Reply To: Recommend vice or alternative
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I’ve been in your shoes, and had subjected myself to years of frustration, before discovering “Paul”. I’m still a “beginner” and the following has some opinionated comments, so ignore the rest if so inclined.
The 9″ eclipse following Paul’s advice has been the best purchase I’ve ever made for my tiny workspace — being stingy when it comes to tools purchase, I struggled for years with improvised plane stops, a small metal workers vice picked from scraps, awkward clamping of stock etc., and regret not fitting a good vice to start with. Having a solid workbench (which can be made cheap from construction-grade softwood) with a solid vice is the best place to spend money and effort when it comes to hand tools woodworking.
An old workmate still costs some money and I’ve never seen holdfasts cheap enough to justify, so I would strongly suggest to get a vice like the one Paul uses. Instead of the 9″ one, may be you could go for a 7″ one depending on the kind of projects you want to get into.
That said, I did make several things, though in a very frustrating way, using a small top mount vice picked up for $10, a few clamps, a cheap #4 that never worked well, a couple of chisels and a cheap saw. A sturdy workbench from spruce 2x4s was my first project, though.
I suppose record 050 is similar to Stanley 45. If so, holding small stock and have the fence clear always involves jugglery, at least for me. For pieces wider than ~2″, but thin to clamp directly in the vice, Paul’s “clamp in the vice” works well. But you need a vice for that. A holdfast will work if the piece is wide enough but I’ve never used one — too pricey in my books.
If you are beginner, a combination plane is not the best tool to practice with. Start with a decent #4 plane, a few chisels, a square, a saw and a couple of clamps. Make some dovetail boxes, practice mortise and tenon joints etc. That will tell you whether its worth spending time and money on a workbench, vice and some more tools.