I have one of those handyman/carpenter vises that clamps on to a table or workbench. I have never found it all that useful because the clamp is not that great and it is often in the way on the top and can't be used like a bench vise. Here is a shot of it now:
Thats from under my "bench" (more of a cobbled together worktable). Notice I am not using the clamp at all. I closed it on the rail and drove a couple of screws in. That means the 6" capacity is down to 4.5", but I am okay with that to get it mounted there. That number is actually going to get even smaller with a major improvement. Anyway, here it is from the front:
Yeah, the outside leg on the worktable is an issue, but that will be resolved in a planned upgrade before long. Anyway, now it has a metal face that is below the table surface. So, I am going to give up another 3/4" with a face for it. Here is the face:
Sorry about the blurry picture, but I think you can see it okay. The holes that have the recess are for the plate to be dead even at the benchtop. But if I loosen the wing nuts, I can slide the plate up and use it like this:
The small board is full length and clamped at both ends. I could go with dogs, but I like the top mostly without holes. Note the eyehook - that allows me to hang the board up and reminds me it has a purpose in life.
Anyway, I am down to 3.75" between the plate and bench and can increase that to 4.5" in some cases by taking the plate out, but for 90+ % of what I will do, it is more than enough. I always have clamps anyway. So I am pretty pleased!
Thats from under my "bench" (more of a cobbled together worktable). Notice I am not using the clamp at all. I closed it on the rail and drove a couple of screws in. That means the 6" capacity is down to 4.5", but I am okay with that to get it mounted there. That number is actually going to get even smaller with a major improvement. Anyway, here it is from the front:
Yeah, the outside leg on the worktable is an issue, but that will be resolved in a planned upgrade before long. Anyway, now it has a metal face that is below the table surface. So, I am going to give up another 3/4" with a face for it. Here is the face:
Sorry about the blurry picture, but I think you can see it okay. The holes that have the recess are for the plate to be dead even at the benchtop. But if I loosen the wing nuts, I can slide the plate up and use it like this:
The small board is full length and clamped at both ends. I could go with dogs, but I like the top mostly without holes. Note the eyehook - that allows me to hang the board up and reminds me it has a purpose in life.
Anyway, I am down to 3.75" between the plate and bench and can increase that to 4.5" in some cases by taking the plate out, but for 90+ % of what I will do, it is more than enough. I always have clamps anyway. So I am pretty pleased!
