Leg Vise height with Crisscross


AlexPeel

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If you are using the Crisscross I wanted to point out that you could actually lower the vise screw hole height to give you more room above the screw.  I think the only reason for the original height in the guild plans is to allow clearance for the peg board and mortise at the bottom of the vise chop.  According to the Benchcrafted site you can position the screw anywhere in relation to the top of the bench and the crisscross as long as you leave a moderate distance between the screw and the crisscross mortise.  Keep in mind with the crisscross you need much longer chop then what is in the original guild plans, especially if you go as low as I have.

 

I decided to go with the following dimensions.

 

Crisscross leg mortise 2" off the ground - Benchcrafted recommends at least one inch but they mention you might want to raise it on a tall bench so you don't bend over to much when grasping the wheel. So I settled on 2".

Crisscross leg mortise 19.5" high - as per Benchcrafted crisscross plans.

Crisscross vise chop mortise 1 3/4" off the ground - This leaves the bottom of the chop 1/4" off the ground and makes the chop pretty much the full bench height which I think is a really nice look.

Screw hole - 2 1/8" above the mortise as per Benchcrafted crisscross plans, and what they say is the minimum height above the mortise.

 

This leaves me 7.5" leg height above the center of the screw (not the top of the leg tenon) and 11.5" below the bench top.  This original plans only give you 9 1/8" above the screw center to the top of the bench.

 

Of course if you are going to do this make sure that you double check all your measurements and don't get anything confused between the original measurements and the new plans.  I found it best to for the most part ignore the guild plans and videos (for the vise install) and just base everything for the off the benchcrafted install plans.  Also importantly you want to install the crisscross BEFORE installing the screw for the vise not the way Mark starts with the screw for the original plans.

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Thanks for the updated advice. I haven't had a chance to play with the Criss Cross install (and probably won't), so it's incredibly helpful to hear how folks are adapting the plans to fit. Fortunately, the way the bench is built. the leg vise is a completely separate entity from the rest of the bench. So your advice to ignore that section of the Guild plan is very good. 

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