The ACWA Workbench

Yesterday was all about the chop and leg vise. After removing the chop from the clamps it needed a slight bit of final flattening with a hand plane and a power plane. Once we had it to final thickness I could start the layout of the large mortise, screw hole, and the overall shape of the chop.

Next I took a short break from woodworking to catch my daughters hamster Sugar who had got loose in the wood shop the night before!

Now back too work. After we made all the necessary cuts and did a rough sanding of the chop I was ready to start installing the vise hardware.

I started by installing the steel plates that the criss cross legs rub on during operation. Then pounded one of the upper pins in through the criss cross to hold it in place.

The screws in the flange on the vise handle are machined screws so we had to drill a 1/4" hole then tap using a 5/16-18 tap.

Here we are, a lot of work to get this far. I'd like to thank all the club members that have been involved in getting us this far I feel pretty confident that we are a good ways past half way. I think we have a good chance of finishing in time for the Artistry in wood show!