I've decided to write a full review on the Veritas Inset vice shortly since the idea was kindly recommended in a comment by Bill (Billy's Little Bench) last week. For now though I'd like to share a quick extra step that I take when I'm fitting one of these vices.Since introducing our Little John … [Read more...]
New Vice
This is to be our first vice to go in to the new (yet to be named) range of sensibly priced, well made hardware. It's a pinless leg vice with St Peter's cross mechanism.The steel screw has a nice rapid thread which is custom made to be coarser than normal to give a faster pace of opening, making … [Read more...]
My Name’s Richard & I’m A Tool Well Hater…
...(and I also drink far too much tea!). I'm not writing this post as a lecture or to try and educate you about tool wells, it's more about me asking for your own views and experiences. For pretty much my whole life I've hated tool wells. I was born a tool well hater and yes, I do think hate is the … [Read more...]
The Holdfast and the Batten – VIDEO
This has been a very popular video since we published, and the method has been further explored in use and in it's possible historical roots by Chris Schwarz at Lost Art Press. Check this video if you need to get your holdfasts to grip better. Clamp Boards Quickly Using Only A Holdfast … [Read more...]
Maguire Wagon Vice – Every One’s A Spinner!
So apologies for the cheesy title and product promotion post but I thought it was about time that we had a further look at the MKII Maguire Wagon Vice. As explained earlier in the year we've given it a bit of an overhaul to tweak and make further improvements and enable us to keep up with demand by … [Read more...]
Holdfasts – Get A Grip! VIDEO
Extras:Use Your Holdfast As A Tail Vice Shown In This Quick Video Bench Dogs - Round or Square?Improve The Grip Of Your Holdfasts for better work holding In this quick video I demonstrate my method for increasing the holding power of a smooth shafted holdfast. It's a simple … [Read more...]
Cherry Bomb
For those of you who think a workbench should be rough and ready, you may well cringe at the bench I have to show you today.In fact when this customer enquired with a request that the workbench should be built from cherry, even I thought it was pushing things a bit posh.The workbench was to … [Read more...]
Workbench Height
What is the best height for a workbench? This is a question I get asked weekly. If you’re planning on building a workbench for your woodworking, then it’s worth giving some thought to your height before jumping in with the tools.Getting your bench height completely wrong will cause you some … [Read more...]
When It Has To Be Pinned
With leg vices back in popular use there’s a lot of desire to go pin-less. If you’re sticking to the good old fashioned parallel guide and pin though then we say it should be done in style! For our Little John Workbenches we’ve had these tactile pins forged to fit neatly in place and the curl makes … [Read more...]
Another Titan is Born
So far this year seems to be the year of customized workbenches. Looking through the schedule there’s an unusual balance of very unique builds compared the number of standard models and some of them are very unique indeed.Taking on one-off work is very exciting; it keeps me interested from the … [Read more...]