Putting a front vise on my tablesaw...er workbench

[Dale Coons]

I do a lot of assembly work using the top of my tablesaw for a workbench :eek:--eventually I'll build a real bench, but right now no time, place or funds. But I had a thought--I'd like to be able to practice dovetails and do small work and was wondering if anyone had attached a small vise or perhaps a removeable 'benchtop' on their tablesaw. Obviously wouldn't want to do any heavy pounding out on the wing, but wondered if there was some way to rig up a vise for sawing the ends of the boards or planing small peices on the 'free side' of the saw that doesn't have rails.

Anybody do anything like this, or is it just plain stoooopid?

[Jay Maiers]

I've been using one side of a face vice during dovetail practice. It works, but I like the Moxon idea a lot better. The downside: that thing has to be rock solid, and it's got to be fastened to your work surface correctly. Since you probably don't want to drill clamp holes in your saw table, perhaps you could use clamps at the front corners of the vise and a long caul resting on the vise base and clamped to the front / rear edges of your saw,


Your saw table may be a little high for hand planing, but "not ideal" is better than not at all :)
I'd drop a piece of masonite or MDF on top of the metal surface to keep your planes and other tools from hitting metal during a missed stroke or between boards. A couple of rails under this top-cover would allow you to hook it over one or two edges of the saw table, preventing movement in those directions (similar to a hand-plane shooting board or a bench hook). The other end could be secured with clamps, or you could adhere the thin, sticky style of shelf liner to the entire bottom to keep it from shifting while you work.


If this sounds like a bunch of gibberish, let me know and I'll try to compose a sketch or two to illustrate my points.

Good luck!

[Terry Beadle]

Yes, many have vice jigs that they put on their work tables. The Moxen vice comes to mind as quite popular right now, especially for dove tailing.

You should be able to make a work table out of fairly cheap materials that would beat working on your tablesaw for under $50. A work table does not have to be a full blown affair. Make one about 5 to 6 feet long and about 22 inches wide. Read the advice on how high to make it for the type of work you do. Currently the Schwartzmaster is recommending the pinky knuckle test...about 34 inches or so.

Get some cheap 4 x 4 or 5 x5 or 4 x 6's from the big box for legs. Or if that's too expensive, get some scrap 2 x 4's from a job site. Just ask permission for the scraps and you'll be amazed at how much useable pieces are put into the dumpster. Also, sites where they are tearing down old buildings or when a tornado rips through, offer to help and reclaim what's permitted.

Enjoy the process and good luck !

[Dale Coons]

Thanks for the ideas--I'm sorta new to this, but the Moxon vise looks perfect...except the only place I see a kit is Benchcrafted--is it really a 4 week wait? Any other similar options? being able to clamp this to the top of the saw will work perfectly for what I need right now--and it looks like the vise would be useful on any bench I might later build.

[Terry Beadle]

There are Moxon vices that use much cheaper screws than the Benchcrafted. Benchcrafted are premier componets and demand an appropriate cost. Lee Valley has some screws that will work and much cheaper. There are some bolts and nuts from McMaster Carr that are even cheaper and all you have to add is some scrap wood handles.

The cost of a Benchcrafted component would far exceed the cost of building a really great work bench IMO.