The_Woodworker_and_Woodturner_-_October_2019

PROJECT Drill vice/clamp

54 The Woodworker & Good Woodworking October 2019 http://www.getwoodworking.com

The 90 × 25mm piece (body part ‘A’) can now
be glued and clamped into position.

Making the adjustable jaw
Mark out the adjustable jaw as shown in Fig.7.
Cut out the hatched areas and mark out which
side you want the cork to be placed. On the other
side, drill a 10mm hole about 8mm deep. Into this
hole insert either a 10 × 3mm rare earth magnet
or a piece of mild steel the same size. The magnet
will move the adjustable jaw in and out as you
turn the handle. The mild steel option will stop the
fibres of wood in the hole from being damaged
and give a hard surface for the handle to bear
against when tightening.
You can now mark and cut the bevels as shown
in photos 19 and 20. This feature is completely
optional as it is only for aesthetic purposes. The
corners could simply be rounded over instead.

Finishing the body
Take the 230 × 25mm pieces and rip them
to 7mm thickness. Place these on the base as
shown in photo 21 and mark out the nail hole
positions so that they miss all holes. Glue and
nail them so they are level with the outside of
the body (photo 22). Punch the nails in, putty,
and sand smooth. You should now have a gap of
40mm between these pieces. Cut a piece of 3mm
plywood, 40mm wide × 60mm long. This needs
to be attached centrally to the adjustable jaw and
slides in the 40mm wide groove. You may have to
adjust the width to make it slide. Mark the centre
of this piece and drill a hole to suit the screw
you are using to attach it to the adjustable jaw.
Next, cut pieces of 6mm cork floor tiles to
fit the marked surfaces on the adjustable and

movable jaws. They need to be glued and

clamped, and when dry, sanded to the shape

of the jaws. If you are rounding over corners,

mark and round the four corners of the base

and top corners of the adjustable jaw and movable

jaw. Everything should now be made. Photo 23

shows all the completed pieces.

There is one last thing to do before assembling

and that is to drill a 3mm hole about 12mm deep

into the centre of the movable jaw from the cork

side, before drilling a 2mm hole through the rest

of the way. Drill the same holes centrally about

12mm from the end of the cramp. The 3mm hole

should be drilled from underneath. These holes

will require some builder’s twine, or equivalent,

in order to stop the movable jaw from falling and

getting damaged.

Assembling the vice/clamp

You can now screw the handle into the handle

support. Place the adjustable jaw into the slot

and screw a piece of plywood into it centrally. The

adjustable jaw should slide along the slot; if not,

some adjustments can be made (photo 24). Cut

off about 200mm of builder’s twine and smear

one end with glue about 25mm long. Tie a knot

in the other end, and when dry, thread the stiff

end through the hole in the movable jaw and put

that jaw into the holes nearest the adjustable jaw.

First put the stiff end through the end hole on top,

pull it taut underneath, then tie a knot as close

to the hole as possible. Trim off the surplus twine.

All that remains now is to put a protective finish

on the clamp. This is up to you, but I personally

prefer to put two coats of shellac on mine.

Fig.7 Marking out for handle support

24 Underneath view showing position of the

plywood piece

23 Parts complete and ready for assembly

22 Showing the base pieces nailed in place

21 Marking out nail holes in the base to prevent interference with holes when assembling

20 The completed adjustable jaw