Retrofitting a Beachcrafted Classic Screw and Crisscross

[ken hatch]

The new BenchCrafted screw and crisscross was waiting on me when I came home from work last night.

To install it on the shop Moravian bench will require making a new backer board and chop. I found a 12/4 hunk of what looks like Red Oak that is long enough and wide enough to make both the chop and backerboard buried deep in the wood pile. Otherwise I would have had to do a couple of glue ups or made a wood store run. Of course once I replace all the wood I had to move to get to the Red Oak I may wish I had just made a wood run.

Both pieces are cut out with a true edge and face. The bottom tenon on the backer board is next. Here is a photo of splitting out the tenon.

benchSplittingBackerBoardTenon.jpg


I'll probably bore you'll with a tick tock of retrofitting a Benchcrafted screw and crisscross on an existing Moravian bench. That is if I can remember to take photos as the job progresses.


ken

[David Eisenhauer]

Go ahead and bore us Ken and, yes, remembeing to take the photos is the hardest part of it.

[Jim Koepke]

Go ahead and bore us Ken and, yes, remembeing to take the photos is the hardest part of it.

Ditto and Ditto on forgetting to take the camera out to the shop.

jtk

[Stew Denton]

Triple dito Ken. Seeing details of how to install the screw and crisscross is definitely not boring.

Thanks and regards,

Stew

[ken hatch]

My face is red . I didn't measure carefully before starting, just went with past builds and this bench is bigger than the last bench. I'll measure and fit along the way. Big mistake sawdust breath. There is less space between the lower stretcher and the slab on this bench, enough less that I need another 6mm or so for the backer board. Bottom line, the Lake Erie wood screw works fine, just not as fast as the Benchcrafted with crisscross. So now I have a screw and crisscross looking for a bench, I guess the only answer is to build another bench.

ken

[David Eisenhauer]

Weak, weak story Ken. When telling a porky, it is best not to provide too many details. You and I both know you just wanted to build another bench and fabricated some cockamamy story about bigger benches, stretchers, millimeters, etc (and then threw in some additional mumbo jumbo Red Herring about lake Erie) for the rest of us. Own up to it - "Hi, my name is Ken (but my Mom calls me Kenneth) and I am an addict".

[ken hatch]

Weak, weak story Ken. When telling a porky, it is best not to provide too many details. You and I both know you just wanted to build another bench and fabricated some cockamamy story about bigger benches, stretchers, millimeters, etc (and then threw in some additional mumbo jumbo Red Herring about lake Erie) for the rest of us. Own up to it - "Hi, my name is Ken (but my Mom calls me Kenneth) and I am an addict".

Busted . But David there really are a missing 6mm, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I made the bottom tenon shoulder so I could mark off the top shoulder from the bench which I did. The next step was to mark a line 14 1/4" (I hate imperial measurements) up from the bottom shoulder to mark the top of the crisscross mortise. Then another line 1 1/4" up from the top of the crisscross mortise to mark the center of the nut, that's when I knew I was in trouble. There was close to enough room but no cigar.

If my world ends if I can't install a crisscross (it will not) on this bench I could have a machine shop cut 5mm off each end of the arms. I doubt I will do that but I could.

ken

It may be a month or so before I start the next build, I still need to build MsBubba's kick wheel. Hopefully before she makes it home from the UK. I'll do a vise tick tock on the next build.

ken

[David Eisenhauer]

I caught myself re visiting the Benchcrafted site today and (once again) staring at the little, portable Moxon-like user leg vise w/criss cross that can be added onto an existing bench for work elevation. I have wanted to build a separate, smaller "joinery" bench that is elevated in comparison to my regular, larger bench to be used for sawing and mortise/tennon work. It would be used to get the work closer to my aging eyes and prevent the slight stoop I use now when paying close attention to joinery detail work. I believe the portable BC vise would fit in with that concept. Or maybe I just want that portable vise and am inventing a use for it. I do have a "bench-on-bench" for work elevation now, but either don't remember to or don't want to take the time to move it over and set it up when I am doing M&T work and end up sticking with my regular bench most of the time. Maybe a person does need more than one bench?

[ken hatch]

I caught myself re visiting the Benchcrafted site today and (once again) staring at the little, portable Moxon-like user leg vise w/criss cross that can be added onto an existing bench for work elevation. I have wanted to build a separate, smaller "joinery" bench that is elevated in comparison to my regular, larger bench to be used for sawing and mortise/tennon work. It would be used to get the work closer to my aging eyes and prevent the slight stoop I use now when paying close attention to joinery detail work. I believe the portable BC vise would fit in with that concept. Or maybe I just want that portable vise and am inventing a use for it. I do have a "bench-on-bench" for work elevation now, but either don't remember to or don't want to take the time to move it over and set it up when I am doing M&T work and end up sticking with my regular bench most of the time. Maybe a person does need more than one bench?

David,

I'd hate to only have one bench to work on. I'd have to be much more organized than I've ever been.

I took a fast look at the high vise. I can see where it would be very useful and the price isn't bad either. If it had been around when I started looking for a portable bench I may have never taken the Moravian road to bench heaven. I may get one just for those times I need to work on something around the house but setting up the portable Moravian is too much effort for the short job.

ken