Really, this post is for my own use, to help me remember, but I wanted it available from anywhere not buried on one hard drive in a Word document, and I thought a few other people might find it helpful also.
I’m a big believer in viseless workholding for new hand tool and hybrid woodworkers (a category I most certainly fall into), partly because vises are expensive, and partly because their convenience can become a crutch for new woodworkers and lead to bad habits.
Okay, it’s mostly because of the financial thing. I can’t afford good quality vise hardware, and I’m trying to justify my prejudice that way.
Regardless, I think it’s a worthwhile endeavor to try to assemble a complete list of all the various ways one can hold a workpiece other than vises, handscrews or clamps. The focus here is on shop-made devices that can be made fairly readily by even a novice, so I’m also leaving out screws, nails, double-sided sticky tape (thank you Shannon Rogers!) and shelf liner. Oh and the Veritas Wonder Pup/Dog, even though I think they’re the bee’s knees.
Here’s a complete list as best as I can come up with so far. Additional suggestions would be most welcome.
Bench hooks/Chute board. I think both the broad, flat kind and Underhill style are valuable.
Bench dogs. I like round and wood, but whatever works for you.
Holdfasts. I forged my own from rebar, but as The Schwarz has pointed out, a forked stick from your back yard will work too.
Notched batten/Doe’s foot
Joiner’s saddles
Crochet/Frog. I see people leaving these out of their Roubo benches all the time and I don’t understand why. Even if you have a leg vise, how quick and easy is it to stick a couple of pegs/bench dogs into the holdfast holes in your bench legs and jam a board in the crochet?
Bird’s mouth
Planing stops – metal, wood, a batten with dowels on the underside to go in your holdfast/dog holes, whatever. The kind mounted to the end of the bench with a couple of anchor bolts and wing nuts are neat, but probably too fancy for my tastes.
Paired wedges can be used to lock in a workpiece between dogs.
-- I have some idea what I'm doing.
4 comments so far
theoldfart
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#1 posted 01-09-2016 08:03 PM
So maybe something like this?


Which can be used as a birds mouth for edge planing thin stock
or face planing thin stock

or this?

-- "With every tool obtained, there is another that is needed" DonW ( Kevin )
Alan
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#2 posted 01-10-2016 12:04 AM
Uh, yeah, just like those! Except for that cast-iron contraption at the bottom, which looks awesome but I have no idea what it is! Thanks for posting, the bird’s mouth with wedges is interesting.
-- I have some idea what I'm doing.
theoldfart
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12445 posts in 3455 days
#3 posted 01-10-2016 02:58 AM
It behaves the same as a birds mouth.
-- "With every tool obtained, there is another that is needed" DonW ( Kevin )
Sylvain
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#4 posted 01-14-2016 03:12 PM
You are probably familiar with the video shown here :
http://blog.lostartpress.com/2014/12/03/workholding-with-the-naked-woodworker/
-- Sylvain, Brussels, Belgium, Europe - The more I learn, the more there is to learn
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