Workbench (Cont'd)

OK, I'll repost a pic of the frame as a memory jog. :smile:

Nice solid table. Looking forward to seeing more.

I used to be a photog for publications. I just found that all the negatives for photos I took for the paper are in a historical record. I'm going to go ahd digitize them. I did some nice work in those days. Not so much these days. Still working some so I have a bit of extra income still to indulge my woodworking addiction. I went to Rockler a couple of weeks ago and realized I have about every tool I can imagine wanting or needing. Mostly about buying materials now. My wood supplier has the real BB ply at $28 per 5x5 sheet. Hardwoods are an arm, leg and one other appendage to buy, but ya gotta do what ya...

Beside more picture frames, next project is a 10ft wide display cabinet with glass doors and interior illumination to go over a wall installation for TV and storage in the living room. Going to be about 16 inches high. It will hang forward of the book cases about 4 inches so I can install some down lights.

On camera; down to a Nikon D 3000 and a couple of lenses and a Nikon Coolpix which is nearly unusable in daylight, but takes excellent video. I've retired my strobe setup in favor of a couple of battery powered LED lights, which are daylight balanced. I still have my old light stands. Using a cell phone does not substitute for careful composing and finding the right angle. Anyone need an old Sekonic incident light meter and a strobe meter? Relics of a more complicated time in photography.

I'll post some of my old pictures after I digitize them. Will be a full day or two process.

Spent the morning fabricating and installing a Moxon-style end vise. Started by filling voids with additional wood. Extended the apron on one end to 5 1/2" with an additional 2" of wood doweled, glued and screwed to the 2X4 above. Then filled the void on the front side of the apron with an additional piece of 2X6. With the drill press, bored 7/8 holes in the jaw and clamped it to the apron. Used that as a template for boring 7/8 holes through the apron and the backer. Installed the pipe clamps et VOILA! It holds very tightly. I will finish it off with hardwood jaw liners both front and back. Current capacity is about 9", which might be reduced to 7-8 when the hardwood liners are in place. And there is just under 8" between the pipes. It can't accommodate wide panels but I could do drawer sides for dovetailing, etc. For anyone who might have noticed, the lower corner screws had to be moved about 2" inboard to clear the pipe clamps. And also for the sharp-eyed, there is (deliberately) a little slack in the holes in the jaw so the clamp can be canted a few degrees to accommodate odd-shaped workpieces. It can be held in perfect alignment and tightened.

I'm a little red-faced...after installing the friction grippers on the pipes under the tabletop, things got a little bound up. The pipes were difficult to move in and out of the vise and, as a result, the outer jaw tended to get stuck in the closed position. I couldn't immediately figure out what the problem was and went to bed wondering what I did wrong. I must have worked on it in my sleep because this morning I looked at the growth rings on the jaw and discovered it was backwards.

In the last two pictures above you can see the growth rings are at the outer edge on top, at the inner edge in the middle and out again at the bottom. That was not what I intended. I deliberately oriented the jaw so the rings were in-out-in , thinking if the jaw began to cup, the pressure at the center would tend to keep it straight...or straighter.

After repositioning the jaw everything went together easily and the vise opens and closes as it should. Obviously, things are not perfectly symmetrical. :surprise:

I think the next part of the project will be fabricating and installing the top and shelf. I made a tactical error with the Moxon vise in that the top of the jaws will not be level with the benchtop. That won't be a major problem because there will be no bench dogs and it will be mainly used for holding panels vertically. I'll probably start on the top next week.

The top will be made from a quarter sheet of 3/4 ply, topped by a quarter sheet of 3/4 MDF. It will be edged with 1 X 2 hardwood, probably mitered and fastened to the plywood with biscuits every 8". The MDF will be loose inside the edging for easy (sorta) replacement. I still haven't decided whether to make the shelf of plywood or 1 X 4s.

The side vise will be a major project. To accommodate the bench screw, I will have to find a machine shop to fabricate a front plate of 3/16 (?) steel, split vertically in the center, with a 3/4 diameter hole that will capture the bench screw. The jaws will be similar to the end vise, made of 2 X 6 material and faced with hardwood. But that will come later...I won't know exactly when until I arrange for the front plate. I've toyed with the idea of making the anti-racking bars out of 1" hardwood but haven't decided. Thoughts on this?

sfchuck said:

I've gathered the materials to fabricate the top and edging...now if this damnably hot weather would go away... I just don't function well in 95 degree heat.

Click to expand...

AHEM, Chuck...you need one of these, and some R38 for the ceiling! :grin: