The Last Moxon Dovetail Vise

[Derek Cohen]

Many of my projects involve bow fronts, which result in compound angle dovetails ...



I do enjoy building furniture with dovetailing challenges.

Between furniture pieces, I find time to build a new tool. This time it is the Moxon dovetail vise I have been promising myself for a while. My first and only one was built in early 2011, after Chris Schwarz helped put it on the map. I immediately modified this design, and have been making modifications since. (Link: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeToo...lVise.html). This new Moxon incorporates the best ideas.

Ironically, this design is not geared for compound angles. I decided to heed my own advice and keep it as simple as possible, and cater for the 90% of the dovetailing that is likely to be done.

The width of the vise is narrower than my previous one, but capable of 450mm (17 3/4")between the screws. Most cases I built are between 350 - 450mm deep. My previous Moxon could do 560mm (22") between the screws. This is unnecessary, and just makes for a very large fixture.

Where the old Moxon used wooden screws, which I turned, this uses steel Acme screws and iron wheels ala BenchCrafted ... except that these came via Tom Bussey (thanks Tom), which amounted to a large savings. The wheels are 5" in diameter on a 3/4" screw. 

The front chop is 5 1/2" high, and the Moxon is built in Jarrah ... what else do you expect!
  I went a little OTT in this build, but it was fun, and I admit I did become a little carried away




Brass inlay ...



The chop runs on bronze bushings ...



Lining the inside of the vise is rubberised cork. This makes a great non-slip (not my idea - this comes from BenchCrafted, who call it "crubber". Simply search eBay for "cork rubber"). 



This vise is a good height for sawing ...



There are a few innovations. The rear of the vise ...



This is a spacer, and it can be locked into the up position ...



The spacer has two functions. The first is setting the pin board (10mm) above the chop to prevent scoring the chop when transferring tails to pins with a knife (this is more of a danger with through dovetails). Also, by lifting the work, there will be light behind the pin board, and this makes it easier to align the edges.



The crubber makes a great non-slip. 

The spacer may be dropped out of the way, once the height is set ...



The second use of the spacer is that it has a sliding dovetail at the top, and this allows for the use of MicroJig clamps. This would be especially useful for holding wide boards, or tail board which have developed a slight bow ...





I have used this on other fixtures, such as a morticing jig.

[Derek Cohen]

For aligning the tail- and pin boards, I prefer a simple wide square I made from wood ...



The spacer needs to be dropped out of the way for this ...



Once transfer is made, reverse the board and saw the pins. This is where you will recognise that the cove is not simply decoration, but allows the saw to angle and get closer to the work piece. The lower the work piece in the vise, the less vibration when sawing ...



And thats it ... the last moxon dovetail vise ...



Regards from Perth

Derek

[barryvabeach]

Derek,  mighty pretty work on the vise -  I love the groove at the front, and the all the detailing.

[DaveR1]

That's a lovely vise Derek.

I recently completed the plans for an inexpensive Moxon vise (all hardware for less than $10 US) as well as a more elaborate one that has a chain drive and a large platform behind the vise jaws so the tail board can be laid down on it. It would be interesting to do plans for yours.

[mdhills]

... which amounted to a large savings. 

Think this is the first time I've seen this come up in one of your posts. 

 I went a little OTT in this build, but it was fun, and I admit I did become a little carried away

Okay, that is more like it...

Looks nice.  Do you have any issue with the jig shiften as you secure the holdfasts?  (thinking it is pretty desirable to line the front of the vise up with the front of the bench, or is this not too critical?)

Matt

[cputnam]

Same meticulous craftsmanship exhibited in your furniture.  Nice!  

[DonSlaughter]

Thank you so much, Mr Cohen!  I've been using my Moxon for a year now and can really see how your innovations will improve the function and ease of use.  The cove at the front, the I beam for support and the alignment square are definitely on my 'to do' list.  Thank you!  The wheels look nice and would certainly be an added luxury but, honestly my handles (just like your originals) work fine, especially considering that, once set, adjustment is made with only one.  One question....are the chops on your latest just a bit thinner? 
Thank you very much for sharing this!

Don

[Derek Cohen]

Think this is the first time I've seen this come up in one of your posts. 

Okay, that is more like it...

Looks nice.  Do you have any issue with the jig shiften as you secure the holdfasts?  (thinking it is pretty desirable to line the front of the vise up with the front of the bench, or is this not too critical?)

Matt

Matt, cost is always a factor. I do a lot of research comparing prices and quality. One of the more costly mistakes is having to replace parts because of using something nasty. 

The vise does not shift, possibly because I am used to first pinching it between a dog and the tail vise, and only then adding the holdfasts. I don’t think it would be much of an issue (moving) as long as the chop hangs over the front of the bench, which it needs to do to run freely. 

Compared wth the wooden screws in the first Moxon vise, these cast iron wheels on steel screws run so smoothly and easily. I was concerned that the wheels would lack leverage to open/close, but it is not an issue at all.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Hank Knight]

The chop runs on bronze bushings ...

Derek, I'm curious about your bushing set-up. I assume the bushings are standard ones you can buy at any industrial supply house. What about the diamond-shaped backing that appears to be inlayed onto the chop? Is that something you fabricated? Is it attached to the bushing, or does the barrel of the bushing simply pass through a hole in it?

I have used steel bushings for exactly the same purpose (to keep the front chop from wracking unnecessarily), but I always thought a steel (or bronze in your example) backing for the bushing would be helpful. I'd like to know the details of your set-up. It looks to be exactly what I'm looking for.

Thanks.

Hank

[cputnam]

Is the spacer held in the up position by that single thumb screw? If so, how is then constrained to be level with the chop and I-bean?