My vice shows evidence of much love from previous owners. It looks nice, doesn't it? I have a few ideas about how I may restore this, but I'd like to hear from you first. Ideally, I would like it to hold work more accurately than it does at present.
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Windy Miller
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Hmmm I have a milling vice like that.
The table looks a lot like that too unfortunately
The table looks a lot like that too unfortunately
Barking Mat
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Ooh, that's seen some action.
My mill vice isn't flat, causing problems.
If you stick parallels in it, how does it read ?
My mill vice isn't flat, causing problems.
If you stick parallels in it, how does it read ?
Kram
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Strip it, clean, fill holes with epoxy then mill it flat. As jaws are hardened you could use a carbide endmill but probably best to lap them on a flat surface. I did a cheap new cast iron one in the lathe.
What are you machining?
I have such poor sense of smell when i can finally smell something i get an almost immediate headache. I can assure you that you do not need a good sense of smell for identifying Delrin/Acetal by the flame method, the back of your airways will soon inform you :D
www.mig-welding.co.uk
Barking Mat
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A wild one, with no sense of shame.What animal has been using that
Screwdriver
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Needs a swap repair.
Replace it with one that isn't f**ked.
Replace it with one that isn't f**ked.
Would you like to swap?
Agroshield
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Have a think about how exactly the previous abuse has lessened its accuracy.
About the only thing I can think of is that the drill pock marks might have raised edges/burrs. A simple stoning will remove those and when you see stone marks on the whole base, across the whole face of the jaws and across the top of the jaws everything will be flat.
If at this point it is not holding accurately enough for your needs, you would need to look at the dovetail/gibs and tickle them until they are better but any attention required in this area is not from the abuse, just honest wear and tear or the economics of mass produced fit up from new.
Kram's suggestion about repairing the cosmetic damage is spot on, but do not fool yourself into thinking this will change its accuracy.
Screwdriver
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Would you like to swap?
I can see the attraction in spending time and effort restoring an old vice. It's a sort of hobby of mine too.
But how much will it cost to repair and what what functionality will be added would be my first thought. I compare that to how much it might cost to replace said item with a better example.
There is no great value in that vice with decent to minty examples easily available for circa £40 to £60.
The holes make little difference to the function so it's a cosmetic repair. Get into the realms of welding or brazing and it will require machining since you will distort the "precision" surfaces. Bung up the holes with JB Weld and it will pretty much look the same with some small benefit in resisting the collection of swarf. It will need new or reground jaws either way.
Do I have one? Yes. Can you have it? No.
I would enjoy seeing a detailed repair thread on this vice. MIG it, machine it, bring it back up to snuff. There is merit in that process and it is something I enjoy doing but frankly, the end result is never going to be more than a fairly underwhelming, run of the mill, throwaway vice.
Now, if it was a Swinden's...
I'm quite happy to machine the vice at home as I have a mill and surface grinder. I don't have MIG (but I could possibly do it at work, with practise) only a stick welder and I'm not sure how well that would go. I've used jbweld on many other jobs and know the outcome would be satisfactory.I can see the attraction in spending time and effort restoring an old vice. It's a sort of hobby of mine too.
But how much will it cost to repair and what what functionality will be added would be my first thought. I compare that to how much it might cost to replace said item with a better example.
There is no great value in that vice with decent to minty examples easily available for circa £40 to £60.
The holes make little difference to the function so it's a cosmetic repair. Get into the realms of welding or brazing and it will require machining since you will distort the "precision" surfaces. Bung up the holes with JB Weld and it will pretty much look the same with some small benefit in resisting the collection of swarf. It will need new or reground jaws either way.
Do I have one? Yes. Can you have it? No.
I would enjoy seeing a detailed repair thread on this vice. MIG it, machine it, bring it back up to snuff. There is merit in that process and it is something I enjoy doing but frankly, the end result is never going to be more than a fairly underwhelming, run of the mill, throwaway vice.
Now, if it was a Swinden's...
not done it yet
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It’s an Abwood, so a good quality machine vise. Shame it has been abused. Mine has some damage but nowhere near like that - or I would not have bought it! Mine has, IIRC, a swivel base - but that never gets used, if I do.
There should be a square shaft for a handle with a octagonal drive.
I would get it built up, and machine it back to original, if restoring it. Possibly with braze but perhaps with a metal reinforced filler, even JB Weld.
Machined in situ would provide a level base for use with or without parallels.
Check with a dti for vertical run-out and get the rear jaw stoned flat (if original and hardened). The movable jaw would then be machined to be square with the rear, or as close as possible - it is the rear that is always used as a datum.
As Kram says, the cheap chinese offerings are no better and likely need ‘squaring up’ anyway.
I like mine, although I will admit that the precision type ll vises do get most use.
The pic appears to show a decent surface for a parallel to sit on, so is possibly OK as it is - and still be better than a cheap chinese offering.
There should be a square shaft for a handle with a octagonal drive.
I would get it built up, and machine it back to original, if restoring it. Possibly with braze but perhaps with a metal reinforced filler, even JB Weld.
Machined in situ would provide a level base for use with or without parallels.
Check with a dti for vertical run-out and get the rear jaw stoned flat (if original and hardened). The movable jaw would then be machined to be square with the rear, or as close as possible - it is the rear that is always used as a datum.
As Kram says, the cheap chinese offerings are no better and likely need ‘squaring up’ anyway.
I like mine, although I will admit that the precision type ll vises do get most use.
The pic appears to show a decent surface for a parallel to sit on, so is possibly OK as it is - and still be better than a cheap chinese offering.
I bought it because it was cheap (£3 if I remember correctly, £5 if I don't).
You are correct in saying it has a "decent" surface for a parallel to sit on, but that's assuming the parallel spans the full width and I don't do anything stupid or the holes don't fill up with swarf. I don't think we can braze any more at work (I'll check tomorrow) but as everyone has commented JBWeld would probably be good enough.
Screwdriver
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It is starting to look good. Apologies for being so dismissive earlier, it was a tongue in cheek comment.
skotl
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I bought some JB Weld for the first time a few weeks ago to fix my 80 year-old neighbour's leaky iron gutter (seems to have done the trick).
Is it really that good as a metal "filler"? I'd never have thought to use it on something like a vice but if it can fix problems like that...
Is it really that good as a metal "filler"? I'd never have thought to use it on something like a vice but if it can fix problems like that...
I've never used it on a vice before, but have used it on drill press tables with good effect. I'm only using it as a filler and it seems to do that job well.
