My Moxon vise

[OneStaple]

Hey all,

Since I decided a few months ago to start trying my hand at hand-cut dovetails (just practice for now), I pretty quickly figured out that I need a way to hold the work other than trying to clamp it to the edge of my table saw. Thus, a Moxon vise!

It's made from scraps of ash and walnut. I opted for a small, 3" wide shelf in the back for extra work-piece support and to provide a clamping surface. I can add t-tracks or other hold-down mechanisms to that shelf in the future if needed. I also added some holes near the ends sized to hold my marking gauge and a chisel. I've found that I was constantly looking for a safe spot to put those down in the midst of all the other tools while doing practice dovetails, so I wanted somewhere close and safe to put them.

It's sized to fit the edge of my table saw at about 27" long, giving me 17-1/4" of clamping space between the screws. The height is a little over 5". I might make a larger version in the future, but figured that this should handle the vast majority of my current (planned) work.

The vise hardware is from Tom (tablesawtom). While I've never used the Benchcrafted version (that was the other one that I was considering), I'm very happy with the quality of Tom's set. He was even willing to accommodate my request for 12" long acme-threaded rods instead of his standard 8" (with an appropriate up-charge for materials). That gives me some extra clamping width capabilities if I need it, and I can just have the extra rod length sticking out the back when I'm working on smaller/thinner pieces. The pictures show the rods sticking out almost the maximum in the front, but that won't be the standard setup for me.

Now, time to start practicing more dovetails! No excuses!

Tyler

[Bill Holt]

Nice job.  Looks very sturdy and has a little "bling" on the front.

I want to build one about the size as yours, but I've run out of storage space.

[grwold]

I like the tool holding, and the rear support.  Nice job.

[tablesawtom]

I like the tool holding, and the rear support.  Nice job.

Derek uses Matchfit dovetail clamps in the rear support of the vise. I would think it would be nice to prevent the tail board from moving when marking. I finally got some and plan on adding that feature to mine. Also I prefer a shoulder vise on my bench, to a front or leg vise, so I can understand why you wanted the extra length. Anyway nice job.

Tom

[Derek Cohen]

Tom, it is not just a clamp on a support, but the support is also a spacer, which lifts the work piece above the chop ...



The reason for this is to prevent the chop being cut up when transferring tails to pins with a knife.

The spacer is hinged and can be lowered when time to saw the dovetails ...



Regards from Perth

Derek

[OneStaple]

Tom and Derek,

Yes, I think Derek and I are just using different approaches to do similar things. I looked at Derek's design (among others) before building mine. His is certainly elegant.

I opted to have a little shelf both for extra support and to use as a clamping surface for standard F-clamps. It should be fairly easy to apply clamps. For raising the work, I plan to clamp a thin piece of plywood (maybe 1/2", but even 1/8" should work) under the horizontal piece while marking pins in the vertical piece. We'll see if I love or hate this approach. I've considered attaching magnets to the ply and shelf to help hold things in place, but want to see how it works as is first.

Tyler

[tablesawtom]

Tom and Derek,

Yes, I think Derek and I are just using different approaches to do similar things. I looked at Derek's design (among others) before building mine. His is certainly elegant.

I opted to have a little shelf both for extra support and to use as a clamping surface for standard F-clamps. It should be fairly easy to apply clamps. For raising the work, I plan to clamp a thin piece of plywood (maybe 1/2", but even 1/8" should work) under the horizontal piece while marking pins in the vertical piece. We'll see if I love or hate this approach. I've considered attaching magnets to the ply and shelf to help hold things in place, but want to see how it works as is first.

Tyler

Now I understand what both of you are doing and it makes since to me. Personally I am a cut the pins first man and then use a pencil. But if one can clamp the tail board so it doesn't move when using a marking knife, tails first has it own set of merits. I will have to check it out. When I cut dovetails on my table saw I cut tails first. It is easier to fit the pins. Who knows, maybe I will convert.

[Derek Cohen]

Tom and Derek,

Yes, I think Derek and I are just using different approaches to do similar things. I looked at Derek's design (among others) before building mine. His is certainly elegant.

I opted to have a little shelf both for extra support and to use as a clamping surface for standard F-clamps. It should be fairly easy to apply clamps. For raising the work, I plan to clamp a thin piece of plywood (maybe 1/2", but even 1/8" should work) under the horizontal piece while marking pins in the vertical piece. We'll see if I love or hate this approach. I've considered attaching magnets to the ply and shelf to help hold things in place, but want to see how it works as is first.

Tyler

Tyler, it should work. Soon after building my first Moxon vise, I quickly discovered the need to raise the workpiece, and just used a loose spacer ...



This was later replaced with a hinged version, just for convenience.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[OneStaple]

I made my first practice dovetail joint using the new vise the other night, and what a pleasure it was to use relative to my previous (horrible) approach of holding the pieces. I think I also made my best set of hand cut dovetails to date, which isn't saying much since it is only set #5. I'm not sure the vise changed the quality of the joint, but it certainly made the process faster and more enjoyable.

I'm happy!

Tyler

[tablesawtom]

The key words are more enjoyable. Faster doesn't hurt either, but I like more enjoyable better.

Tom