My Version of Christian Becksvoort's Dovetail Bench

[Philip1231]

Ever since I saw Christian Becksvoort’s auxiliary bench  (2018 FWW Tools and Shops)  I thought it might be a nice edition for my shop. This past month, I found the time to take this project on.
" />

The bench is built around a Lie Nielsen 18” Dovetailing Vise (which I have had in my shop for a few years).  It involved creating a platform behind the rear jaw of the LN vise. First time I tried condor tails: they do may a statement. I made these following the excellent directions of William Ng. Here is a link to this technique:

http://benchcrafted.blogspot.com/2016/02...tails.html


I ended up making the height 9-3/4”. I figured this out by creating.a platform out of construction lumber and dialing in the height. I would suggest that a mock-up such as this should be your first step in this project.

Made from hard maple scraps I had laying around from previous projects. I suppose just about any species would do: its a shop appliance after all. Cull through your scrap pile: I am sure you can come up with the necessary stock.

I did have some trepidation “modifying” that beautiful LN vise, but now that the project is completed, I am glad that I took the plunge. You can save some $$ by buying the LN vise hardware instead of purchasing the vise with the jaws. I have this vise on my joiners bench and although it is doable, it will add a significant degree of complexity to the project.

" />
" />
" />
" />
" />

[Aram]

Very nice! Even if you never used it, though I'm sure you will, beautiful shop art.

[barryvabeach]

Very nice,  and I love how organized your shop looks.

[stav]

That's a great looking piece.  It seems it would be a bit heavy though for adding and removing from your bench.  How much does it weigh?

[Philip1231]

Thanks gents! Seems like there is an overabundance of interest in the weight of this beast (on this and another forum) so I decided to weigh it: 45 lbs. OK, I would not want to cary it up and down a flight of stars all day long, but for the occasional move from one end of the shop to the bench, its really not all that bad.

[Pedder]

Phil that bench is perfect made as all of your projects! I really like it.
Will you show us your medaillon at the bottom=?

BTW Charles doesn't look like that height is comfortable for him.
Maybe it would be better with a lower hang angel odf the handle or a gents saw.

Cheers
Pedder

[Philip1231]

Phil that bench is perfect made as all of your projects! I really like it.
Will you show us your medaillon at the bottom=?

BTW Charles doesn't look like that height is comfortable for him.
Maybe it would be better with a lower hang angel odf the handle or a gents saw.

Cheers
Pedder

Pedder: Ha! The medallion. Funny story. Necessity is the mother of invention. So the project is finished: all I have to do is epoxy the medallion/coin into the recess on the foot. But wait, it should be just a wee bit deeper. So I take the forstner bit and chuck it into my cordless drill/driver and .......... disaster strikes! The bit jumped out of the recess and mangled the foot. What to do?  The only fix I could come up with is to inlay a repair piece surrounding the recess. I had some nice scraps of ebony and decided to try my hand a inlay. There were minor disasters involved in the fix itself (you can see one at the upper right hand corner of the inlay) but generally I was able to recover. The coin is something I had fabricated a number of years ago to sign my work. Its simple and, I think, looks great.

Hang angle: excellent point! As the height of the work changes, the hang angle comes into play. Since I just starting using this new device I have not formulated an opinion one way or the other, but I suspect that the lower hang angle saws will be the better candidates to use with this bench. Gee, if I decide that I need an even lower hang angle, I may have to contact my favorite custome saw maker
.

Pic of medallion:

" />

[adamcherubini]

BTW Charles doesn't look like that height is comfortable for him.
Maybe it would be better with a lower hang angel odf the handle or a gents saw.

Cheers
Pedder

I noticed the same thing Pedder. Wonder how craftsmen survived for centuries without these things.

I had a blacksmiths post vise in my shop that I sometimes used for detail work. My workbench is palm height, my blacksmith vise is just below elbow height. I would think that would be the highest you would want something like that.

Phillip, where is this bench compared to your elbow?

[AHill]

That's a great job on the bench. I'd be interested in hearing how it compares to a Moxon vise. Did you cut the dovetails for the vise? Compared to Becksvoort's version, I like yours better.

[Philip1231]

That's a great job on the bench.  I'd be interested in hearing how it compares to a Moxon vise.  Did you cut the dovetails for the vise?  Compared to Becksvoort's version, I like yours better.

Thanks for the kind words. I had used the LN vise in "Moxon Mode" prior to modifying it for this project. I was fine, but I felt that having it a little higher would work even better. Time will tell. This was my first attempt at "Condor Tails" and as I mentioned I followed William Ng's directions. Dovetails on rear of bench were cut by hand.