Project Information
I'm just getting my workshop up and running. I've recently moved out of the 1/2 car garage into 2 stalls of a 3 car garage. I haven't had a "real" workbench since I've started woodworking, and I won't be building one any time soon. I do have work holding needs though, so I decided to build the Benchcrafted Moxon vise, knowing I could clamp it to my quick-and-dirty outfeed/assembly table, and tuck it away when not in use.
The build was really straight forward - mill stock, drill a few holes, and mortise out the holes for the nuts that are embedded in the fixed jaw. I opted to mortise the nut size perfectly as opposed to the instructions that suggest a rectangular hole. A 3/4" chisel was just a hair over the size of the nut, so the fit is darn near perfect. If anyone is planning on building this kit, I definitely recommend doing it this way - the looks (imho) is great. drilling the 3/4" holes with my old crappy vintage drill press really made me realize why I should build a table for it.
I used walnut because, well, that's what I had lying around. It's probably too "nice" for a shop fixture, but it will match my badaxe tool works walnut dovetail saw perfectly. There's nothing wrong with liking how your tools look, and this one looks pretty awesome.
The finish is Tried and True Varnish Oil. It was my first time using it, so I figured testing it out on a shop project would be ok. It went on easy and buffs out nicely. On the plus side, it doesn't stink. I'm not sure how durable of a finish it will be, and I'm not sure yet if I would use it on something like a table top, but this will be my torture test.
All in all, I'm happy with how this came out. Now, to cut me some dovetails…
Thanks for reading
The build was really straight forward - mill stock, drill a few holes, and mortise out the holes for the nuts that are embedded in the fixed jaw. I opted to mortise the nut size perfectly as opposed to the instructions that suggest a rectangular hole. A 3/4" chisel was just a hair over the size of the nut, so the fit is darn near perfect. If anyone is planning on building this kit, I definitely recommend doing it this way - the looks (imho) is great. drilling the 3/4" holes with my old crappy vintage drill press really made me realize why I should build a table for it.
I used walnut because, well, that's what I had lying around. It's probably too "nice" for a shop fixture, but it will match my badaxe tool works walnut dovetail saw perfectly. There's nothing wrong with liking how your tools look, and this one looks pretty awesome.
The finish is Tried and True Varnish Oil. It was my first time using it, so I figured testing it out on a shop project would be ok. It went on easy and buffs out nicely. On the plus side, it doesn't stink. I'm not sure how durable of a finish it will be, and I'm not sure yet if I would use it on something like a table top, but this will be my torture test.
All in all, I'm happy with how this came out. Now, to cut me some dovetails…
Thanks for reading