www.KitGuitarsForum.com

I have ordered a work bench/table with 1 3/4" maple top. I also ordered a Shop Fox cabinet maker's vise to mount on it. There were no installation instructions so I did a web search. I found good instructions provided by Lee Valley for the vise they sell that looks identical, and also less detailed instructions at WoodCraft. They show the "support collets" installed facing out and let into the rear jaw of the vise (or apron of the bench). What looks like the same vise is sold also by Grizzly, and in its web description, the collets are shown facing out on the unassembled vise, but are shown on an assembled vise mounted on the back side of the inner jaw, and not let in: https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzl ... vise/h7788

Does any one have any suggestions about whether it makes a difference? I am inclined to rear mount the collets as in the Grizzly photo because it is less work, and they are not exposed to the workpiece. Thanks, Bruce W.

put them as the Grizzly show
out of the way and will support better.

I have an identical model vice. I use it daily. I put them in behind. It probably doesn't need to but it lets the back plate slide out. The top of those collets are flush with the bottom of the bench top. I don't use that feature. I figured there was some use for that I didn't understand. Also my jaw plates don't need to extend down past the screw as I have here. I'll make thicker, shorter ones when I replace them.

I also paid too much for mine apparently. I'm a sucker for the pricey tools at the local lumber store.

Thanks for these comments that help me think I am on the right track. I could have been more helpful in my initial post by including a page from the manual for the Lee Valley version that shows three suggested installations. I think I will use the first, and use 1 1/2" stock as LV and you suggest. I'll also put a spacer underneath the vise for more depth but I'll wait until everything is here to see what looks best. I'll put the collets on the back side, but I did decide I will counterbore them in hopes of more rigidity. I ordered a 2 5/16 sawtooth bit from LV for the purpose (a splurge), and also a handle, which was reasonably priced, and I don't have a lathe or the experience to turn one. I am still waiting for the bench to arrive but it feels good to know where I am headed with it. Bruce W.

Well, this turned into a bit of an odyssey. My worktable finally arrived after a month, and I set to work fitting the vise. It was shipped with the nuts on the guide rods loosened, so it was easy to align everything and see how it worked. But when I got down to tightening it all up and fitting the base plate, I ran into problems. The guide rods were at least 1/8" out of parallel. I have had good luck with Shop Fox tools in the past, so I called Woodstock that sells Shop Fox, and the tech there was very helpful and said it was not possible to know which part to replace, and I should return it to Amazon.ca, which I did. They promptly sent me another, which had the same problem. The castings for the outer jaws were also not flat. See photos of the two vises. (first photo is a Shop Fox not-flat outer jaw plate; second is a misaligned Shop Fox vise and the Lee Valley vise; third is the two Shop Fox misaligned vises.

At this point I began to wonder if they were designed this way, to introduce some tension in the mechanism - what do I know? I decided to make the hour-and-a-bit trip to the nearest Lee Valley store to see what one of theirs looked like (for $35 more). Turns out theirs looks LIKE the Shop Fox, but is not the same. The Shop Fox is Chinese, the Lee Valley made in the Czech Republic. Long story short, I bought the Lee Valley vise and returned the two Shop Fox vises to Amazon.ca. I had to plug and redrill the screw holes for the collets, and fine-fit it a little bit but otherwise it is done and works nicely. Just beware of things that LOOK the same, and once again, higher price sometimes comes with a good reason. Bruce W.

Here are a couple of photos of the Lee Valley vise installed:

Sure looks like it's supposed to look - how does it work?

It works just fine. With the wonky ones, the handle would have had resistance throughout its travel, but this one I have set up so it turns smoothly - a good thing when it is not a quick-release vise. Looking back, I see jread has a Shop Fox and likes it, and it looks like it does not have the problem with the not-flat casting on the outer jaw. So maybe the ones I got were just a bad batch. Incidentally, I would like to have mounted it with the jaws in line with the end of the bench, but the legs were in the wrong place to permit it.

An 1/8" out, not flat, must be the new math/education where the right answer isn't important but the process is. As long as you are trying and your self esteem if high it's ok. Maybe the folks in the Czech Republic just haven't caught up yet.