Wood-working for Beginners: A Manual for Amateurs

by Charles G. Wheeler

Fig. 75.

The stop should fit tightly and should be set with a very slight slant toward the work (Fig. 72),—that is, the mortise should be cut slightly slanting. The stop should be of hard wood, such as maple. If the top of the bench is only of board thickness, screw cleats of hard wood on the under side to give more bearing surface (Fig. 73), or the continued pushing against the stop will be liable to get the hole out of shape so that the stop will slant the wrong way, when the work will be apt to slip or, in case of a thin board, jump over the stop (Fig. 74). If the stop wears loose in the hole, a saw kerf is sometimes made lengthways in one side and a bent piece of springy wire inserted, or a flat spring fastened on the side (Fig. 75). A loose stop can easily be wedged (preferably from underneath), and it is sometimes made loose on purpose, the wedging tightening the stop and at the same time giving the required slant (Fig. 72). An iron plate with teeth can be screwed on top of a wooden stop (Fig. 76), or a screw can be inserted (Fig. 77).

Fig. 76.

Fig. 77.

Fig. 78.

Two strips, like Fig. 78, can be nailed or screwed on the top of the bench so as to separate V-fashion (Fig. 79). Two wedges, like Fig. 80, can then be made of such a taper that when fitted between the strips their inner faces will be parallel. By tapping in the wedges on each side of the work to be held (Fig. 79), it will be securely fastened without injury. If the inside edges of the strips and the outside edges of the wedges are slightly bevelled, which you can do with a plane or a knife, the wedges cannot jump out of place. The best way to fit this contrivance is to make the wedges first, place them in position on the bench with the square sides inside (facing each other), and then fasten the fixed strips outside of them. Pushing the work tends to tighten this vise. This is much better for permanent use than the notched board shown in Fig. 70. If you have a good vise you will not often have occasion to use such contrivances, but they are sometimes useful as makeshifts.