Dan's Blackbutt Roubo Bench #7: The Vices

The Hardware
Deciding on what type and which brand of vice to use was an ordeal in its self. I have to say I changed the design a number of times – eventually deciding on a leg, sliding leg, and tail vice. Then I had to decide on brand. Well… should I buy cheap carbatec $40 ones… or should I go traditional Big Wooden Vice style… but I couldn’t go past BenchCrafted. Two factors stood out… the precision build and the use of a wheel rather than a T bar which provides nice control and also speed.

I was a little disappointed, that after 2-3 weeks admiring my vices in my lounge room I notice significant rust. (Some metho, steel wool, and light machine oil and it was easy to fix.) I should also note that the BenchCrafted vices (plus postage to Australia) were by far the biggest expensive (3/4 the cost of the entire bench.)

Now having the hardware, I needed some wood.

The Legs
This part was easy. Final dimensions 142mm (5 1/2”) x 130mm (5 1/16”).

The Chops
The chops are made of 44mm blackbutt. After several sketches I came up with this design. The majority of the curves were produced by extensive Forster drilling. 1/8” round over was added to all components.

Some work in progress photos.

The Parallel Guides
A simple twist on classic roubo.

-- Daniel - http://theloveofwood.blogspot.com/