The Newest Tool from Compass Rose
Added 2024-03-16 11:00:06 +0000 UTCFriends:
It's New Tool Day here at the shop. But we didn't buy a new tool; we made one.
For years, I've been frustrated by "affordable" vises. They're fine for most things, but when you need to cut joinery--especially dovetails--they just don't grip well enough. These vises "wrack." The jaws can't stay parallel, and they actually loosen the more you tighten the vise. It will make you crazy.
The obvious solution is the "wrack-stop," a little stack of shims on a dowel. These shop-made devices work just fine, but they're fiddly and time-consuming. They're also easy to throw away. I've wanted to make something better for a long time.
Well, after a year of development, Compass Rose has created a much better solution: the Vise Block. It's a solid piece of urethane in a stair-step shape that slides right into your vise and holds it parallel while you work on almost any size stock. It's got an integrated hang-hole, bright white color, and it's nearly indestructible. You're not going to break it or lose it. (Well, you might lose it, but we made that difficult.)
We've made a short video showing off our new tool and of course, it's early access and has exclusive Patron details. If you decide your vise needs a little help, you can get yours early and at a special Patron discount right here:
https://www.compassrosetools.com/store/p/vise-block
You can only access this tool through this exclusive link. It's not even visible to the public and it won't be until Wednesday, when the price goes up.
In the video, I also mention the User's Guide with free wrack-stop plans, and I've attached that guide to this post for your convenience.
Thanks to all of you for making these tools possible. We couldn't do it without you.
Happy Saturday!
--Rex
Comments
That's really gratifying to hear! I hope they both work out.
Rex Krueger
2024-03-22 17:10:24 +0000 UTCThanks so much for your support. I hope you like it!
Rex Krueger
2024-03-22 17:09:46 +0000 UTCThat's very nice of you!
Rex Krueger
2024-03-22 17:09:21 +0000 UTCI'm really glad you like it! Thank you!
Rex Krueger
2024-03-22 17:09:07 +0000 UTCNice! Bought it AND the planing stop you made recently. I’m really excited to try them out!
Mark H
2024-03-18 17:16:49 +0000 UTCOrdered it… great idea
The Super-wrench Garage
2024-03-18 12:42:12 +0000 UTCIngenuity at its best, well done on such a great tool. Love your work yet again.
Shane Thomas
2024-03-17 05:19:00 +0000 UTCWe only stand on that side so that the hand tools are used properly. 😁
Kirk von der Heydt
2024-03-17 00:09:11 +0000 UTC:-) I’ve got the fixed version, which I really like. But I’ve been known to do dumb things with hand planes from time to time, and a wooden stop is a little more idiot-friendly.
Alex R
2024-03-16 22:48:31 +0000 UTCThis is a very simple yet effective solution. The urethane casting production is a very affordable way to kickstart production without splurging on injection molding. Simply amazing.
LiraNuna
2024-03-16 22:37:08 +0000 UTCThat is very good point Kirk always forget about those who stand on the wrong side of the vice or golf ball 😁
Wayne
2024-03-16 22:19:57 +0000 UTCMakes sense, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Once I can get my mailing situation sorted out I'll order the real deal 🙂
Bas Vermeyden
2024-03-16 21:29:31 +0000 UTCYou understand exactly why we made this!
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:29:08 +0000 UTCWell, maybe this is the time to add a woodworking vise to your bench! Many mechanics of old had both.
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:28:47 +0000 UTCWe tried to make it work with the broadest set of benches possible. Now, if you have a problem with your wooden planing stop, I can recommend a good metal one that is VERY compatible with the Vise Block. You can see them playing nicely together in the video. (Just a thought!)
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:28:02 +0000 UTCGod, haven't we all been there?
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:26:42 +0000 UTCI'm so glad you think it will be useful!
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:26:21 +0000 UTCNo need to apologize! It's a perfectly reasonable question. In this case, since the tool is patented, I don't think we can sell the stl file. That would probably be seen as not defending our intellectual property. It's a drag, but we have to keep the patent alive on this.
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:25:55 +0000 UTCThat's nice to hear. I really have gotten frustrated with the shop-made wrack-stop. That's what drove this invention.
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:23:28 +0000 UTCNope, I'm going to barely break even! At least on this initial run of 300. If they really sell and we get to injection mold them, then it should be a success. Thank you for your kind words!
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:22:38 +0000 UTCI have some thoughts on benches you could make! Also, I think I've seen machinists and blacksmiths do just what you describe. They use a stack of shims and (sometimes) a keychain to hold them together.
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:21:28 +0000 UTCThat's so nice to hear. We hope it's a useful addition to your shop!
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:20:15 +0000 UTCThank you! We hope you enjoy using it.
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:18:24 +0000 UTC"Astonishingly expensive" is a good way to put it. I regret to say that we'll have to see a lot of demand to make a leftie version. BUT I'm just starting to learn about injection molding, so maybe it's easier than I realize. We certainly care about our left-handed users.
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:18:12 +0000 UTCI'm glad you think so. We certainly developed it for a long time.
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:16:04 +0000 UTCThank you! We hope you like it.
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:15:48 +0000 UTCAnd I appreciate you right back!
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:15:33 +0000 UTCYes! We would very much like the label to just be cast into the shape. It wasn't realistic for this process.
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:15:22 +0000 UTCWe're so glad that you like it! Thank you for ordering one!
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:14:29 +0000 UTCThank you!
Rex Krueger
2024-03-16 21:12:55 +0000 UTCRex, ordered it. I have a DIY version made using tongue depressors, but vise block will require less set up and will stay on the bench when changing to other board thicknesses.
Robert Judy
2024-03-16 17:53:50 +0000 UTCI'm sorry if that came across as insensitive
Bas Vermeyden
2024-03-16 17:05:30 +0000 UTCWhere I live it's a pain to get packages delivered, so a lot of the time I end up 3d printing or making the things I need. I was asking because I want to acknowledge the work Rex and his team put in to design this, that's all. If he doesn't want to that's fine.
Bas Vermeyden
2024-03-16 17:00:15 +0000 UTCBro …
Alex R
2024-03-16 16:54:38 +0000 UTCDang when you put out your teaser post to guess what you had developed, my first guess was a wrack stop but I thought it was coming down from the top not the side. That obviously would result being in the way of your plane as you stroked it back and forth. That surely wouldn’t work. It’s a cool design but I don’t have a wood vise. (I use a machinist vise. Sound familiar?) Oh heck I’ll buy one anyway. I can’t pass up a handmade tool made for hand tool woodworking. I can use it on that bench I keep telling myself I’ll build as my next project.
Richard C von Brecht
2024-03-16 16:49:05 +0000 UTCPerfect timing! I was on the verge of buying one from Lee Valley. The only downside to getting your version is that I’ll likely have to move or shorten my wooden planing stop. But that’s a very minor inconvenience.
Alex R
2024-03-16 15:33:14 +0000 UTCCould have used this six times the other day...rooting around in my scrap pile for a short enough chunk of the right thickness for the stock I was hand milling and the neck I was shaping. Hardly ever working with milled lumber and this will be great!
John Griswold
2024-03-16 15:13:39 +0000 UTCThis is a clever solution to a nagging annoyance I have with my wrack stop. Got mine on order as well.
Hal Songer
2024-03-16 14:34:56 +0000 UTCOut of curiosity, if the original for the mold was 3d printed, would you consider selling the stl file? Edit: I apologize if this came across as insulting or insensitive, that was not my intent
Bas Vermeyden
2024-03-16 14:12:19 +0000 UTCThe injection mold is astoundingly expensive. Hmmm I wonder if a partnership with Lee Valley would yield enough leftie customers to pay for that.
Meryl Logue
2024-03-16 14:03:17 +0000 UTCI purchased before even watching the video, because of all the things I dislike about my shop-made one. Then watched the video and yep. Yep. Yep. “Everything he says.”
Meryl Logue
2024-03-16 14:01:09 +0000 UTCNice. You are going to make a lot of money with this one!
Paul
2024-03-16 13:29:02 +0000 UTCBrilliant design, Rex - and I love that you made this first run yourself! Having a connection to the history and origin of any tool I use - no matter what the craft is - adds another layer of meaning to my work that is so satisfying. Also, thanks so much for the info about the old-fashioned wrack-stop, which I had never heard of. I'm new to woodworking, and don't even have a bench yet, let alone a woodworker's bench vise. However, I have been a metalworker / jewelry maker for many years, so I constantly use a regular bench vise - just like the one on the stand right behind you in the video. I frequently have to deal with wracking with my bench vise when I need to hold randomly sized and awkwardly shaped items. Now I know how to make a simple tool to solve that problem! Plus I can make something by combining two different crafts - absolutely one of my favorite things. Thanks so much! Edited to add: Just bought mine - now I just need a bench and a vise!
Laura Chalifoux
2024-03-16 13:11:03 +0000 UTCWhat a great idea! I love it! and of course, I ordered one right away.
Robert A Carbo
2024-03-16 12:32:37 +0000 UTCI bought one as well.
Michael Falbo
2024-03-16 12:21:35 +0000 UTCExcellent idea. Have ask though. Since you make them yourself are you planning on making a left-handed bench version?
Kirk von der Heydt
2024-03-16 11:58:02 +0000 UTCWhat ingenuity. That's great stuff Rex.
Sean McGown
2024-03-16 11:36:38 +0000 UTCbought it!
Koen de Boeve
2024-03-16 11:25:44 +0000 UTCGreat idea! Always appreciate you Rex.
Marco P. Lascari
2024-03-16 11:25:12 +0000 UTCI love the design. I wish I had a vise to use it on lol The only thing I would change would be to put the label in the mold before molding so it won't come off later. It would require a slightly different material for the label but having worked in the plastics industry and specifically on IML machines (In-Mold Labeling) I can say it's super durable. When you get molding them, hopefully it'll be an IML mold. And if it were to be made in Lawrence Kansas at Berry International, that would actually be made by the place I've done that work before. Just saying.
Dana LaBerge
2024-03-16 11:18:02 +0000 UTCSo cool and useful that I bought one.
mmgross144
2024-03-16 11:06:29 +0000 UTCBrilliant!
Jon Rost
2024-03-16 11:05:30 +0000 UTC
