The Sliding Leg Vise

I've come to realization that in the online woodworking community there are only 3 documented workbenches with sliding leg vises. If there are any more I'd be keen to know.

An old picture. Blogged at Lost Art Press.

Bill Liebold's. Blogged at Popular Woodworking.

Angle iron is used to re-enforce the top.

Jameel (Khalaf) Abraham's Blogged at Khalaf's Oud.
Angle iron on both sides. Big Wooden Vises.

The Design so far...

I've decided an Schwarz inspired French Roubo bench.

Size: 24"x100"x4" top. 5"x5" legs. 31" high.

Vise: BenchCrafted wagon, leg, and probable sliding leg vise.

Timber: Coastal Blackbutt (Australian Hardwood Network)

(Work in progress sneak peak. I'll have more progress pics soon.)

Why I chose this design?

I wanted it solid. I've had two benches; the one shown on the left, which to use you need to brace with a foot and a knee and the other a old chipboard desk. I wanted a bench that I don't have to hold or brace to plane and that doesn't shake when chiselling. (Blackbutt at dry weight 900kg/m3 makes this about 200kg. ) I was tempted to make it 10' but my kind wife informed me that was excessive in a single garage... and I agree.

I've changed the vise configuration in my head at least a dozen times. Originally, planning on twin screw vise (for dovetailling and its lack of wracking.) It's capacity is limited. A sliding leg vise gives you the capacity to hold work up to 6' wide. Although, the big wood vise, is traditional I didn't like the slack and wood movement in it. I tried a cheap Carbatec one and it was a struggle. The bench crafted ones are smooth and I expect to last 100 years.

Blackbutt is locally grown, not too expensice, rock hard, a nice light colour, and I've used it before.

The two biggest design struggles at this stage are: storage and the sliding leg vise mechanism.

The Big Bench

No one wants to spend more time on the computer than in the shop. However, I learnt an important fact during my time as an Army Cadet - the 6 P's - Prior Preperation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. A bench of this size and weight and design requires good planning. I want this to last 3 generations.

To start with I did some research. I searched the net; read articles and watched pods. Being one that collects books; I picked up two.

The Old Luthier the blog I've been most impressed with.

The Schwarz not the official name for the blog, but one I follow.

The Workbench: A Complete Guide to Creating Your Perfect Bench by Lon Schleining. This is a comprohensive book covering a varity of benches, vises and techniques for a varity of purposes by a variety of people. It covered traditional benches and modern ones (man-made materials, twin screw vises etc.)

Workbenches: From Design And Theory To Construction And Use (Popular Woodworking) by Christopher Schwarz. This book focuses on two types of benches. Eventually I decided on the roubo bench in the book. (With a few modifications.) This book than the other focuses on the 'use' of the workbench.

Workbench Dicussion thread:

Woodwork Forums Thread

Birthday Wish List - Machinery

WoodFast - WPT - 12" Thickness Planer/Jointer

Silverglide

Carba-Tec® 1HP 12 Speed Heavy Pedestal Drill Press

Forstner Bits

Pro Drill Press Table

Carbatec 2HP Dust Extractor - Standard, Trade, or Cyclone

Router Iron Top

Router

Bandsaw

Birthday Wish List - Measuring Gear

Squares
Above we have some Australian made squares by Chris Vesper (left) and Colon Clenton (right). There are several differences: handle - brass with wooden inlay vs. wood with brass frame, blade - stainless steel vs. brass, and special feature - support clip vs. calibratable. Asthetically Colon's is nicer but it's your responsibility to square it. Chris's support tab is quite nice. Avalible at Chris Vesper and HNT Gordon.



Sliding Bevel
Chris Scwartz recently gave good review to these little gems. The 4" would be perfect for special angle joinery and dovetailly.


Sliding Square
Chris' original square was an all metal sliding square. Handy for joinery.

Overall my choice would be: 6" Colon Clenton square (in sheoak), 4" bevel, 4" sliding square, and 10" Vesper Square. It is a wish list after all.



Marking Knife
The only vesper tool I currenlty own. Picked it up at the Sydney Woodshow.

Birthday Wish List - Sharpening Equipement

Tormek Slow Speed Grinder
Tormek was being demostrated at three stands at the Sydney Wood show. I have to say it's impressive. The big brother version is more expensive but has more features and is metal rather than plastic. Backed by 7 year warranty. Avalible at Carbatec.



Lobster Brand Waterstones
An alternative to the Norton synthetics are the natural Lobster stones avalible from HNT Gordon. 1000 and 6000 gt. Comparible in price, thicker stones, not as durable and needing more flattening.



Norton Synthetic Water Stones
Avalible from Lie-Nielsen are the Norton Waterstones. Unlike the natural ones these are synthetic for durability. Last longer, cost more. 1000 and 4000 grit avalible.

Diamond Stones
Diamond stones come into thier own for flattening of water stones, initial sharpening and sharpening of hard steel. DMT DuoSharp 8" Fine / Coarse Whetstone would cover most jobs. Avalible from Carbatec or Lie-Nelson.

Birthday Wish List - Books

Colin Brown
New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (4 Volume Set). This dictionary stands out because of its diachronic approach to language; containing Classical, Koine, OT, and NT meanings for greek words. Jesus was a woodworker. Avalible at amazon.

Shaker Furniture

I do like the simplicity of shaker furniture. After being more than pleased with my first shaker trestle last year and with the next in the planning stages I'd like to learn more. (Particularly re: chairs.) This book stood out to me as it not only contained pictures but had rough diagrams including measurements and proportions. Avalible at: Australian Wood Review and Amazon.

Birthday Wish List - The Workbench

My workbench remains my major project for 2009. I've acquired the wood that I need (near 200 superfeet of coastal blackbutt, maybe more than I need.) Now it's time to choose some hardware.
Everyworkbench requires a vise, preferably two. The plan is for a standard leg vise and a sliding leg vise.






Glide Leg Vise
The new glide leg vise from BenchCrafted.com looks very smooth. A recommendation from teh Scwartz. However, at US $325 + postage, these may forever remain on the wish list.

No-Name Vise
The cheapest (and nastiest?) avalible at Carbatec.

Big Wood Vise
These from BigWoodVise are classic. At AU$375 (for 2, including postage).

Vertias Workdogs

Simple.

Vertias Hold-Down

Useful.

Wonder Pups

Vertias products avalible at Carbatec and Lee Valley.