A Medley of Moxons

[jimi43]

Over the last few weeks there seems to be a larger awakening of the work of this genius, stimulated by some excellent examples coming from the Coates workshop in Kent and my beautiful Secret Santa book from Mark.

I mentioned that my Mk1 Coates Moxon vice was back for a bit of tuning and imagine my surprise when a huge red sack appeared on Christmas Day containing what I thought was said vice....only to find it had transmuted into an EVO 3!!!

I have been privileged to watch the evolution of this excellent version of Moxon's design over the last few years and been party to discussions on how it could be bettered.

I can see that many of the improvements discussed as a result of using the earlier versions have been incorporated into this version from the superb sliding dovetails in the uprights....

....to the perfectly cut screws...

..with the added screw grips to aid in tightening and rapid release, and the beautifully turned and contrasting knobs on the main boss....

The faces have been improved with fine hardwood laminates and added leather on one place to provide a soft surface to prevent work bruising....

As Adam mentioned in the SS thread...one of the most useful features of this vice is the "V" cut for holding round items...

...something I use all the time.

Now that I have the instruction manual....

...I fully intend to look into some of the old working practices to get the best from this masterpiece...although this could take some time...

...as I came across the mention of the word BEVIL...so I need to start a thread on sharpening to investigate this finer points in the rounding off of these!!!! :twisted:

Testing of the new version has already started with my assistant doing the required "sniff" test....

There have been a lot of fine improvements of the original version and I think that Joseph would approve of the excellent work from the Coates Workshop....

Cheers

Jimi

 

[MARK.B.]

Testing of the new version has already started with my assistant doing the required "sniff" test....


Crikey you were lucky your assistant decided to do the sniff test instead of the water resistance test :wink:

Thats a lovely looking vice you have got and i'm in no way shape or form jealous at all

 

[MickCheese]

Don't know how I missed this one.

That looks really beautiful and very functional.

Mick

 

[Fromey]

Nice. When do they go into production for sale?

 

[condeesteso]

Sorry Fromey, missed this one with all the excitement elsewhere
I don't think these will get as far as production, not by me at least. Basically they are too labour-intensive to make - there would be economies if I ever batch-produced them but I do them for fun once in a while - very odd notion of fun I know. I'm still using my original one, nowhere near as pretty as the latest 2 but works fine... cobbler's shoes.
If I were ever to do these seriously I would want to invest in better thread cutting, partly to get a far coarser pitch. If I decide to do that (the thread cutting part) i'll mention it somewhere here of course.
Pleased you like it, many thanks.

 

[SteveF]

does that mean we can't actually have \ buy one of these?
they are a work of beauty and I can see that not a quick make

some people would pay for your skilled labour

Steve

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Hooray - Alfie's back in action ( ) - and the vice is a bit of a stunner, too!

One of the problems with 'workshop appliances' is that everybody's requirements vary so much. Finding a design that satisfies all requirments would be impossible, and making a range that covered most needs would be logistically fraught in a small production run environment. I wonder if it would be better for individual workers to 'furnish their own equipment' as used to be said in the old days. Douglas's Moxon is a pretty strong inspiration, though....

 

[Corneel]

Nice piece of kit. A moxon vise is on my list of things to do some day. I like that v-cut because round things are often a pain to clamp.

I wonder about the uprights. What is the function of these?

 

[AndyT]

I wonder about the uprights. What is the function of these?

They let you raise the work up off the bench to a height where you can see it and cut it without bending down.
Ideal for those of us 'of riper years'.

 

[jimi43]

Nice piece of kit. A moxon vise is on my list of things to do some day. I like that v-cut because round things are often a pain to clamp.

I wonder about the uprights. What is the function of these?

To clamp the vice in your bench vice......

That is V1 and a bit!

Jim

 

[Corneel]

Aha, I understand now. Thanks.

 

[condeesteso]

Back again! Steve, following your comment I am actually considering doing a short run (6 maybe) soon.
Re Cheshire, fair comment indeed but the latest ones I made had evolved to definite dimensions etc which I believe work for most: fits any 9" face vice, keeps max space between legs, enough capacity 3" approx... these are really for cabinet-making, tool makers, box makers etc. I tried some bigger once but I don't think that is what they are best at. I do happen to have a big twin-screw face vice so I am spoiled for capacity anyway, and also a real twin-screw convert.
There are easy ways to surface clamp Corneel (or a simple design mod my end) but I use mine a lot, always in the main vice - and the really good bit is varying the height to suit whatever. It's not just about saving the back, it gives you a completely different point-of-view of the workpiece and your actions on it.
Anyway, if interested please pm me, and in fairness to the forum if I decide to proceed I shall place a paid for ad in some way.

 

[jimi43]

This shot on the V1 gives you some idea of how the workpiece can be raised to a comfortable working height....

An added feature is the automatic shaving collector seen here on the right.... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Jimi

 

[tobytools]

This shot on the V1 gives you some idea of how the workpiece can be raised to a comfortable working height....

An added feature is the automatic shaving collector seen here on the right.... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Jimi

That's a awesome shaving collector
TT