Workbench Construction Questions

Ripthorn,

I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say/complain that their vice had too much capacity, IMO, I’d go with the larger one.

If there is an outside chance that you will need to remove the top of your bench you could always attach it as you would any large table top and that will also allow for any seasonal lateral movement.

Work Safely and have Fun. – Len

-- Mother Nature should be proud of what you've done with her tree. - Len ...just north of a stone's throw from the oHIo, river that is, in So. Indiana.

I think you need to decide which vise you want first. And have it in hand ASAP. It is always a good idea to have all the hardware for any project on hand before starting. When I built my bench I was useing a LN screw for the left hand leg vise. Before I finished the legs I decided to install twin leg vises on both legs, so I ordered another screw. In the meantime I used the nut from the first screw to do the mortice in the right leg. What can go wrong? They changed the screw design in particular the nut! Of course it was smaller so the mortice I made was too bigt. They were very kind and it was a recent enough change that they still had some of the old style nuts around, they sent me one at no charge. I can not recommend Lie-Nielsen enough. They make great tools and have great customer service.

If the top is heavy enough just a couple of dowels will keep it registered on the legs.

-- Jim, Long Island, NY Ancorayachtservice.com home of the chain leg vise

I would bolt the top to the stretchers and use an enlarged hold in the back stretcher…this forces all wood movement to the back. You can accomplish the same with lag bolts through the bottom stretcher into the top…if you don’t want bolt heads to show on the top, that is how I connected my bench and it is rock solid.

I own the small vise, it has plenty of capacity. But the large one does have a bit more room between screws and would require less fiddling. My advice here is if you are wanting to spend the extra money, spend it to upgrade the vise to a quick release, that will help speed up your work.

That looks like it will be quite a solid bench. Good luck.

-- Make furniture that lasts as long as the tree - Ryan

I would use pegs or round tenons on top of the legs into the top. The weight of the top will hold it in place on the pegs. This should give you the ablity to remove it easily if you need to. The vise, yes, the largest you can afford, leave about 1-1/2” on either side of the attachment holes on the vise. Get the vise and it should be easy to see the amount of room you need. Take your time, think about what your about to do. I am sure you will do good what ever you do.

I would get your vise first, then go from there

-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net