I wanted to spend some time talking through the installation process for my leg vise and hardware. It took a fair amount of time in the shop and I actually took pictures of it.

I am using the  following components for my leg vise

1. Birch Chop (Laminated) 35″ Tall X 6 1/2″ Wide X 3 1/2″ thick
2. Benchcrafted CrissCross Solo
3. Lee Valley Tail Vise Screw (1 1/8″) and Handle (#70G01.52)
4. The Front Left Leg

Process Overview

1. Read, comprehend, read instructions again
2. Slowly lay everthing out and double check dimensions
3. Drill large mortises for CrissCross in leg and chop
   1. Clean with chisel
4. Drill mounting pin holes in leg and chop
5. Drill for screw in chop (1 1/8″)
6. Drill for capture nut of vise screw in back of leg(1 3/4)
7. Drill for screw in leg (1 1/8″)
8. Route radius for rough casting of capture nut in back of leg
9. Test for Toe In

Layout and Instructions

I read over the install instructions for the CrissCross a few times before jumping in.  It was pretty straightforward.   I will refer to the CrissCross as “CC”.

• Need to layout and install the screw and CC at the same time
• The CC and Vise Screw need to be aligned vertically
  • I made them centered on the leg and chop (left to right)
• The Vise screw should be roughly 1 3/4 from the top of the CC mortise on the leg and chop
• The bottom of the chop on my bench is 1/2″ higher than the bottom of the leg (i.e. a gap to the floor)
  • So that means all layout lines are offset 1/2″ on the chop compared to the leg
• The CC Mortise is 1 3/4″ wide by 1 7/16″ deep
  •  Luckily I had a 1 3/4″ forstner bit, which I used for this
• Needed a long 3/8″ Drill bit for the mounting pins, which I had to buy

I took a lot of time with the layout of this, slow and steady, and double checked the instructions.  I almost screwed up with the mounting pins by swapping the 7/8 and 3/4 dimensions, but caught it before I drilled anything.

Mortising Fun

Like the rest of my Mortises I used the drill press and forstner bit.  Since the mortises needed to be 1 3/4 wide, I used a 1 3/4 forstner.  If anyone else uses this approach, use as much overlap as possible when drilling the first set of holes.  It greatly reduces the amount of chatter when you come back to clean up between the initial holes

Clean up the corners and edges with some chisels.  The sides of the mortise don’t have to be perfect.  Only the bottom 6 inches where the bearing plate attaches need to be nice and square.  The rest can be a little wavy.

Drill Mounting Pin Holes

The holes need to be perpendicular to the CC for it to have smooth action.  First, I drilled as deep as possible on drill press (~3″) with a standard drill bit.  Then, I took my long 3/8 drill bit and finished drilling all the way through.  These holes are only needed towards the top of the mortise in the leg and chop.

Drill Clearance Hole For Screw in Chop

I was’t sure what diameter bit would work well as a clearance hole for the vise screw.  I figured 1 1/8″ or 1 1/4″ and I drilled a practice piece with a 1 1/8″ and liked the tight clearance to the screw.  So that is what I went with.  I wish I would have had a 1 1/8″ forstner,  but all I had was a hole saw.  (slow process of drilling)

Drill Clearance Hole for Capture Nut in Leg, and Route

On the back of the leg (towards the center of the bench) I drilled a 1 3/4 diamater  hole to accommodate the capture nut of the vise screw.   This was very close to making the nut sit flush, but I needed to remove just a bit more material.  So, I grabbed the trim router and small roundover/beading bit.  After two successive deeper cuts I got the fit I was looking for.  Then it was time to drill the 1 1/8″ clearance hole for the screw to pass through.

TEST FIT

I had some good Toe-In on the top of the chop, so I called it good.  I also had to test its clamping ability.   After this I marked and drilled the small pilot holes where the vise screw hardware attaches.

Here area few shots of the capture nut on the back of the leg.  I will not be using the supplied #14 screws. I am going to use some SPAX #14 X 3″ screws to hold this into place.

Then I disassembled everything and started on the next phase.