Review on Jorgensen 40709 Woodworkers Vise: Enhance Your Woodworking Projects with Superior Precision by Alex Montgomery

This vise from Jorgensen has great features and a good level of fit and finish. The included mounting template was spot on, possibly fixed after other reviewers complained about it. However, I had a major design issue when installing it. I never thought that the toe-in would be done entirely on the fixed jaw portion of the vise for a better grip. The moving jaw is machined almost exactly at 90 degrees to the guide rods, while the fixed jaw is approximately 1/16 inch from the bed, bottom to top, of the machined surface. This is clearly visible when the vise mounting surface is pressed directly against the underside of the table and the end cap screws are installed correctly. This causes 2 annoying problems. First, the clamped object deviates from the table surface in the compressed jaws. For example, a board that is clamped at the edges is not at a 90-degree angle to the table surface. All edging or joinery work must have a clear slope towards the user. Second, my plan to incorporate a solid surface into the bench's profile and create a continuous jaw that emerges through the edge of the bench was completely foiled. This would eliminate the convergence function entirely and would require an angular relief in the table top slot. None of the problems would have arisen if the toe had been on the movable jaw, as I expected. What a stupid approach for a company as big as Jorgensen.