Use this trick to chop mortises.

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[@jipillow1]

This type of content is the best use of youtube. Cat videos are a close second

[@Trpr-dw4wx]

I love this comment lol

[@EngineerMikeF]

Wholly agree with the first sentence. Busted out laughing about the cats, well played

[@noassociation85]

You don't know how bad I want to bark at you my guy😅

[@00Klingon]

This is one of those tips that seems obvious in hindsight but you never think of it before you see it done.

[@BrianRust89]

I used to use this technique. I noticed after a while the bench top right in front of the vice was getting torn up. So I put a longer scrap piece in the vice so I could place the piece I was mortising directly over the bench leg closest to the vise. Works much better and if it gets torn up it’s not in my normal work flow area.

[@BenKingEagles]

This.

[@yizhuolin3906]

you can also set a sacrificial scrap board under the workpiece to save your bench top.

[@BrianRust89]

True but then there are using two scrap boards. And you lose the benefit of being over a leg which has much better transfer of energy Into the work. Some people said to just put a scrap piece under the piece in the vice and rest it on the rails. This will end up loosening your vise over time. May even break something in it (over time).

[@BenKingEagles]

@@BrianRust89 The effect on a well-made vise would be negligible. The vise should be secured with lag bolts or another type of heavy bolt and the bench would need replacing before the vise. Using the vise puts you more over the workpiece, saving your back, neck and shoulders. The # of scrap used is nonsense: You ALWAYS use as much scrap or support or jigs as you need. Skimp on your setup and you'll pay for it in time or blood. You need to keep in mind that the vast majority of youtubers are makers, not tradespeople. Rex is a great guy and has tons of good content, don't get me wrong, but he isn't a tradesperson, and that counts for quite a lot in the end.

[@BrianRust89]

@@BenKingEagles when I mentioned the number of pieces of scrap used I just meant that is more time. The more set up the more time. Time is money. As far as the vise goes it will loosen the lags and you’ll have to tighten them. Which is more time spent. Then the vise not wearing out, I agree most vises will outlive a bench. But most quick action vises have a brass nut in them. That brass nut can get galled and will ruin your vise. It won’t happen after a time or two but a year of pounding on it and stressing the screw back and forth will ruin it. I didn’t want to explain all that but it’s all true. On my set up I use a hold fast to secure the piece right over a leg and chop the mortise.

[@milosmanic6937]

Heheh, "Then put the piece your mortal sin against it". Oh you, captions...

[@ColdHawk]

*Closed Captioning provided by the Catholic Church.

[@kentknightofcaelin4537]

I mean, he did talk about vices a lot...

[@benharwin6521]

Place the work piece over the top of one of the legs on your bench. You want to best power transfer possible. Matt Estlea does this, where I first heard about it

[@DerekMorey6505]

Simple and effective!

[@professor62]

Excellent advice! Great tip! Thank you!

[@matthewstanton9633]

Love Rexs old fashioned no nonsense approach. Great tip

[@jappyled1394]

I prefer Paul Sellers approach, and use his 'mortise guide' instead of scrap wood 😉

[@robertberger8642]

Excellent short, Rex!

[@thelongestnameeverstartswi5574]

This has been the most useful construction tip ive seen and i will be using this at work, thx

[@jamesrodgers3132]

Rex, you are the master of YT shorts

[@klony1280]

I don't know what a mortise is, but this trick is ingenious. You just reroute the force used to keep the piece still!

[@dandelie2067]

Thank you for the great information. Did not know that there was a tenion jig.

[@mrmaldoon8362]

Another practical idea. You are the man

[@markp6062]

Very good! Thanks for sharing!

[@steh8217]

I do that even if I had a good vise. People go really over out of their way to ensure that they only chop down over a leg of the bench for better power transfer 👍

[@sleazy1drache]

Simple, straightforward solution. 😊 the mark of an experienced master craftsman

[@tatehogan5685]

Thanks Rex, great tip

[@mikehutch5921]

My grandfather built a vise specifically for mortise work. He used a 2x4 and cut out an L shape half the thickness of the 2x4 with the top of the L 1 inch deep for the inside and outside of the vise. They typically lasted a year before he needed to replace it. Luckily he owned a lumber mill and cut all the lumber he needed for his projects as well as supplied the locals with lumber for building houses. Especially the hippies.

[@user-qg6fy4yp8t]

Thanks great trick!

[@jgo5707]

Fantastic advice

[@firewoodsteel]

Great tip, thanks!

[@markdmaker3173]

Great advice, thank you

[@alexjames1146]

We had a 2x2 which came up out of the bench. It also functioned as a planing stop.

[@orbitalair2103]

I made a table using a low roman bench from Rexs book. Chop the mortises over a leg, using holdfasts and scrap to hold the piece in place.

[@bmo14lax]

I think the end line summed it up best here, but good tip

[@BostLabs]

Nice! Thanks Rex!

[@docolemnsx]

Man, I might disagree with some of your tips, but truth be told, some are friggin gems! Now all I gotta do is get that vise on the side of my bench as I've been planning for 3 years 😅

[@andrewjones3807]

I very much like this tip. Thank you!

[@oldmanmcgowan]

the end of your bench had a perfectly good spot to just clamp your piece straight down onto the table top btw. No need for the extra nonsense at all.

[@timmyers1006]

Thanks for the tip.

[@gatin9015]

the simplest answer is often the correct one ❤️

[@matthewcantrell5289]

You can also put a piece of scrap under the part you’re working on so it bottoms out on the guides of the vise.

[@davidegerton-warburton1311]

Great Idea 💡👍

[@rudispruell883]

Good idea!

[@nicholaspence7741]

Brilliant!

[@shanksjeffcott8598]

So simple and never thought of it

[@alexanderguestguitars1173]

Easier to put a fillet piece in the vice that fills the gap between the bottom of the workpiece and the vice rails

[@ZorinZato]

Yeah I’m 100% using this in my shop TODAY

[@malta7406]

That's an awesome tip

[@trumpetguy8371]

I like to use a holdfast on the bench top. Qwuick to set and qwuick to release.

[@TheBuccy]

Top tip. Bore holes first.

[@microwave221]

I got a heavy machine vise that l chopped out mortises in scrap wood to tightly fit the textured metal jaws for when l work softer materials, and it works very well, if a bit high. It's more or less over a leg too, but not sure that even matters since it's a good 60lbs, and any force doesn't really transfer through that very quickly.

[@janbjerregaard7575]

i just learned how to fix a problem i often run into using a vice

[@borjesvensson8661]

Always work on top of the bench if possible!

[@christophnei8301]

i always forget about that one😮

[@gutterspeak]

Should use a scrap piec of wood on both sides of the piece you're working on.

[@nagranoth_]

Of course, when you get some experience you really don't need to clamp it at all anymore. Or just a holdfast on top of the bench. Much quicker.

[@noassociation85]

Imagine rocking up to a 100 plus unit block to do entry doors with a hammer and chisel😮 great if your doing one,most blokes dont do one tho.

[@alisterkelly4052]

How have i never thought of this 😂

[@samuelkopke3341]

Genius

[@HarbingerOfFear]

Great ad-vice 😂

[@unmortal8672]

OR just hear me out clamp it to the table if youre gonna use a clamp anyway or a holdfast

[@popcornmaster3172]

You could clamp the piece to the bench top

[@MrDerpy-ns6sy]

Cool now instead of it going down it's sliding forward everytime you strike it xD

[@poepkak6714]

I did nit know this. I will use this

[@ColdHawk]

Thanks for the… add-vice. Ahem. Show myself to the door now shall I?

[@heretoserve5023]

otherwise known as... THE BETTER WAY! thank you for... THE BETTER WAY!

[@user-hi3mo8qk9p]

looks like the type of guy who would kidnap you and keep your in his basement but then build you the most beautiful coffin for after he killed you

[@perryjones207]

Good ideer.

[@keksjanik2138]

Or just clamp the piece to the table (on the piece and under the table?

[@blahblah9036]

Couldn't you put a scrap of the same width as your piece underneath it in the vise? That scrap would fill the void between your piece and the vise screw, so it won't move down when you strike the chisel.

[@marchess923]

Didn't I see you when the Dracula movie doing the same thing?

[@ouberfox5898]

I line my vice with a old t-shirt

[@davidb9728]

Can I use a newer clamp or do I have to use any old clamp?

[@Mr_Rick]

So what can you come up with using a Moxon vise?

[@summalibertas4588]

Actually not a bad idea/tip

[@brendanduffy1199]

Or stick a piece under it in the side vice

[@igreshi]

Any mortising chisels you recommend? And what size should one get first

[@nagranoth_]

What size you need really depends on what size wood you work with. Generally the mortise is about a third of the thickness of your wood. But that's just a general rule of thumb, if you've got a chisel that's slightly bigger or smaller you just use that size, because really you want the mortise to be the size of your chisel and pick any reasonably sized chisel. Also, you don't need mortising chisels per se. You can do the exact same thing with a normal chisel. The mortising chisel just makes it a bit easier to keep the chisel aligned along the mortise once you've got a bit of depth.

[@igreshi]

@@nagranoth_ thanks for the info, I just haven't spent an unnecessary 20$ lately

[@jsleeio]

isn't part of the problem with the vise usage here that you don't have anything in the lower part of the vise? ie. the clamping is more triangular than square. Does it help if you put a piece of wood of the same thickness in the bottom part of the vise jaw?

[@mercoid]

Mortising block.

[@J.A.Smith2397]

Jumping on the short wagon hard ain't we lol here's your comment to help

[@macca3980]

Why not put an extra piece under that sits at the bottom of the vice and the work sits on top of

[@Gaehhn]

Why not use the end vice? That's what it exists for.

[@r.rodriguez4991]

Or put a scrap of wood under your work piece that sits against the rails.

[@FelixKaff]

Why wasn't this taught at schools in cabinet makery?.. most basic idea to exist, yet oftenly missed!..

[@inkman6964]

That’s because you don’t chop joints in a vice

[@sparrowhawk81]

How bout a holdfast?

[@sween187]

🤯

[@CR-iz1od]

you just gouged your piece with a c clamp... the entire point of the wood clamp is to prevent that.... just stick a thinner piece in the clamp along the metal pipes and set your piece on top....

[@anonymousv4889]

Why so complicated? I just use my hold fast to secure it to the bench... Nothing else needed

[@benbaggen2375]

Or hear me out....just buy a proper vice😂.

[@ihatetable]

if you would’ve angled the mortise correctly in the first clip it would’ve chipped it perfectly without all this extra bs

[@guitarsandsuchetc]

Vvvvv