My Version of Christian Becksvoort's Dovetail Bench
#11
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.
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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.

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#12
Very nice! Even if you never used it, though I'm sure you will, beautiful shop art.
Best,
Aram, always learning

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery


Web: My woodworking photo site
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#13
Very nice,  and I love how organized your shop looks.
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#14
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?
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#15
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.
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#16
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
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#17
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.
Still Learning,

Allan Hill
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#18
(08-19-2022, 05:33 PM)AHill Wrote: 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.
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#19
(08-19-2022, 01:31 PM)Pedder Wrote: 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
Wink.

Pic of medallion:

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#20
(08-19-2022, 01:31 PM)Pedder Wrote: 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?
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