Benchtop vises - FWW article search

[Jim Matthews]

I'm contemplating a modification for my bench.

The built in Moxon has some limitations, specifically in holding things
that are less than 1/2 the thickness of the front chop.

I'm examining the commercial twin screw offerings,
but have a vague memory of an involved DIY shown in FWW.

It was a long assembly that used Jorgensen 3" hold downs like the one below.

I can't find the article, so it may have been in another rag.

http://www.justclamps.com/Graphics/08_images/deep_hold_down_200_08.jpg

[Andrae Covington]

Might be thinking of the "gizmozilla" from PWW? It was mostly a router jig but I think there were threads here and on other forums adapting it as a moxon-style setup.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/jigs/gizmozilla

[lowell holmes]

Maybe it was Jeff Miller's jig for mortising chair parts. I made one and used it. I think it is self explanatory.

You could leave the router fence guide off. It is a handy jig for other than routing operations.


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[Jim Matthews]

Thanks to all.

Gizmozilla was the one I remember.
The Miller stuff is excellent, too.

[george wilson]

I use one of those on my work bench. What I have done is drill a flat bottomed hole in my bench top. It is deep enough for the head of the bolt to be in,below the level of the bench top. The head of the bolt is pulled up when I want to use the clamp. Otherwise,the bolt head is out of the way of something crashing into it. Of course,there is a smaller hole drilled clear through the bench top for the body of the bolt to go down into. There are 2 nuts on the bottom end of the bolt. One serves as a lock nut so that when I pull the bolt head up,it is always at the right height to fit the clamp's T slot with no fiddling around.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I use one of those on my work bench. What I have done is drill a flat bottomed hole in my bench top. It is deep enough for the head of the bolt to be in,below the level of the bench top. The head of the bolt is pulled up when I want to use the clamp. Otherwise,the bolt head is out of the way of something crashing into it. Of course,there is a smaller hole drilled clear through the bench top for the body of the bolt to go down into. There are 2 nuts on the bottom end of the bolt. One serves as a lock nut so that when I pull the bolt head up,it is always at the right height to fit the clamp's T slot with no fiddling around.


Me too, George - but on a bigger scale. My TS extension + shop-built outfeed total area is 72" square. [That is 72-dbl prime, not 72 dbl apostrophe].

I have had to clamp flat some long stuff on occasion - [think dining table top for machining and installing breadboard ends].

I have three of them, in a line, exactly as you describe. Works terriffic. The only issue is they are too far inset from the edge of the table to reach by hand -- but any handy 24-inch [solved the dbl prime dilemma] can be used to reach under and give them a whack to pop them up.

I think those things are great - not a daily use for them, but when there is....

[Phil Mueller]

[That is 72-dbl prime, not 72 dbl apostrophe].

Thanks for the chuckle, Kent.