continuing new bench build

[Tom Bussey]

Again I am not a bug fan of Roubo type benches, I prefer the European style bench actually Mine is kind of modern because the top is in two pieces with a tool tray in the middle. I stated in an earlier post that someone on this forum said he didn't like the shoulder vise for hand cutting dovetails because he was forced to stand to far back. I thought he had something because I had to stand at an awkward angle when applying edging tape to a series plywood pieces so I shortened the screw 2 1/2 inches which really helped. Hear is a picture of my unfinished shoulder vise.

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And then he said that he likes using a moxon vise better. So I though why not incorporate one into the bench build because just trying to balance a vise while trying to clamp it can take three hands. so I did. Some pictures show the development . Yes with a little practice on can see square and level but I found I liked getting the board into the vise vertical also it really helped the square and level out. Also height is important when sawing. I found that my body liked keeping my elbow right around 90 degrees helped and I could get close enough that my body could get turned enough so that the swing of my arm could be at right angles to the work so that it did not have to compensate there either. pictures of development, leveling vise and using it.

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I show it with 3 screws but the middle one is used on pieces under 12 wide and removed when wider material is used. You can't see it or then but I have a key in two places in the vise so the board can be place against it for vertical and the middle one removed for wider stock. I know you are wondering about the hardware I made my own, that is why I have more that two.

So why am I posting this?

[Stew Denton]

Hi Tom,

Great Job!

(By the way you are posting it so folks like me who hope to eventually build a bench can get great ideas and also enjoy looking at what another craftsman has done and the level I hope to some day get to.) (you may not have known why you posted the pictures but I did!) I appreciate the post.

Thanks!

Stew

[Tom Bussey]

Thanks Stew for your reply.

Actually I didn't get to answer my question because I got called to supper and when that happens my wife has no sense of humor. And at that point it was either post it or loose it.

I posted it because of the dislikes of one person. It actually called my attention to his reason or complaints about a shoulder vise. I am fortunate in the fact I could shorten the screw. I know a lot can't. I also heard what he said about the moxon vise and I thought why not incorporate it into the bench top. I also drilled holes into the side so I could use my holdfasts I am just trying to pass on some information that maybe of some use to someone. I also bought some round stubby bench dogs to fit in the tail vise. and all of these address a problem I have run into at one time or another. My whole base is patterned from a picture of a large Shaker bench in a museum in MA. I even have tried to match its color.

I like to work all around my bench and I also posted about my left handed leg vise on the back side. I see a lot of posts about Roubo benches and I just want to point out that a person can do much or have much more with just a little extra thinking.
I encourage people not to dig in and defend. but to think outside the box.

[Frederick Skelly]

Very nice bennch Tom!

[Stew Denton]

Tom,

I think you raise some good points.

For me it will be some time before I build a bench.....shop has to come first, and Lord Willing that will happen within a year or so.

In the mean time, I think about a bench once in a while, well actually more than once in a while. I work on planks on saw horses, so having a real bench will be a major step up to improving my woodworking skills.

Seeing what other folks build helps in thinking about options. I will probably build more than one eventually, the first being one that I can use to do carpentry on after I retire, a portable bench, probably one something like Ken built. I can work on it until I build a main bench, and that one will be later, likely a European style bench. I may even work on the portable bench for quite a while, you never know. The one Ken built seems like a good choice, but I would prefer a standard vise over the leg vise.

I have a bench screw that would work well for a shoulder vise or a leg vise, that was my grandfathers. I would like to use it, but am thinking more about a standard vise than a leg vise or shoulder vise, so I don't know. I also have a small to medium size medium duty vise that was my dads, and it may go on the portable bench. The fact that they belonged to my dad and grandfather are the major factors in why I would use them. We will have to see how it works out. I may build a set up to test dads vise to see how well it will work, if it is heavy duty enough that is, for what I intend to use it for. The family link is a powerful factor.

Again, things like the type of vise or vises, etc. Lots to think about, and in my view thinking about the choices, etc. is part of the pleasure of finally building a bench.

At any rate, again, I am enjoying seeing your bench, and ones others build. As you go on with the build, I may have a question or two.

By the way, I should have recognized the basic shaker design, but didn't until you mentioned it.

Thanks again, and regards,

Stew

[James Pallas]

Looking great Tom. It nice to see someone build what they want and will fit how they work. I like the 3 screw Moxon. It makes no sense to me for someone to build a particular type of bench that doesn't fit the way they work and than relearn their work processes to fit the bench. I'm enjoying watching your bench build.
Jim

[michael langman]

I too like people who think outside the box Tom. Your bench is coming along great. I am glad you are posting the progress. As winter sets in I am getting back to my bench build. The tops are laminated and ready for the base. I am trying to make my bench better for me, so it may be a bit different then others.

[Tom Bussey]

The three screw Moxon is really a two screw one. the middle one stays out on big pieces and one of the end screws stay out for work under 12 inches.

I decided to put draws under my bench because I like the tools that I work with close at hand. The drawers on the right side of the are 25 inches wide on the inside of the drawer. I prefer to work with steel rules over a tape measure so when I pull open the top right drawer I have I have my 24 inch rules, 18 inch rules 12 and 6 right at my finger tips My squares and marking knife as well as my marking gage also fit in that drawer. I tried to make the drawer depth to fit what I was putting in it not the other way around.
Believe me I woke up in the middle of the night many times just thinking about what to put where. My hand planes are used mainly at the bench so they are also in a drawer on the right side toward the bottom. My worst case scenario is I have to walk around the other side to get a battery charger to charge a battery ( at the bench ) I have a 12 amp retractable reel drop cord over the center of my bench and a retractable air hose there as well. I guess you can see the drop cord in one of the pictures.

My advise to anyone making a bench is

I height is the most important. I even built a temporary one to get the height right. To low and it will give you back pain to high and you will used your arms instead of body weight. It is easier to lower than to raise a bench.

Size it to fit your shop not what the planes call for, Again I build a temp bench served for width and length as well as height.

Make it moveable. You won't see it in the casters they are removable.

I will try to get more pictures today

[Tom Bussey]

Other ways of using the bench besides just a flat surface. First is using an unfinished shoulder vise, Next is clamping long boards, because it is a split top it supports cutoffs. Using the leg vise and hold fast, Holdfast usage on leg side, obvious clamping long boards on bench top, Next is using shoulder vise and a round short bench dog in the tail vise to secure the long board. And lastly using the shoulder vise and a holdfast. One last note is I have not yet made the two sliding board jacks.

I need to finish the top yet and order 6 more drawer pulls. The top was going to get sanded today but my helper and long time friend fell on some stairs and is unavailable today so it has been postponed. It is hard to flatten two different pieces of the top and get them the same height so they were going to a local cabinet shop tp get flattened and sized. I can assure you that just getting the hickory tops to the condition they are in at the present was a lot of fun with a hand plane.

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[Tom Bussey]

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[James Pallas]

That is a very classy bench Tom. To have everything you want to do the work you want makes it very special.
Jim

[James Pallas]

Tom, The tail vice looks very good. Did you show any pictures of the construction? I looked back and did not see much. How did you do the guides and such?
Jim

[William Fretwell]

I like the way you try stuff before you build the final design. I have done the same, the extra work is most educational and gives you a much better sense of why it was necessary. Most people build very few benches (me included) so the extra time and effort along the way saves you living with mistakes for the rest of your life!

[Tom Bussey]

I got the bench tops sanded yesterday and now they are flat and the same thickness. Now I have to cut off and true up the ends of the top so I can put on the bread board ends. To do that I will have to remove the tail vise when I do that I will get some pictures so you can see what I did. It may take a little time because I have to get and stack wood for the winter and so on before it get really cold. So by that time I will probably start a tail vise post to answer James' question. My shop is not heated so the will be next spring before I can get to the wagon vise and actually finish the bench.