I did some dovetailing until I got to where I needed a vise and couldn't go any further. I could have used my moxon but I am not used to using it for that purpose. I put the drawers aside and I started to work on the vise.
 |
| next day, still cocked |
I don't know why the vise is cocked like this. Without the front jaw screwed to the vise it closed against the rear jaw pretty good. There was one small gap but that was something I could deal with over time. As it is the vise isn't even a good paper weight.
 |
| tails are done |
I got all the tails chopped on the drawers and on the "drawer" I sawed the tails on the wrong boards. I needed a vise so I could transfer the tails to the pin boards. I tried doing it on the moxon and I didn't like it. I guess I'm a tad set in my ways but it did work and if I don't get the vise fixed soon.....
 |
| vise open all the way |
I started here and the left rod you can see isn't square to the back jaw but the right side one is. The right side bar hole at the rear is tight against the bar but it doesn't touch or bind as the vise is opened and closed. Or at least as much as I can see of that operation. The center screw nor the outside rods are touching the LVL front jaw holes. I don't see theses causing the problem.
Before I secured the LVL jaw, as I already said, the two jaws closed up against each other pretty good. So I thought that this was good place to start and see if this was the source of the problem. I removed the bolts/screws holding the LVL jaw in place and tightened it down again on the back jaw. There was joy in Mudville.
I'm at a loss to explain why these bolts/screws pulled the jaw out of alignment like this. The two outside holes were spot on and the center hole was crooked a little. I don't see how the middle one could cock the jaw as I would suspect the far left one first. Could it be the LVL is the problem? I know that they are incredibly strong in compression applied downward across the face. Do they go OTL when I am applying a force at 90 degrees against the face?
The other known problem was me hurrying through the install of this vise. I didn't spend a lot of calories double checking myself as I went through the build. I wanted the vise on and working so I could get on with my woodworking.
 |
| tiny sliver of wood showing |
I was aware of this little piece of wood showing here but I ignored it. This little out of square is the out of square on the left rod in the pic above. Maybe this is contributing to the out of squareness along with the screw job on the LVL jaw.
 |
| off square |
I didn't use the base to set the vise base. I kept it off the base so that the left rod wouldn't touch or rub against it as the vise is opened or closed. This is one good thing I did correctly. I am going to start the vise install all over again from ground zero.
 |
| starting here |
I checked the face and the bottom of the dog ass'y square on every square inch where the vise or the jaws are going to live. I checked the oak spacer 6 way square every direction to Sunday and back ok. The back jaw is square to the edges and the sides. It has a little hollow in the middle on the side I had facing the LVL jaw. I don't see this as deal killer but to play it safe, it's toast.
 |
| another casualty |
Today I slipped flipping the bench onto it's back and it fell and hit the vac wheel base and broke the rear wheel. As an aside, workbenches do not bounce. I left this here as it's time to head upstairs and watch some wild card football.
accidental woodworker
"The guy who invented the wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was a genius."
Sid Caesar
No comments:
Post a Comment