Project Information
Several months ago when Chris Schwarz posted his blog about building the Moxon twin screw vise, I filed it away as something our woodworking club (Alaska Creative Woodworker's Association) needed. Next thing I know, I'm building ten of them. Photos attached.
The club has a dozen or so knock down benches for classes. They are simple, sturdy benches, but they lack a serious vise. We have been reluctant to install regular front vises due to the expense and weight. The bench tops are already heavy enough. Plus, when you add a vise, it becomes difficult to stack the bench tops for storage. Along with a Veritas surface vise, the Moxon vise was the perfect answer for the club's benches.
The club is bringing instructor Frank Strazza from the Homestead Heritage woodworking school in Texas to teach a workshop. We will be building a dovetailed jewelry box. Frank asked that the vises open wide enough to hold the completed box - 8-1/2". That meant I had to push my 14" lathe to the max to get a 14-1/2" spindle. If I shortened the head of the screw to 3", I could get 8-1/2" between the jaws.
I used 8/4 maple for the screw stock. The first screw I made had very little meat left to serve as a shoulder on the head of the screw to transfer the load from the screw to the face of the vise. In my production run, I made the screws from 2-1/2" (if memory serves) wide 8/4 stock. That resulted in an oblong head to the screw. It bothered my sense of symmetry, but it felt good in the hand. I think it gave a good shape to provide some leverage when turning the screws by hand. I ended up adding a tommy bar to make the screws turn a little easier.
I had a little Huck Finn going when I "let" my kids cut the threads in the spindles. What other work do I have that I can I convince them is fun???
The club has a dozen or so knock down benches for classes. They are simple, sturdy benches, but they lack a serious vise. We have been reluctant to install regular front vises due to the expense and weight. The bench tops are already heavy enough. Plus, when you add a vise, it becomes difficult to stack the bench tops for storage. Along with a Veritas surface vise, the Moxon vise was the perfect answer for the club's benches.
The club is bringing instructor Frank Strazza from the Homestead Heritage woodworking school in Texas to teach a workshop. We will be building a dovetailed jewelry box. Frank asked that the vises open wide enough to hold the completed box - 8-1/2". That meant I had to push my 14" lathe to the max to get a 14-1/2" spindle. If I shortened the head of the screw to 3", I could get 8-1/2" between the jaws.
I used 8/4 maple for the screw stock. The first screw I made had very little meat left to serve as a shoulder on the head of the screw to transfer the load from the screw to the face of the vise. In my production run, I made the screws from 2-1/2" (if memory serves) wide 8/4 stock. That resulted in an oblong head to the screw. It bothered my sense of symmetry, but it felt good in the hand. I think it gave a good shape to provide some leverage when turning the screws by hand. I ended up adding a tommy bar to make the screws turn a little easier.
I had a little Huck Finn going when I "let" my kids cut the threads in the spindles. What other work do I have that I can I convince them is fun???