# Looking for ideas to make a portable wood vice.



## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I bought a wood vice a few years ago and was hoping that I would be able move into a larger shop by now and have room to build a larger work bench, but as fate would have it I ended up with health problems. At this point I don’t know if I’ll ever make out of here alive.

Anyway I saw a portable vice advertised from the UK that sets on top of the work bench which got me thinking, but I can’t seem to find it right now. Since I already have a vise, I was looking for a way to use it although I’m afraid that it might be too heavy to pick up when needed.

I really don’t have time or the strength to build another workbench and my current workbench was actually a desk that I built in 1978 for my business at the time so there is not any place to mount a vise. I’ve been using it as a work bench for the last 30 years and it’s pretty beat up, but still strong.

If I can’t find a way to use my wood vice then I guess second choice is to make one of these in the video below.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Throw a new top on your desk*

That will make it thicker and so you could use your old vise. If it bolts or screws up from the bottom that thickness will help. Not knowing what you have now, it's hard to recommend how that would work. Not knowing which type of vise you need is also important...wood jaws, I assume?


You asked for ideas:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...r2=piv-web&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-006&type=

A platform that is clamped to your desktop with a vise mounted on it seems like the easiest approach. Vise just "clamp" stuff and you can use Bessy type clamps, pipe clamps, threaded rods and nuts, Pony clamps... all sorts of different ways to hold things.

I have 2 of those workmates with the vises on the ends which work well for me on the job or outside.











Or this:


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Thanks Bill,
I already put a new top on but only 1 ¾” thick and the vise is 2 ½” high. I guess I could raise the top and put the vice in between the work to and the desk top. I need to get some measurements to see how high it’s going to be.


















I actually have a Workmate that I pulled out of a dumpster. It works great for little stuff, but I’m looking something that can do longer stuff.


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## woodchux (Jul 6, 2014)

Choosing the Rockwell jaw horse is a great way to hold items as is, but I have designed and built platforms to make the "jaws" more versatile that holds a RB Hawk scroll saw, a Rockler router table, and a heavy duty metal vice. When not in use, those platforms/tools are stored on a wall cabinet shelf. Be safe.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

So I kind of like the idea of raising the top because it opens up a lot of other possibilities. If I do it right, I could have room under the top for long jigs or even be able to slide a couple of pipe clamps through for other clamping possibilities. :thumbsup:

I just took some measurements and it will raise the top 2 ¼”. I’ll need to play around with the added height to see if my short legs can handle it. LOL


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*workmates...*

I bought 2 of them because they were on sale. If you use a vise on the bench/desk, the workmate can act as a support for the other end of longer pieces. I've actually cut a 2 X 12" and rounded over the edge to use as an outfeed support for long planks out of the table saw, way better than those tippy roller stands.

Saw horses as a rule, aren't good for working against, OK for down pressure, like sawing, but not against, like planing. You need stability and mass for that. Three legs are always more stable than 4 legs, since 3 points determine a plane. The 4th leg may have to be shimmed to get a good footing. Folding is good when there's limited space for storage. 

Remember the old pipe vises that were used for threading pipes? Maybe there's one around...?


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## Arcola60 (Sep 17, 2014)

I just finished this project. I have some of the same issues, bench will not accept undercount of vise, small shop, etc. I saw that design, decided to make my own. The center section that holds the vise carriage is quartersawn pine, the perimeter and Jaws are European Beech. Instead of using the supplied lag bolts, I used 5/16" flat head screws and nuts and washers. I bought the Lee Valley regular front vise. Kreg bench dogs. I used the router and routed the dog holes using the HSS bit from MLCS, $16.00, worked great. I mounted it on a piece of Borg 3/4" birch plywood. I can clamp it to my bench, saw horses, or where ever. I am really pleased how it turned out.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Arcola60 said:


> I just finished this project. I have some of the same issues, bench will not accept undercount of vise, small shop, etc. I saw that design, decided to make my own. The center section that holds the vise carriage is quartersawn pine, the perimeter and Jaws are European Beech. Instead of using the supplied lag bolts, I used 5/16" flat head screws and nuts and washers. I bought the Lee Valley regular front vise. Kreg bench dogs. I used the router and routed the dog holes using the HSS bit from MLCS, $16.00, worked great. I mounted it on a piece of Borg 3/4" birch plywood. I can clamp it to my bench, saw horses, or where ever. I am really pleased how it turned out.


That's almost like the one I saw for sale someplace. I could do that and make some other modules to clamp on each end of my table for long work so that it will not be too heavy. It would also make it easier to store if it were in to pieces. :thumbsup:


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> .....
> 
> Remember the old pipe vises that were used for threading pipes? Maybe there's one around...?


 Wow Bill that big vice you have mounted on a pipe stand is Scary. LOL. I don’t even think I could pick that baby up. 

I do have another vice mounted on a rack that was mounted inside my old work van. Now I have it on my mechanical side of the shop.


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## michaelpugh (Dec 31, 2013)

Jay Bates uses pipe clamps to make a vice. Might work if you were going to raise your table top this could go under.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

michaelpugh said:


> http://youtu.be/JvAPW_YbOYg
> 
> Jay Bates uses pipe clamps to make a vice. Might work if you were going to raise your table top this could go under.


I really like that table and I was hoping to make something like it whenever I moved to a new shop.

:grin:I have to say the best part of that video was watching him eat his snack while waiting for the glue to dry. I don't know how many times I've done the same thing LOL


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## michaelpugh (Dec 31, 2013)

Sleeper said:


> I really like that table and I was hoping to make something like it whenever I moved to a new shop.
> 
> :grin:I have to say the best part of that video was watching him eat his snack while waiting for the glue to dry. I don't know how many times I've done the same thing LOL



Did you catch his play on words with his snack? At the beginning of the glue up he said he was going to use biscuits but never does...then you look at the snack....


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

michaelpugh said:


> Did you catch his play on words with his snack? At the beginning of the glue up he said he was going to use biscuits but never does...then you look at the snack....


:grin: I missed the comment about "using biscuits", but I did notice he was eating them. 
That makes it even more funny. Thanks for pointing that out.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Have you considered a moxxon vise? Simple to build, lightweight and portable, should be a good way to get a quick and easy way to clamp something. 

If you want to use the vise you already have, no need to bulk up the entire top. Just add a block of the right thickness to the underside of the table where you want the vise to be and bolt the vise to that block. Lot easier than building up the entire top


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

epicfail48 said:


> Have you considered a moxxon vise? Simple to build, lightweight and portable, should be a good way to get a quick and easy way to clamp something.


I guess that's what I was looking for and couldn't remember what it was called. I looked into it years ago for the same problem, but was discouraged by how much the hardware cost and that's how I ended up with the vise I bought. I don't remember how much it cost now only that it was a bargain at the time. 

I salvaged some old office chairs with the big screw height adjustment in hopes of making something and I may go back to that plan.



epicfail48 said:


> If you want to use the vise you already have, no need to bulk up the entire top. Just add a block of the right thickness to the underside of the table where you want the vise to be and bolt the vise to that block. Lot easier than building up the entire top


I was looking again at the desk and I figured I could cut out a hole in the side of the desk just below the top so I could mount the vise I have, but I will have to shorten the drawer to make room.

I was looking on YouTube for ideas of building a completely new workbench and giving my neighbor my old desk to use. He took an old picnic table of mine to use as a work bench to work on cars and my desk might work out a lot better. 

If I do build a new workbench, it will have to wait until at least Sept when I've recovered my health a bit. I'm just afraid to accumulate too much stuff for my wife to get rid of if I don't make it.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Sleeper said:


> I guess that's what I was looking for and couldn't remember what it was called. I looked into it years ago for the same problem, but was discouraged by how much the hardware cost and that's how I ended up with the vise I bought. I don't remember how much it cost now only that it was a bargain at the time.
> 
> I salvaged some old office chairs with the big screw height adjustment in hopes of making something and I may go back to that plan.


A moxon vise shouldn't be that expensive to put together. A few boards, some 1/2 all thread and other sundry hardware should do it, I'd wager you could make one for less than $50 with stuff from home depot

http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/wMyers/moxonVise/moxonVise-01.asp


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I was looking at Moxon Vises this morning when I came across this photo below and realized that the vice I have is not going to fill my needs. I remembered years ago having to make a temporary Moxon Vise similar to the one in the photo except that I used F clamps and plywood. So now I’m giving up on my vice and I’m going to make something similar to the one below using the screws from the chairs.










I have this screw that came from an old adjustable shop stool. It’s long enough, but I only have one. 










And then there is this old chair which is shorter and I have two.


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