Bench vise

[beech1948]

Pete,
Thanks for pics and explanation.

I am in the process of finishing a bench..started 6 months ago...and am wondering about the top.

I have some 12"x 3" x 10ft finished beech planks. I was considering using two as you have done. Solid piece across front and rear with middle tool well..or not.

Have you found that there is any significant movement of your large bench top pieces. Thats my worry especially as beech has a reputation for quite sever movement. Or does the mass of the pieces keep them level.

regards
alan

 

[Shady]

Mass will not keep them from moving (in some ways, it can make it worse - the wood is 'stronger' relative to fastenings than a thinner piece). There are 2 movement problems you might have: seasonal expansion/contraction of the beech across the grain, and cupping/warping. The first is addressable with slotted screwholes etc, the second is more of a problem for a bench. Best bet is to bring the raw stock into the intended workshop, and leave it there to season for as long as you can. Then dimension it to remove any warp/cup/bow, and go from there.

FWIW, I went ruthless with myself on this front, and used a solid lumber core fireproof door blank ripped in half lengthwise and then glued/lagbolted together: gave me a 5" thick totally stable deadweight flat bench top. Edged with cherry to hide the core, it ain't pretty, but it's bombproof and I can dance on it (at 15 stone) without deforming it...

 

[Pete W]

Alan,
I'm not sure that your message was correctly addressed to me - I'm afraid I've posted no pics (to my lasting shame) since I joined this most excellent forum.

As indicated in an earlier post, my bench was bought pre-manufactured. I'm not even sure what it's made of, but if I had to guess I'd say something maple-ish. Had it for about three years and I've seen nothing to suggest any movement in the top. Whatever it is, it's multiple side-on laminations of 2x1-inch stock.

And while we're on the subject, kudos to Axminster tech support who today (Saturday) e-mailed me a pdf of the complete Review magazine containing the vice installation article I mentioned before. Probably not as useful as Bugbear's pointer to the vice-installation tip, but pretty good support anyway. The more I do business with Axminster, the more I like them...