Board jack keeps workpieces hanging around
Call me a Neanderthal woodworker, but I still enjoy jointing boards in my vise using a hand plane. To support the other end of long boards, I made a board jack that hangs from the bench instead of resting on the floor.
My vise has 11/2"-thick jaw faces, and the fixed face stands proud of the edge of the bench, so I made my jack out of 11/2"-thick maple. This keeps the jaw face and jack on the same plane. And, for extra strength, I dovetailed the joint in the jack.
Depending on the length of the board I'm working with, I can position the jack anywhere along the length of my bench, using a bench stop to pin it into a dog hole. The 3/4" dowel pin that supports the board fits through anyone of the staggered holes on the face of the jack to work with various-width boards.
—Bob Pearlman, Birmingham, Ala.