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I've been able to build just fine without a pattern makers vise. I use a support made to hold the neck while carving. I've always been tempted get one of these. The Stew Mac vise appears to be very well made, with some nice design features, but this "knock off" is cheaper, and with this sale price of $99 it is quite tempting... So what do you think, should I continue to survive without it? ...hold out for the Stew Mac vise? ...or go for this one? Seems like there is always something to spend $100 on...


https://www.woodcraft.com/products/wood ... rving-vise

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

What makes you think it's a knock-off? The S-M vise says it "Custom modifications make it the best!"

A friend has an old one (Green, but not from Woodcraft) that I have used for Windsor chair parts. Most times you are not cranking it way open or closed, but clamping and reclamping something the same size - guitar neck?, so I think that the roller bearings are of limited value. The wheel is marginally better than the crank, you can put urethane or leather on the jaws, and the nylon core nuts are available at your local hardware store if you think they are important.

I think it looks like a great deal

Ed

I bought the Lee Valley version last year, virtually the same unit, and use it regularily for guitar work.
I like it!

B

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

I have the one from woodcraft, it’s been fine. Like Ed mentioned, I rarely make major adjustments because it’s basically holding the same two things all the time, a neck and the SM freehand holder that I use when pore filling:

https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/T ... older.html

I stole someone’s idea here and mounted it to the end of my bench to save some workspace:



Hope that helps.

Brad


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I wondered why I waited so long to get one of those pattern maker vises, they really are handy.

If you decided to go with a stock unit, like that from Woodcraft (same one I have). It is really nice to swop the bolts for threaded studs for mounting the jaws. It is one of the really nice modifications SM does, and lets you set the jaw swivel tension, and they don't loosen/tighten up the way the stock bolts often did on mine.

Adjustable bolt/nut upgrade set Item # 1834
https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Types_of_Tools/Vises/Guitar_Repair_Vise_Replacement_Parts.html

I bought one from a gunmaker's web site years ago and added leather pads on the jaws. It's much like the woodcraft version. I mount it in my front vise when I need it, but it takes up a lot of space in use, so I seldom use it.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I have that same one, bought it from Japan Wood Work for $99.
There where several threads years ago from Todd Stock showing the mods he did to his bit I think he removed his account.
One of the mods was to use the removable locktite on the jaw bolts that way they don’t come loose with use. My vise came with the urethane faced jaws. You can add leather or a leather sling in case a piece falls...
I’ll take some more pics of my set up later today. Adding to the end of my bench area works best for me.




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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I ordered one of these using an xmas gift card from my kid....https://www.garrettwade.com/ultimate-ve ... -vise.html. Same price, $99. Adds another axis to the parrot vise. We'll see how it works when it's delivered.

I own the green, non-StewMac version, and it works great. I recently replaced the wooden jaws because they had gotten chewed up with use. It’s easy to glue some leather to some wooden jaws and make the whole thing work better for guitars. The big mounting bolt goes through a bench dog hole and allows me to take the vise off my bench when I need a larger uninterrupted surface for a project.

From an earlier post:



The Stewmac vise is currently on sale at $142, while the Woodcraft item is $100. The Lee Valley item is priced at $144US as of a few minutes ago, and is still offered in the configuration above. It seems to me that the decision to be made is whether the time spent on addressing the few shortcomings seen in the Woodcraft version of the tool are worth the $42 in price difference.

As Mr. True mentioned, some non-permanent LocTite will address the swivel jaw retaining issue at the cost of having to redo the job every few years as the jaws wear, while installing the StewMac threaded rod and lock washer kit ($8.27) addresses the issue on a more permanent basis. The wooden swivel jaw faces on the Woodcraft item may either be modified with leather facings ($10-$20, depending on the thickness and grade of the leather...#866192 is suitable and about $11) or replaced with urethane jaw linings at about $30...we use leather and accept that it needs to be renewed every few years with some decent oil tanned saddle leather, just as the shoulder and face vise on the woodworking bench are relined.

If time is money in your shop, it makes sense to buy the StewMac vise with the mods already done. Sourcing, ordering, and installing the relevant mods will cost at least 45 minutes in time and $20 or so in materials (less shipping)...we'd view that as final costs of about $150 for the SM vise and about $200 for the Woodcraft item.

For those that do not have to monetize their time and are willing to treat the Woodcraft vise like a kit, anywhere between $20 and $42 may be saved.

A note on shipping...Stewmac standard shipping for those without StewMax shipping on this vise is about $15, while Woodcraft shipping will run about $18. Lee Valley is offering free shipping on orders of over $40, so delivered cost less taxes from each of those vendors is about $157 (Stewmac), $118 (Woodcraft), and $144 (Lee Valley).

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Have the green one, mine has a crepe rubber faces epoxied on it . As I tend to overcrank it, and it conforms very well to all different shapes of wood

I personally prefer my Parrot style vise with the cork soft jaw inserts. I also have the old/good version of Lmii's vacuum work holder which I use a bunch. I ordered up the SM vise a few years back and was expecting a better, smoother operating tool. SM being SM, they took it back, no questions asked.

M

I'll emphasize that these tools should be viewed as kits.

Most students end up buying either this vise or the ShopFox 'parrot' style vise after finishing up, and one of the things we always do is a full tear-down, clean-up, lubrication/LocTite, and reassembly on each. The difference in function before and after clean-up is always pretty significant - much smoother operation once all the manufacturing debris and burrs are addressed. The parrot-style vises are much simpler, but also benefit from cleanup and lube.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

That is a great deal on that vise if you can fit it in your shop. In my case I have very little space so it's a big challenge to do that.

I went super old school and bought one of the "tall boy" Versa vises from WAY back when. It's been a nice change up. If I had the space I'd have the Woodcraft/SM style gunsmith vise at one end of the shop and my versa vise on the main bench.

Mine takes up a lot of real estate and doesn't see much use. I could easily get by without it.

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George :-)

Like I said above, I attach mine to my bench via a dog hole. If I need the whole bench surface for something, I take this vise off the bench in less than a minute. If I need the vise (or my recently acquired, used parrot vise), I put it on the bench in less than a minute.

There are some real advantages to using a laminated maple bench top, drilled with rows of dog holes. The bench winds up being part of a very flexible clamping system, rather than just a working surface. Vises, hold fasts, specialized workboards, etc., all get attached to the bench via the dog holes on an as-needed basis.

I just have mine mounted on a lump of wood and clamp it in my end mounted 10" wood working vice when needed.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

The SM vice is one of the first things I bought and I can't imagine being without it. I think I paid about $100 for it 10 years ago. It's on my setup bench and gets used for all set up, neck carving, holding the outside mold while cleaning up linings, holding the bridge fixture, holding the neck while drilling for inserts, holding the nut and saddle vise , etc

New username, same Pat Mac

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Pat

I started to buy one but just wanted it for my repair/setup bench so really just needed to clamp necks. I ended up building a knee vise with a 2x4, an old door hinge and a $30 tail vise screw from lee valley.

Full disclosure: Design came from Ann Arbor Guitars. Another piece of leather goes over the top to pad the jaws and catch anything that might fall.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I have the StewMac and the Parrot vices. I use them equally, which is not that often, but they are very handy when needed.

Bob

Steve

Ann Arbor is pretty close to Kalamazoo. My daughter got to tour the old Gibson plant with John Thomas and found this:

Ed

FWIW I did the Frank Ford Parrot Vise adaptation.

Finding an original USA Versa-Vise for about $20 helped a lot with the decision.

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier ... tvise.html

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

That is cool Ed. Wouldn't be surprised if they're "related".

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Feedback on the Garrett Wade version of the parrot style vise. The added adjustable arm with the locking thumbscrews works great. Have a set of wooden/leather jaw inserts with magnets and radius backs like Kevin shows. I should have waited to order in January...on sale for $77.50, could've saved $21.50.

They should offer the arm separately.

When I started doing this, one of the first things I bought was a vise like the SM, but I found it on sale in a gun smith website for somethine like $50. I love it and it probably gets more use than any other single item in my shop. It's certainly not hot-rodded, but the guy at Tandy gave me a couple of scraps of leather to glue to the jaws. I have a big sponge from the car store that I stick between the jaws under things like necks, but have never had anything fall. I have a few holes in my benches so I can put it where it's needed for a particular job. It is kind of big, and I wish I had a place to store it when I did not need it.

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Mike Lindstrom