OK, how many of you have ever needed a Moxon Vice but never seem to get around to purchasing the hardware for one? Yup, that's me too. I don't need a vise like this very often, and I don't really have the room on my bench for something I only need once in a while, so this little tip from Tony was a great idea.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/9-8_BxcWRkM
With little more than a decent quality construction grade 2" X 6" board, about 6 feet long and you too can have your own Moxon Vice ...
These vices go back to the 1600s from what I can tell. They are available in many different sizes, shapes and with all sorts of different kinds of hardware to make them work. Some very elaborate others are more meager. This vice has many benefits such as, it's inexpensive to build, If you don't need it and want to store it out of the way, that is easily done, it's quick and easy to set up, it accommodates all sorts of sizes of wood and depending on the version you make it's adjustable, and best of all, if your clamps are god and your workbench is up to the task, this thing holds wood rock solid.
It's pretty simple to make, I made mine from 2 lengths of 2X6, one was 32" long the other 24" long. The one thing I do want to point out is that if you are heading to the lumber store to purchase a 2X6, you try to find the driest one you can, otherwise you may end up with a vice where the jaws are warped or bowed a bit. Like everything we make, the drier the wood the less risk of warping and wood movement.
My wood was pretty dry but I still ran it through my jointer, and then my planer to make sure it was flat.
Next, I needed to cut slots into all four pieces as you can see from the picture below. I did not want the bar to fit snugly into the slot but to have a little bit of play so that I can adjust the jaws if I need to and also adjust how the clamp sits in the slot. I made the slots 5" long and drilled the 3/8" holes at the front and the back of the boards and doubled them up so that the slots would align.
After the holes were drilled on my drill press, I marked where to cut out the top and bottom of the slot which I did at my bandsaw. the only real reason for the holes at far outside of the 3X6s is to make sure I get the slot straight and even.
Below is exactly all the components for the Moxon Vice, you can use different clamps according to what you have or what you prefer to work with. I made my vice according to what clamps I had on hand.
To be honest I was a bit skeptical about how this thing would turn out. It is not the first thing I have ever built where I recorded the build as I went along, then found out in the end that the project was not something I wanted to pass along to others ... it just wasn't what I hoped it would be, but Not the Moxon Vise. When I clamped it to my workbench the first thing I checked was how solid it was, and it was like a rock ... NO movement from the vice. I am sure this also had to do with the clamps I used, but also the design of this vice lends itself to making a good, easy-to-use vice.
I have every confidence that most people who build this vice will be more than happy with it, especially considering the tiny cost of building it. If you are looking for an inexpensive, rock-solid vice for very little money ... this is the one to build.
Thanks again Tony for sending this along to me and for sharing this with other woodworkers.
Copyright Colin Knecht
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