I have been shaping a semi-inletted Krag stock... so figured it was now time to get out the Stockmaker's vise and finally mount it on my bench. Now that is done, I was wondering what material to use for the (wood) jaw faces - leather, natural rubber or composite vinyl?(I have some ~ 3/32" thick that has some sort of webbing inside - was an anti-static technician's mat at one time)... or something else? One of my gunsmith friends has a Kimball vise with polyurethane facing on the jaws.

Was wanting to see what are the favorite materials with folks on this forum that routinely shape stocks before plunging ahead...

Thanks again - Jeff P

I made a set of jaws out of ash and then glued 9/10 oz. leather to each piece. Trimmed the works back to the factory jaw shape and screwed them on. It does what I need it to and I do not want anything else.

Marc,
For those of us who haven't bought leather in quite a while, what does 9/10 oz leather translate to in thickness? I have a piece of pigskin suede that I was thinking of using if I can just locate it.

Jeff P

Don't know the thickness-all the leather I have ever bought was sold in a 2 oz. weight catagories. It is probably .150-.180" or so. Defintely over 1/8" thick. I used leather from a "double shoulder." It is also what I use to make sheaths out of, as it is very tough. Pigskin is WAY too thin for me. I use that for recoil pads, but vise jaws in this application need to "give" or you will dent the wood, mar a surface, or whatever.

In my stock vise-the one where both jaws swivel-I just have the one set of jaws. For my bench vise, I have the plani steel jaws, as well as "inserts" made of ash and ash coated with 9/10 oz leather. What I am working on determines what are the proper jaws.

If for some reason I could not use leather, I would use cork glued to ash.

Thanks Marc & Chuck,
The "pigskin" (may not be the correct term?) I was referring to is very heavy (over 1/8" and split at that) so sounds like it ought to work fine. I have no idea from where it came on the hog. I remember it being tough to cut (more so than latigo) because it was so sinewy ...back in the old days when I was tooling leather.
Regards,
Jeff Pfeifer

Thanks guys... Mission accomplished!

I found that pig leather I was looking for and also the contact cement... Git er done has prevailed!
da Krag in the vise

Now I need to figure out which Decelerator buttpad will it be Red or Brown? Wanting a vintage look...
with Red pad...
or Brown one?

The journey continues...
Jeff P

red

Take a look at Brownell's vise jaw inserts. I have a pair of the red ones that have been in the vis continuously for over19 years and the only wear they show is from the propane torch. (Don't ask) I have used them to hold all of my custom stocks with no damage.

Chuck I agree with you... My personal vote is for the Red buttpad as well... I think it looks nice with the maple. It is a bit more muted in color in real life than what that picture shows.

Jeff P