High Vise

 "When my grandfather brought us home,  I could still hear her voice down the corridor, the tail end of a whisper"

Akil Kumarasamy, Half Gods

Here is the latest addition to my ongoing vise collection (which brings the total to 5).  I usually use a mechanics vise to elevate the work and while it worked it was far from ideal so when I saw this idea I decided to build one. 

Benchcrafted makes a beautiful one with all the bells and whistles but I didn't want to spend much on it not being sure how much I'd use it. Also it's a pretty simple project requiring not much skill or wood. 

There are many ways to mount it to the bench (clamps, shoulder vise etc) but I decided to use ⅝ bolts to hold it down and ⅜ thru bolts to hold the inside upright to the clamp bar. This one is red oak with some chamfers to ease edges and add a bit of craftsmanship.  I thought layer a lambs tongue would have looked nice maybe someday. 

The screw is from Lee Valley. I also decided to keep it simple and use a spacer bar that is held in place with oak dowels which keeps it from wracking. The leather pad helps with grip. 

While I haven't carved anything yet I do have a couple chairs with knuckles coming so I'll keep you posted on how it works.