Moxon style tail vise?

I was recently gifted a workbench, by a fellow woodworker, who unfortunately can no longer work. It’s a wonderfully made piece of equipment and so it gives me a chance to revisit how I utilize my shop.

When dovetailing, I previously used the side of the bench, however often times I’m working on a long case which is better suited to the length of the bench.

I recently bought the bench crafted leg vise, and a few Lee valley stops, so that covers all those areas and leaves me wondering if I can make use of the end of the bench.

Have any of you made an undermount Moxon vise which could be mounted to the end of the bench?

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Undermount? No. But I've often clamped my wide moxon to the end of the bench. I think it could be an interesting area to explore.

Following a recent article in FWW, I purchased the hardware kit from Woodcraft, bought some hard maple and built a Moxon vice. I don't have a traditional woodworking bench. I have an assembly table and a large outfeed table for my TS. I clamp my Moxon vice wherever I want on either of them. I have never had a vice in my standalone ww shop and love it! What a difference it has made hand planing wood!

That's a beautiful loooooong bench.

An undermount Moxon seems like an odd choice. You wouldn't be able to use it for short boards and because the support for the board would be further from the point where you're sawing you'd be at higher risk for vibration.

I would probably go with either a typical benchtop-mounted Moxon or a permanently installed twin-screw end vise à la the Holzapffel bench or James Wright's bench.

I didn't really have vibration issues here. ;) The clamped boards are simply to ensure that the case side was back into a straight line.. as there was a slight bow.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Woodworki...IMG_7133-L.jpg

I thought about putting a Veritas Twin Screw vise on the end of my bench. My thinking with a Moxon vise is, its main advantage is its simplicity, portability, and weight. It's not designed to be user friendly. Turning two screws is kind of a pain. That, and it's designed to raise your work to a more comfortable level. If you're going to mount it under your table, that kind of defeats the purposes of a Moxon, in my opinion. I would think you'd be better served with either a Twin Screw or a quick release vise on the end. I'd just make sure to have it align with the corner of the vise. My biggest complaint with most leg vises is they're not in the corner. And I find it really handy to have a quick and easy way to lock something down so that it gives me plenty of overhang for stuff like sawing small dowels to length, using a spokeshave or whatever. It's not a deal breaker, as there are always ways around it (holdfasts or clamps to the top). But I've found if you have one, you'll use it a lot more than you'd think. Or at least I have.

But it's up to you. Everyone does things differently, and only you know what works best for you.

Thanks, gents. Yeah the Holzapffel looks about right, mounted on the end.

The Veritas one is probably ideal, but I’m having trouble reconciling the modern look.

Hovarter makes a traditional looking face vise that could just as easily be mounted on the end of your bench.

https://hovartercustomvise.com/produ...e-hardware-kit

Nice looking setup, I think that might be the one. Little on the expensive side, but seems good.

I have their wagon vise and couldn't be happier with it.

That mechanism he designed is pretty incredible, no threads on the shaft at all just slide it into place and tighten.

That's the beauty of it. No more cranking and spinning wheels all day to move the jaw, just slide it and tighten. Super quick, and Super strong.

I like that vise, went ahead and ordered it. Thanks for the recommendation.

While I’m going overboard I decided to pickup a metal vise so that I can stop ruining my woodworking vises with metal work. Awaiting a ground angle block which I will mount this to so that I can clamp it with the leg vise. I’ll most likely make a set of aluminum or plastic soft jaws for it.

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Very nice Gressel

Thanks, Mike!

Making some progress on the leg vise. I have a few chops around, but none fit particularly well so I plan instead to make one from some type of hardwood. That I’ll mortise out mainly with the hollow chisel, then touch up by hand and with a router.

This I chopped out mainly by hand after wasting the majority of it with a forstner bit, after which I flushed things up with a router to ensure a consistent depth.

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Brian, you have some beautiful tools, and really enviable machines - most if which are a testament to your handskills and mechanical acumen. All part of a dream workshop for many, including myself. Where do you find the time to do this and build the wonderful, finely-crafted furniture you make?!! :)

Congrats on some great choices for the new bench.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks, Derek! Much appreciated!

It’s not hard to find the time to work, more difficult to find the time to not work :D

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Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe

I like that vise, went ahead and ordered it. Thanks for the recommendation.

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You're welcome Brian, I look forward to seeing it installed and working! I am anxious to see the bracket you come up with for your metal vise, I have thought about incorporating one but just never headed down that road.

Looking forward to it! Couple week lead time on the vise, so that gives me time to prepare.

In the interim, cut holes for Veritas planing stops. After using a piece of wood screwed to the bench for the last 10 years or so, this is a vast improvement.

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I checked across them with a straight edge as this will be important for flattening panels.

I also have the pin style.

I don’t plan to put very many dog holes in this bench, but needed a few since I use planing stops more than any other method. I looked into the traditional claw style but it doesn’t appeal to me.

Brian, I am curious why you went with this system - which looks like a permanent fixture - rather than the flexibility offered by the adjustable height of a stop built into the end of a bench ...

https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https:...1-6d6b43126630
https://i.postimg.cc/2SSCkVhQ/End-stop1.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

It’s a drop in stop, so it’s not permanent and quite a durable one from what I can tell. My worry with something like you show is that it will get broken out after repeated use.

Brian, you may wish to add this stop at some stage. It is very durable - mine is Jarrah and undamaged after several years, and I had the same on a previous bench. It there is any chipping, just plane it down. Anyhow, it lies below the board to be planes, as would the aluminium stop from Veritas.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I’m not understanding what that is doing that the aluminum veritas are not doing? Both are a planing stop when you need them and gone when you don’t.

The aluminum stops are also able to be replaced with dogs and used as a way to lock the stock in place. I had a student using them in this fashion yesterday in order to pare tenons.

Im glad the solution works for you but I am suspicious of the durability of a bolt into end grain. Every connection threaded into end grain on my previous bench broke out, including the lie neilsen tail vise which I needed to repair about 10 times. It was a nice vise but the end grain connection would rip out in repeated use.

Stops screwed to the table top lasted, same with round dogs on other work tables.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe

I’m not understanding what that is doing that the aluminum veritas are not doing? Both are a planing stop when you need them and gone when you don’t.

The aluminum stops are also able to be replaced with dogs and used as a way to lock the stock in place. I had a student using them in this fashion yesterday in order to pare tenons.

Im glad the solution works for you but I am suspicious of the durability of a bolt into end grain. Every connection threaded into end grain on my previous bench broke out, including the lie neilsen tail vise which I needed to repair about 10 times. It was a nice vise but the end grain connection would rip out in repeated use.

Stops screwed to the table top lasted, same with round dogs on other work tables.

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Hi Brian

The reason I went with the adjustable bench stop is just that - it is adjustable for height. It can be raised a few mm, or up to 20mm above the height of the bench. This makes it a flexible support for a wider range of board thicknesses than a fixed bench stop. That was my primary reason for my choice.

This has worked out so in practice and, since the Jarrah is stiff and the inside face is lined with Crubber, it is also a protective and non-slip surface.

The bolts are inserted into deep steel thread inserts. Over several years there has not been any sign of loosening - even a raised stop does not loosen over some weeks of use.

Regrds from Perth

Derek

Interesting, I haven’t really had the need for anything taller than 1/4”. If I’m planing something tall and thin I usually put it in a vise, tall and wide stuff is usually fine with a short stop.

That said, my wood is not nearly as hard as Jarrah, typically, so that may play into it. With woods easier to pickup a shaving, they may not lift under pressure.

Leg vise is in. Works great, holds tight.

Also made a sliding deadman, works great but I may either make it wider or remake it to be wider. It’s a little tippy as it slides.

Awaiting the tail vise and when I have some spare time I’ll make a floor for the bench.

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