Build a Stout

Workbench
Tail vise is at the heart
of this versatile bench
b y c h r i s g o c h n o u r

I ’ve done a fair amount of handplaning during my

32 years as a professional furniture maker, and I’ve
found that the best way to secure a board for face-
planing is between two benchdogs, which can be set
below the board’s surface so you can plane without
hindrance. Clamps and holdfasts, by contrast, seem
always to be in the way. And unlike a planing stop,
dogs have no trouble holding the board in place when
you plane diagonally or across the grain.
Benchdogs require a vise, and when I build a work-
bench, I like to locate that vise on the end. There are
four options for an end vise: a traditional tail vise, a
wagon vise, a metal face vise mounted on the end,
and a twin-screw vise. All four can be used for face-

Versatile and effective. A traditional tail vise excels at

everything from face- and edge-planing to cutting tenons,
a range that other end vises can’t match.

34 F I N E w o o d w o r k in g
Tools & Shops 2018 35
 Heavy-duty workbench Benchtop, 4 in. thick
by 251⁄4 in. wide by
With a strong base and a well-designed top, this 791⁄2 in. long
bench is a streamlined workhorse. Equip it with a
tail vise, and you’re ready for just about anything.

Tenon, 13⁄8 in.

thick by 21⁄2 in.
wide by 1 in. long

Leg, 31⁄4 in. thick

by 5 in. wide by Top end rail, 113⁄16 in.
31 in. long thick by 31⁄2 in. wide
by 215⁄8 in. long Back rail, 113⁄16 in.
thick by 41⁄2 in. wide
by 481⁄8 in. long

Rabbet, 5⁄8 in. deep

by 5⁄16 in. wide

Bottom end rail,

113⁄16 in. thick by
41⁄2 in. wide by
215⁄8 in. long

31⁄4 in.
5 in.

31⁄2 in.
Shelf board,
1
⁄2 in. thick

171⁄2 in. Sources

34 in. o f s u p p ly
veritas
quick-release
Rail tenon, 5⁄8 in. front vise
51⁄2 in. thick by 33⁄4 in.
wide by 11⁄2 in. long leevalley.com
41⁄2 in.
woodriver
large end vise slide
woodcraft.com
251⁄8 in.

end view

36 F I N E w o o d w o r k in g Drawings: Dan Thornton

 planing boards, but the tail vise has several advan-
tages over the others. With a tail vise, the dog holes
can be placed very close to the bench’s front edge,
which makes it possible to plane narrow boards with
a plough plane or similar plane that has a fence that
hangs below the benchtop. That’s something that isn’t
Deadman, 15⁄8 in.
thick by 7 in. wide possible with a steel vise. Wagon vises work great
by 201⁄2 in. long when the board is flat on the benchtop, but with a tail
vise you can also clamp a workpiece vertically, which
lets you cut tenons, for example. The fourth option,
the twin-screw vise, handles tenons and edge-planing
fine, but doesn’t support work as well as a tail vise for
face-planing. These advantages are why I chose a tail
vise for my bench.
For many woodworkers, building and installing a
tail vise seems intimidating, but it shouldn’t be. I’ve
installed quite a few, both on benches of my own and
on student benches, and have developed a process
that ensures the vise slides smoothly and doesn’t snag.
I’ll show you how I do it.

The top is thick where it needs to be

Making a bench is a big undertaking, but fortunately
most of the work involved is fairly routine. The base of
this bench is four big legs joined to the rails between
them with mortise-and-tenons. Shiplapped boards set
between the lower rails provide a nice place for stor-
ing jigs and anything else you like to keep close by.
I am going to skip over the base construction here,
because the process is relatively straightforward, and
focus instead on the top and the tail vise.
The benchtop is thick along the front and back
Front rail, 113⁄16 in. edges but has a wide, thinner section between. The
thick by 51⁄4 in. wide
by 481⁄8 in. long

84 in.
4 in. 7 in.
41⁄2 in.

23 in.

30 in.
41⁄2 in. To purchase
expanded plans
and a complete
cutlist for this
Traditional Workbench
51⁄4 in. and other projects, go
461⁄8 in. to FineWoodworking
.com/PlanStore.
51⁄2 in.
561⁄8 in.

side view

Tools & Shops 2018 37

Build a better benchtop Middle slab, 21⁄8 in.
thick by 16 in. wide
Back apron, 4 in.
thick by 31⁄2 in. wide
by 781⁄2 in. long
A top needs to be heavy and inflexible, but you can get that by by 781⁄2 in. long
combining a moderately thick center section with two beefy edges.

Dowel

23⁄4 in.

11⁄2 in. 7
⁄8 in.

41⁄2 in.

43⁄8 in.

41⁄2 in.

Breadboard end, 4 in. thick by

23⁄4 in. wide by 251⁄4 in. long

43⁄8 in. Front apron, 4 in. thick by

9
⁄16 in. 31⁄2 in. wide by 601⁄2 in. long

13⁄8 in.

41⁄2 in.
middle doesn’t need to be as thick, because all the
pounding on a bench should be done over a leg or
a top rail. This bench has a thick back apron, and a
5
⁄8 in. front section made up of a thick front apron and an
equally thick dog board. Glue up the thinner middle
11⁄2 in. 2 in. section, and then mill the back apron, front apron,
and dog board to their final dimensions.
13⁄4 in. 1 Dowel, 3⁄8 in. dia. Next cut the dog holes in the dog board. I do this
⁄2 in.
in two steps. First I hog out the waste with a dado set
breadboard, Left end side view at the tablesaw. Then I use a router and template to
top view
refine the hole and add a wider section at the top so

Make the benchdog holes

The dogs should angle inward. To make that happen,
the dog holes in the benchtop slant 2° toward the vise;
in the vise, they lean toward the benchtop.

Rout the final shape. A template ensures that all of the dog holes are identical. Because
the dog holes in the vise jaw face the opposite direction from those in the benchtop,
Cut angled dadoes. Use a dado head and a miter Gochnour uses a template that has a pattern for both directions (left). The pattern has a
gauge to remove most of the waste from the dog holes. notch so that a flush-trimming bit creates the pocket into which the dog’s head fits (right).

38 F I N E w o o d w o r k in g Photos: Matt Kenney

 11⁄2 in.
Breadboard end (vise end),
4 in. thick by 23⁄4 in. wide
by 191⁄2 in. long

41⁄2 in.

43⁄8 in.

41⁄2 in.

88° 88° 2 in.

15⁄8 in.

Dog board, 4 in. thick by 13

⁄16 in. 1 in.
21⁄4 in. wide by 601⁄2 in. long benchdog holes/ benchdog holes/
benchtop vise breadboard, right end
top view

glue up the top

Glue the dog
board to the front
apron. Spread glue
only on the dog
board, and keep the
glue about 1⁄2 in.
from the dog holes
(far left). Goch-
nour uses Festool
Dominoes for align-
ment and plenty of
clamps, alternating
them from top to
bottom (left).

Bring it all
together. A
plywood spacer
under the center
section keeps it
aligned with the
thicker front and
back sections. Be
sure to add clamps
above the top to
prevent the thicker
sections from
slanting inward on
the bottom.

39
Add the tail vise that a dog, which has a head that’s wider than its shaft,
can fit completely into the hole. Cut the dog holes in
The success of a tail vise depends on how well the wooden jaw and metal the vise jaw at this time, too.
hardware work together. Start with the vise’s hollow core, which is the key to After you’ve completed the dog holes, glue the dog
smooth operation.
board to the front apron. Let the glue dry, and then
glue the three parts of the top together. Give the glue
a night to dry before installing the breadboard ends.
Build the CORE FIRST You’re done with the top for now. It’s time to get busy
making the tail vise.
Core top, 3⁄4 in thick by Back block,
29⁄16 in. wide by 20 in. long 25⁄16 in. thick
by 29⁄16 in. wide Make the tail vise in stages
by 5 in. long At the heart of this tail vise is some metal hardware.
A vertical plate that holds the nut face-mounts to the
benchtop. A pair of slides screwed to the wooden jaw
grasp the plate. The screw goes through the jaw and
threads into the top slide. The jaw has three parts: a

Front block,
25⁄16 in. thick
by 29⁄16 in. wide Outside face, 3⁄4 in.
by 21⁄2 in. long thick by 39⁄16 in. wide
by 20 in. long
Core bottom, 1⁄2 in. thick by
29⁄16 in. wide by 20 in. long

Cap the core. After gluing the four pieces of Cut a rabbet in the core top. The easiest
the vise core together, glue it to the outside way to make this wide rabbet is with two cuts
face, using a piece of melamine to keep them at the tablesaw. The vise’s top slide fits into
aligned. the rabbet.

Slides are
attached with
bolts. Clamp the
slides to the core
with the vise plate
between them.
Transfer the bolt
hole locations from
both slides and
then drill the holes
at the drill press, Make way for the vise screw. It takes some
coming halfway in serious clamping and an extender for the Forstner
from both sides. bit, but it is possible to drill the hole at the drill
press. A fence on the drill-press table helps keep
the vise core plumb.

40 F I N E w o o d w o r k in g
Fit the core to the bench
Attach the hardware to the bench, and get the vise core riding smoothly on it before you go any further with the vise construction.

Groove the top. Two passes with a Mortise for the nut. The vise screw’s nut has a threaded stud that passes through the vise plate. A nut that
rabbeting bit create a slot into which secures it from behind the plate fits into a shallow mortise. Clamp a straightedge to the benchtop and regis-
the top slide fits. ter the vise plate against it. Transfer the hole to the bench (left). Drill the mortise with a Forstner bit (right).

Screw on the vise plate. Use a Vix bit to center a pilot hole for each Assemble in place. Gochnour bolts on the slides while clamps hold the
screw, and then drive the screws. Make sure the screw heads sit below vise core snug against the vise plate. Threaded up from the bottom, the
the surface of the vise plate. bolts are still accessible after the vise is complete.

Check the glide.

Now’s the time to
test how well the
vise slides. You can
trim the rabbet if
it’s too loose, or
add a shim under
the bottom slide if
it’s too tight.

41
Tail vise continued
With the hollow core complete, add the dog board, top plate, Top plate, 15⁄16 in.
and end cap to finish the jaw. thick by 3 in. wide End cap, 41⁄2 in.
by 20 in. long thick by 3 in. wide
by 10 in. long

Vise dog board,

41⁄2 in. thick by
21⁄4 in. wide by
Assembled core 221⁄2 in. long

dovetail layout
1
⁄2 in.

15⁄8 in.
1
⁄4 in.

21⁄2 in.

Dovetail the corner. This is the

traditional way to join the end
cap and dog board. It’s strong
and looks great.

Add the core.

Keep the glue
away from the dog
holes (right). When
clamping, use a
caul to bridge the
hole in the vise
core (far right).

42 F I N E w o o d w o r k in g
Glue on the top plate. It should sit about 1⁄16 in. above the
benchtop. Gochnour uses a Festool Domino to strengthen its
connection to the end cap (above). Apply clamping pressure
both side to side and along the plate’s length (right). Then add
clamps for top to bottom pressure.

hollow core, the vise dog board, and the end cap.
Because the vise’s success rides on how well you join
the hardware to the core, it’s best to start there. Get it
right, and then add the dog board and end cap. Install the vise.
The core begins by gluing together four parts: a top Hook the top slide
and bottom, and a front and back block. A large space over the vise plate,
put the bottom
in the middle accommodates the vise screw and nut.
slide in place, and
After the glue has dried, add the outside face to the then bolt them
core. What you have now is akin to a box without a together.
lid. Take it to the drill press and drill a clearance hole
through the back end for the vise screw. Next, cut a
rabbet in the core top. The vise’s top slide fits into this
rabbet. Clamp the two slides, with the mounting plate
between them, to the core, and mark the holes where
the bolts go through the bottom slide and thread into
the top slide. Unclamp the slides and drill clearance
holes for the bolts.
Now mount the plate to the benchtop and install the
vise core on the plate. Give it a slide. If it’s too loose,
take a shaving or two from the rabbet and try again. If
it’s too tight, shim the bottom slide. When the core glides
smoothly, move on to the dog board and end cap.
The dog board gets a few dovetails; the end cap
gets the pins. After you’ve cut and fitted the joint, but
before you glue the two parts together, drill a hole
through the end cap for the vise screw. Then cut slots
for the slip tenons that join the end cap to the core
and top plate. Glue the jaw and end cap together and
then glue that assembly to the vise core. The last step
in making the vise is to glue on the top plate.
You’re ready to mount the completed vise. Check
how the jaw closes against the bench. Use a bevel-up
plane to shave the jaw’s end grain until the vise closes
nice and tight. Finally, plane the tail vise flush to the
benchtop. Now you can get to work. □
Make it flush. After refining the end of the jaw so that it closes tightly against the
Chris Gochnour is a contributing editor. bench, plane down the tail vise level with the benchtop.

Tools & Shops 2018 43