Moxon / Dovetail Vise

[Greg Parrish]

On my new bench, I have a Benchcrafted leg vise on the left side and a Veritas sliding tail vise on the right. The bench is relatively low at only 33-3/4 off the ground. This was on purpose to keep it lower than my table saw, but also to put it in a comfortable height for me for planing. I have another bench that is 37" off the ground that I thought about installing the Veritas twin screw vise on the front of however, I'm also looking at just adding a Moxon Vise or Dovetail vise instead so that the front of that bench stays open and unencumbered.

In looking at the options out there, I'm sort of narrowed down to 3 so far. The Lie Nielsen Dovetail vise, the Benchcrafted Moxon vise or the Woodriver Cozmanized kit. I don't mind spending for quality if it's warranted and I like that both Lie Nielsen and Benchcrafted offer prebuilt versions so I can put them straight to work. However, I'm guessing the Benchcrafted prebuilt is built to order where the Lie Nielsen version would ship right away. I like the spring feature on the Rob Cosman version but don't feel that's a huge deal quite honestly. I like the fact that the Lie Nielsen version has 6" capacity versus the 4" capacity on the other two.

I'd like to stick to one of these 3 kits/prebuilts or something of similar quality. Anyone have one of these 3 Moxon/Dovetail setups that can offer input on them?

Thank you.

[Tom Bussey]

I have a couple sets of of moxon hardware. Cast hand wheels. Derek has a pair from me. Springs are not a big deal they just go in between the jaws. Most good hardware stores have them. PM me if interested

[Greg Parrish]

Thanks Tom. Sent you a PM to get a little more info on what you’ve got. I did read Derek’s post on his moxon vise.

I have a couple sets of of moxon hardware. Cast hand wheels. Derek has a pair from me. Springs are not a big deal they just go in between the jaws. Most good hardware stores have them. PM me if interested

[Derek Cohen]

Regarding the springs - they do matter ….

I built these into my Moxon vise after seeing a video by David Baron about 7 or 8 years ago. I suspect that Rob Cosman might have either seen his video, or my posts on forums. He added his a few years later than I did. Probably David’s version as the springs on mine are different. They are conical in shape and not parallel.





This allows the spring to collapse on itself, rather than requiring a mortise into which to be compressed. It not only simplifies construction but, importantly, leaves more spring available to do more work.

The Moxon vise closed ..



As you release the tension (open the wheels) ..





Regards from Perth

Derek

[Reed Gray]

I don't have a moxon vice yet, but with some of the irregular shaped pieces I have in my shop, it would be handy to have one. I do plan on building a bench in the next year or three....

robo hippy

[Keegan Shields]

Build one! It’s not hard and good practice.

I used the Benchcrafted hardware kit because Toms hardware wasn’t listed. I wouldn’t hesitate to use either. Trickiest part is drilling the holes if you don’t have a drill press. Benchcrafted has a .pdf with dimensions as a starting point.

[Phil Gaudio]

One solution (courtesy of Christian Becksvoort):
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[Christopher Charles]

I also built a Moxon using Tom's hardware and highly recommend. Have been meaning to add springs as Derek has but haven't gotten around to it. Go for it!

[Greg Parrish]

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I’ve talked myself into just adding a front apron and twin screw vise to my tall bench. As mentioned my new bench is a little over 33” high and my other bench is around 37”. A twin screw on that approximates the same height as adding a moxon to the other one and I can get greater opening distance and won’t have to store it.

Tanks again.

[Reed Gray]

I watched a Rob Cosman video last night about vices for benches. He didn't care for the Moxon vices. My comment was that one thing they do that the other vices won't do is hold irregular shaped pieces. I make a lot of bowls, and being 'thrifty' I will take a lot of the off cuts and cut them into rectangles from 1 to maybe 3 inches. When they are dry, none of them are straight, so it is a pain to clamp them in the more standard vices.

robo hippy

[Greg Parrish]

I’m still stalling on doing anything. I honestly can’t make up my mind. I see benefits to both directions, moxon for portability or twin screw on my tall bench. I think I want more capacity than the standard Benchcrafted style kits to make it more future proof. That means I’d be looking at the Lee Nielsen style dovetail vise with 6” or the Veritas twin screw with 12”. not sure if any of the others have more capacity or not.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I don't identify as a Neander but I do use hand tools when they provide the best resolution to a woodworking problem I am addressing. Recently I needed a method of holding some thin trim pieces so I could plane the cut surface to a smooth finish. I used an 8" hand clamp but could only plane 8" at a time of the 20+" pieces. The next woodworking guild meeting I attended, the owners of the shop, a very talented and productive couple, had recently built a Moxon vice.

I drove to Spokane the next day to buy one of the "complete" Wood River kits but it turned out they didn't have the kit with the wood included. I bought what they had. The next day I drove to Walla Walla, WA to buy the hard maple. In short, after spending over $400 I have a Moxon vice the next time I need to plane something long and/or thin or both.

[Derek Cohen]

I watched a Rob Cosman video last night about vices for benches. He didn't care for the Moxon vices. My comment was that one thing they do that the other vices won't do is hold irregular shaped pieces. I make a lot of bowls, and being 'thrifty' I will take a lot of the off cuts and cut them into rectangles from 1 to maybe 3 inches. When they are dry, none of them are straight, so it is a pain to clamp them in the more standard vices.

robo hippy

Reed, that must have been an old video. Since then RC has discovered that (1) they are a dovetailing tool of substance, and (2) he can make and sell them.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[chris carter]

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I’ve talked myself into just adding a front apron and twin screw vise to my tall bench. As mentioned my new bench is a little over 33” high and my other bench is around 37”. A twin screw on that approximates the same height as adding a moxon to the other one and I can get greater opening distance and won’t have to store it.

Tanks again.

I have a tall bench at 42” as I am 6’6” tall. And it has an apron and a twin screw so in my humble opinion you, sir, are a very smart man! The apron with a twin screw end vise was my dream setup and I honestly can't say that things could be better.

The capacity of my vise is whatever length pipes I put in. It can probably in excess of 4’ long pipes, which is nuts. The pipes I have in there right now give me a capacity of about 2ft, which is still nuts. But it did come in handy a few times.
bench1.jpgbench2.jpgbench3.jpg

[Reed Gray]

I think it was a 2 year old video. He did show how to make one from the Woodcraft kit. It clamps to the bench so the wood will be mounted higher, which is a better ergonomic position for cutting dove tails. I would like to find some of the threads he uses on his other vices, which he had custom made. One turn equals about 1 inch. I can see that being handy. Also saw on Rex Kruger's site that some are quick release so you don't have to crank as much. Good idea. Still lots of pondering to do before I make a bench....

robo hippy