This morning I completed installing the new leg vise on my Holtzapffel workbench that is powered by the Benchcrafted Classic Vise and Crisscross. Installation took about four hours – spread out over the week – and was straightforward thanks to the crazy high quality of the Benchcrafted components and the excellent installation instructions.
The new vise set-up is remarkable. I’ve never had a leg vise that works so well.
While the installation was simple, it’s not for the bolt-it-and-go crowd. You need to be on your A-game to get the vise to run smoothly. The mechanism has plenty of “forgiveness” for small inaccuracies. But everything will go together with less frustration if you take your time and pay close attention to the details.
I’ll be interested to see how the mechanism fares in the long haul. So there’s only one way to find out: Get back to work.
Next up: a shelf for the Holtzapffel and an almost-vanished tool from the 16th century.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. Read our Lost Art Press Statement of Ethics for information on how we buy our tools.
P.P.S The music is “Vernon Jackson” by The Brought Low.