Here's a shot of my end vise, opened until the guide rods are just beyond their support bracket.
The opening is about 11.25 inches in this pic and the vise outer jaw is just under two inches thick, so the overall vise opening with the outer jaw mounted is somewhere around 9.25 inches. Is this pic a good position to consider for maximum jaw opening or can I go a tad wider?
The guide rods are 6.5 inches on center. Centering the benchtop dogs on the laminated maple outside the posts, avoiding the glue line, would give me about 10.5 inches on center between the two rows of bench dogs.
Questions: Should I make my first row of dogs in the top around 9 inches in from the vise dog hole centerline - a little less than jaw opening? And space each additional dog going down the bench at 9 inches on center?
The 10.5 inches between rows seems kinda wide. Is the idea to use a single row of dogs for narrow stock and just use the two rows for stock wide enough to span them, i.e. 11 inches or wider?
Regarding dog holes in the vise jaw...how deep do I bore? The jaws are around 6 inches deep. I haven't decided if I will make some dogs or just buy some metal dogs. These look nice but are really pricey. Are they worth the cost? http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=31127&cat=1,41637,41645
I put the second coat of Watco Danish oil on the bottom areas and vise jaws tonight. I'm ready to drill the jaw dog holes then flip the top onto the base and clean up the endcap and apron joints so they're flush with the top, bore top dog holes, sand and finish the top. I'm thinking three coats of Danish oil for the top. Getting closer to the goal! :-D (still need to build the base cabs but I can use the bench in the meantime).
Chuck
The opening is about 11.25 inches in this pic and the vise outer jaw is just under two inches thick, so the overall vise opening with the outer jaw mounted is somewhere around 9.25 inches. Is this pic a good position to consider for maximum jaw opening or can I go a tad wider?
The guide rods are 6.5 inches on center. Centering the benchtop dogs on the laminated maple outside the posts, avoiding the glue line, would give me about 10.5 inches on center between the two rows of bench dogs.
Questions: Should I make my first row of dogs in the top around 9 inches in from the vise dog hole centerline - a little less than jaw opening? And space each additional dog going down the bench at 9 inches on center?
The 10.5 inches between rows seems kinda wide. Is the idea to use a single row of dogs for narrow stock and just use the two rows for stock wide enough to span them, i.e. 11 inches or wider?
Regarding dog holes in the vise jaw...how deep do I bore? The jaws are around 6 inches deep. I haven't decided if I will make some dogs or just buy some metal dogs. These look nice but are really pricey. Are they worth the cost? http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=31127&cat=1,41637,41645
I put the second coat of Watco Danish oil on the bottom areas and vise jaws tonight. I'm ready to drill the jaw dog holes then flip the top onto the base and clean up the endcap and apron joints so they're flush with the top, bore top dog holes, sand and finish the top. I'm thinking three coats of Danish oil for the top. Getting closer to the goal! :-D (still need to build the base cabs but I can use the bench in the meantime).
Chuck