Alan G Posted April 28, 2017 Report Share Posted April 28, 2017 Great work so far! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted April 28, 2017 Report Share Posted April 28, 2017 Nice! Almost there now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2017 I've been thinking about the shape for the leg vise chop. Here's the lineup right now: #1 (same as #4) is my current favorite (which is why I bothered to draw chamfers, etc on it). #3 is the shape from the plans, if I make it tall enough for my bench. Now I just have to figure out how to cut that out without having a bandsaw, with a chop almost 3 inches thick.I suspect jigsawing and a lot of refinement with the sander are in my future. Does a spokeshave even really work with a piece that thick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted April 29, 2017 Report Share Posted April 29, 2017 No wrong answer here as it's a personal choice.. I've done 3 different versions and, strangely enough, they all work the same 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted April 29, 2017 Report Share Posted April 29, 2017 I like your #1/#4 shape. And yes, a spokeshave will take material away in short order. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2017 I know this is definitely just a form issue, rather than affecting the function at all. I just want to make sure it looks good, since I intend to be looking at it for the next 40 years or so. Good to know that the spoke shave should work. I don't have a lot of great options for cutting that curve. Best I can do is probably using my jigsaw to get close, although I suppose I could think about template routing too for the final waste removal. I was originally thinking I might do something like #6 because it's easier, but I think the curve is the way to go after sleeping on it. For the edges I'm thinking a 3/4 chamfer on the edges, and a 1 1/2 chamfer on the top to make sawing easier. I assume I should completely fit the mechanism with it as a 9 inch wide block, then cut it down. That makes the most sense, although it means drilling a 9 inch hole with installing the criss cross solo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted April 29, 2017 Report Share Posted April 29, 2017 Yes, fit it to the bench before cutting and shaping. You'll get tired of taking it off and putting it back on but, that's what needs to be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2017 Yes, fit it to the bench before cutting and shaping. You'll get tired of taking it off and putting it back on but, that's what needs to be done. Ok, thanks, that's what I figured. I may try to lay out the mortise and the holes today, and I think I'll make a template for the curve. I'm not concerned about it taking a while, as long as the result is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted April 29, 2017 Report Share Posted April 29, 2017 Leave it long. Set your mortise from the bottom as that's the important measurement initially. Get everything done (mortise and screw hole) and ready to install for the first time. When you do your initial fit up, you'll need to adjust the bushing anyway so, this is a good time to mark the height of the chop. Once that's marked, take it back apart, adjust the bushing, and then start shaping the chop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted April 29, 2017 Report Share Posted April 29, 2017 Mine is coffin shaped with 10 degree champfers. You don't have to go generic. Make it yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted April 29, 2017 Report Share Posted April 29, 2017 I like the first one on the left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 So things didn't go according to plan... I've had what I thought was a 3/8" drill bit out that I used to drill all the draw bore holes. I then very carefully set up my drill press to be square to the leg, measured several times, and drilled for the solo pin. I was thrilled with the result until I went to finish going through with a longer 3/8" bit and it rattled around in the hole. It seems I've had the 7/16" bit out the whole time. The short story is I now need to drill all the draw bore holes out to 1/2", and I'm thinking of using epoxy to fill the original hole I drilled and redrilling it from the other side. At least I didn't do this on the chop. Anyone have any brilliant ideas to save me some work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted April 30, 2017 Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 I'm not exactly sure of what the hole is for, but can't you glue in a 7/16 dowel, and redrill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 I'm not exactly sure of what the hole is for, but can't you glue in a 7/16 dowel, and redrill? Hi Tom, The hole is for a 5 1/4" pin that is the pivot point for the criss cross arm. It has to be pretty accurate, or the vise is affected. I could glue in a dowel, although I don't know if I could find anything other than Poplar. The leg is hard maple, so I'm a little worried about how it'll drill since I'd be going into fairly soft end grain in that case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 Well, for better or worse I've made my attempt at un-drilling the hole. We'll see how this goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 Well, I think I can call that mostly a success... I managed to redrill the hole through the epoxy, and it lined up to within 1/16" across the 5 1/4" width. Hopefully that's close enough for the criss cross. I also managed to drill out the peg holes to 1/2". The method that worked best was to use a twist bit in reverse to enlarge the first 1/16" to 1/2" wide, then proceed with the good Brad point in the drill press to drill it out. Any other combination I tried chewed up the surface. Now on to the chop. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted April 30, 2017 Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 On 4/28/2017 at 8:47 PM, SawDustB said: I'm with the majority...I think 1 and 4 are the coolest. I especially like #1...has an elegance to it. Definitely pure aesthetics, but there are so many Roubos out there by now it's nice to personalize in some way or another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 I'm with the majority...I think 1 and 4 are the coolest. I especially like #1...has an elegance to it. Definitely pure aesthetics, but there are so many Roubos out there by now it's nice to personalize in some way or another. Cool, thanks. That's pretty much where my thinking is. I'll draw it out full size on the chop before I commit, but I think it's going to be #1. I drilled the hole through the vise chop, all 9 inches of it. I think when bench crafted suggests having a drill press for the solo, they don't mean a little one like mine. I had to MacGyver a setup on the bench top to even use it, since the foot is too close the head otherwise. I finished it off with a 12 inch installers bit in the hand drill. I used my tilt box angle finder to get the drill bit perfectly square to the chop. The end result was great. The hole was only off by about 1/32" after going through all 9 inches. I'm very happy. I also would advise myself to just buy the retro criss cross if I was doing this over again. Next step is routing the mortises, but that'll have to wait until later in the week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan G Posted April 30, 2017 Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 Nice job re-drilling those holes. I like the design of chop #1 also. That should look great on there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted May 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 I had a chance to route the Criss Cross mortises this week. I started by routing the bulk out about 1/32" shy on the width and 1/16" shy on the depth. My thinking was that I could come up with a clean up pass at the end. Unfortunately, while routing the leg the maple splintered badly on one edge of the mortise. I figure there was either a weak spot in the wood, or a weird grain change. Either way, I then cut out a clean rabbet there and glued in a patch. The next day, I was able to flush up the patch with my chisels and planes. I then cut the mortises to final dimension. Everything looks good, so all that's left is squaring the ends with a chisel and I can test fit the Criss Cross. I haven't done anything else to the chop, so it's unshaped and long at both the top and bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 Looking good. Nice work on the repairs. You can test the fit and movement with everything as is except for the chop length. I'd trim the bottom down and start spinning that wheel ( just watch your thumb, the vise is stronger than your skin) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted May 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 Even though I have more work to do on the mortises, I had to mock it up to try it. Looks to me like it'll work just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted May 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 I had a chance to do a bit more today. First order of business was to drill the holes for the vise screw. Unfortunately, my little drill press wouldn't reach the middle of the chop so I made a template and used the router. I drilled the hole in the leg as well, and tried putting it together. This is going to be awesome. Next up was cutting the vise chop to shape. I cut the straight sections with the table saw, then made a template and used a spiral bit with bushing first, then a flush trim bit to cut it out. It's still a little rough, but I left it about 1/32" over sized to allow enough for spoke shaves and planes. Or sanding, if the spoke shave doesn't cooperate. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted May 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 I know these look like the same pictures, but I cleaned up the chop curves and did a test fit. I also drilled and tapped the holes for the nut. I had 2 minor issues. First, I'm getting about 5/16" of toe in on the vise. That's a bit more than bench crafted specifies, anyone know if that's a problem? Second, I had to shim the top of the nut out slightly (little under 1/16") to match the chop angle or it's binding. That would likely be reduced a bit with less toe in, but I don't think it's anything to worry about. I'm happy with how it looks, and how it works provided the nut is shimmed. I'm just trying to decide if I bother mortising the nut into the back of the leg before calling it done. I'm thinking I shouldn't, in case I ever decide to put a different screw on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted May 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2017 Well, I thought I might be making pegs and getting ready for the glue up tonight, but I just realized mother's day is Sunday. I have a picture frame to make tonight so my daughter can paint it, so the bench will have to wait. No time for a journal on that, but I'll post a picture when it's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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