Fig. 82.—Folding Bench in use.
BENCH STOPS.
The ordinary bench is provided with holes for the reception of stops, against which or between which work is held for planing, etc. These stops are of iron shaped as in Fig. 86, and have springs their sides by means of which they are held tightly and at any required height in the bench holes. An adjustable stop for screwing to the bench is shown by Fig. 87. For a temporary stop some workers drive a few nails into the bench end, leaving the heads projecting enough to hold the wood. A much better substitute can be made out of an ordinary butt hinge, one end of which should be filed into teeth so as to hold the wood better. This end should be left loose, and the other side screwed down tightly to the bench end as shown by Fig. 88. A long, light screw through the middle hole in the loose side will afford sufficient adjustment for thin or thick stuff. When done with, the hinge can be taken up and put away.
Fig. 83.—Folding Bench not in use.
Fig. 84.—Cabinet-worker’s Bench.
Fig. 85.—Kitchen Table Bench.
COMMON BENCH SCREW VICE.
A common form of joiner’s bench screw is shown in general view by Fig. 89; Fig. 90 is a view looking from the inside, supposing the top, leg, and bearer of the bench to be removed, and Fig. 91 is a sectional view. D is the side or cheek of the bench to which the wooden nut A is screwed. The box B, which accurately fits the runner shown inside it, is fixed to the top rail connecting the legs, and to the top and side of the bench. Care is taken to keep the runner at right angles to the vice cheeks. To fasten the vice outer cheek and screw together so that upon turning the latter the former will follow it, a groove E (Fig. 91) is cut. Then from the under edge of the cheek a mortise is made, and a hardwood key F is driven to fit fairly tight into the mortise, its end entering E. The screw cheek is usually about 1 ft. 9 in. long, 9 in. wide, and 2 in. to 3 in. thick. The runner is about 3 in. by 3 in. and 2 ft. long. The wooden screws and nuts can be bought ready made.
Fig. 86.—Iron Bench Stop.
Fig. 87.—Adjustable Bench Stop.
Fig. 88.—Hinge used as Bench Stop.
Fig. 89.—Bench Screw Vice.
IMPROVED BENCH SCREW VICE.
The defects of the old-fashioned form of bench vice shown by Fig. 92 may be noted. Suppose it is required to hold a door rail whilst tenons are cut, a piece of stuff of the exact thickness of the rail has to be inserted between the jaw and the bench at the opposite end to that in which the door rail is put, and, should the piece inserted be a trifle thicker or thinner than the rail, difficulty will be experienced in tightening the screw sufficiently to keep the rail rigid whilst cutting the tenon, and even then it will probably slip about and become loose. If it is required to plough, say, the edge of a mullion, when this is placed in the screw and tightened up the jaw tilts over as shown in Fig. 93 and grips the mullion hard on its two arrises; and in fixing it in the vice in order to plough the second edge, great care must be exercised to avoid splitting off pieces from the rail at each side of the groove, and thus disfiguring the work, and there are other disadvantages. An improvement on the old form is suggested by Figs. 94 and 95. Instead of having the jaw horizontal, the idea is to adjust it in a raking position; it will then grip the work on both sides of the screw, instead of only on one side as formerly, thus avoiding the tilt; and this advantage is assured whether the work be placed in the vice vertically, horizontally, or obliquely. There is another good point in this arrangement—namely, the rail mortised into the jaw at its lower end may fit rather loosely in the socket screwed on to the bench leg. Holes are bored through this rail at certain distances apart, and in any one of these a pin is inserted. This pin answers the purpose of the blocks placed between the jaw and the bench when the vice is horizontal, with the advantage that, no matter in which of the holes the pin is placed, the vice will grip two or three thicknesses of stuff, thus avoiding the necessity of providing a new block every time work of a different thickness is put into the vice. With this newer form of vice the work can be held securely and satisfactorily by about a quarter turn of the screw. Iron vices for joiners can, of course, be obtained, and against these nothing is urged but their price, which is prohibitive to a great many. The arrangement here advocated is therefore confidently recommended as being at once inexpensive to construct and thoroughly efficient in use.
Fig. 90.—Inside View of Screw Vice.