Reply To: workbench
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Hey, nicely done, Lute. As far as the vise sizing is concerned, it shouldn’t be a problem having the top of the vise 21 mm lower than the bench top if you screw a strong board to each of the vise faces, with the top of these boards level with the bench top.
If these boards are pine, the pressure of clamping something at the top of the vice will probably break them. So use a hard wood. And it might be important to make it a full inch thick.
Another solution would be to chisel and route a 21 mm recess in the underside of the bench top to receive the vise and make it flush with the top when installed. Actually it would probably be better to size the recess (maybe 15 mm) so that the top of the vise comes a few mm below the bench top, then attach the hardwood pieces up to level with the top. This will keep you from accidentally hitting metal when planing and allow you to flatten the top in the future without having to adjust the vise position.