LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Project Information

It is nice to have a tail vise, but instead of spending $250 - $300 on a commercial one like this - https://hntgordon.com.au/products/tail-vice, I went online and got myself a CNC high precision machine vise for about $45. I turned the vise over and mounted it to my bench and use it as a tail vise. I found out that I could still use the upside-down jaws on the bottom for certain tasks.

Investment - $45 plus a few hours in the shop.

Gallery

Comments

· Registered
Joined
·
12 Posts
Chuck, that's a great idea.
I've been looking for a low cost tail vice but never thought about CNC. What company is the manufacturer of your vice? And where on the web did you locate it?
Thanks
 

· Registered
Joined
·
5,699 Posts
Hey C'kM, Speaking from someone that has forked out that elusive $250+ for a tail vice…. that is a neat and costly solution, well worth a place on any bench.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
194 Posts
No argument with that, LBD. Gordon's stuff is first-class.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
5 Posts
I love ideas like this. Thanks much for sharing.

Hutch
 

· Registered
Joined
·
19 Posts
Slick idea Chuck. Will go on my favorite list (and something that I need to build into my bench).

Thanks for sharing
Chris
 

· Registered
Joined
·
1,434 Posts
Very clever.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
6,567 Posts
This one on that famous auction site made in Chiner, my problem with this one is it's 7.6" long. I dunno how much travel a person would see with that, but looks like a dead ringer for the pic ChuckM posted.

I can't imagine how they get much more than an inch, maybe 2 of travel. The much larger LN, and LV offerings also offer a 7 3/4" for LV, and 6.5' for LN in travel, which is where you would really want to be for decent functionality.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
194 Posts
I measured, and mine has 3" of travel.

In use, I probably wouldn't need a 7" of travel for clamping, and if I do, I can easily use a spacer block which is quicker than winding the jaw up and down. The spacing between holes is also a factor. The Lee Valley vise caters for dog-hole spacing up to 7-3/4".
 

· Registered
Joined
·
1,438 Posts
That's slicker 'n deer guts on a door knob Chuck! Great idea!
 

· Registered
Joined
·
0 Posts
This is why I love forums. All these little tips and hacks that the collective brain power of the internet can provide to you is irreplaceable! I reckon that I have one of these in storage somewhere that I can now repurpose as opposed to having to buy a brand new tail vice from the store. Thanks for this!
 
Top