Making My Saw Vise – Part 2

• Originally published February 13, 2019.

The legs are surfaced, squared, and sized, except for length. I’m not sure about the final length. I need to try some height mockups before I cut the lengths.

I used several of my planes to surface and square the legs. My Record No. 7 works really well. I’m glad I sort of accidentally got it in the 1980s.

Next was marking the tenons. Knife lines sure are nice.

Then I chiseled out a knife wall, guide wall, guild line, whatever-you-call-it, for the saw to follow.

Sawing the shoulders is straightforward with the knife wall.

Cutting the tenons with a tenon saw. Starting with the corners.

Then cutting down almost to the cut line, but not all the way to it.

I like to cut until the waste is a little loose and break it off. That way I don’t cut too far.

The waste broke off at just the right spot.

I cut outside the line and it was maybe a little too far. I’ll be trimming a bit more than I like.

Using a rabbet plane and a router plane the tenons were trimmed to the right thickness. The shoulders will be trimmed when they are fitted to the mortices. The mortices will be cut in the jaws that are next to the legs.

That was it for this session. Next I have to make the jaws and cut the mortises.

-Eric