Supports for work bench vices

[tombear]

Having a spare moment I finally got around to making a couple of supports from scrap wood to make certain jobs easier to do on my work bench. Its only taken me 15 years to get around to it!

Although they have a variety of names the piece in the fore ground is a support for using a fret saw more easily, All it is is some 1/2 inch ply wood with a 1 inch hole in it and a couple of band saw cuts with a pine block glued and pegged at the other end to be held in the vice.

The one at the back is made from scrap oak and is to hold a diamond sharpening plate so that it wont slip about ( they have 4 little rubber feet, hence the holes) and projects out from the bench so I can more easily work on the backs of draw knives which have handles that get in the way. Once again its just glued and pegged together. As always I've angle the pegs ever so slightly towards each other so they wont pull out so easily and used one of the modern glues which are stronger than the wood they are used on so its not coming apart anytime soon! I've given them two coats of yacht varnish, to make them easier to keep clean, not so important with the sharpener support but the fret saw support will be used with metals as well as wood and i want to avoid staining the latter with the former, as i've done in the past.

On Saturday I was given a coopers bung hole auger ( reamer)

the handles pretty far gone so I will probably turn a new one. the metal should clean up ok. Pic to follow when its done and usable.

ATB

Tom

 

[Kadushu]

Nice one. I've got some similar "vice ready" accessories. Think I've spent more time making sheds/workbenches/tools/accessories than actually making the things they are there to make!

 

[tombear]

Cheers! Yeah the wife says I am a tool collector more than anything else and truth be said I can't fault her logic. Weirdly I find it easier and much cheaper to get tools to do up than buy decent quality wood to make stuff from, with the tools.

I need to get some more none wormy old furniture to knock apart and get out of the hoarding the good stuff frame of mind.

Atb

Tom

 

[demographic]

The fretsaw one I would say is pretty much like a jewellers "Peg" which they also use with a piercing saw.

 

[tombear]

Yup, I've got a couple of piercing saws for herself so thought she'd get some use from as well. Not she's done owt with all the jewelry making tools I've done up for her! At some point I will have to absorb them into my tools so they actually get some use!

Atb

Tom

 

[Silverclaws2]

Ah the jewellers bench pin, for myself to have had many of those, made out of whatever was available at the time as they tend not to last long to affix my pin to whatever workspace I am in ( these days, my PC desk) by means of a G clamp. Was always minded to make a proper jewellers bench but have always lacked the facilities in which to make one.

And tools, I buy used to restore to use tools, to recently set about restoring my jewellers drill, a cast iron and brass affair that by way of a collet chuck system uses omni-directional miniature spade drills, I have some indication might come from the nineteenth century, to be an antique, but an antique to use for what it was designed for.

 

[tombear]

I'll refer to it as a peg in future as its a good name for it. Not used it yet but I have the sharpening support and I regret not knocking one up years ago, I needed to resharpen a diddy little Veritas drawknife and it made it much easier, think I'll pot some pegs on the bottom of a backed strop I want to use it to match the holes in the support.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

ive finished the metal part of the bung hole restoration, I brushed off the loose rust, soaked it for a few hours in oxcilic acid solution, rinsed it off, used a mild ammonia solution to neutralize any remaining acid, wire wheeled it, used a power file to remove the worst of the pitting on the outside part of the augers blade, chased out the screw thread with a triangular swiss file and used small diamond plates on a stick things to put the edge back on.

I need to turn a new handle for it as the old one is shot, Ive plenty of carboot beech rolling pins so I can do that as soon as I clear the lathe and herself has stopped her endless teams work meetings.

So far it cuts quite well but I'll refine the edge once its back together. The makers name is too faint to read but is deeply stamped 1 1/4 which seams to be about the max size of the hole it will leave. The handle looks identical to a Wm Marple one I saw on the interweb so I'm guessing its one by them.

somewhere I do have a inch plus sized barrel tap I picked up on spec', i'll have to look for it.

ATB

Tom

found a pic of the bung, boxwood If i recall right.

 

[tombear]

I got the replacement handle turned yesterday from a section of beech i had left over from another job rather than use one of my stash of carboot rolling pins. All the main dimensions are the same, I've several calipers i keep hung by the lathe. now for the hard bit, getting the pilot hole for the tang spot on.

I'll be using permagrit files to fit the tang good and tight. then a soak in BLO and a final sharpening.

ATB

Tom

PS the block of latex for cleaning sanding belts etc arrived this AM, should last me!

 

[Robson Valley]

The rubber: that's great. The habit is to push harder when the sandpaper isn't cutting well. That just ups the friction and cooks the sanding dust into the belt. Instead, the crepe block works like an eraser and sucks all the dust out to refresh the belt.

I have to do that with carborundum stones in the drill press when I am cutting and shaping pieces of sea shells for carving inlays. Probably saved me $1,000 in stones.

I had a 5 gal wine keg, your picture reminded me of the tap set. No recall of what happened to it.

 

[tombear]

Yeah, if I had known about this trick Id have saved the crepe soles of some desert boots i chucked when the suede uppers went. To think of the number of expensive belts I have thrown when clogged.

I finished the bung hole auger restore and its come out pretty well, usable certainly.

Now to find a small keg to put the tap on!

ATB

Tom