Thread: Bench - leg tennon - vise jaw detail

Hi RT, the sketches look excellent mate. What program did you use to sketch it up pls?

Those tenons should be plenty strong enough

Hi Garfield,

I used Google sketchup Free version.

Very useful program.

Echidna, thanks for the comments. The tennons are at present 50mm long. Should that be OK or should they be a bit longer?

Also at the moment they have 15mm shoulder. So 15mm to the edge of the top from teh mortice. This plenty or should it be a little more?

Rob.

Hi - it look like a very solid bench. I however have a question?

The vice is set back into the left leg, and you have a board attached (the orange brown color board) to the front of your bench top.

This means that your vice face is recesed into that space.

The question is what happens when you secure a long board in your vice (any board longer then your vice)? The board would sit at an angle and would be hard to hold in place. It is best if you legs, vice and bench top are coplanar with each other.

I assume you have - however if not have a look at Holtzapffel Workbench.

Free EDrawing Of Holtzapffel Workbench

and here

ake A Video Tour Of The Holtzapffel Workbench.

I am modeling my bench that I building on this very design, and very similar to your own.


Best luck.

Hi Thumbsucker,

Maybe it is hard to see in the pic???

The yellow edge board is there so that the vice rear jaw and bench top and legs are all coplaner.

The other alternantive is to cut a notch in the bench top for the vice rear jaw. But I work with hand tools only which makes cleaning up a rip cut a little difficult so I thought to put the rear vice jaw onto the bench top edge and then to keep it all inline to add the edge strip, and the legs are notched out to keep the legs in line.

Yeah my banch which has been in the planning stage for a while now is based loosly on the roubo bench and a few other ideas, but after looking at the haz....bench it looks like that also. I like the idea of the twin screw face vice. No shoulder vise as yet. I will use a LV wonder dog for a while to see it all works and if I need I will chop out a wagon vice or if I win the lotto get another twin screw .

Rob

Originally Posted by RobTro

No shoulder vise as yet. I will use a LV wonder dog for a while to see it all works and if I need I will chop out a wagon vice or if I win the lotto get another twin screw .

Rob

I would seriously built the wagon vice in now - to mortice out 100mm+ after the fact will be a pain. I am building my bench now - see this thread for photos, it is much easer to make a tail vice before rather then after the fact.

Chris Swartz spent a whole day adding a wagon vice after the fact.

As for the:

Originally Posted by RobTro

The yellow edge board is there so that the vice rear jaw and bench top and legs are all coplaner.

It seems like you are making allot of work for yourself. The bench top, and leg combined with the block that secure the screws would be ample back support for the front vice. Every design I have seen for the Holtzapffel style uses this simple approach.

See the photo attached for what I mean.

Looking at your plans and at the Holtzapffel plans by Chris I would make the front leg mortices as big as you can. Since these will be the mortice and tenon's which will be taking the bulk of your working stress. You will be planing, hammering and morticing right on top of these joints. Since it is best to do heavy work directly over a leg to transfer the forces through. Reducing them to fit the "yellow edge board" and a rear vice face will significantly reduce their strength, because of the reduced size of the M&T.

Hi Thumbsucker,

I know what your mean about the supports under the twin screws.
It is just that by reaidng the installation instructions for teh LV twim screw, allignment of the holes for the screws is very important for the front and rear jaws that I thought it may be a little difficult to get them lined up accuratly enough as seperate pieces. Chris S uses wooden screws that are totally independant so a bit of missalignment doesn't matter as you adjust for that as you tighten each screw. The LV is a parallel screw system with the abilty to scew the jaws if needed but the parrallel system won't work so well if it is out of alignment.
Now obviously I haven't installed a LV twin screw before so if anyone who has can let me know thier thoughts it would be appreciated.

The really easy solution is to add the rear jaw onto the bench and then an edge strip the thickness of the top and same width of the rear jaw. Just mortice the leg into the top. The legs and front edge and rear vise jaw won't line up then so add another strip on the front of the leg to make it all coplaner. making 6" thick legs essentially. BUt....

Rob

Originally Posted by RobTro

LV twin screw

Rob I see what you mean.

I do not know about aligning the LV twin screw - personally one of the main selling points for the twin screw design is that you can get a tapper the vice and that each screw is independent so that way you can clamp angled stuff easily.

It is up to you. However since you already have purchased the LV twin screw, it may be the best answer for you, to stick your design. However I do not imagine it would be to hard to align the twin screws accurately.

An other option is to add a single large board along the front just like the English workbench - it would be simpler however that has it own problems.

Best of luck - please keep us informed on your progress.

Thanks...
Will have a go and cross my fingers.

Your bench up and running?