Lake Erie Toolworks Vice Screw

[Ray153]

As I am about to start the pleasurable task of building my work bench and after thinking long and hard about design etc, one definite "must have" is a leg vise. I looked at the two suppliers I could find online of wooden vise screws and decided to use one made by Lake Erie Toolworks. Their site is at Home - Lake Erie Toolworks and is a easily navigated site.

The reasons I went with this particular maker primarily were based on type of wood, hard Maple as opposed the the other maker I found who uses Ash, availability of options such as handles, brass garter and fixing hardware. Price wise there was not a great difference between the two providers.

I placed my order online through Paypal on the 26th March and received a confirmation email from the manufacturer, Nick Dombrowski the next day, just seeking to clarify the shipping address. I had a particular question for Nick about the packaging and my concerns with importing wooden products into Australia. Nick emailed back immediately addressing these concerns and he did say that I was his very first Australian customer.

Shipping was with United States Postal Service Priority International and the purchase was on its way on the 1st April. It arrived on the 8th April, a very respectable transit time of 7 days.

Well packaged on the outside in a posting box, I opened it to find the contents well protected with bubble wrap. The vise screw and nut block were within a sealed, quite robust plastic bag, the handle tucked neatly beside it with the split brass garter and bolts/screws in their own little strong ziplock bags.

The wood threads on the handle are very cleanly cut, no chipping or torn surfaces and the caps on the handles are almost identical in shape to each other. The threads inside the caps have a little bit of fluffy fibres apparent but were cleanly cut and no chipping apparent. A nice little touch with the handle is the provision of 2 rubber "O" rings that can cushion the impact when the handle slides in the hole in the end of the screw. The caps screw on nicely, very smooth and tighten solidly at the end.

The fit of the handle in the screw hole is not tight, just the right amount of tolerance is there to allow the handle easy movement without the handle being canted so much that there will be undue wear on the surface of the handle or on the rim of the hole.

The screw itself is simply superb. Very clean and crisp thread with no tearout of any sort visible. The ridges of the thread are about 2 mm wide and there is no chipping visible. The fit into the nut block is very good, initial engagement of the threads is nice with little lateral movement when there is less than 2-3 cm of threads engaged. The fit is tight and a fair amount of torque is necessary to turn the screw, this improved once the thread surfaces started to burnish polish each mating surface. Once oiled and waxed, I am very confident that the amount of friction between the screw and nut will be much much lower.

The grain alignment of the wood in the screw is obviously considered by Nick when placing the handle hole, the hole itself is very cleanly cut with only the slightest bump apparent to the touch inside, indicating that the hole itself is drilled from both sides, not all the way through from one side. The nut block is equally nicely detailed, the threads are well cut and no fluffy grain, tearout or chipping. It would seem that the smaller diametre internal threads are the only areas prone to fluffing slightly and I do not believe that it affects the threads in any way.

The grooves for the garter (there are two, one for internal, one external) are very clean, as is the end grain on the end of the vice screw. The split brass garter is nicely made, the fit of the assembled garter in its groove is a snug fit with perhaps 1-2 mm gap between the internal garter surface and the vise screw. The countersinking of the 6 holes in the split garter is clean and the holes are nicely and evenly spaced. The hardware provided appears to be stainless steel and seems more than adequate for the tasks of securing the garter and also attaching the nut block to the bench. The nuts for the nut block are the nyloc type, a thoughtful touch so that working loose should not be an issue over time.

Overall dimensions

Screw - length overall 620 mm
threaded length 440 mm
handle end diametre 85 mm
threaded part diametre 55 mm
handle hole diametre 25 mm

Nut block - length 299 mm
width 98 mm
depth 70 mm
diagonal lengths 250 mm and 248 mm indicating that it is not cut perfectly square at the ends but this is a cosmetic detail only, it will not detract from its performance

Handle - overall length 428 mm
diametre 24 mm
threaded area 28 mm both ends
cap length 47mm and 48 mm
cap diametre 42 mm and 44 mm

Overall impressions are extremely good, prompt service and an excellent product. Finished surfaces are smooth and crisp. the material itself is obviously chosen carefully, consideration given to grain alignment and there are no microsplits, cracks or knots in any of the wooden components

The only "cons" if I can call them that are that there are no instructions or guidance provided with the product on finishing the product ie oil and wax, but there is more than adequate information provided on the website within the FAQ page and it is likely that any purchaser will have a good understanding of finishing wood already so is unlikely to need that sort of advice. As for the packaging, the only improvement I can suggest is the placement of some bubble wrap between the end of the vice screw and the nut block. Both are loose within the sealed plastic bag and they do come into contact with each other in shipping, it is possible that slight damage could occur to the very start of the thread area. I have made such a suggestion to Nick, one he has indicated he will adopt in the future.

I have not commented on cost of the item or postage costs versus value for money as that is a purely subjective judgement that each must make for themselves, in my view, I have received excellent value for money and firmly believe that I have bought a product that is well made, well designed and will provide excellent service on my bench for years to come. And really I think that is all I can ask for.

[BozInOz]

I'm excited to see this in action.

[Ray153]

As mentioned above, the advice on the Lake Erie website suggests the optimum finishing method is danish oil and wax. It is preferable to use a finish that is absorbed, rather than one that builds up on the surface.

So I gave all surfaces 3 coats of danish oil and let each dry thoroughly before the next. The surface remained nice and smooth with very little if any raised grain. The oil soaked in nicely with no blotching apparent.

I then applied plenty of wax and rubbed it in well by hand. I initially tried a harder wax and found that it tended to rub off into little balls of wax without providing too much benefit. A softer wax was certainly easier to buff in and did not ball up the same as the harder wax.

Placing the screw into the nut block I was initially dismayed to find that the thread was quite tight, requiring moderate torque to turn the screw into the nut block.

However, I found that after about 2 inches of thread was inside the nut block, the thread turned much easier, requiring little torque and could be turned one handed without having to use the handle. The tolerances between the thread and nut got a little looser but not markedly.

On reflection, I actually think this is quite a clever little touch. Given that the thread itself will be out of view under the top of the bench, it is a safety feature in a way, when winding out the thread, it acts as a warning that the entire vice assembly is about to come loose from the nut block so it warns you to be careful lest the entire assembly end up falling off.

Would I recommend this product to other woodies? Yes, without doubt. To my mind, it has been worth the expense and then some. Nothing that I have seen in the short time I have had the unit has changed my initial thoughts and opinions.

Now to just build the rest of my bench to go with it.....

[IanW]

Nice little kit, Ray. Those are whopping threads! It looks like about 2 threads/inch - is that correct? My 2" tap is 4 tpi, & the threads look a lot finer than on your screw. Maple makes an excellent screw which seems to be very durable, though it is a wood with a fairly high coefficient of expansion/contraction to humidity changes, so don't get yours wet!

I've been using wooden screws for a very long time & they have given me little trouble. I also used oil & wax as a finish, which has worked well. I always worried about glue getting into them, especially on handscrew clamps, so try to rewax on a reasonably regular basis. I apply a soft wax innitially, then use a harder wax (paraffin) for subsequent waxings. One thing I have learnt is to go easy with the wax, & polish it off well, or you'll get a build-up of gunk which can make the screw bind. However, in general, they seem to be pretty trouble-free, & can take a surprising amount of force. Since I make my own & have a few spares, I don't worry too much about leaning on them, but so far I haven't ever broken or stripped the larger sizes. The 2" Rosewood screw on my shoulder vise has been in heavy use for more than 25 years, and shows no sign of serious wear, so I think it will see me out...

Cheers,

[Clinton1]

Ray,

A thoughtful review, and one that has made me put this on my 'should I get it' list for my bench.

Not something we see much of (timber vice screws), so your review is a timely, and thought provoking item of great relevance.

Thank you.

[IanW]

Clinton - having used both wooden & steel bench screws for a very long time, I can't say there is any major advantage one way or the other, except that if you make your own wooden screws, there is an obvious saving (& the fun of doing it). Well-waxed wooden screws do have a nice 'feel' cf. steel ones, but it doesn't confer any practical advantage that I can think of, & they are a bit easier to injure. That's partly why I have a steel screw on my front-vise, where the scew is more exposed, and a wooden screw on the shoulder vise. The shoulder-vise screw is well-protected.

Of course, you may simply be a traditionalist or like the idea of a wooden screw for any other reason, in which case, cost or convenience isn't an issue. I started mucking about with wooden screws partly out of curiosity, & partly out of penury, and have always made my own (with taps initially cobbled-up in different ways). My biggest single cost has been $25 for a solid-carbide bit to cut the screw threads. It's cut about a hundred kilometres of threads over the years, & I reckon it has earned its keep! So my cost per item would be near zero. I would suggest to those who are intrigued by the idea of wood screws that they start by getting hold of a 3/4" tap (this makes a very useful size of screw) & make some handscrews. I have dozens, in 4 differnt sizes, & love 'em. You can make a set out of mostly scraps, which soon recoups any cost of the gear & the time spent learning. A nice pair of handscrews also makes a great gift or trade item!

Cheers,

[Clinton1]

Ian:

I saw a builders scaffolding screw fitting today in the second hand shop... a nice coarse 'butress' thread.

I'm thinking of getting it, and cutting a matching fitting in timber and using it as the tail vise on my new workbench.

The Lake Erie Screw seems cool... but I like fiddling with my fingers and making my own. Using a steel '1 turn in 1/4 inch on a 3" pipe' elcheapo bit of rubbish from the second hand shop appeals to me.

I reckon it would be cheaper to get the Lake Erie screw thread.... and a better product... but ... what do you think of a coarse steel thread going into a timber fitting?

Damn it! I know I should just get the Leak Erie product reviewed here... but 20 hours of fiddling works out cheaper... doesn't it?

[IanW]

Hi Clinton - yer a man after me own heart - of course it's better to have a go at cobbling up something yourself! Metal screws running in wooden nuts work quite well. I have several times tapped ordinary bolt threadss into wood successfully.

You could modify a part of the the builders screw to make a tap - easier if you have a metal lathe to cut a bit of the lead end down to root diameter (to act as a pilot, & keep the tap straight - they tend to want to wander a bit). Then slope up from that diameter to full tread over about 4 or 5 threads. Then take an angle grinder & a metal disc & cut a couple of slots up into the full thread for chip ejection. Finally, relieve the threads behind the 'cutting' faces a bit & Bob's your auntie. I've used all sorts of things like that as taps - even the guts out of an old water tap - they all work fine after a bit of fiddling.

Once you have a good tap working, you can make a router threadbox & cut your own wood screws. The only difficulty you might strike is getting a bit to match the profile of the thread, - they have a slight relief, but I've made 'acme' thread screws that worked fine using a square bit (to match the thread of the screw under those old office chairs).

So go for it - a no-cost solution that works is a good solution!

Cheers,