Thinking of finally taking the plunge and selling the power tools....(Long)

[Patrick Harper]

Mike, I'm concerned that an end vise will just bow the board I'm working on. I'll probably make a moxon vise for joinery tasks.

[Brian Holcombe]

I'm happy to be without a table saw, but if I ever needed to put out some quantity beyond what I currently manage I would buy a Minimax bandsaw and a wide planer.

Putting yourself through the paces with handtools really allows you to see why and how many tools function as they do and improves your ability to use them. With handtools, especially, improving your ability and skill in utilizing the tools become important. That is not to say the opposite is true of machine tools, but I think it is doubly so with handtools because it has a very great effect on the length of time one spends working each task.

[Jim Koepke]

Mike, I'm concerned that an end vise will just bow the board I'm working on. I'll probably make a moxon vise for joinery tasks.

This can be a real concern for many. My end vise is a fairly simple set up that racks when just one side is used. Since using it with an anti-racking stack of spacers it now seems simple to prevent board bowing of even the thinest stock. The stack not only limits racking, it limits how much the vise can close on thin stock.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...k-Spacer-Stack

I have been making a lot of thin pieces of about 1/4" without bowing them while held securely by the end vise.

There are also other ways with planing stops and such to hold thin pieces.

jtk

[Greg Berlin]

Mike, in reference to the end vise. You could technically do without one, but I will say that it's very convenient to have on for rough planing boards. I know guys get buy without vises at all, but I couldn't stand to work like that. There's something very convenient in having an end vise and a front vise. I prefer the quick release metal ones like the Record or the Eclipse. But that's just personal preference I think.

[Warren Mickley]

Forty years ago I used to rig up wedges to hold the tail end of the board while planing. Then I realized that benches in Roubo and Moxon just used a single stop and so I tried it. A very liberating moment.

[Jim Koepke]

But that's just personal preference I think.

Isn't that the best reason for making a bench our own way?

Except when marching to the tune of SWMBO, what we make, how we make it, the tools we use and what we make it on should all be our personal preferences.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

I use a small Veritas inset vise - on rare occasion.

It's nice to have the feature, in an unobtrusive package.
Maybe it's just the vagaries of my damp basement shop,
but a traditional sliding end vise is immobile much of the year.

[Reinis Kanders]

Jim,

Can one remove the small metal handle of Veritas inset vise? Thanks.

I use a small Veritas inset vise - on rare occasion.

It's nice to have the feature, in an unobtrusive package.
Maybe it's just the vagaries of my damp basement shop,
but a traditional sliding end vise is immobile much of the year.

[Mike williams54]

Well, I want this to be my one and only bench I ever build. I'm sure I could skip the vice and if I desperately wanted one later on, I could just chop of the corner and add one. But I think I'll save my pennies a little longer until I can get everything I want from the get go. If i don't like the vise, I won't use it. But I'm building something designed to be the ultimate in work holding and efficiency. I doubt I'll be using benchcrafted hardware, little too expensive for my level of work. I'm on the hunt for either some good old antique stuff, or veritas. If I went benchcrafted then yeah, I'd only be able to afford maybe a hand wheel for a vise. Haha