I am ALMOST ready to start on my new bench. I finally got my veritas twin screw in the mail. I am waiting for my wooden screw and shopping around for a good price on ash lumber.
I am using the Veritas as an end-vise. My bench top will be 24 inches wide and I am planning on making it three inches thick with no skirt. I want to space the screws 18 inches apart, which does not leave much room on the ends.
My question is:
How should I join the jaws for the twin-screw to the bench top? In many of the pictures I see of large full-width end vises the just bolt onto the bench end and hang below the bench top by quite a bit. I don't see this as an acceptable method--it is just too crude and leaves the bottom of the jaw unsupported. I want to avoid using mechanical fasteners in this bench.
I figure my jaws will probably be 5-6 inches wide, so I am considering two basic ideas.
The first is to put a full-length tenon (tongue?) or a sliding DT in the end-grain of the bench top to join the jaw and putting some "cleat" type things below it to support the bottom half of the jaw and anchor it to the bench top.
The other thing I am considering is placing the legs of the bench at the very end and using some dowels or other joinery to attach the bottom half of the jaw to the legs and using another method (like sliding DT) to attach the top of the jaw.
Thoughts? Do these ideas make sense or do I need to make illustrations?
I'd love to hear from people who have mounted a wide vise on the end of a bench.
Thanks, as always.