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There are lots of great vendors making Moxon-style vises for sale (see a partial list at the end of this entry). But now you can add Nick Dombrowski to that list; and to me, that’s a huge deal.
Nick is the wood-machining genius behind Lake Erie Toolworks, which makes stunning wooden-thread vises. I have installed dozens of his vises on benches and have one on my Roubo. Nick’s wooden screws are the best – better than even the best vintage screws I’ve encountered.
Lake Erie is now taking orders for a Moxon kit that will include the screws and all the wood needed for one of these vises. You’ll need only remove the machine marks from the wood and add any supports or platforms you might desire (I don’t think you need them, honestly). The introductory price is $189.
The kit comes with a tapped back jaw, a front jaw with oblong holes (for clamping tapered stock) and the wooden screws. The vise kit allows clamping a 24”-wide panel between the screws for dovetailing.
I made my first Moxon using wooden screws that I threaded myself and a back jaw that I tapped. Finding a good screwbox has become difficult or expensive. So if you don’t want to go down that path, the Lake Erie is a great way to just be done with it.
I hope to put in an order for one to give it a test drive – not that I need another Moxon vise. But I know readers will have questions about it, and I always like seeing Nick’s work.
Other Moxon vises available (a partial list; if you know of others, add them in the comments)
Benchcrafted
Tools for Working Wood
Texas Heritage
Lie-Nielsen Toolworks
Woodcraft
The Traditional Carpenter
Also, editor Megan Fitzpatrick compiled this list of Moxon-vise resources.
— Christopher Schwarz
