this is most of what's in the 'What's on your work bench' thread. Decided best to have this in a thread of it's own. Instead of highjacking the other thread. Don't want to loose the content from the 'What's on' thread. This starts on page 59 and goes on to 60. Lots of great ideas and comments.
'What's on your work bench thread this discussion
My first work bench was a set of saw horses and a cut up and out of square 4x4 piece of 3/4 ply. Used that for years. Decided to finally make a real one. My new one is 72x38. Bigger and taller than what had.
Fist pic is the framework for the top and a proposed wood vice. Vice will come later. That thing has been moved and had size changes several times now.
I'm calling this second pic a 3D version of the first one. : )
Next pic is shows the leg supports. These will be used for shelves and 'pinch buckets'. Bottom shelf is shown but not screwed into place yet.
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Wanted to post an update on my bench clamp after using it for a few times. It does have some slight rotation to the clamp. Placing a piece of work off center as shown below causes the empty side to angle inward. So it's not as good as a store bought unit. Still couldn't be happier with it.
Might try to widen the bar clamp head with a piece of steel flat bar. See if that cuts the movement down a bit. Even if I leave it the way it is it's very usable. Really happy with it.
Also wanted to share a pic of what I've been using for the last 20+ years as a work bench. Saw horses and all. : )
Still don't know why it took 20+ years to do an upgrade. but happy I finally came to my senses and did.
It looks great to me and a very workable work station. Now proceed to wear it out. ;)
Clamp is done! After trying it with only one stabilizer I kept the other one off. Two 3/8 rods caused some binding issues at times. One works great. It has a bit of a wobble to it. But doesn't spin around and is completely usable.
Not the best looking but a vice is a vice. And a working vice on the cheap is always a good vice. And this one worked great. The second photo shows my already crowded 'pinch bucket'. And confirms I'll never put the notebook back into the shelf I made for it. Note book, upper right hand side of the picture. Note book shelf. Upper left hand corner of the picture. : )
I did revise the clamp plans. Put both stabilizer wood pieces on the bottom of the clamp. Instead of having one on the table. Made lining them up easier.
Hi, ratty, that looks very serviceable and will be a joy to work on. When will you be adding penciled notes, phone numbers, measurements and coffee mug stains to the bench top? Not to mention some saw marks and drill holes. Well done.
Taff
That's why it's 3/4 ply and not expensive or nice looking wood. It's a work bench. Not a show piece to impress anyone. I'm looking forward to making this look just as beat up as that old 4x4 piece on the saw horses did. That took years. Its not even attached to the legs yet and it's got paint, glue and poly smears.
Hi, I was investigating the fitting of a vice using pipe clamps and wooden jaws as you show here ratty, and decided I could make a few modifications to better suit my needs.
Firstly I thought that the handle and thread part of the vise protruded too far out from the bench, restricting movement around the bench, in my work space I'd be bound to end up with bruises from bumping into it.
Second was that I wanted the jaws to open wider than the threaded handle adjuster would allow.
So I have posted photos of my proposed mods to overcome these issues.
First, I would have the whole pipe and the moving jaws and tightening mechanism move in and out, then push it in to contact the workpiece and do the final tightening with just a few turns of a shortened threaded handle assembly.
To do this of course I would have to release the pipe locking cam [which is on the other end of the pipe clamp assembly] then move the pipe and vise jaw and relock the cam in place. This cam lever can just be seen in one of your photos.
I have since revised the cam operation, but you get the idea.
To enable this I would extend the cam lever out for easy access. Shown using timber in the photo.
Also the rods to stabilise the jaws from turning would be smooth pipe so as to limit binding in their holes. May even have the threaded rod going through the pipe.
Anyway, as I do better with wood than computer drawing, I've mocked it up in timber for explanation sake.
Cheers Taff
Computer drawing is easy. All I do is use rectangles and squares to represent the idea. Because I'm on a mac I have to jump through hoops to get it here. First I make the drawing. Then export just the selected drawing. Then use another program to resize it and turn it into a usable GIF or JPEG.
Sitting closed my clamp sticks a good 8 1/2 inches (216 MM) out from the table. Sitting like this I have the full screw length of the pipe clamp to play with. My total jaw opening is at 13.5 inches (343 MM) of inside use. Was shooting for 12 inches. I like getting more than I planned for. : )
the angle of the pic and distance from the opening makes it look like 13 1/4.
To keep the thread from binding I drilled a 1/2 hole for a 3/8 threaded rod. Two rods would bind. But only one moves freely. And because you really only need one to hold the jaw the clamp works freely as well.
Ya, all end clamps kinda stick out and can get in the way of moving around a table. But their ease and quick use is worth their real-estate space in the shop. I had to drill two holes in a small piece of wood. Instead of getting clamps. Positioning the wood to drill one hole. Making sure it didn't move and then drill. I opened my end clamp. Drilled both holes and was done. The only thing I had to put away was the drill.
Updates. Still don't have the top down. Because it's heavy enough to work on without moving. Still need to get it down though. I have the clamp area cut out and have worked on the idea to keep the clamp straight.
There will be two 3/8 threaded rods held tightly to the jaw. These rods will slide freely through a board behind the clamp. Both will keep the jaw from spinning. The rods will be offset because of how the clamp is in relation to the table. Had to come up with this idea. All the clamps like this on line use two bars. Light brown is the clamp. Darker brown is new wood added to both the clamp and table.
Even without the top fastened down I have one of my pinch buckets full. So full I have to dig through stuff to find what I need. Need to organize this better. Keep my pinch buckets from becoming slop buckets. : )
Updates. Still don't have the top down. Because it's heavy enough to work on without moving. Still need to get it down though. I have the clamp area cut out and have worked on the idea to keep the clamp straight.
There will be two 3/8 threaded rods held tightly to the jaw. These rods will slide freely through a board behind the clamp. Both will keep the jaw from spinning. The rods will be offset because of how the clamp is in relation to the table. Had to come up with this idea. All the clamps like this on line use two bars. Light brown is the clamp. Darker brown is new wood added to both the clamp and table.
Even without the top fastened down I have one of my pinch buckets full. So full I have to dig through stuff to find what I need. Need to organize this better. Keep my pinch buckets from becoming slop buckets. : )
My measurements precise. Math a bit off. But more on that later. My drilling within a 1/64 off center. That's how accurate I've had to be for years at work. But at work I used a drill press like machine. Not a hand held drill. Drilling through the table my holes were even and very level. Can't say the same for the clamp. Angled way off on one side. So for now change of plans. Perhaps for the better. I've cut the clamp down to 12 inches wide. And will only use one of the pole clamps. I'll run a 1/4 threaded rod to the lower left hand side of the pole clamp. This will slide in and out with the clamp and help keep it level.
The benefits of having a shorter clamp. I set up and used the 22 inch two pole clamp. Had to use scrap wood on one side to hold a 2x4 in the other. Without the scrap the 2x4 flopped around in the clamp. With a smaller clamp I wont have to deal with that.
My math. Was wanting the clamp to be even with the table top. I'm a 1/2 inch short. But this also has a silver lining. No chance of hitting the camp wile sliding something across the table. And if I really want to beaf up the clamp I can add 1/2 of hardwood to the top and inside of the clamp later.
Will have to put a 2 inch plug on this side of the dog slot. The back side of the bar clamp still needs to be drilled and screwed permanently into the table. This way the bar will slide without this part of the clamp moving.
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