Portable Workbench Build Process

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This afternoon I started with a very quick job: drilling a hole in the end of the fixed jaw for the standard vice. The aim of this hole is to be a loose fit for an off-the-shelf dowel. I don't want to have to modify the dowel as I expect to replace it fairly often. It'll act as a sacrificial "saw catcher" when I'm cutting through stock close to the jaws. If I overshoot at the end of the cut, the saw will drop onto the dowel rather than onto the bench (or whatever) underneath.

I did some tests with a few different drill bits and found I didn't have one that was tight enough to hold the dowel without being too tight. 10 mm is too tight, 10.5 mm is far too loose. I dug around in my "antediluvian tools" drawer and pulled out a set of drill bits I'd inherited from my father-in-law with a 13/32" (10.32 mm) drill bit, but again that was too loose. In the end I settled for drilling 10.32 mm to a reasonable depth and then drilling a little further 10 mm. The dowel slips most of the way in easily and then sits firmly if pushed the last couple of millimetres. As it's only gripped at the last couple of millimetres, it's easy to pull back out again.

Next I fitted a stop block onto my router table (just a bit of wood clamped to the fence):

Then, taking a couple of millimetres off at a time, I cut a groove in one of the fixed jaws.

The result:

I then marked out and chiselled out an extra bit. This is (deliberately) not as deep as the routed groove.

With the foot in place, the result is a rectangular hole that's a loose fit for the dovetail guide I showed in the last post. The stepped bit in the top is a slightly tight fit in the section I chiselled out. When the dovetail guide isn't being used, it'll get slid into its home and will hopefully stay there but be easy enough to remove when required.

I am a hobbyist metalworker and woodworker. I work as an electronic design engineer and spend most of my working days in front of a computer so I enjoy having the opportunity to use my hands and make things in my spare time. I particularly enjoy making tools as I can then use them on other projects. This website showcases some of the things I've made.

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