Leg Vise

by OrenK9

12K16318

Intro: Leg Vise

Easy steps to make your own Leg Vise.

STEP 1: Materials You'll Need

I did not have a thick enough board so I cut a board in half and glued the two pieces together after making the surface of both pieces flat and clean.

I think a 5-6 cm thick is enough.

The length depends on your Work Bench and the width should be about 15 cm.

You need also a good strong Lead Screw.

I took a lead screw off from a broken work bench but these can also be found in web shops such as Amazon.

STEP 2: Make the Slot for the Supporting Leg

Cut a slot at one end of the board to fit the supporting leg in to it.

The size is not so critical, it can be 12x2 cm depends what left over pieces of wood you have.

Cut a similar slot at the bottom of the table leg so that the supporting leg can slide in and out easily.

To make the slot in the table leg, I made few hols in a row and used a flat file to get to the desired shape.

Cut off some of the vise leg to make it more narrow towards the bottom end.

STEP 3: Drill the Hols in the Supporting Leg

Drill about 10-12 holes in the supporting leg.

About 16 mm diameter. Depending on the size of the available wooden pin you got. I actually curved my own from a square piece.

Keep 2 cm distance between the centres of each holes.

Spread them over 3 parallel lines.

STEP 4: Attach the Supporting Leg

Glue the supporting leg to the vise in the slot you made.

STEP 5: Place the Leading Screw

Drill a hole that will go through the vise and the table leg, big enough to let the leading screw pass through.

When you do so, keep the vise in place and the supporting leg in the slot of the table leg. Make sure the Vise is perfectly vertical when you drill the hole.

Attach the leading screw and the screw base in place.

Make sure that the supporting leg is kept horizontal at all times, and that it can slide easily.

The secret here is to have the supporting leg and the leading screw perfectly parallel.

Use a wooden pin in the appropriate hole to stop the supporting leg from going in deeper when clutching an item in a way that the vise leg is kept vertical.

The leg vise is super strong.

8 Comments

Al_B 6 years ago

Any suggestions for a lead screw?

1259700020 7 years ago

A similar concept made out of metal is popular among blacksmiths due to the high durability.

dglscraft 7 years ago

Have wanted to make one of these for some time. Where did you get the metal (non-wood) parts? I'd like to hear more about them.

Yonatan24 7 years ago

Look for them in hardware stores, car jacks, and I think also on Amazon.

D-Undercover 7 years ago

Good stuff! I never thought of this. I am definitely going to build myself one because I have that need right now for a project I am working on. Keep it up, mate!

OrenK9 7 years ago

Thanks (again).
I strongly advice you to do it.
This is really a good vise.
I believe it should be a secondary vise to your table.
If you would have the traditional one and this one, man, you'll love it.