After seven days of teaching and 1,400 miles of driving, I arrived home last night. I kissed my family, ate dinner with them and (when they weren’t looking) slinked down to the shop to work on the leg vise of my French oak workbench.
My leg vise is patterned as closely as possible to the one shown in A.-J. Roubo’s plate 11. That means no fancy curves (just one curve), no parallel guide and no garter. This makes the leg vise simple to make, but there are still some significant details to execute.
1. Relieve the clamping face of the chop. Roubo writes: “You also close the piece of the press “n” a bit hollowed on its length [canted inward at its top], so that in being closed, it can still pinch at the end.” This detail is also shown on plate 11. I relieved the rear of the jaw to make it look as much as it does on plate 11 by using a stop-cut on my powered jointer.
While I was working on the chop, I also sawed and rasped the 2”-radius curve on the top of the chop. This is not just for looks. It allows you to clamp stuff close to the bench and work it with tools at a steep angle (such as rasps and chisels). It’s a very smart detail in my opinion.
2. Add a ring of iron to the hub of the vise screw. Roubo writes: “This screw is normally of wood, across the head of which passes an iron bar “r,” with which you tighten and untighten according to your need, and you supplement the edge of the head of the screw with an iron ring for fear that it will split.” I turned down a rabbet on the end of the hub until I could drive on the iron ring, which was made by blacksmith Peter Ross. As per plate 11, I will drill and countersink a hole through the ring so I can screw the ring to the hub.
I was going to wait until winter to turn down the hub so that the wooden screw will be at its minimum diameter. But I was eager to get it done. We’ll see if I get snake-bit.
Now I just have to clean up the chop a bit, and I’ll be ready to mount the vise.
Tomorrow, I’m working on the planing stop, a 3” x 3” x 12” piece of oak I need to mortise into the benchtop. I’ll make the mortise with the help of WoodOwl bits, which Jameel Abraham turned me onto. These relatively inexpensive bits are going to change the way I build benches in the future.
I’ll post a video of them at work tomorrow.
— Christopher Schwarz
I went to the Wood Owl website, and they have many varieties of auger bits.
Which ones did you buy? Where did you buy them?
Do they work in a brace? Or do you only use them in electric (gasp) drills?
How can I buy tools if I don’t have the details?
PS, your bench looks great.
they are the ultra smooth ship auger . Here’s one place you can get them, but I wouldn’t recomend using them in a brace, they are made for a power drill. http://www.timberwolftools.com/tools/woodowl/woodowl.html
I think I’ve figured out how you’re able to do all that traveling, teaching, woodworking, writing and reading: it must be you never sleep!
By the way, how do you keep the 3 X 3 planing stop from sliding out of its mortise and falling? Is it just careful planing for a tight friction fit? Or is there more to it?
I used one of those 3/4 in bits to make all the holes on my bench. Put one in a powerful hand drill and get it done fast.
I’m assuming that you would wait for winter so that the relative humidity and temperature would be as low as possible. What about just using the refrigerator? And if you want to really cinch it down put the ring in your oven before you set the size of your rabbet If you’re wondering… I’m not a bachelor, just Midwestern.
How does this vice work without a guide and garter?
It works fine – though it is a bit like using a manual transmission on a car.
No garter: When you release the pressure on the jaw, you need to slide the jaw back.
No parallel guide: You use a bit of scrap wood on the floor to act as a parallel guide. Works fine. Less convenient, but also less stooping.
I’m looking forward to seeing it in action.