Moxon Vise

On most workbenches, you have various options to hold your material.

- Albert Kleine

Where most benches fail is holding stock, particularly wide stock, for work on the end of the board, such as when you’re cutting dovetails. This Moxon vise (named for the English author Joseph Moxon, who first illustrated it in a book) is designed to do just that. The pair of hand wheels move the front chop to pinch boards in place during work. It’s a great aid to have in any shop.

1 A handful of hardboard patterns help mark the detail shapes consistently between faces.

When you look at the vise above, you'll notice that there are few parts. Starting at the rear of the vise, you'll find two parts here—a narrow batten and a rear jaw. Ultimately, the batten and rear jaw will be edge glued together.

2 Carefully lay out all of the guidelines on the front jaw.

If you are concerned about grain continuity and color match, mill a ~9" wide, 48" long board to 13/4" and rip off material for the batten and rear jaw. Crosscut the rear jaw to the final length by removing an equal amount of materials from both ends. This will ensure an invisible glue line when you join the batten and rear jaw.

3 Start by defining 1 hole in the front jaw.