Quick-Release Front Vise

Quick-Release Front Vise 05G34.01

A front vise is the most generally useful vise on a typical

workbench. It can be used for clamping parts on edge within

the jaws, for clamping large parts in combination with a

deadman, and for clamping parts on top of the workbench

when used in combination with bench dogs. When installed

on a workbench with a 2" thick apron and a 1

/4" thick user-

made front jaw, the vise has a clamping capacity of 9". Tight

tolerances within the base casting result in little sag, even at

maximum opening.

This vise features a quick-release mechanism for fast

adjustment of the opening. The positive action of the

mechanism means that the vise can be used for spreading

workpieces apart, as well as for clamping them together.

Requirements

Warning: Please read the instructions before you

begin installing the quick-release front vise onto your

workbench. While the vise has been designed with ease of

installation as a primary requirement, the instructions offer

critical information to facilitate the task.

These instructions assume the workbench has a 2" thick

apron. Please refer to Appendix 1 for installation on a

workbench with no apron.

These instructions show an installation on the left

end of the workbench, which would be typical for

a right-handed woodworker.

Assuming a 1

/4" thick front jaw will be used, the

quick-release front vise requires a clear area at least

16" deep by 12" wide on the underside of the workbench top

(see Figure 2). The user-made jaw should be designed to

match the type of work the vise is expected to do.

16"

12"

Figure 2: Space requirements for the quick-release

front vise.

*Main screw cover (not shown) located under main screw.

Back Plate

Half Nut

Bushing

Base Casting

Main Screw*

Jaw Mounting

Screws

Handle

End Cap

Quick-Release Shaft

Half Nut Cam

Guide Rod

Quick-Release

Spring

Spring Nut

Washer

O-Ring

Tee

Quick-Release Lever

Front Plate

Figure 1: The Veritas

Quick-Release Front Vise mechanism, shown upside down.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,050,710 and U.S. Des. Pat. No. D673,830

Before making the jaws and installing the vise, you will need

to consider the following:

• Which end of the workbench: generally, a right-handed

woodworker will install the front vise on the left-hand

end of the workbench (as shown in the diagrams in these

instructions). This keeps the mechanism out of the way

when planing long boards clamped against the front of

the workbench (i.e., when jointing an edge). A left-handed

user would usually want the front vise on the right-hand

end of the workbench.

• Size of the front jaws: the mechanism of the vise has been

designed around a nominal jaw width of 18

/2". Wider is

possible if required; however, a jaw wider than 24" will

begin to put higher-than-anticipated side loads on the vise.

• Dog holes: the front jaw should be thick enough to allow

for dog holes so that the vise can be used to clamp parts to

the top of the workbench. Ideally, these holes should align

to the dog-hole matrix in the workbench top. The holes also

need to be located so that they do not interfere with holes

for the various rods and screws the mechanism will require

(see Figure 4).

• Jaw thickness: this vise was designed around a 1

/4" thick

front jaw and a 2" thick apron. A 1

/4" thick front jaw in

a suitable hardwood will give sufficient strength and can

easily accommodate

/4" diameter dog holes.

• Relative mechanism position: generally, it is desirable to

offset the mechanism in the jaw to give a larger clear space

on one side of the mechanism for through clamping.

Depending on the overall workbench design, there may be

other critical elements to consider. Judicious planning will

go a long way towards making the installation go smoothly.

Preparing the Blank for your Front Jaw

The design of your front jaw is heavily dependent on the

overall design of your workbench. Figure 3 shows a typical

18" wide front jaw design with three dog holes. The height

of the jaw needs to be at least 3" greater than the thickness

of your workbench top. (Do not drill the holes for the main

screw, guide rods or quick-release shaft at this time.)

Tip: Leave a bit of material on the top of the jaw, then

plane it ﬂ ush with the workbench top after installation;

/32" should be enough (e.g., if your workbench is 2" thick,

you would add 2

/32" to all the vertical dimensions shown in

Figure 3).

...

Bench Thickness

/4"

/8"

/4"

/2"

Ø 1

/2" THRU

/4" THRU

/32" × 1

/4" DEEP

Ø 1" THRU

/16"

/4"

18"

Figure 3: Typical front jaw design.

Positioning the Vise Mechanism

Clamp the jaw blank to your workbench in the position you

want the jaw to be. Place the vise mechanism on the top of

the workbench, aligning the main screw where you want it to

eventually be in relation to the jaw.

Place a square on each side of the main screw and transfer

the main screw location to the front of the jaw using a pencil

or marking knife. The main screw center is between these

two lines.

Preparing the Jaw

Unclamp the jaw and lay out the exact position of the main

screw hole, as shown in Figure 3. Keep in mind that the jaw

is slightly taller than its ﬁ nal size.

Lay out the rest of the jaw holes using the Jaw Hole Template

(included), or as per the dimensions in Figure 3.

The horizontal hole locations are given from the location of the

main screw.

The through-hole sizes are minimum diameter; larger holes

will not adversely affect the action of the vise.

The 1

/4" deep holes are for the #14 × 2" jaw mounting

screws. The

/32" diameter hole shown is for a hardwood jaw;

use a

/16" diameter hole if you are installing a softwood jaw.

...

Tip: It may be easier to drill the holes for the mounting

screws later in the installation process.

Note: A drill press is recommended for boring these holes to

ensure they are bored square to the jaw face.

...

Tip: When drilling the holes for the main screw,

guide rods, etc., do not rotate or turn the

workpiece on the drill-press table. (See Figure 5.)

Instead, slide the workpiece over. If your drill press is

slightly out of alignment (off 90° from table to spindle),

you will double the error by turning your workpiece end

for end rather than sliding it along the drill-press table.

Drilling the Apron

Clamp the drilled front jaw to the workbench in the position

you want the jaw to be (see Figure 6). Keep in mind that the

top of the jaw is proud of the workbench top.

Use the holes in the jaw as drill guides for drilling out the

matching holes in the apron. Take care that the apron holes

are drilled square to the apron face.

Leave the jaw clamped in place for the rest of the assembly

process.

Jaw Blank

Main Screw

Figure 4: Positioning the jaw blank and vise mechanism.

✔ ✗

Correct:

Slide workpiece

across table.

Workpiece

Table

Holes off but parallel.

Holes out of parallel.

Incorrect:

Do not turn workpiece

end for end.

(Exaggerated views.)

Figure 5: Drilling the holes in the jaw.

Drill holes through

apron using holes in

jaw as drilling guide.

Figure 6: Drilling the apron.

Installing the Vise Mechanism

Installing the vise requires some disassembly of the

mechanism. This is not as difﬁ cult as it might seem;

however, some care is required to maintain the position of the

mechanical components.

Before removing anything, place a piece of duct tape across

the cam and half nut (see Figure 7) to maintain their relative

position while the mechanism is apart.

Note: If the cam should come loose during assembly,

see Appendix 2 for instructions on re-installing it in the

correct orientation.

Remove the tee shoulder screw, the tee and the tee washer.

Remove the spring nut, washer and quick-release spring

on the back of the mechanism. Unfasten the screw holding

the quick-release lever in place. Do not remove the

quick-release shaft.

Remove the two guide rod screws and carefully pull the

front plate off. The ﬁ t between guide rods and front plate is

tight; you may need to progressively tap each side until these

come apart. Avoid skewing the front plate in relation to the

guide rods.

From this point on, the installation of the vise mechanism

will be much easier if the workbench is ﬂ ipped upside down.

Alternatively, if your workbench top is easily removable, just

detach it from the base and ﬂ ip it over. The vise mechanism

weighs more than 20 lb and it is much easier to locate it and

screw it in place when gravity is on your side.

Set Screws

(not visible)

Tape to hold half nut

and cam in position.

Guide Rod

Main Screw

Cover

Front Plate

Guide Rod

Screw

Main Screw

Thrust Washer

Tee

Shoulder

Screw

Tee

Tee Washer

Quick-Release

Lever Screw

Quick-Release

Lever

Quick-Release Shaft

Quick-Release

Spring

Back Plate

Spring Nut

Washer

Figure 7: Removing the front plate prior to installation.

Four mounting holes are required to attach the vise

mechanism to the underside of the workbench top.

Figure 8 shows the dimensional locations for the mounting

holes relative to the center line of the main screw, or you can use

the Mounting Hole Template (included).

Note: Do not use the base casting to transfer the hole locations;

these holes are too large to provide an accurate transfer.

The two front holes require

/8" diameter by

/4"

deep counterbores. The four mounting screws require

/16" diameter by 1

/2" deep pilot holes, if the workbench

is hardwood (

/32" diameter by 1

/2" deep pilot holes

in softwood).

Place the vise mechanism on the underside of the workbench

with the assorted rods and screws through the appropriate

holes in the apron and front jaw. Center the rods in their holes

as accurately as possible.

Install the two bushings in the front mounting holes. These

are an extremely tight ﬁ t in the base casting and may need

to be driven home with a hammer. Use a piece of wood

between the bushing and the hammer to avoid damaging the

vise mechanism. Install all four washers and

/8" lag screws;

tighten all the lag screws.

Reinstall the front plate and all the parts shown in Figure 7.

Do not use a thread-locking compound when reassembling

the vise as this will make it near-impossible to remove the

screws should the need arise. Remove the tape across the half

nut and cam.

Reinstall the quick-release spring, washer and spring nut,

ensuring that the nylon insert in the spring nut is fully engaged

on the quick-release shaft threads. Do not overtighten the

spring nut; otherwise, it will be difﬁ cult to turn the quick-

release lever.

There are two set screws located in the back plate. These have

been adjusted at the factory to retain the main screw cover

(see Figure 7). Should the set screws need to be adjusted,

take care not to overtighten them so as not to impair the

operation of the vise.

If you did not drill the mounting holes in the front jaw when

you bored all the other holes, drill them now using the front

plate as a guide. Center-punch the holes through the casting

and drill the appropriate pilot hole for #14 screws, as shown

in Figure 11.

/16"

/32" 4

/32"

/16"

Main Screw Axis

Back Edge

of Apron

Figure 8: Mounting hole locations.

Figure 9: Positioning the vise mechanism on the underside

of the workbench top.

Bushing

on front

screws only.

Washer

Lag Screw

Figure 10: Installing the bushings, washers and lag screws.

Install the #14 ﬂ at-head screws to secure the front plate to

the front jaw.

Remove the clamps holding the jaw to the apron. Flip the

workbench upright (or reinstall the workbench top on its

base). Insert the handle into the tee, slide an O-ring onto

each end of the handle, then attach the end caps with the #8

screws, as shown in Figure 13. (The O-rings will protect the

end caps from banging into the tee as the handle is rotated.)

Plane the top of the jaw so that it is ﬂ ush with the top of the

workbench. Apply the desired ﬁ nish to the jaw.

Use

A novel feature of this vise is the quick-release half nut.

To actuate, ﬂ ip the quick-release lever from horizontal to

vertical, as shown in Figure 14. (You may need to rotate the

handle to release the threads.)

Caution: Do not release the half nut when the vise is

loaded. Disengaging a loaded vise will result in sudden

release of clamping pressure, which can lead to damage of

the vise and workpiece, as well as injury to the user.

To re-engage the half nut, simply ﬂ ip the lever back to

horizontal. If the threads in the half nut are not aligned with

those on the main screw, the lever may not return immediately

to horizontal. If this is the case, you can align the threads by

rotating the main screw; this will, in turn, force the quick-

release spring to nudge the half nut into place, and snap the

quick-release lever to horizontal.

Care and Maintenance

The vise comes fully lubricated; however, it will need

periodic cleaning and lubrication. White grease on the main

screw will ensure smooth operation, and a light oiling of the

half nut will keep this component moving freely. The guide

rods do not require lubrication; they have a surface treatment

that is self-lubricating and prevents rust.

Note: Do not use silicone-based lubricants on the

main screw. The main screw has a special hardening

treatment and surface coating that is not compatible with

silicone-based lubricants.

/4"

/8"

Figure 11: Mounting screw hole depth.

#14 × 2"

Flat-Head

Wood Screws

Figure 12: Attaching front plate to front jaw.

#8 × 1

/2" Flat-Head Wood Screw

Handle End Cap

Handle

O-Ring

Figure 13: Installing the handle.

Cam lever in engaged position.

Rotate cam lever to "up" position

to release main screw.

Figure 14: Releasing the half nut.

Veritas Tools Inc. Ottawa ON K2H 1C2 Canada veritastools.com

Appendix 1: Installing the Front Vise onto

a Workbench without an Apron

Option A

If your workbench does not have an apron, and if your

workbench top is reasonably thick, you can mount the

front vise to the underside of the workbench top and clamp

workpieces against the edge of the workbench. Assuming a

/4" thick jaw, this set-up will require a space of 18" × 12"

under the workbench top.

Option B

Alternatively, a rear jaw can be added to the underside of

the workbench top to increase the clamping surface area.

Adding a rear jaw to the underside of the workbench allows

long workpieces to be clamped right up to the edge of

the workbench.

In practice, it will probably be easier to bore the holes for

the vise mechanism into the rear jaw after the rear jaw has

been installed. Attach the rear jaw to the workbench with lag

screws, or other attachment method. Clamp the drilled front

jaw in place, as shown in Figure 6, and follow the rest of the

instructions for installing the vise mechanism as though the

workbench had an apron.

Appendix 2: Cam Orientation

If, for some reason, the vise mechanism is disassembled

beyond the point described in these instructions, it is

imperative that the cam be re-assembled in the correct

position relative to the quick-release shaft. Figure 18 shows

the engaged position for the cam, as well as the critical

orientation of the cross hole in the lever end of the quick-

release shaft.

Secure the assembly with a piece of tape across the cam and

half nut while the reassembly is completed.

Accessory

05G34.03 Leather Jaw Liners, pr.

Figure 15: Mounting the front vise onto a workbench

without an apron.

Notches to clear

dog holes.

Holes for mounting

lag screws.

/8"

/4"

5" 5"

/16"

/32"

Figure 16: Typical rear jaw dimensions.

Figure 17: Assembly with rear jaw.

Vertical Cross Hole Axis Note cam orientation.

Figure 18: Installing the quick-release cam, assembly

shown upside down.