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Vices & Work Holding

Does Your Workbench Need A Vice?

Of the many types of woodworking vice that are available, few are more suited to the hand tool user than the traditional variants.

For the face vice give some thought to a leg vice, or the horizontal variant that’s often seen on English style benches.

Much of the work held down to the bench top was traditionally held without a tail vice though.
Alternatives such as working against a planing stop, &/ or using a holdfast are generally far more efficient and encourage better techniques with your hand planes.

Below you’ll find all of our posts detailing traditional vices, along with some of the traditional vice-less working methods that I use in my work.

Simple Work Holding For Ploughing Grooves [Without a Tail Vice]

July 29, 2022 By Richard Maguire 5 Comments

Simple work holding without a tail vice

Sometimes the biggest challenge of a project can just be getting the wood to stay put while we try to work on it. I suppose it's why it's so easy for us to get lost in the hunt for a perfect workbench design. And drawn in towards all kinds of vice bling and fancy work holding … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hand Tool Approach, Vices & Work Holding

Building A Workbench For ‘That’ Screw

April 1, 2019 By Richard Maguire 18 Comments

I’ve been having a good old tidy up and done that thing where you stumble upon a great big sod off vice. Now, if you've been lingering around from our old days you may remember this thing. It was rather nicely given to me by my good friend Richard Arnold. He mentioned he’d had it for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vices & Work Holding, Workbench Designs

Choosing The Best Face Vice

April 12, 2018 By Richard Maguire 73 Comments

Cast Iron workbench vice for woodworking

Recently I wrote a post about why you don't need a tail vice on your workbench. now we're looking at the other end of the bench and going through my favourite options when it comes to choosing a face vice. What Do We Want From A Workbench Vice? A face vice should be strong, dependable and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vices & Work Holding, Workbenches

Why Your Workbench Needs One Vice (Or Less)

March 23, 2018 By Richard Maguire 43 Comments

workbench - using the face vice

A workbench is only a success if it can keep itself still and provide means to hold your work. A woodworking vice is not an essential feature of this. Typically though we can expect to see two vices on a workbench today. One will be installed on the front of the bench, towards the left. We … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vices & Work Holding, Workbench Designs, Workbenches

Choosing Timber – The Best Wood For Building A Workbench

December 9, 2016 By Richard Maguire 34 Comments

If you're going to build yourself a chest of drawers, what wood would you build it out of? You'd build it out of whatever you fancy building it out of. What you like, what's to hand, what's cheapest. Who, bloody cares? It's the same when you're building a workbench. Obviously, I can't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Timber, Vices & Work Holding, Workbench Designs

Holdfasts – How Should You Be Using Them?

December 2, 2016 By Richard Maguire 24 Comments

When I started building workbenches,  I pushed my way of working on to my customers. I wasn't aware I was doing this. But my cave's a small place, and I forget there's other people out there. Every workbench went out complete with sliding board jack, large planing stop, a pair of bench … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vices & Work Holding, Workbenches

Face Vice Rack – How To Work With It

February 15, 2016 By Richard Maguire 23 Comments

Can't be Bothered to Read? Click Play: https://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Nice-Rack.mp3 Without a reliable way to hold your work for woodworking we'll quickly become frustrated. Whilst I'm a firm believer that a lot can be achieved with an old nail stuck in to your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vices & Work Holding

Drawer and Carcase Holding

November 26, 2015 By Richard Maguire 11 Comments

A planing sleeve is a work holding method for things such as assembled drawers and open carcases, so you can plane or work on the outside faces. These are enormously handy when the carcase is too big for your vice, and knocking one up is as easy as fixing a couple of battens to your bench top, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hand Tool Approach, Vices & Work Holding

Arnold and The Bench Knife

November 13, 2015 By Richard Maguire 32 Comments

Today I wanted to share another work holding method that's as simple as it is effective (the best ones always are) and is suited only to those who've broken the fear of scathing their bench. 'The Bench Knife' is an old method certainly used for holding lengths at the sticking board, and it's a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hand Tool Approach, Vices & Work Holding

Workbench Holdfasts

October 12, 2015 By Richard Maguire 13 Comments

For a simple woodworker when it comes to a problem in life the best bet is to hit hard with a hammer. It's an effective if not delicate approach and once you get in to the mind set there's little that can't be solved. If you find you're spending a lot of time at your workbench stood head … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hand Tool Approach, Vices & Work Holding

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