Make A Vise Stop Spacer Set Clamps & Vises

Here’s a “clone” of a very useful product. The Vise Rack Stop is so simple, you have to wonder why no one thought of it before. Basically, it is used with woodworking vises (such as my quick release vise) and prevents the jaw from closing when you clamp a board in one side. This stops the vise from being damaged and lets it hold the part more securely. The retail version is made from plastic with leaves that are 0.1″ thick, with a total thickness of 4″. I made mine from hardwood and it has a total thickness of 1-5/8″ – this is as much as I feel I’ll need, and should cover most common thicknesses of stock I’ll put in the vise.

Here’s a video of it being used:

To start, I cut some maple strips, 1-1/2″ wide and 1/4″ thick. One of these I cut the down to 1/8″ thick, for part of its length:

Prep the stock for the leaves.
Cut to length.

I then cut them to length, giving me seven pieces, one that is 1/8″ thick and six that are 1/4″ thick.

The ends of the leaves need to be rounded and I laid out the radius with my compass:

Radius laid out with the compass.

This is the compass that broke, but I made a hasty repair with a #6 machine screw. I’ve been meaning to make a wooden compass like this for smaller circles, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

With one cut and sanded smooth, I used it as a template to mark the others:

The first is used as a template.
All the parts ready for assembly.

Cut out, sanded and a 1/2″ hole drilled through. The leaves pivot around a 1/2″ dowel, cut on my dowel maker.

The set finished:

The set complete.

I drilled a hole through the centre of the dowel for the string to hang it conveniently next to the vise.

In place, beside the vise.