This is a project that took on a mind of it's own. I had originally set out to simply build a small work area for assembly and general use. I was tired of working off a sheet of plywood balanced on sawhorses.
The bench is 31" (D) x 48" (L) x 33" (H). The top is two pieces of 3/4 MDF laminated together covered by a piece of hardboard nailed to the top with finish nails (easily replaceable). The legs, stretchers, etc. are 2x6 pine. No fancy joinery was used in assembly, although I did take care to square the frame and get a flat top. I used 4" deck screws in most areas and additionally reinforced with 3/8 lag bolts with lock washers and lock nuts. All of this lumber, hardware, etc. I already had on hand. The only thing I had to buy was the MDF and the hardboard.
She is solid and heavy, both of which I intended. It's not really meant to be mobile but could be lifted by two people.
So I was enjoying the fruits of my labor when I stumbled across the following web site:
http://www.angelfire.com/music2/construct/bnchthmb.html
So, I get inspired to add a face and end vise to my assembly table.
The vise beam (I'm not sure of the proper terminology) is composed of 4 pieces of pine in an I-beam construction with poplar on the front and back face. It is rock-solid, heavy and flat. The vise mechanism uses two 4' Pony pipe clamps. These I already had on hand and rarely use. The vise beam is screwed to the faces of the clamps with 4 2"x#10 screws. There are 3/4" dog holes drilled along the top of the beam.
Underneath the table, the adjustable clamp pads are locked in place between two ribs that support the top. A slight mortise was routed in one of these ribs to prevent the clamp pads from rotating.
For now, to extend the vise I temporarily attach a couple of quick grip clamps to the release mechanism on the pipe clamp pads.
Then it is easy to extend the vise out as far as I might want.
Then I can remove the quick grips and adjust the vise beam as much as appropriate for a gross adjustment. The twin clamp screws provide and additional 4" of inward adjustment for clamping down.
Finally, I drilled some dog holes in line with the vise along one side and I made some simple dogs out of 3/4 and 5/4 dowels. The holes are NOT evenly spaced in a couple of places to avoid the ribs. This is a consequence of lack of planing on my part, but doesn't affect use of the dogs.
I'll probably add some more dogs but for now I'm just happy to have a flat stable surface to work on.
.gif "Drogar Laugh(DBG)")
" I get knocked down but I get up again" - Chumbawamba 
The vise construction is awesome, that probably saved you $100. Those pipe clamps can really exert some pressure, so whatever you're locking down ain't going anywhere. Thanks for the detailed pics.
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