[DocStram]

I'd like to power carve a few bowls using a Lancelot blade and a Merlin. I need some advice on how to hold big pieces of wood (16x10) while working on them. Your input will be greatly appreciated!

[mdallensr]

I have a swivel carving vice that I use for big, awkward carvings. I screw a plywood holder onto the bottom of the blank, making sure the screws do not go past the inner surface of the final bowl. The holder bolts onto the base of the swivel vice. The vice allows me to rotate and tilt the bowl in any direction. We've had several threads on the board about these vices, some homemade. A search would show those threads. Goode luck. Mike

[brian bailey]

I find these holdfasts to be handy when working on my bowls.

Traditional Bench Holdfasts - Woodcraft.com

[Jim-Iowa]

I picked up a Panavise 400 series base off the discount table at a local hobby shop. I have never got a base for it but did take a section of pipe and a floor flange and ground the pipe down to fit in the base.
It's supose to rated for 70 lbs so I think it would work well doing what you want to do. It's on the right side of the attatched page.
C3GM/PanaviseOnline.com

[DocStram]

Thanks for all of the advice that I've been getting. I decided to give the Poor Man's Vise a try. One question though .... what the heck is a "Carriage Handle"? I can't seem to get a good look at what it looks like in the picture. Does the "Carriage Handle" screw onto the eyebolt somehow?

[AlArchie]

That "carriage handle" appears to be the same thing as this "jig handle" in Lee Valley's catalog. Item AA in the picture.

When I built this vice,I couldn't find one of these handles either so I substituted a 5/16" nut and use a small box end wrench in place of the handle.


Knobs, Handles & Thumbscrews - Lee Valley Tools

[chuckbolton]

try a good full line oldfashioned hardware store for your carriage bolt-- or a farm store-- i see them used on farm wagons and on the beds of grain trucks.