vise placement

[Anna]

Hi, again,

I'm designing my bench and I have some newbie questions, please:

I'm right-handed. Should my wood vise be on the left side or the right side of the bench? I'm also going to add a bench stop, and that I know should be on the left side. Is it a good idea to have the vise and the bench stop on the same side of the bench?

Also, how far apart are the bench dogs?

Thanks for any ideas.

Anna

[LCHIEN]

Hi, again,

I'm designing my bench and I have some newbie questions, please:

I'm right-handed. Should my wood vise be on the left side or the right side of the bench? I'm also going to add a bench stop, and that I know should be on the left side. Is it a good idea to have the vise and the bench stop on the same side of the bench?

Also, how far apart are the bench dogs?

Thanks for any ideas.

Anna

If your vise has a pop-up dog, and a opening size of say 7" (not the width) then you should place your bench dog holes less than 7" apart, that way you can hold anything between a dog and the vise dog by moving the vise dog end. If you space them more than 7" apart then there will be gaps where the vise won't have enough adjustmnet and you'll need to use a piece of scrap.


As for being right handed then it seems to me the logical place to put the bench vise (assuming its direction of adjustment is traverse to the bench) is on the right end of the bench, that way you can use your right hand to adjust the vise.

[Anna]

Thanks.

I thought that the vise should be on the right side, but I read in one of my books that right-handed will put the vise on the left side. I never really understood why. My vise does have an opening of at least 7" so the benchdogs will be about 6".

Thanks again.

[softop41]

vice placement

Anna,
I am right handed and I like my vise on the left so that I have workbench space to the right side of the vise to set tools down with the hand that is using them.
Just my opinion.
Jerry

[gsmittle]

Thanks.

I thought that the vise should be on the right side, but I read in one of my books that right-handed will put the vise on the left side. I never really understood why. My vise does have an opening of at least 7" so the benchdogs will be about 6".

Thanks again.

I think the logic is that the vise is on the left so you can use your right hand for planing, etc. without the vise interfering. I'm a lefty, and from what little bench work I've done I can already tell I need the vise on the right side.

YMMV.

g.

[atgcpaul]

I think the logic is that the vise is on the left so you can use your right hand for planing, etc. without the vise interfering. I'm a lefty, and from what little bench work I've done I can already tell I need the vise on the right side.

YMMV.

g.

I put my vise on the left (I'm right handed) for this reason, plus softop41's
reason of having free space on the right side of the bench.

Paul

[TheRic]

I would agree the vise should go on the left (for a righty). You can always take a step over to adjust the vise with your right hand.

[vaking]

Anna,
The theory says that right-handed people should have a front vise on the left and tail vise on the right edge (if there is a tail vise). But my advise - before designing a bench get something to read on a subject.
Example - Danny Proulx "Building workshop workstations". There are many books available, choose one.
Another advise - make your first workbench a simple one. Do not overcomplicate. The first workstation is not likely to be your final answer.

[Tom Miller]

Another vote for "vise on the left" if you're right-handed, but for a reason not yet mentioned: If you're making a through-cut, you can hold the off-cut in your left hand while sawing with the right.

It didn't seem right to me, at first, but it does now.

Regards,
Tom
[edit] Regarding dog-spacing -- you're on track, but don't forget to take into account any jaw pads you might add, or whether you might bury the back jaw face behind your bench apron. These will affect the travel, and thus the dog spacing.

[Anna]

Thanks for the input.

I have a stack of woodworking books about three feet high. Including Proulx's. I think that's probably where I read about having the vise on the left side for right-handed people. It just seemed counter-intuitive to me, until I read your replies. Now it makes sense.

The bench I'm making is very simple and taken from a Taunton book called "Projects For Your Shop." It doesn't even require mortises and tenons (thankfully, since I haven't learned to do those), just a bucketful of biscuits and lag screws. I'm supposed to use bench bolts (which will cost about $50) but the author himself admits that's probably overkill. I'll probably try a variation with a lag screw going from the 4x4 leg to the endgrain of the spreader where a dowel is inserted transversely. Or something like that.

One of my woodworking instructors told us, "You'll really like your third bench." So I have no illusions that this bench will be "it." But I do badly need one soon.

By the way, is there a simpler trick to having all the legs at exactly the same length besides using stops? I have a 10" miter saw that's clamped to a workmate right now (another tool I have to build a mobile base for), and I don't have provisions for stops on the left side. Unless... I push it against the wall where the pegboard is and somehow figure out a way to attach a stop on the wall using the pegboard.... Have to think about it.

Thanks again.

Anna

[atgcpaul]

Another vote for "vise on the left" if you're right-handed, but for a reason not yet mentioned: If you're making a through-cut, you can hold the off-cut in your left hand while sawing with the right.

It didn't seem right to me, at first, but it does now.

Regards,
Tom

Funny you mention this. I'm a righty but can only saw with my left hand
except for my veneer saw which can only be used right right. Luckily I
don't have many through cuts to do because I'd saw through the bench with
my left mounted vise. I can plane from both directions.

Paul

[Brian G]

If you locate your vise where you frequently give it a hip check, then it's in the right place.