Woodworking vise

Several types have evolved to meet differing primary functions, falling under the general categories of front and end vises, reflecting their positions on a workbench.

A woodworking vise holds work in its jaws, or compressed against a bench dog or holdfast.

Holes to receive these stops or clamps are typically drilled in line with a vise in 3-4" intervals, with others added to the benchtop to serve various purposes.

When disengaged the movable jaw may be moved in or out throughout its entire range of motion, vastly speeding up the process of adjustment.

The design was popular during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, particularly with chair makers.

At its base either a board that can be adjusted by means of holes and pegs acts as a fulcrum, or a second screw is installed.

The primary drawback of the shoulder vise is its fragility, unless the "arm" is attached to the "end cap" using a dovetail or finger joint, usually glued or "pinned" to eliminate rotative movement about the joint, otherwise it is fairly easy to break it with a big steel bench screw.

Implicit in a shoulder vise is an integral planing stop, formed by the intersection of the jaw and the jaw spacer, and which allows the shoulder vise to perform multiple duties, such as jointing long boards with a "bench slave" to hold the opposite end.

Many of the commercial European benches have a front vise that uses a wooden jaw with a metal screw and built-in anti-racking hardware.

Tage Frid and Frank Klausz popularized this type of tail vise in North America, although its origin dates back to northern Europe (most probably Germany) in the 18th century.

The two main varieties of this vise depend on whether the screw nut is mounted in the bench or on the dog hole block.