My new workbench WIP

[mpooley]

I think your right about the vice but i dont know if i can be bothered

I have never hit it before :roll: :wink:

Mike

 

[DaveL]

not sure if i did right fitting the face over the vice like this as the oak is very thin there?

Now that is not how I would have done it. My bench has a solid top, I routed a slot for the back jaw of the face vice to slide up into. I left the top of the jaws below the surface of the bench, if you look here you can see the build thread.

Just noticed the date on that thread I cannot believe I have had the bench in the shop for 4 years, must of been enjoying myself.

 

[mpooley]

not sure if i did right fitting the face over the vice like this as the oak is very thin there?

Now that is not how I would have done it. My bench has a solid top, I routed a slot for the back jaw of the face vice to slide up into. I left the top of the jaws below the surface of the bench, if you look here you can see the build thread.

Just noticed the date on that thread I cannot believe I have had the bench in the shop for 4 years, must of been enjoying myself.

AH Well! I did sorta mean to do it like that but

I was thinking of putting another board over the present one to double its thickness and to create the slot for the top of the sliding deadman.

don't know whether its worth it tho :?

oak isnt cheap :shock:

 

[Boz62]

I like Dave's way of doing it. Assuming one has a router big enough for a deeeeep slot like that .

However building it up like you Mike is more my sort of level. Adding the extra layer on the front sounds a good idea - I did this when testing the deadman thing on my old bench. It worked surprisingly well, and also meant it was easy to change/line/modify the deadman slot as I tried things.

Go on, hang the expense, you know you want to :wink:

Boz

 

[mpooley]

Ok :?

I have been mulling this over and I think left to my own devices, lazyness and tightness would have won

I must remember to put all my projects on here; i might end up up doing them properly out of shame :shock: LOL

I happen to have a very large chunk of 25mm oak still left over and as that was my original intention I will use it
(am I alone in wanting to keep all nice bits of timber for some imaginary job in the future? )

thanks :?

No honestly
thanks

 

[Boz62]

I think I'm going to learn from you Mike - not put any projects up till after I've finished them
And yes - I have a small store of decent wood that never gets used as there is always something better to use it for - one day...

Well done
Boz

 

[mpooley]

another question -

how thick should the deadman be?

what does the panel think ?

thanks for your input


Mike

 

[Boz62]

I used 18mm ply for my test one and it was "adequate" with Axy dogs, but would be better thicker. Chris Schwarz uses 1-1/4", with a 5/8" thick tongue 1-1/2" long at the top, in the "Workbenches" book. I suspect anything over 25mm would do?

Boz (who gives his age away by mixing his units)

 

[mpooley]

Ok I Have made a little progress

I have accepted and acted upon all advice given (just so I can blame you if it goes wrong :wink: )

I sunk the vice down and covered the top plus I added the new face to thicken it all up and added the rebate for the deadman and an overly thick vice face :?

I then dry biscuit jointed the two tops

and fitted a sort of breadboard end out of Douglas fir and drilled the holes in the top (all of them at different angles just for fun

Mike

 

[OPJ]

There's nothing wrong with a chunky vice jaw - that only gives it more strength for cramping with bench dogs!

 

[Boz62]

Oh wow! Like it Mike. That looks really good

Is the dry biscuiting a permanent solution, just for alignment? (sorry, the only biscuits I've ever used are sweet, crunchy and very addictive). How is the worktop fixed - coach bolts from below?

I'll be interested in how useful you find the wagon vice in practice. I like the look of yours so I'm trying to build a space into my design so that one can be retrofitted if needs be. (I'm pricing up timber at the moment ).

Boz

 

[mpooley]

Thanks

I dry biscuited the top for two reasons :

firstly to allow it to be dissasembled if needed - its massivly heavy

secondly I havnt made a good job of jointing the meeting edges as I did my back in moving the back one, to and fro from to the vice so i will at some future point :roll: when i have some help. make a proper job of it.

I havn't really overdone the fixings as I want it to be able to move, so I used screws through the bench top supports with oversize holes and not many of them either :shock: I dont think it will be sliding about anytime soon though - :roll:

Mike

 

[Boz62]

Thanks Mike. Sorry to hear about the back problem.

OK, I understand. Yes, I think you have gravity on your side helping to keep the top stationary

Boz

 

[OPJ]

It is surprising how heavy these tops are one the vices are attached, isn't it! :shock: I haven't bothered to fix my top to the frame yet as I've found there's little chance of it moving anywhere on its own. I can plane, sand, scrape longer lengths and it won't budge. This also means I can 'overhang' the front edge (which was designed to be flush) when I want to clamp something on the edge. 8)

By the way, if anyone's after some inspirations for workbench designs, I came across this site last night. :wink:

 

[mpooley]

Hi

I have added the "deadman" and oiled and waxed the top now

also painted the vice a nice british racing green to match my planes

BTW the date is wrong on the camera

 

[Fergus]

Looks great 8)

 

[OPJ]

Wow! :shock: While I agree with oiling the top for general protection, I think adding the wax on top may be too much... I'm finding that even the finish from my third coat of Danish Oil is a little too slick when I want to clamp something on the face of the 'bench top. Working against the dogs doesn't seem to be a problem. Router matting slides about a bit as well. I'm now thinking about roughing the surface up a bit with my sander... :-k

 

[mpooley]

well yes i can see your point ! I added the wax to help get glue off - but it might be too much

I'll try it for a while and see how it works.

mike

 

[Boz62]

Excellent Mike, love the look of that. I do like the deadman . I also keep looking at your wagon vice and thinking...

Boz

 

[mpooley]

Excellent Mike, love the look of that. I do like the deadman . I also keep looking at your wagon vice and thinking...

Boz

Thanks it doesnt look bad does it considering its a refurb of an old bench

Well I have done some experimenting with the wagon vice and it seems to work perfectly.

I have never had any sort of tail vice to compare it with but it seems great to me

Not tried the deadman yet but it slides beautifully :shock:
Mike