Should faces for bench vises be hardwood or softwood, and why?
Seems to me like you would want a softwood, so it would
1. conform a little more to the object being clamped giving maximum surface area and thus maximum holding power
2. be as soft or softer than your project so as not to mar the project wood.
The downside is that the face will be torn up more frequently and need to be replaced occassionally...better that than damaging the work pieces.
oh, here's some opinions at sawmill crk
Seems to me like you would want a softwood, so it would
1. conform a little more to the object being clamped giving maximum surface area and thus maximum holding power
2. be as soft or softer than your project so as not to mar the project wood.
The downside is that the face will be torn up more frequently and need to be replaced occassionally...better that than damaging the work pieces.
oh, here's some opinions at sawmill crk
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