In Tricks of the Trade

We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations.

After years of wishing my old workbench had a tail vise, I realized I could make one of my new Jorgensen Cabinet Master bar clamps do the job. All I had to do was reverse the sliding lower jaw (it’s removable) and mount the bar and fixed jaw under the benchtop.

I drilled and chiseled out an elongated hole in the leg so the sliding jaw would extend only 5/8 above the benchtop. Then I lag-screwed a notched block and cap at the opposite end to act as a bearing surface for the fixed jaw. To finish my tail vise, I drilled a row of 11/8 diameter holes in line with the sliding jaw and fashioned a bench dog to fit.

When I need to use the clamp elsewhere, I just remove the sliding jaw and pull the fixed jaw and bar out from the other end —Robert A. Miller


Product Recommendations

Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.

Recommended Posts

Start typing and press Enter to search