William Fretwell
12-12-2018, 4:32 PM
Needed a new bench. For me the choice was clear as I love the Danish tail and open design shoulder vise.
I used these benches when I was 14 at school!
There are some things about the design I do not like however:
The cantilevered tail vise protrudes past the legs, that entire end of the bench just hangs which encourages wobble.
The leg near the tail vise always gets in the way of your feet when planning. As I have size 13 feet this bugged me a lot.
With this in mind I drew up my must have list:
Oblong, shouldered, full size dogs that toe in.
Long enough to build domestic doors.
Tall enough to save my back.
Large deep tool tray to keep the bench top profile clear.
Heavy but moveable.
Dog holes at the back of the bench to support panels and jigs.
Hold downs.
Inexpensive.
So I went wood shopping, thinking maple but was offered black walnut.
Not furniture grade but mostly old heart wood. The price was right: $200 Cdn.
I bought 2 simple steel vise threads from Lee Valley. One longer for the tail vise.
After much thought I worked out I had enough wood to make the top for a 7 ft. bench minus 1 inch. The front could be 5 inches but most of the top just over 2 inches deep.
I wanted the bench to be longer but the only way to make it effectively longer was the tail vise extension. The more you extend encourages droop: Very bad word!
I woke up one morning and thought make the vise longer! You can support a bigger vise more easily as it extends. The large oblong frame guided and supported was the result, seemed like a simple answer and it was. I had now moved the end of the tail vise twice as far to the left.
So I built the top, took a while, had just enough wood. My shouldered dog holes toed in 2 degrees in the body and 3 degrees in the tail vise (just in case of droop). The tail vise design I made up, the front vise was very simple. I made a tool tray of cherry with ash/cherry/ash bottom for wear resistance.
Back to wood shopping for the legs, white oak for the legs and ash for the stretchers. I had a large wormy lump of cherry for the feet and some good cherry for the tool tray, $300 Cdn, ouch! Almost 200 lb of wood however.
The legs and top stretchers had to be massive to accommodate the top underside profile with a 6 inch tool tray. The trestles had to be huge to do their job (2x10") half way between the floor and surface being planed.
The whole bench became a design exercise with it's primary function paramount. Shelving, cupboards and drawers had no say: possible add on; but no say in the design.
Making the tail vise twice as long pushed my clamping position towards the middle of the bench. It meant I could push the right leg past the furthest tail vise opening and happily have room for my big feet to move when planning. It meant I was standing more in the middle of the bench which felt good. I made the ash stretcher front face line up with the back of the tail vise for vertical clamping support. The fifth leg support gives you that freedom.
My long tail vise meant I could max out every inch of the vise screw as it's not used for support and get 13" of opening. That effectively made my bench a foot longer when needed. The long design had no droop at full extension and was rock solid.
Vital statistics for those that care!
Weight 358 lbs.
Height 38"
Shoulder vise 7" opening.
Long tail 13" of opening.
Max dog clamping length 86"
Tool tray 6" deep, 6.5" wide.
Bench front 5" deep with 2" clamping shoulder behind.
Bench top 22" deep, plus 7.5" with tool tray.
398601
398594
398597
The bottom of the vise dogs march through the top stretcher.
398598
Sorry no dovetailed vise joints, finger joints have a far larger glue area!
398599
Unlike many benches the Danish vises are not an add on. With the Danish bench and traditional tail vise more than perhaps any other, the vises are a huge part of the top design. Due planning needs to be undertaken.
For me the dogs make the bench, they grip well with large area when needed and push the work down onto the bench. Being able to toe in from 2 inches up is a huge asset. Every hole has a dog, Gramercy fills the rest!
I used these benches when I was 14 at school!
There are some things about the design I do not like however:
The cantilevered tail vise protrudes past the legs, that entire end of the bench just hangs which encourages wobble.
The leg near the tail vise always gets in the way of your feet when planning. As I have size 13 feet this bugged me a lot.
With this in mind I drew up my must have list:
Oblong, shouldered, full size dogs that toe in.
Long enough to build domestic doors.
Tall enough to save my back.
Large deep tool tray to keep the bench top profile clear.
Heavy but moveable.
Dog holes at the back of the bench to support panels and jigs.
Hold downs.
Inexpensive.
So I went wood shopping, thinking maple but was offered black walnut.
Not furniture grade but mostly old heart wood. The price was right: $200 Cdn.
I bought 2 simple steel vise threads from Lee Valley. One longer for the tail vise.
After much thought I worked out I had enough wood to make the top for a 7 ft. bench minus 1 inch. The front could be 5 inches but most of the top just over 2 inches deep.
I wanted the bench to be longer but the only way to make it effectively longer was the tail vise extension. The more you extend encourages droop: Very bad word!
I woke up one morning and thought make the vise longer! You can support a bigger vise more easily as it extends. The large oblong frame guided and supported was the result, seemed like a simple answer and it was. I had now moved the end of the tail vise twice as far to the left.
So I built the top, took a while, had just enough wood. My shouldered dog holes toed in 2 degrees in the body and 3 degrees in the tail vise (just in case of droop). The tail vise design I made up, the front vise was very simple. I made a tool tray of cherry with ash/cherry/ash bottom for wear resistance.
Back to wood shopping for the legs, white oak for the legs and ash for the stretchers. I had a large wormy lump of cherry for the feet and some good cherry for the tool tray, $300 Cdn, ouch! Almost 200 lb of wood however.
The legs and top stretchers had to be massive to accommodate the top underside profile with a 6 inch tool tray. The trestles had to be huge to do their job (2x10") half way between the floor and surface being planed.
The whole bench became a design exercise with it's primary function paramount. Shelving, cupboards and drawers had no say: possible add on; but no say in the design.
Making the tail vise twice as long pushed my clamping position towards the middle of the bench. It meant I could push the right leg past the furthest tail vise opening and happily have room for my big feet to move when planning. It meant I was standing more in the middle of the bench which felt good. I made the ash stretcher front face line up with the back of the tail vise for vertical clamping support. The fifth leg support gives you that freedom.
My long tail vise meant I could max out every inch of the vise screw as it's not used for support and get 13" of opening. That effectively made my bench a foot longer when needed. The long design had no droop at full extension and was rock solid.
Vital statistics for those that care!
Weight 358 lbs.
Height 38"
Shoulder vise 7" opening.
Long tail 13" of opening.
Max dog clamping length 86"
Tool tray 6" deep, 6.5" wide.
Bench front 5" deep with 2" clamping shoulder behind.
Bench top 22" deep, plus 7.5" with tool tray.
398601
398594
398597
The bottom of the vise dogs march through the top stretcher.
398598
Sorry no dovetailed vise joints, finger joints have a far larger glue area!
398599
Unlike many benches the Danish vises are not an add on. With the Danish bench and traditional tail vise more than perhaps any other, the vises are a huge part of the top design. Due planning needs to be undertaken.
For me the dogs make the bench, they grip well with large area when needed and push the work down onto the bench. Being able to toe in from 2 inches up is a huge asset. Every hole has a dog, Gramercy fills the rest!