BenchCrafted.com

The Benchcrafted Glide Leg Vise....

A bench vise should not be a source of frustration, but rather, function as an integral element in the flow of your work, much like a finely-tuned smoothing plane, allowing you to focus on the work itself. A bench vise should work smoothly, quickly and easily. Our vises meet these criteria. It's what we call effortless workholding.

Specifications:

• American-made precision-rolled carbon steel acme threaded 1¼" dia. screw & nut. Nut plate is 1/4" thick cold-rolled steel. 4 tpi screw pitch strikes a balance between rapid movement & controlled gradual clamping pressure

• Massive 8" dia. chromed cast-iron hand wheel provides momentum and precise control. Scalloped rim for a positive grip

• Innovative roller system allows the vise to glide in and out - quickly and effortlessly

• 3/8" thick cold-rolled steel flange is blued for a subtle look and rust protection

• Roller wheels ride on ball-bearing shafts.

• Rosewood handle and steel handle included.

• Customer provides wood parts (vise chop, parallel guide, roller brackets). All necessary hardware and parts included.

• Templates and instructions provided via pdf document.

• Made in the U.S.A.

Leg vises

During the 18th century the leg vise was king. If a workbench didn't sport a European-style shoulder vise, chances are it had a leg vise. This was before the mass-produced iron face vise became common. Once this "Record-style" iron vise took over, the leg vise slowly disappeared, and it's a shame that it did. Leg vises offer greater workholding capabilities than iron vises. Without the two guide rods of the iron vise, workpieces can be held right up against the screw, virtually eliminating racking and providing a better overall grip. Iron face vises provide around 4" of workable depth from the top of the bench to the screw and guide rods. Leg vises are usually more than double this, around 9". Leg vises are also potentially more powerful due the large lever provided by the lower position of the parallel guide. Leg vises are also simpler and easier to maintain than iron vises. The auxiliary wood jaws necessary for iron vises are unnecessary with a leg vise since the vise itself, along with the bench's leg and top, forms the jaws of the vise.

Leg vises work around a simple principle. A single screw passes through a moving jaw or "chop" and provides the clamping force. The screw engages a threaded hole (usually in the form of an attached nut) in the bench's leg. A straight piece of wood, or parallel guide, is attached to the chop and also passes through the leg towards the bottom of the bench.

The parallel guide

The parallel guide is drilled with holes placed incrementally along the length of the guide. A steel pin is inserted in the hole whose position relative to the inside of the chop closely matches the thickness of the workpiece being held. This keeps the vise's chop parallel with the leg and provides even clamping pressure. For typical cabinet and furniture work the pin doesn't get moved much.

About the "Glide" Leg Vise

Like our tail vise, the Glide makes holding your work quick, easy, and pleasurable. Unlike many bench vises, the Glide is an absolute joy to use. Our vise uses a clever combination of components to deliver incredible clamping force with minimal human effort. We've done away with the traditional "tommy bar" handle in place of a massive iron hand wheel. Tommy bar style handles offer one distinct advantage: lots of leverage, otherwise they are clumsy, slow, and they can interfere with your work. They are also quite unergonomic for rapid or gross adjustments. We've engineered the Glide to deliver rock-solid workholding without the need for a big lever like a tommy bar. Our hand wheel provides a fast, ergonomic means to adjust the vise and it will never get in your way.

The roller system

One reason traditional vises can be clumsy and frustrating to operate is because the weight of the chop pulls down on the vise screw. This increases friction and causes the screw to somewhat bind in its nut. The roller system we've developed completely supports the weight of not only the chop, but also the weight of the hand wheel and the screw as well. Ball-bearing wheels completely eliminate any downward tension or pressure on the nut, freeing up the hand wheel to spin freely with virtually no friction. This system allows the vise to literally glide in and out with the lightest rotation of the hand wheel. In fact, a vigorous spin of the hand wheel keeps it in motion for multiple revolutions. It's possible to clamp workpieces without actually tightening the vise. Just give the handwheel a spin and let it stop firmly against the workpiece. When working with multiple sequential workpieces, grabbing the rim of the handwheel and turning it about 45 degrees will release the workpiece. To reclamp, a quick rotation while grasping the rim is all that's necessary. The jaw of the vise is lined with suede leather for an incredible grip that can't mar the workpiece.

Complete instructions and templates are provided via PDF documents.

Complete Vise Instructions PDF file HERE.
Templates PDF HERE.

$325.00
Prices do not include shipping.

See our ordering page.

More Benchcrafted Glide videos can be seen here.