sign in sign up
<<
Home , Countersink, Straightedge, Vise

Installing a Bench Give your the holding power it deserves.

By Craig Bentzley

Let’s face it; a workbench This is the best approach for above. Regardless of the type of without is basically just an a face vise, because the entire mounting, have your vise(s) in assembly table. Vises provide the length of a board secured for hand before you start so you can muscle for securing edge work will contact the bench determine the size of the spacers, for , sawing, routing, edge for support and additional jaws, and hardware needed for and other tooling operations. clamping, as shown in the photo a trouble-free installation. Of the myriad commercial models, the venerable Record vise is one that has stood the Vise Locati on And Selecti on test of time, because it’s simple A vise’s locati on on the bench determines what it’s called. to install, easy to operate, Face vises are att ached on the front, or face, of the bench; end and designed to survive vises are installed on the end. The best benches have both, generations of use. Although but if you can only aff ord one, I’d go for a face vise initi ally. it’s no longer in production, Right-handers should mount a face vise at the far left of the several clones are available, bench’s front edge and an end vise on the end of the bench including the Eclipse vise, which at the foremost right-hand corner. Southpaws will want to I show in this article. Similar do the opposite. When retrofi tti ng an existi ng bench, make vises may differ in features, sure the vise mechanism won’t interfere with the bench but attachment is similar. legs. Shift the top if necessary to accommodate the vise. Here, I’ll show you two Because a face vise is used for general work as well as for planing edges, I recommend investi ng in a larger vise (at least a simple approach, perfectly 10"). Since it’s primarily used in tandem with bench dogs to appropriatemounting options. for an endThe visefirst is secure boards for face-planing, a smaller end vise should 1 application. The second involves suffi ce. I prefer a small (7") model, because its dog is only 3 ⁄2" from the front edge of the bench, which is convenient for with the edge of the bench. clamping workpieces for face-planing and other operati ons. recessing the rear jaw flush 50 woodcraftmagazine.com June/July Front jaw

Rear jaw Connecti ng bracket Spacer Wooden blocks cheeks Roll pin A B Washer the through-holes on the back of the rear Install the vise with washers and lag that project jaw to allow att aching the cheek with fl athead screws. through clearance holes in the two spacer blocks.

Simple mounti ng To calculate the size of the Sandwich the blocks between the The easiest installation entails cheeks, measure the rear jaw’s bracket and the bench, trace the making spacer blocks to set the bearing surface and add enough locations of the mounting holes, tops of the metal jaws below the to the cheek width so that it and clearance holes through 1 bench surface while screwing extends about 8" above the the spacers. or glue the the vise to the underside of a bench surface when⁄ installed. spacers in place, and then attach bench. To begin, drive the roll Next, make both cheeks the size the vise to the top, using the 3 3 pin from the end of the vise of the rear cheek, using 4"-thick longest possible 8" lag screws. screw, remove the connecting . Countersink ⁄the holes Reattach the connecting⁄ bracket and the front jaw, in the rear jaw (Photo A), bracket, washer, and roll pin. and then degrease the vise and then attach the rear cheek After turning the benchtop of its protective coating. upright, hand- the To determine the thickness and the front cheek with tops of the wooden cheeks of your spacer blocks, place the roundheadwith flathead screws and screws washers. rear jaw upside down on the Make your spacer block(s). inverted benchtop and measure (Use two for an end vise to flush to the benchtop. how much the top of the jaw provide dog clearance.) Plane Tip Alert projects beyond the underside. them to your determined Disassembling a vise isn’t 1 Add to that 4" for a 7" vise, or thickness, and size them in length necessary for installati on, 1 2" for a 10" ⁄vise. (The former and width to suit the mounting but it facilitates cleaning is⁄ necessary for better dog hole surfaces on the rear jaw and mounti ng. height on the smaller vise.) bracket, as shown in Photo B.

Drilling Dog Holes Because most vises include an integral dog, it makes sense to incorporate a row of dog holes into your benchtop. Most commercially 3 available dogs fi t ⁄4"-diameter holes, which need to be drilled precisely perpendicular to the benchtop. Make a drill guide block from 2"-thick 3 stock, boring out the centered ⁄4"-diameter hole on the drill press. Glue the block to a hooked standoff that registers against the edge of your bench as shown in the photo. (Make sure to align the hole with the dog on your vise.) Draw a centerline down the rear face of the block for positi oning reference. Use a to lay out the dog hole locati ons on the bench, spacing them 6" apart starti ng from the end of the bench. To drill each hole, align the ’s centerline with its dog hole layout line, and the jig to the bench with a backup 3 board underneath. Then bore out the hole with a ⁄4" brad-point bit.

Photos: Paul Anthony June/July 2011 woodcraftmagazine.com 51 Figure 1: Elevation of Flush Mounted Vise Rear jaw cheek

Front jaw cheek Rear cheek filler Dog Rear jaw Benchtop

1 ⁄2"

Front jaw Spacer block Connecting bracket

Roll pin

Washer

Quick-release Align edge of cheeks mechanism with jaw projection.

Flush-Mount of the jaw plus 1". The depth previous crosscut (Photo C), and should equal the thickness 3 offers the most versatility, but of the rear jaw plus 4". Make a hardwood spacer block A flush-mounted face vise then finish up with a handsaw. it requires more work to install. Make the crosscut⁄ into the thick enough to locate the top of 1 (As with the previous method, benchtop edge with a . the vise jaws 2" below the top handling is easier with the Then clamp a to the of the bench, measuring⁄ in the vise disassembled.) First, lay bench to guide a circular to same manner as explained for out the notch in the benchtop. cut the length of the notch. Rip a simple mounting. Trace the Its length should be the width the notch until you intersect the jaw’s outline and its screw holes

Crosscut D C Attach the spacer block Guide a along a secured straightedge to with lag screws through rip the length of the notch up to the crosscut. counter-bored holes.

52 woodcraftmagazine.com June/July 2011 onto the spacer. Next, mark out holes for four screws to attach the spacer block to the benchtop, locating them so they won’t interfere with the vise mounting screws. Drill the 7 and 16"-diameter through-holes in the⁄ spacer block on the drill press. Center the block along the width of the notch, with the E F the front. Clamp the block in Glue the U-shaped cheek filler to Attach the rear cheek with #10 3 place,edges andof each then aligned attach flush it to theat a piece of ⁄4"-thick stock to make flathead woodscrews after benchtop with lag screws and the rough-sized rear cheek. countersinking the holes in the jaw. washers, as shown in Photo D. To make the wooden cheek holes on the rear jaw and attach roundhead woodscrews, the cheek as shown in Photo F. reassemble the vise, and turn the thickness of the jaw. Using a Position the vise on the spacer the benchtop over. Hand- hardwoodfor the rear board jaw, first that’s measure at least block with the cheek nestled in 1" wider than the jaw’s height, its notch. Mark and drill pilot the benchtop (Photo H). My plane it to the jaw’s thickness. holes, and attach the vise with planebench thehad cheeks radiused flush edges, with Then trace the shape of the rear washers and lag bolts (Photo G). so I chiseled away the sharp jaw onto the board, aligning Use a straightedge to ensure the point at the corner of the the bottom edges as shown in cheek. Finally, apply a couple Figure 1, and allowing an extra edge of the bench. If it’s proud, 3 4" or so at each end. Crosscut levelface of it thewith jaw a hand is flush plane. with the all raw wood surfaces. n of coats of wipe-on finish to the⁄ piece and the Make the front cheek, and interior to make the U-shaped attach it with washers and

3 4"-thick stock of similar cheek filler. Then glue it to size,⁄ as shown in Photo E. About Our Author Trim the cheek assembly to Craig Bentzley has been restoring antiques rough width on the tablesaw, and building furniture for nearly 40 years. 5 8" wide at In addition to writing, Craig also teaches at guilds, ⁄ shows, and at Woodcraft stores. leavingbenchtop the notch. filler Countersinkabout the the top. Then crosscut it to fit the

G H Snug the rear jaw assembly firmly in place Plane the cheeks level to the benchtop, and while tightening the lag screws. relieve any sharp corners with a (inset).

Illustrations: Melanie Powell June/July 2011 woodcraftmagazine.com 53