Screwdriver
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I snapped up a broken post leg vice off eBay for £20 (and ended up paying double to have it delivered LOL).
It is a six inch version and, frankly, massive. Easily 50kg it dwarfs my spindly four inch vices though you would never know it just by glancing at a photo.
One of the jaws has detached.
so part of the restoration is to weld it back on.
Initially I was confused since 1. these things are virtually unbreakable and 2. I believe they have a steel jaw fitted to the wrought iron body from new
I bottomed it out eventually. It would appear my particular vice is a "Peter Wright", produced some time in the late 19th century but at some time during it's life has been re-engineered and had two new jaw inserts welded to it, presumably after the old jaws had been cut off. It is also missing a couple of "horns" which also appear to have been carefully removed.
Here's a picture of a mint example. Note the "Attwood Stourbridge" marking. Mine has a similar stamp albeit a lot less neatly made.
I assume the "horns" are there to protect the screw mechanism from wayward blows. Mine are missing, presumably having done their job, been used up and discarded during a rebuild. If the welding seems to go ok, I may even stick them back on though it is likely to be more of a grinding exercise than a demonstration of how to weld.
I did video the process as much to practice my video production as to document it but the resulting footage is poor even by my own standards (it's a lot more difficult to produce an interesting video than you'd think!). So instead, I will entertain you with some stills.
This is the main "job".
Little did I know it would take two days to take out a bolt and pop out the little taper tang. The only two fasteners on the entire mechanism!
The general condition of this hundred odd year old vice is pretty poor as the wrought iron has rusted and expanded, leaving all the surfaces pock marked.
This close up shows the thrust washer which over the years has become impressively mushroomed from use.
The biggest problem however was the retaining tang(s). They were rusted SOLID.
more...
It is a six inch version and, frankly, massive. Easily 50kg it dwarfs my spindly four inch vices though you would never know it just by glancing at a photo.
One of the jaws has detached.
so part of the restoration is to weld it back on.
Initially I was confused since 1. these things are virtually unbreakable and 2. I believe they have a steel jaw fitted to the wrought iron body from new
I bottomed it out eventually. It would appear my particular vice is a "Peter Wright", produced some time in the late 19th century but at some time during it's life has been re-engineered and had two new jaw inserts welded to it, presumably after the old jaws had been cut off. It is also missing a couple of "horns" which also appear to have been carefully removed.
Here's a picture of a mint example. Note the "Attwood Stourbridge" marking. Mine has a similar stamp albeit a lot less neatly made.
I assume the "horns" are there to protect the screw mechanism from wayward blows. Mine are missing, presumably having done their job, been used up and discarded during a rebuild. If the welding seems to go ok, I may even stick them back on though it is likely to be more of a grinding exercise than a demonstration of how to weld.
I did video the process as much to practice my video production as to document it but the resulting footage is poor even by my own standards (it's a lot more difficult to produce an interesting video than you'd think!). So instead, I will entertain you with some stills.
This is the main "job".
Little did I know it would take two days to take out a bolt and pop out the little taper tang. The only two fasteners on the entire mechanism!
The general condition of this hundred odd year old vice is pretty poor as the wrought iron has rusted and expanded, leaving all the surfaces pock marked.
This close up shows the thrust washer which over the years has become impressively mushroomed from use.
The biggest problem however was the retaining tang(s). They were rusted SOLID.
more...
You are correct that the movvable arm is dished and I wondered if that was from being worn over the years or another clever design idea. If I can figure out how to send you a PM we can start negotiations! Thank you again for the offer as I don't think my old Myford 7 would cope too well with me trying to make one as it's had a hard previous life.
