it will turn in all the directions you want. My vice has about a 180° turn radius, and I mounted it about 175°, so now it doesn't turn quite parellel with the bench!

I was reusing one of the holes from the old vice.

It will turn a bit more than the photo.

Jim

 

[csp]

The two holes with the wider spacing are like that so that you can get it closer to the edge and still have the holes further back on the bench, rather than the holes close to the edge of it.

 

[Falcon67]

As far forward and as close to the edge as you can get it, for maximum use in all directions.

 

[JimVonBaden]

As far forward and as close to the edge as you can get it, for maximum use in all directions.

It looks cool, but why did you cut away part of the bench instead of moving the vice further out?

Jim

 

[tribbles]

It looks cool, but why did you cut away part of the bench instead of moving the vice further out?

Jim

To keep the overhang from having to support the weight of the vise plus any force applied to it. I did the same thing with mine:

The vise is centered directly over the table leg. Carriage bolts run through the 2x4s in the table frame. (Yeah, I know the tag's still on the end of the 2x4. All you OCD types will just have to deal with it. )

 

[JimVonBaden]

Seems overkill, but makes sense.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[Gary S]

I'd suggest using the old fashioned method of bolting it to the bench, but I suppose you could try something high tech like super glue.

 

[beelsr]

Seems overkill, but makes sense.

Thanks,

Jim

overkill? we are talking about vises!
overkill would mount the vise to a 12" square piece of 1" plate and mount that to the bench...



funny thing though, i was typing up the same thing you posted (make sure it swings the way you want it before you drill the holes - measure twice, drill once) and my browser locked up, i lost the typing and didn't feel like typing it all in again...

 

[Ray-CA]

Since it looks like you don't have a lot of room on the bench, use one of these bolted up under the work bench and one of these with the vise bolted to it.

Ray

 

[Conor]

^ thats a thought too...when i got the 6ft work bench i was thinking it would be lots of room. now i'm not so sure.

 

[Outlawmws]

Ray, those links aren't going where they appear to be going....

 

[JasonW]

Glad you asked the question Conor. I just acquired a vise last week. Now I'll know how to install it. Did you do the restoration on yours?

 

[JasonW]

I'll have to go check out Jack Olsen's thread. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Conor]

Glad you asked the question Conor. I just acquired a vise last week. Now I'll know how to install it. Did you do the restoration on yours?

I did the restoration. I posted some pics of the before/after in the vise thread
It was a mess before I restored it...Check it out here!

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2326477#post2326477

 

[Falcon67]

It looks cool, but why did you cut away part of the bench instead of moving the vice further out?

Jim

The vice design and the relation of the base to the fixed jaw begs you to clearance around the base a bit so you can stand up a long part vertically. Since I had to clearance anyway, I slid it back a hair and to the side so the front two 3/8" lag bolts would bite deep into the 2x4 bench framing. The back mounting hole uses a 3/8" bolt.

 

[Ray-CA]

Ray, those links aren't going where they appear to be going....

They worked a couple of hours ago. I'll see what's up.

Ray