The Benchcrafted Crisscross

Summer is flying by and we're scrambling to get all our new stuff rolling as quickly as possible. We know there are lots of you who are chomping at the bit to get your benches built. Summer is a slow time for woodworking, but not for everyone. We think it will be worth the wait.

But summer is also about not rushing. Slowing down. Taking it easy. Fishing (yeah, I just bought a new fly rod--my first--and I can't wait to take a day and reenact this scene.) We take our vises very seriously here, and we're not going to rush through anything at the risk of excellence.

There are lots of companies that keep stuff secret right up until its ready to sell. We're not entirely like that. We don't just make this stuff for money. We use it. We enjoy the design process. We love tweaking things so they work better. Our goal is the same as your goal. Being thrilled with your tools and loving every second of using them.

This week we're finishing up  the first run of our new Tail Vise handwheels. There are still a couple operations to finish, but they are 95% there. And they look simply incredible. Once we get some good photos taken, we'll post them here.

But the main purpose of this post is to talk about the Crisscross, our new version of the St. Peter's Cross mechanism. We've finished the design and engineering and are now working on the patterns for casting these in iron. We know that many are thinking about incorporating the Crisscross into an existing bench, or an upcoming bench build.

Take a look at the video above for an animation of how the Crisscross will install. This should provide enough "rough" information for those planning their bench. If you have questions, please comment below. There are a few aspects here that will change. Fasteners in the video are simply representative. They will change. The long mortises in the leg and chop are sized for the bracket width. We will most likely instruct builders to narrow the mortise below the bracket for a cleaner install.