Hi, I've been away from SMC for some time (has not even been lurking around) but I need some help from the SMC neanderthal experts to recover from the mighty screw-up I just had today.
Here is what happened. I've been building a workbench for some time now (weekend-only woodworking sure slows things down a lot). Today, I was quite excited to finally reach the stage to mess around with the BenchCrafted gears (classic leg vise with crisscross solo) that I bought some 2 years ago . I laid out the holes and mortises and then forgot to follow the golden mantra of "measure twice cut once." I drilled the vise and crisscross pin holes an inch lower and crisscross mortise an inch too short...
CrissCrossOops.jpg
The thought of recreating the leg doesn't excite me (need to go back to the store for more lumber, mill, laminate, etc. etc.) as it'll set me back by at least 2 weeks. So, I was relieved to find that the bottom end of the crisscross won't stick out of leg if I extend the mortise all the way down. It'll leave clearance a little shy of 1/4" off the floor:
Clearance.jpg
The leg is 4-inch wide and 5-inch deep, and the chop will be 3-inches thick (already milled). In my original plan, I was to give 1/4" clearance between the chop and the floor (following the BC manual). If I reduce the clearance to 1/8" or 3/16" and let the crisscross mortise in the chop to also go all the way down, it still seems to work despite the mis-cut...
Is my altered plan a go? I think both the leg and chop are thick enough for this and the ground clearance is sufficient. But I never owned a workbench, so what do I know...
Please let me hear what y'all think. Thanks!