Moxon vise on TS?

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Just saw a video of putting a Moxie vise on the wing of a table saw. I think this makes a lot of sense. Any thoughts? Good or bad?
The main advantage is how stable the saw is even compared to my new almost massive bench I built. They used the cheap Woodcraft kit.

With careful build, it could still give a parallel edge for a clamp on guide for trimming wide sheets.
 

Craptastic

Matt
Corporate Member
Very nice idea. Just better make sure your table saw edge has the rigidity to accommodate it (i.e, cast or full rolled steel and not a bent table top (usually done on contractor style saws).
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Yes, Rob's video. And yes, I have a Harvey cabinet saw. A contractor saw would not be heavy enough which is the main idea, a very immobile support to give you better control over your dovetail saw.
 

HMH

Heath Hendrick
Senior User
Oh man, I like that idea a lot! I don’t do a lot of handsaw work - not enough to dedicate a bench for anyway, so this seems like a great idea, w/o taking up any room. Thanks for the link!
 

creasman

Jim
Staff member
Corporate Member
Interesting idea in Rob's video, but I'm not sold on it. I often use the top of my table saw as a work area, especially before I built a proper workbench. This has lead to a lot scratches and spills on the top that could have been avoided. It also means extra clutter that has to be moved before I can use the tool as intended. Now, I try to avoid this but bad habits are hard to break.

I'm curious why you don't think your workbench is sturdy enough. I regularly saw and plane on my bench and it never budges. If yours is moving then you might want to check out why and fix that. Planing would be a real problem if the bench moves.

The two main issues for me with mounting the vise onto the table saw are:
  • The vise is too low. Table saws are about 34"-36" off the floor. If you're cutting dovetails or tenons from that height your natural tendency is to tip the blade. That's why his students hit the top of the table (a real problem for both table and dovetail saw if your top is iron). I built my Moxon vise as a separate appliance so I could raise it up to a better height. Mine gets clamped to the bench top and raises the work up to about 42"-44". I haven't had this problem, plus it's a lot more comfortable height (I'm about 6' tall).
  • Sawing dovetails produces a fair amount of sawdust and small "cubes" of wood from cutting out the spaces between the pins or tails. You'll find yourself having to sweep the top of the saw frequently. If one of the cubes finds it way over to the blade it could get thrown the next time you cut on the saw.
I notice in Rob's video he has a shoulder vise. These present a problem when sawing dovetails as you have to lean over the vise to get to the work. A Moxon vise is the right way to go. I would just look for a way to raise it up and mount it to the workbench or some other work surface besides my table saw. JM2C
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Got it built today. I went ahead and put it on the end of my workbench. I guess for the price it is OK. I used some ash as a nice piece grabbed my eye at the Hardwood Store.

Instructions are terrible. They only suggest a top of bench removable setup. If I did not already know what I wanted it would be a puzzlement.
Should have come with 4 washers for the rear, not two.
Screws are not 3/4 but just a little larger. No problem for the rear, but needed to sand the front holes. Probably explains the poor fit of the washers.
Nuts are neither SAE nor metric on the OD. Just sloppy Chinese I guess.
I would suggest one of the front holes be oblong nd the other a oblong double taper so the jaws can move skew easier. I need to tweak that further.
I added some finger notches on the sides to make it easier to open.
Only has a little over 3 inches opening. Fine for it's intended use, but not enough to use as a tail vise.

Going to go get more washers and the springs Ron suggested. If I could find some slick tubing to bush the threads with, it would be even nicer.
 

pop-pop

Man with many vises
Corporate Member
Going to go get more washers and the springs Ron suggested. If I could find some slick tubing to bush the threads with, it would be even nicer.

McMaster-Carr has HDPE tubing that we use in the tall vises for the dumbbell screw to slide on. Is 1” ID too big?
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
I watched a little of the vid, couldn't stand to watch more.
Very bad idea.
Too low, in a terrible place, not enough thickness capacity.
I usually gang cut my tail boards. Bench is the place for a vise.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
My bench is even lower, but I am going to make it adjustable. My saw may be taller than some. It is 36 inches.
Found the 3/4 PVC conduit splice to be the right size, but as it needs to pivot, not sure how to hold it in. Will do raw for now. A flange maybe.

FWIW, if you buy the same kit on Amazon, it is $20 more.

Not optimum, but I do a lot of my work sitting down to help my back.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Came up with another mod ideal. A second face?

We typically bevel the face to give saw clearance, but that does not leave anything to use for a dog. So, seems easy enough to either make a second square block fence or to just flip the one around so a set of holes for dogs could be put in.

Experience? Yea, the travel is not great not one can make offset dogs.
 

Rwe2156

DrBob
Senior User
Too low for me, and I wouldn't do it anyway.

My moxon is made as a bench on bench. I also put lock nuts on so the threads aren't sticking out.

Moxon finished dog holes.JPG
 

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