Basic ad-vise

[Bas]

I'm building a workbench, sort of a hybrid between two PWW designs - the slab from one and the frame from another. So far, I have about 20 hours into the 24-hour bench, and I'm halfway done :eusa_whis

I purchased a large front vise from Lee Valley, and want to mount it on the shoulder (as in the first design). The 24-hour workbench plan calls for a 6" vise jaw, which seems rather large.

Questions:
- My slab is 3" thick. Do I need to add some material underneath the bench and make the bench jaw face the same height (6") as the vise jaw? This seems logical, but I saw this picture which suggests it's not required. If so, is glue (long grain to long grain) sufficient, or should I add some fasteners?
- The bench is 24" x 65". Any pros/ cons to using a 5" vise jaw instead of 6"?
- The lumber used in the vise jaw typically has a nice rounded profile. Is this for aesthetics only, or is there a something functional involved?

Thanks!

Bas.

 

[Travis Porter]

IMO, you don't have to add the material under the slab. You can, but it means you have to drill holes through this material which can be a job. You do want the vise jaw to be thick enough to easily enclose the screw and tubes so you do need it thicker. The bench jaw face and vise jaw on my bench is 4 3/4" which is enough to enclose the tubes and such without a problem. Glue is more than sufficient to hold the vise jaw together. As for the rounding, it is cosmetic, but it is nice to do. Adds a professional touch in my opinion. Downside is it takes one big router bit to do it. I used a 1 1/2" radius bit on mine.

If it is something you want to do, you are welcome to come by and borrow my bit or bring your block and we can route it in my shop.

 

[cpowell]

Are you using one of these front vises? http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,41659,41661,31137&p=31137

I looked at the instructions. I would make a 6 inch wide rear jaw and 6 inch vise jaw...if you have already cut a 5 inch vise jaw then make the rear jaw 5 inches. If you don't want to reduce the jaw opening capability with a rear jaw then glue on a piece below the bench. No fasteners needed either way - just glue. When it gets marred up enough to bother you just clean with a hand plane.

If you are asking about shimming the vise to obtain a good workable throat depth...I did. I added a 1/2 inch shim to give me a 4 inch throat depth. More clamping surface, right?

I glued on a front apron to my bench, same depth as my vise jaw, and added round dog holes in the apron face just to help support when working with long stock. The apron isn't necessary, I just liked the way it looked. As far as support, there are a lot of different ways to skin that cat.

I added a roundover on my vise jaws without a thumbnail. I marked the curve, BSed it out, Cleaned with belt sander then hand sanded until smooth. Quick and easy. I did NOT have a 1.5 inch roundover bit...that would be TOO easy. :lol: :lol: :lol:


Chuck

 

[4yanks]

I have the same vise that Chuck has a link to in his post. It will add a little more work, but I would put an apron around your slab. My apron is 4 1/2", the vise jaws are 6". This will allow you to clamp the full height of the vise jaw which can be helpful when clamping stock vertically. Additionally the apron will allow you to clamp stock to the apron face; if you're jointing a long piece of stock, or laying out dovetails for example. I shaped the round-overs on the vise face with rasps, files and sanding

 

[Travis Porter]

OK, so I took the easy way out with the 1 1/2 radius round over bit.:lol:

 

[Bas]

Travis, thanks for the offer, but I think I'll go the bandsaw route and finish with some handtools. A roundover bit would look far too professional

I'm not sure how large a vise jaw I need, three inches of effective workspace (=thickness of slab) seems reasonable, but bigger is probably better. But, extending the bench side of the jaw would be more work as you pointed out.

Bas.

 

[Bas]

Yup, that's the vise I got - the large edition. I re-read the instructions that came with the vise, and it's beginning to make sense now (thanks Chuck, Travis & Willie! :eusa_clap).

I don't want to add an apron, but adding a little material under the workbench seems like a good idea, along with a spacer to increase the throat depth. The rods and screw eat up a significant amount, so a 6" tall jaw is only usable for 4 1/4" or so.

Minor problem - I put a couple of coats of BLO on the slab, so that I could use it to glue up the stock for the frame :eusa_doh::eusa_doh::eusa_doh:. Yellow glue doesn't stick all that well to BLO, so adding the extension on the bottom is going to be a challenge. Maybe time to mix some epoxy...

Bas.

 

[Bas]

Nice looking bench! I'll be happy if I can get mine to not fall over I think I'm sold on the larger vise, but not the apron. I've tried an apron before, and it always seemed to interfere with clamping pieces to the top. The 6" size looks like a winner.

Bas.