[Chahlie]

Hi All,

just a quick question...My next door neighbor gave me an old but still quite useable Columbian woodworkers vise. He said someone left it in his garage 4-5 years ago...he had no need for it so he gave it to me. It will require a little TLC to make it 100% again...very little rust and at first glance just needs a good handle to make it whole!

My question is this...I have limited work space and was wondering if it would be a good idea to mount it to portable work surface like a piece of 1 inch plywood scrap I have or should I try to find a way to mount it to the limited work surface in my cramped garage(I really should clean that area up...I really shoould!!)

Chahlie,
The one consideration I give when mounting a vise is will it be solid enough to perform as I wish. I can't stand woeking on a piece that wiggles while I work. SO I always look for something solid to mount it too, by solid I mean the base I mount to has sufficient mass so that I am not distracted by the work I am doing. While a workmate (my portable bench) has mass it still sometimes shifts. A lot of this decision will depend on the type of work you are doing with the vise (i.e. mallet vs. hand tools). :-/

[jamesfa]

well i too have limited work space,my work bench is small but solid.so what i did was mount a lot of my tools,(sander,vise,hobby band saw etc)to a suitable piece of 3/4'' plywood which in turn is clamped to the bench when i need to use them.when not in use i can store them out of the way and leave the workbench clear.

[woodenleg]

Chahlie, you are going to love having a good carving vise. It will change the way you carve dramatically and will make it much safer when you are able to use it. However, the clue is that it MUST be solid. If it is not, you have lost the real advantage of having it. You need t be able to push on it fairly hard with two hands in order to get the full benefit.