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I didn't have a woodworking vise in my shop. I wondering now how I could live without it.
It's a Moxon inspired vise.
I did a little research here on LJ, so I copied some details from my fellow woodworkers.

The benchtop bench is very helpfull. Offcourse the dovetails are cut by hand. (yes, I'm proud of it, because I still can't believe I made them myself)

It's made form massive european oak.
It's strange, but the front jaw bows a little when something is clamped.
Anybody has suggestions?

Thanx for watching.

Gallery

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Nice vise, beautiful dovetails. Wish my dovetails looked that good. Do you cut tails or pins first? Is there a trick you use to get the tails this perfect?
Thanks for showing.
 

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Very nice! Beautiful work.

How much does it bow? Is it considerable? My guess is that it has to do with the length of the jaw; I could see that happening if you place a piece between the two clamps that does extend beyond them (if that makes sense).
 

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That's a fine vice you have created there Bas, it looks quite familiar! The jaws look fairly long, so, if you are clamping in the middle they are more likely to bow a little. You might be able to overcome this if you clamp a second same thickness piece in the jaws to even out the pressure,
Jim
 

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Oldtool:
Thank you for your comment. I just started cutting dovetails about I guess 1 or 1,5 year ago.
After reading a lot and seen so many video's I'm trying to learn this skill.
I cut the tails first.
One thing I have learned is you have to layout perfectly! Sharp Pencil, take it easy and be focused.
I cut the tails by hand with no guide. I tried with a guide, but it was a mess.

These "large" dovetails were cut with my new dovetail saw. Veritas, 14 tpi rip.
It cuts beautiful.

There's one thing difficult for me: Cutting the pins!! I can't get them square. So I have to pare them down.

If someone has a tip or advice on cutting the pins square, please let me know!
 

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For me, using a small square and marking the straight cuts down the pin board's face is enough to guide a straight cut.

Nice vise and dovetail!
 

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The bowing is not unusual given the length of the jaws. I find mine works best if I slide the piece all the way left, and set the left screw - lightly. Then centre the piece an set the right screw. Tighten both gently. You should get great grip this way with no - or at least minimal - bowing.

Nice job, bye the way.
 

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BasHolland,
Thanks for the reply, very informative. I'm working on a cabinet now, cutting dovetails last night and got frustrated with the results. Tails first for me too, can't cut straight either.
I noticed you have a 14 TPI saw, was wondering about this while cutting last night, mine is a PAX with 20 TPI and it cuts so slowly, and seems to wander. Maybe I'll have to try a coarser saw.
As for cutting the pins square, that's why I cut tails first, easier for me to keep the saw straight and vertical, so this is my best shot at a good joint, but I can't suggest anything to answer your question.
Thanks.
 

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Bowing… if you had scrap stock the same thickness of the workpiece… couldn't you put work piece in one end, and the scrap in the other to prevent bowing? Never tried such a long vice myself, but the idea is to minimize racking.

yes, nice dovetails… and simply a nice design.
 

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BasHolland,

Very nice vice! I'm jealous of both your equipment AND your dovetailing ability.

I've got a structural engineering background, and I've experienced phenomenon similar to your bowing problem in the past. My suggestion to alleviate the problem is to add a gusset on the front side of the vise between the screws. Make the gusset(s) just long enough to fit between your screws without getting in your way.

Right now your vise is just a flat plate which doesn't have much bending strength, but adding a gusset would give you a T-beam style cross section which is significantly more rigid. If the board can't bend, then the clamping force will be transferred to the screws giving you more even pressure across the width of your vise.

I hope I described that well enough. Keep up the great work, and enjoy the new vise!
 

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Very Nice!!
LJ Gord Graff did a review on the Veritas Dovetail Guide http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/1516
You may want to check it out.

Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing your work and troubles too that way other LJs with the same troubles can get advice at the same time.
 

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to Edtheengineer and others:

About the bowing:
I daren't to say, but I'm an building construction engineer too. Thanks for your advice, but
there's one thing I don't understand. (the basic of your advice, I guess)
What do you mean by "gusset" ?

The dimensions are:

Back Jaw: 30×105 x 780 mm
Front Jaw: 30×110 x 660 mm

The space between the two rods is appr. 520 mm.

Thanx all for your advise and comments. I love it!!!

Bas
 

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BasHolland,

By "gusset" I mean a "rib" or a "stiffener".

I used the dims you provided to throw together a quick and dirty 3D model of your vise to show what I'm talking about.

Here is your current setup.


I'm suggesting you add a piece of hardwood to stiffen the front board so that it won't bend:


Or you can add 2 smaller stiffeners:


Something like I've shown will keep that front board from bending without adding a lot of unnecessary bulk to your beautiful vice.
 

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Is it possible to reverse the front jaw? Thinking grain will be to better advantage.
 

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Thanx all for your comments and positive talk.
Edtheengineer: I now understand what you mean. Nice 3D work!
For the looks of the vise
I think it isn't that much nice. So I still keep your idea in mind.
Maybe I'll live with the bowing of the jaws, maybe I take your idea.
It's aldo possible I tighten the jaws too much.
Thanks all again.
 

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When the jaws are that wide, bowing can be hard to avoid. However, one approach would be to resist over-tightening, instead of re-engineering the piece.

If you add some non-slip materials to the jaws, the workpiece might not required excessive tightening. You can use leather or non-slip rubber pieces used in drawers. This helped my Moxon some, but it still bows a little bit. You can see I had a similar conversation about mine:

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/56038
 

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cool looks like a winner
 

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This is great ,it's going to be a great asset in your shop
 
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