Base unit not Square!

[Kevmc]

I am working on mortising the base unit to the top My problem is that the two front legs are a bit off square so that if I try and align the face of each leg with the front edge of the bench is doesn't really work. if I align one of the front corners of the legs, the other corner of the leg ends up being about 1/64 to 1/32 or a little more proud of the edge of the bench. I was thinking of either squaring up the legs with a plane, at least where they connect to the bench. Alternatively, I can align the slab with the other corner of the leg l then plane the front of the bench. What do you guys think the best approach is

[Chopcat]

i would set the legs so that the out of square bits are proud. Take your router jig for flattening the top and then square the legs all the way down using the same technique as for the top.

There you go - two uses from one jig allready. Marc said it would come in handy.

(or you could always just plane them)

cc

[konkers]

My legs are a bit off flush as well. My plan is to leave the legs a bit proud and plane them flush. Make sure to do this (or get pretty close) before you install the leg vise otherwise the vise will be slightly off perpendicular from the top edge.

[thewoodwhisperer]

Unfortunately, if you followed the order presented in the video, the vise will already be installed. So removing stock from that leg would indeed induce a bit of a clamping issue. Then again, if we're talking about 1/64"-1/32" overhangs, I am really thinking we can call that "good enuff". I would try to make sure the base is positioned to give the most favorable alignment to the vise side. Then see what you have on the tail vise side of the table where a little "correction via planing" won't have as much impact.

[Kevmc]

Unfortunately, if you followed the order presented in the video, the vise will already be installed. So removing stock from that leg would indeed induce a bit of a clamping issue. Then again, if we're talking about 1/64"-1/32" overhangs, I am really thinking we can call that "good enuff". I would try to make sure the base is positioned to give the most favorable alignment to the vise side. Then see what you have on the tail vise side of the table where a little "correction via planing" won't have as much impact.

Yes, thats my problem. I think if I align the leg with the vice, the other leg is too far off. Both legs are a bit misaligned. In looking at the situation a bit more, I think I am going to align the legs so that the extra material is on the leg. I am going to mount the slab then plane the legs so they are in the same plane as the front edge of the slab. I was looking at the play in the vice and I am thinking the small amount of material I have to take off will not impact the clamping operation that much, especiall with the suede glued into the vice. If it does I will then take a router and relevel the recess for the plastic vice screw guide and they plane the area on the back of the leg and reroute the recess for the nut.

[thewoodwhisperer]

especially with the suede glued into the vice.

This actually buys you quite a bit of play as most pieces won't even make full contact with the leg when clamped.

[allencrane]

This actually buys you quite a bit of play as most pieces won't even make full contact with the leg when clamped.

I noticed this when I glued the suede in the vise. When I was installing the vise without the suede, I had that sweet feeling when seeing that the leg chop snugged up against the leg perfectly (no gap). Then, when I installed the suede on both the chop and where it meets the top, I was a little dismayed to see that the suede by itself introduced a 1/16-1/8 gap in the leg vise, even when closed tight. After all the extra time in making the measurements for this bench, this seems like a detail that needs modification (if you're going to use the suede). I was actually considering a chiseling out a shallow depression in the bench top to insert the suede so it will clamp down with the suede's protection, but a smaller gap. I didn't do anything yet, but the gap is a little disappointing, especially given the months of tight tolerances I've been working on to get to this point. I'm hopeful that with regular use the suede will compress and the issue will be minimal.

[allencrane]

If the legs are no more than 1/16 proud of the top, you may be able to solve this by simply gluing up the suede on both sides of the leg vise and see if that makes up for the gap - no disassembly, no planing the proud leg flush. It just might work. See my post above - I had a perfectly flush surface and I was about to do the opposite when I added the suede and found I introduced my own gap, just with the suede.

[thewoodwhisperer]

but the gap is a little disappointing, especially given the months of tight tolerances I've been working on to get to this point. I'm hopeful that with regular use the suede will compress and the issue will be minimal.

Unless I am misunderstanding Allen, I don't really think there is anything to be disappointed about. If you think about the way the vise works, you will rarely, if ever, grip a workpiece evenly from top to bottom. In most cases, you will get the vise snugged up, insert your pin, and tighten the chop down, resulting in a slight pivot toward the bench at the top. No matter what you do, the chop will nearly always pivot. So you have a choice: pivot with grippy material or pivot without grippy material. So while the suede does ultimately take up some space, I don't really see it having any impact on the normal function of the bench (other than improving it). I am not really sure if you would gain anything at all by recessing the suede. Just my opinion though. Others might feel differently.

[allencrane]

Unless I am misunderstanding Allen, I don't really think there is anything to be disappointed about. If you think about the way the vise works, you will rarely, if ever, grip a workpiece evenly from top to bottom. In most cases, you will get the vise snugged up, insert your pin, and tighten the chop down, resulting in a slight pivot toward the bench at the top. No matter what you do, the chop will nearly always pivot. So you have a choice: pivot with grippy material or pivot without grippy material. So while the suede does ultimately take up some space, I don't really see it having any impact on the normal function of the bench (other than improving it). I am not really sure if you would gain anything at all by recessing the suede. Just my opinion though. Others might feel differently.

I suppose you're right, Marc. This is a minor point, and in no way do I wish to diminish the design. I was just like "What the?" when I saw the gap, compared with how perfectly everything had been coming together on the whole project. Perhaps I should view THIS as the intention of the design. Thanks again.

Anyway...Kevmc, the suede alone may be a quick solution if the legs are not proud by more than 1/16 or so. This is just me, but I would try that approach first before trying to shave the leg.

[Kevmc]

quick update on my end. the top of the bench base was more square then the bottom which was what I was measuring. So when I finally mortised the top for the base, there wasn't much out of alignment. I made the leg vice end as flush as possible. I only had minor planning to do to flush up the other leg. Also the suede took up a lot of space. I guess the message for others is don't worry so much about it if its less than 1/16 off.