Originally Posted by
Bob Riefer
Lots of good advice here! Thank you!
Sure. Your requisite grain of salt is in the mail.
I've long been interested in making a "carriage" and "rails" for the router to flatten things... I've seen that used to flatten slabs, perhaps could be used to tune the maple table top since I already own a nice router and have more than enough scrap to build the rest. Do you think this would be a good application for that approach?
Seems like it would likely removed more aggressively than necessary, thus shortening the life of your bench. BIG grain of salt with that one, as I've never flattened slabs that way.
Here's a probably-stupid question... how do you most often use your two vices? Face vs. end
I have a face vise, two tail vises, and a whisky vice.
The face vise I use for sawing joinery (e.g. dovetails), and for shooting the long edges of boards in conjunction with brass dogs that I use as board jacks.
The tail vise on the near side, I use in conjunction with dogs for planing the faces of smaller boards, as well as holding workpieces for nailing, quick drilling, etc. My bench also has planing stops (wa-ay down on the face vise end) and holdfasts. I've only had the guts to bore a couple of holdfast holes, though the dang things really are handy.
The tail vise on the far side sees little use, as I'm jammed up against a wall until I can move into the new shop. High hopes of being able to clamp large slabs and work 'em over, once the space is signed off for use.
My whisky vice doesn't get used much anymore, but the bottles look pretty in my office. Aesthetically, I prefer looking at single-malt. Budgetarily, I prefer buying tools.
Keep asking questions. I hope to think there's always a hazard of learning.
Cheers,
Jack
--Jack S. Llewyllson
Gratitude is a gift to yourself.
Purity tests are the bane of human existence.
Codeine takes the pain from every muscle but the heart.