by Yun-Han Lin
A sneak peek of the procedure before we get started~
Background
Before building a bench vise for woodworking, we were using regular small bench vise, but it was too small to be installed on regular working table, for it could only go with tables that are four centimeters thick.
Ladybug Wooden Bench Vise
We found this product on the Internet. It is movable and can be fixed to the table using two fixtures. Its own surface can serve as a simple workbench. There are holes where sticks can be inserted to make room for objects that are larger or thinner. This model costs around NT$3,500.
Plier
There are people selling metal pliers used in the vise. The pliers usually come in 7 or 10 inches. The one that Ladybug uses is 7 inches and the unit price is about NT$1,000 to NT$1,500. We decided that we could buy one for our own work.
Design
We mainly look up the specifications of the products on the market for reference, but we go with the design size that is easy to be built using 18mm plywood.
A few tips on production:
1. Plywood usually comes with a difference of around 0.5~2mm in thickness.
2. Different parts on the drawing are marked in different colors.
Red: M6x25mm truss head screw.
Blue: M6 four claw nut.
Green: M6x15 pan head screw, nut, and gaskets.
3. The wooden handles were made earlier using a lathe. When you buy pliers, there are usually matching wooden handles, so you could simply buy one if you want to save the trouble making one by yourself.
4. In the video, the four claw nut was installed on the bottom plate. Some users believe that such installation facilitates applying forces in certain directions, and we totally agree with that.
5. During assembly, a small amount of salt was sprinkled while we were gluing the two pieces of plywood together. I have seen other Youtubers use salt to add to the friction, but from my own experience, the salt will keep the wood pieces from sticking to each other evenly, so I do not recommend it personally.
6. Carpenters in Taiwan like to use solid wood and I have been following some creators from other countries who prefer to use plywood, which is cheaper and the pieces can be cut directly without smoothing. Thicker plywood, on the other hand, comes with stronger durability.
Other references
There is a another Youtube channel about woodworking that demonstrates building similar works. Check them out if you are interested!
Afterword
Before building our own Ladybug, we tried to install the plier to the wooden table. Yet, it was no good because the table was too thick, which caused the front plate of the plier to be tilted or to come loose easily.
Later on, we learned that other woodworking studios use a kind of clamp on the thick wooden table that makes fixing so much easier. We may go with that kind of clamp, should there be any need in the future.
