The Compass Rose Vise Block
Cutting joinery often means holding the wood with one side of the vise, leading to an uneven load. This causes many vises to "rack," pushing the jaws out of parallel, compromising the grip, and straining the vise. Traditionally, a "rack-stop" — a stack of shims on a dowel — has been the only solution. Unfortunately, rack-stops are fiddly and inconvenient. They need to be reset for every thickness of stock, they fall out of the vise, and they’re easy to misplace.
Compass Rose Toolworks has reimagined this tool with the Vise Block. Instead of the traditional stack-of-shims, our Vise Block is crafted from a single piece of high-strength plastic and its stair-step design is made for the hand tool shop.
The Vise Block is easy to use. Just close your vise until it almost touches your work, slide the Vise Block into place until it stops, and tighten the vise. That’s it.
If you need to reset for a different stock thickness, slide the Vise Block out while you change pieces. The block has an integrated “shelf” that sits on the bench and won’t fall off. Place your new workpiece in the vise, slide the Vise Block over, and retighten. It automatically adjusts to the new stock—you don’t even need to know how thick it is. There’s nothing to measure or adjust. Ever.
The Compass Rose Vise Block has channels cast into it, so dust and shavings fall through and don’t collect on top. It has an integrated hang-hole, so you can hang it anywhere. It’s bright-white, so you won’t throw it away by accident, and it’s unbreakable under normal shop conditions. This design is so unique, we’ve patented it.
Vise Blocks are 3D Printed in our Cleveland Workshop from PETG plastic on top-of-the-line Bambu printers. PETG is UV, temperature, and solvent resistant and won’t degrade over time. Our new manufacturing process guarantees greater precision and uniformity while virtually eliminating defects.
Designed to be compatible with both shop-made and commercial vises, the Compass Rose Vise Block ensures a steady grip and reduces strain on your vise. Try it and we’re sure you’ll never go back to a shop-made rack-stop. This one is so much better.
Made in the USA.
Patent Pending.
Cutting joinery often means holding the wood with one side of the vise, leading to an uneven load. This causes many vises to "rack," pushing the jaws out of parallel, compromising the grip, and straining the vise. Traditionally, a "rack-stop" — a stack of shims on a dowel — has been the only solution. Unfortunately, rack-stops are fiddly and inconvenient. They need to be reset for every thickness of stock, they fall out of the vise, and they’re easy to misplace.
Compass Rose Toolworks has reimagined this tool with the Vise Block. Instead of the traditional stack-of-shims, our Vise Block is crafted from a single piece of high-strength plastic and its stair-step design is made for the hand tool shop.
The Vise Block is easy to use. Just close your vise until it almost touches your work, slide the Vise Block into place until it stops, and tighten the vise. That’s it.
If you need to reset for a different stock thickness, slide the Vise Block out while you change pieces. The block has an integrated “shelf” that sits on the bench and won’t fall off. Place your new workpiece in the vise, slide the Vise Block over, and retighten. It automatically adjusts to the new stock—you don’t even need to know how thick it is. There’s nothing to measure or adjust. Ever.
The Compass Rose Vise Block has channels cast into it, so dust and shavings fall through and don’t collect on top. It has an integrated hang-hole, so you can hang it anywhere. It’s bright-white, so you won’t throw it away by accident, and it’s unbreakable under normal shop conditions. This design is so unique, we’ve patented it.
Vise Blocks are 3D Printed in our Cleveland Workshop from PETG plastic on top-of-the-line Bambu printers. PETG is UV, temperature, and solvent resistant and won’t degrade over time. Our new manufacturing process guarantees greater precision and uniformity while virtually eliminating defects.
Designed to be compatible with both shop-made and commercial vises, the Compass Rose Vise Block ensures a steady grip and reduces strain on your vise. Try it and we’re sure you’ll never go back to a shop-made rack-stop. This one is so much better.
Made in the USA.
Patent Pending.
Cutting joinery often means holding the wood with one side of the vise, leading to an uneven load. This causes many vises to "rack," pushing the jaws out of parallel, compromising the grip, and straining the vise. Traditionally, a "rack-stop" — a stack of shims on a dowel — has been the only solution. Unfortunately, rack-stops are fiddly and inconvenient. They need to be reset for every thickness of stock, they fall out of the vise, and they’re easy to misplace.
Compass Rose Toolworks has reimagined this tool with the Vise Block. Instead of the traditional stack-of-shims, our Vise Block is crafted from a single piece of high-strength plastic and its stair-step design is made for the hand tool shop.
The Vise Block is easy to use. Just close your vise until it almost touches your work, slide the Vise Block into place until it stops, and tighten the vise. That’s it.
If you need to reset for a different stock thickness, slide the Vise Block out while you change pieces. The block has an integrated “shelf” that sits on the bench and won’t fall off. Place your new workpiece in the vise, slide the Vise Block over, and retighten. It automatically adjusts to the new stock—you don’t even need to know how thick it is. There’s nothing to measure or adjust. Ever.
The Compass Rose Vise Block has channels cast into it, so dust and shavings fall through and don’t collect on top. It has an integrated hang-hole, so you can hang it anywhere. It’s bright-white, so you won’t throw it away by accident, and it’s unbreakable under normal shop conditions. This design is so unique, we’ve patented it.
Vise Blocks are 3D Printed in our Cleveland Workshop from PETG plastic on top-of-the-line Bambu printers. PETG is UV, temperature, and solvent resistant and won’t degrade over time. Our new manufacturing process guarantees greater precision and uniformity while virtually eliminating defects.
Designed to be compatible with both shop-made and commercial vises, the Compass Rose Vise Block ensures a steady grip and reduces strain on your vise. Try it and we’re sure you’ll never go back to a shop-made rack-stop. This one is so much better.
Made in the USA.
Patent Pending.