The saw vice is finished and works a treat. The jaws are sprung so that the central cam’s pressure is spread to the tips; and the vertical surfaces can be squeezed by the bench vice to add to the cam strength. The jaws had to have leather linings because this recycled oak is too hard to grip steel well. Apart from the steel cam pin, there’s only wood in the build and none of its strength relies on glue. Very happy.
The other vice? I finally made some oak dogs for my good bench’s tail vice, as you can see. It’s a great luxury to be able to hold a board steady. That’s not the vice to hold the saw vice, of course, just the best one to catch the light.
The water meadow is mostly water, right now, and the waterfalls have stayed full bore for days. Rochdale Council has got its robot calling to advise us to move to higher ground but we choose to remain at 50ft above the river. The Aga and the shower, both of which heat water from external temperature, are showing that temperatures out there are dropping; maybe we’ll see some snow.
If it keeps on pouring, I’ll have a fine time sharpening and renovating saws with my bum warmed by the fire. After that, I might have to start building the forge. Tough times.