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Thread: Advice for final touches of workbench build - Vise placement and finishing technique

  1. #1

    Advice for final touches of workbench build - Vise placement and finishing technique

    I am building the Holzapffel bench based on Chris Schwartz and would like to get some input on the following two issues:

    1) I have a Veritas twin screw vise and a (standard) quick release "front" vise. The plan uses (and extolls the virtues of) the twin screw vise as a front vise and a standard vice with dog holes in the front chop for the end vise. The veritas instructions and it's own workbench seem to suggest that the twin screw vise is best used as an end vise. I am now second guessing myself and wondering if I should deviate from the original plan to put the big twin screw vise at the end.... But I can't really think of why this would be more useful other than perhaps for using to glue up (instead of clamps) which I am not really planning to use the bench for.

    2). Finishing: I have already read the many finishes used (and combinations thereof) and have settled on following the plans to use Danish Oil (or similar). My question is whether the bench is finished the same way I would a piece of furniture by sanding up to 220 grit on l surfaces before applying finish. Or do I just plane things clean and then use the finish? My instinct is to sand it smooth as any other piece and then apply the finish but all of the plans seem to suggest that the vises should be installed first, then finish. For some reason I am interpreting this to imply that there's no sanding or other finishing technique required and that you can just wipe on the few coats and be done.

    Thanks in advance for your insight!

  2. #2
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    1) It depends how you see yourself using the bench. Twin screw at the end looks nice, will it let you do everything you could do with a front install? (Glue up does not count). Will the twin screw be in the way for planing with a front install? Just think about each option and how you expect to use the bench.
    2) Plane and oil and oil and oil............ Want to wear it away, work on it!

  3. #3
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    I put my twin screw on the front and I wish it had gone on the end. It gets in the way sometimes.

    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  4. #4
    thanks for the quick replies!

    Rob- I will def consider your experience, although mine is 84"L so do you think that would be an issue if your bench were longer?

    William-- As I just mentioned, I feel like it wouldn't be in the way so much since I made the top longer...
    As far as the plane + oil goes that makes sense for the top for sure, especially since I'm going to have to flatten it using a router after the final glue up which was not as perfect as I had hoped. What about the other surfaces (base, underside, etc.)? Should I also just plane things flush and oil, or would sanding those be beneficial at all?

    Another thought re: the twin screw vise on front is that I drilled the holes in the legs and like the idea that a really large workpiece can (supposedly) be easily clamped to the front w/ it and the co planer legs.
    Last edited by Lance Grucela; 02-08-2017 at 8:59 PM.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lance Grucela View Post
    thanks for the quick replies!


    William-- As I just mentioned, I feel like it wouldn't be in the way so much since I made the top longer...
    As far as the plane + oil goes that makes sense for the top for sure, especially since I'm going to have to flatten it using a router after the final glue up which was not as perfect as I had hoped. What about the other surfaces (base, underside, etc.)? Should I also just plane things flush and oil, or would sanding those be beneficial at all?

    Another thought re: the twin screw vise on front is that I drilled the holes in the legs and like the idea that a really large workpiece can (supposedly) be easily clamped to the front w/ it and the co planer legs.
    For a longer bench it won't be in the way as much but a smaller front vise would work just as well with the holes in your legs. The whole wide vise concept seems floored to me. While visually appealing, it's not a moxon vise which is useful, the double dog holes on an end mount are seldom if ever useful. I would return it and get a smaller front vise.

    I would finish the underside the same way as the top. Sanding is not beneficial it just destroys the surface compared to planing. After planing a cabinet scraper is the next best finish.
    Last edited by William Fretwell; 02-09-2017 at 9:35 AM.

  6. #6
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    I cannot add anything to the comments already posted except to say pictures, pictures, pictures...without pictures it is just some fantasy!

    Great looking table Rob! I'm planning on doing a bench with SYP and seeing yours has gotten me really pumped to do it!

  7. #7
    Thanks all for the input, I really appreciate it.

    I've been taking pictures throughout and will post them once I finish up, which I hope will be soon... Been working on this nights and weekends since around Thanksgiving.

  8. #8
    my 2 cents re surfacing....

    it is a workbench - smooth = slippery and that is the opposite of what you want plus.... it is a tool - its value is in its functionality not in its aesthetics (unless you made it out of purpleheart ). My benchtop is hard maple - planed & done - BLO re-coat when needed but other than that it shows the "patina of use"

  9. #9
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    I'm just getting ready to replace the single screw full width end vise with the Veritas Twin-Screw myself. In addition to using it as a regular vise and a Moxon vise, I will be using it as a tail vise. I have a quick-release on the front at the oposite end of the bench.

    I wouldn't try to get your bench all that smooth actually. You don't want your work sliding all over the place. I would plane it flat then leave it be.

    As for finish... A very popular benchtop finish, and the one that I use, is a very old formula. It's a 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 blend of odorless mineral spirits (originally it would have been turpentine, but it smells), BLO, and beeswax. Rub it in with a brush on a drill to generate heat and melt it into the surface. let it dry, wipe off any obvious puddles, and start building stuff. I reapply once a year or whenever it looks like it could use a refresher. One side benefit is that glue won't stick to it.
    "I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
    Name withheld to protect the guilty

    Stew Hagerty

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Erik Christensen View Post
    my 2 cents re surfacing....

    it is a workbench - smooth = slippery and that is the opposite of what you want plus.... it is a tool - its value is in its functionality not in its aesthetics (unless you made it out of purpleheart ). My benchtop is hard maple - planed & done - BLO re-coat when needed but other than that it shows the "patina of use"
    Bingo Erik. Don't worry about every little mark, cut, and dent. You're going to be resurfacing it every year or two to keep it dead flat. Besides, like Erik said, it's a WORKBENCH unless it's a showbench.
    "I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
    Name withheld to protect the guilty

    Stew Hagerty

  11. #11
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    After planing it flat, I sanded the surface to 80 grit with the ROS & then applied a couple of coats of Minwax? Tung Oil. The surface is pretty grippy & the odd glue drop that gets on it pops right off.

    Too smooth a surface makes for a slippery surface. Something you don't want on a workbench.

  12. #12
    OK so I'm intrigued by the 1/3 formula and also read Danish Oil should work well, both of which I haven't used. I do already have and love Liberon "finishing oil". Iys not cheap but I've loved the results on everything I've used it for this far. After looking online at Danish Oil it doesn't appear to be much cheaper and of course I'd prefer to use what I've already got. Is there a considerable difference between the Liberon finishing oil and the other choices, or is it just their version of the 1/3 mixture??

  13. nice table.

    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Luter View Post
    I put my twin screw on the front and I wish it had gone on the end. It gets in the way sometimes.


  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lance Grucela View Post
    OK so I'm intrigued by the 1/3 formula and also read Danish Oil should work well, both of which I haven't used. I do already have and love Liberon "finishing oil". Iys not cheap but I've loved the results on everything I've used it for this far. After looking online at Danish Oil it doesn't appear to be much cheaper and of course I'd prefer to use what I've already got. Is there a considerable difference between the Liberon finishing oil and the other choices, or is it just their version of the 1/3 mixture??
    The difference is that the mix is 1/3 wax.

    NOTE: Do Not Do This Over An Open Flame!!!

    Heat the Blo and melt in the wax, then SLOWLY & gradually add the mineral spirits (the mix will seize as you add the MS but keep heating and it'll reliquify). Pour it into a jar of some kind and let cool. What you'll end up with is a creamy soft material that will melt easily with just the heat from your hand. Spread it on your benchtop, rub it in with your hands, the Chuck a stiff bristle "waxing brush" into your drill and give the top a good rubdown. Repeat as needed.
    "I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
    Name withheld to protect the guilty

    Stew Hagerty

  15. #15
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    Could this 1/3 1/3 1/3 mixture be warmed / heated to a liquid state then applied for better penetration ?

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