Workbench Vise From Reclaimed Scissor Jack

Materials:

1 reclaimed scissor jack The bigger the better. The longer and larger the threaded rod the better your vise will be. I got mine from the junkyard/auto salvage yard for $5

2 reclaimed oak false drawer fronts. My company was demolishing some old offices and I reclaimed whatever I could that I thought I might use one day in projects. Get and use whatever you have that meets your size needs though.

1 2x4

Various wood screws

Gorilla and wood glues

1 old 3/4" socket

1 really old Tommy Bar. I had one laying around. My Grandfather died 35 years ago. My father, brother and I eventually split up his tools. This Tommy Bar was his, as was the socket. It hasn't been used in that long. I am really glad to be giving it a second life. I'm even more glad to be using my grandfather's old tools.

In this instructable you will need to used a sawsall, a belt sander, a drill, a table saw and other power tools. Please wear eye protection and hearing protection. You are creative, motivated, productive people. We need you safe, healthy and moving.

Cut the threaded rod out of the scissor jack. Save one of the tapped cross bars that are on the threaded rod.

Cut the profiled trim off the tops of the drawer faces. This flat top will be flush with the top of your workbench.

Pair up the drawer fronts. Locate the positions you want the dowel slide to through. Locate where you want the rod to go through. Drill through the top face far enough with your spade bit to locate one the bottom drawer face. Then drill through the bottom part way from both sides to leave clean holes with no splintering.

Make sure the holes on the front drawer face are as tight on the dowels as possible. I had to sand the dowels down just a hair in order to hammer them on. I bored out the holes that the dowels would slide through a bit so it was snug but it could slide.

Cut a slot in the end of your dowels to receive wedges and hold everything tight later. I cut the slot all the way to the sanded shoulder that the drawer face will be snug up against. This was about 2 inches.

The way I did this part works but it is not what you should do.

I matched up two 2x4 blocks that will hold the tapped bar. This is the tapped bar that was on the end of the threaded rod we cut off the scissor jack. Here is where I wasn't thinking. I matched the 2x4 blocks, located the space to hold the tapped bar and I dado cut half out of each 2x4.

What I should have done was dado cut the entire bar slot out of one block and been done with it. It would have saved me time and been much easier. Please learn from my mistake.

After cutting a slot to receive the tapped bar (the one you cut out of the scissor jasck), glue and screw the two 2x4s together on all sides to make a very solid block.

This block is going to be fixed to the under side of your workbench right behind the mounted vise face. The threaded rod must travel through it at the same distance below the work surface as your vise faces. I screwed and glued on the mounted face so the top was flush with the work surface. You'll see that in the next step. Then I held this block up to it's back side and scribed through the rod hole where the rod will travel through the block.

I wasn't happy with the thickness of the scrap counter top that is my workbench so I glued and screwed an additional 2x4 under the counter top to support everything more and give it greater strength. You can see this in the first image. I was using one of the drawer faces to make sure the 2x4 was flush to the front of the counter top.

Then I cut a slot out of the support 2x4 to fit the tapped bar retainer block (image 2).

Next I glued the retainer block to the backside of the vise jaw so the threaded rod holes line up (image 3).

Last I glued and screwed the jaw face, the retainer block and the support 2x4 all together flush with the bench top. It is solid as a rock. If a tornado comes though all that will be left standing are the concrete walls of my basement and this vise.

Slide the drawer face over the dowels to the sanded shoulders of the dowel.

Glue the hole and dowel slot

hammer dowel in close vise to to dry in that position

the exposed end of the threaded rod is a 3/4" hex head. I have a my grandfather's Tommy bar as mentioned or I have one of his old 3/4" sockets that I drive with my drill. I don't think I'll do that often. I don't want to crush anything in the vise or break the vise itself.

Wax holes and guide dowels. You may need to do this occasionally if things start binding. So far so good.

I also I applied spray urethane to the exposed unfinished surfaces of the vise to keep moisture and whatever I spill on it out.

If the throw on this (9") isn't long enough I may, one day, end up making some bench dogs and drilling some holes. But that is an instructable for another day.