@Franky47 this week I was watching a video of a master woodworker using a router plane on a thin piece held at an angle in his vise, and the wood flexed and bent quite a bit as he applied pressure, but that didn’t cause any problems and he didn’t seem to really notice. It made me rethink how immovably the wood needs to be held since I would have felt I was doing something wrong in that situation, but really it just needs to be held firmly enough for the task.
@volbard I don't think it would be much of an issue since the distance between the sole and the cutter is fixed on a router plane, so any flex will likely bend away from the cutting distance.
Issues arise when the pressure is not consistent on the reference face, and the router dives into the cut face.
If the wood flexes around, it might also make the energy transfer less efficient. An immovable workpiece ensures all the force goes into cutting, per Newton's 3rd law.
I agree. I went about making my own workbench because the one I bought was not great at staying still. Also, as a mostly beginner hobbyist, I am still working on the Control part.
I used sawhorses, but you are correct there isn't much there for clamping. I kept having to move the laminated top back into place when planing it smooth.
It's not perfect, but it's so much better than the 60 pound (about 27 kg) bench I was using. I have pictures somewhere I can repost if you're interested.
Here's my first bench: a torsion box top made from a failed experiment for a kid's bed, with screwed-on legs and stretchers, a leg vice and wide planing stop.
Nothing is square or flat, but it doesn't move. And now I have somewhere to build an actual bench.
I am in the tools acquisition and restoration phase, which includes sharpening. I buy only vintage tools for cheap and bring them back to life.
But there are tools and materials just for all that restoration work. Saws, for example, need files, saw sets, and saw vise. And making new handles for them requires more saws, scrapers, rasps, drills… and a bench vise!
A bench vise can work for the saw vice, but either way you need the damn bench to put a vise on it.
@wedge@btrwkart a hand screw clamp makes a very good vice approximation, if you have a couple of F-clamps to hold them to a table.
That's all I used to get started, though the table part was the weakest link.
I have yet to make a saw vice for sharpening my saws, though I could use a large hand screw clamp here too, with Paul Sellers' slotted piece of wood technique.
Yes! Clamps of various kind are invaluable. That’s still a weak spot for me. I have long bar clamps for the top build, but nothing right now for smaller work.
I’m suffering with a large metal vise that sits on a wheeled diablo on the floor, rolls around as I use it. As comical as that is, it has helped me advance considerably with restoration work.
I’ve some plans for various eccentric cam style clamping, but what I need right now are a couple of hand screw clamps, yes.
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