A few years ago, I bought a simple workbench that came with two clamping screws. I had never owned or used a table with one of those vises like the ones on woodworking benches and a board full of holes, so despite it not being very stable, I bought it thinking those extras must be useful somehow, since all real woodworking benches had them. And indeed, those extras turned out to be so useful that I now believe they are almost indispensable in the workshop. But if you’re interested in making one yourself, I also have a post on how to make a homemade vise.
We might think that having clamps means we don’t need a vise, but the truth is that the convenience of the vise when working can’t be matched by woodworking clamps. It’s not that we won’t need clamps with the vise installed on the side of the table, but the vise does its job very well. It’s very easy to tighten and loosen and holds workpieces very firmly, which, combined with a very sturdy table, makes the work easier. However, as I said, that table wasn’t very sturdy (mainly because it was lightweight), so recently I decided to make this homemade workbench.
A few years ago, I was also given one of those Wolfcraft Mastercut 1200 tables where you can install various tools, such as a circular saw or router, but I never liked working with it, so I finally decided to install my DIY tools on my homemade tables. However, now Wolfcraft has a new Mastercut workbench for installing our DIY tools that I now use in my workshop for my woodworking projects.
But I have to say that there are a couple of things that justify buying a bench like that Wolfcraft Mastercut, and those are the safety switch that I now use on my tables and the vise it comes with, which operates very smoothly and clamps very well.
This vise, once disassembled, basically consists of a few parts: the vise itself with its guide rods, threaded rod, tightening handle, and the vise jaws, and the mounting plate with the nut and screws to attach it to the underside of the workbench.
You just need to position the plate so that the top of the vise jaw is flush with the workbench top (woodworking bench) to also use the plastic stops if you also drill the corresponding holes in the board.
Actually, installing this type of vise on the workbench is not very complicated, as it basically involves drilling some holes in the side of the table large enough for the rods to pass through with enough clearance.
Then, if necessary, you need to shim the mounting plate to level the top of the vise jaw with the workbench surface.
And to drill the holes for the plastic stops, one option is to make a homemade drilling guide with a piece of wood strip. This will help to place each hole exactly where it needs to be and drill vertically. This way, they will be aligned with the ones on the vise jaw.
Additionally, the strip will be useful for clamping round pieces, such as copper pipes, in the vise of this woodworking bench.
But before drilling the holes, keep in mind that if you have cheap Forstner or spade bits like my Powerfix Forstner bits, you shouldn’t trust the measurements they indicate, as, for example, my 20mm bit turned out to be 19mm. It’s better to make test holes and check that the stops will fit perfectly but not loosely, so they stay in place when you clamp a workpiece between them.
And although I don’t use these stops much, if you follow the blog, you’ve already seen that the holes are also very useful for inserting the metal bar of the clamps (you can see how in the video), allowing you to clamp any piece securely almost anywhere on the workbench.