When It Has To Be Pinned

by | Mar 21, 2013 | 5 comments

With leg vices back in popular use there’s a lot of desire to go pin-less. If you’re sticking to the good old fashioned parallel guide and pin though then we say it should be done in style! For our Little John Workbenches we’ve had these tactile pins forged to fit neatly in place and the curl makes for a lovely handle to grab hold of. Just one extra detail that adds to the fun of working at your bench.

Our Little John workbenches have now started leaving the door and we’re on with another run next week. We’re planning a follow up batch building session over the summer so please get in touch if you’re interested.

Update: At the present time we’re not building any workbenches for sale, however we have many resources on this website that will help guide you with your own workbench build.

Our English Workbench Video Series takes you step by step through a traditional bench build, starting out with a discussion on choosing the ideal dimensions, demonstrations of how to cut the joinery, right through to flattening your workbench top and building the face vice from scratch.

If you’d like us to guide you through your build with detailed videos and PDF plans, then you can find full details for this Workbench Series here.

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About Helen Fisher

About Helen Fisher

Helen seeks to explore ways to live with greater joy & sustainability for both ourselves & the planet. Concepts which have led to the launch of her second business We Are Carbon. As the producer of our videos, Helen brings a unique perspective & injects life to our education ensuring it is both a pleasure to watch & easy to follow & learn from. Learn More About Helen & The English Woodworker.

5 Comments

  1. Ralph Boumenot

    Hi Richard,
    I’m retro fitting a leg vise on my bench. Are there any standards as to the size of the chop? Does the length have to do from the top to the bottom? Can the top face of the chop exceed the width of the chop length? Is there a min/max spacing on the wedge holes?
    thanx
    ralph

    Reply
    • Richard

      Hi Ralph,
      There are no fixed rules for your jaw size but I would suggest making it reasonably thick say 1 ¾” minimum and for the width I tend to go a maximum of 8“. It doesn’t need to extend down to the floor but try to allow at least 9” between the screw and parallel guide. I always fit plenty of holes in the parallel guide so there’s always one to closely match what I’m clamping.

      Reply
  2. Benjamin Renaud

    Hello, any chance we could buy such a lovely pin? What size of hole are they made to fit? Thanks

    Reply
    • Richard

      Hi Benjamin, They will fit inside a 10mm diameter hole. I’m sure we could supply one if you’re interested, just drop me an email and we’ll sort it out.

      Reply
  3. Matt

    I am also interested in purchasing one of these pins, is that possible? Thanks

    Reply

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