Nicholson bench,vise and side boards

With the base and check glued up I was ready to make the vise guide tube. Using the drawing I had made on the face of the check I made up the tube with the nuts attached. I designed it so the nuts acted as guides for the planing stops and the top board gave me the right distance down from the bench top. I drilled pilot holes in the nuts and top board so I could attach them to the side boards and the top.Now that I have the vise parts and planing stops ready I cut 1/4 inch deep dadoes in the side boards for the legs to fit in. I did this to keep the bench from racking. This could also be accomplished by adding boards to the sides to create a slot. I drilled the holes for the guide bar to pass through the sideboards. I will drill the hole for the screw after the check is installed.

I then stepped back to discuss with Dean how to place the holes in the side boards for work support. Why did the original bench have 3 vertically and 4 diagonally oriented holes? We couldn't figure any good reason and decided to do it the same way to see if the answer would show itself in use. Once the holes were laid out we grabbed the braces and bored away!