Show us your bench vice(s)

[CRB]

It would need to be a DC welder, look up 'the sunken side car of doom' on youtube to see that very thing done.

I hope his drinking water comes from nearby, like a well. FWit.

 

[Turbo]

Clean-up on the 111 is coming along nicely, will get some pics up later.

I noticed some hairline cracks on the main body of the vice and I was thinking of welding them up using dissimiliar metals rods. I'm assuming that it is made of cast steel, it does say 'steel' on the vice. The quality of the casting is very poor compared to the cast iron vices I have and they don't seem to have put much effort into finishing it ie removing burrs and sharp edges.

Oh, I've bought a paramo no 5, hopefully collecting it tomorrow.

 

[Rig Pig]

Odd that the quality is so poor, my 114 is very well cast, I think it's a 1980s vice.

 

[MattF]

Seems most manufacturers had the occasional lapse of finshing or quality. That Fortis of mine sounds similar to your Record Turbo. Rough as, that is.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Cast steel, malleable/nodular/SG iron are all much harder to cast than grey iron so the finish on the high quality vices is likely to appear worse than the cheaper vices, inclusions and small holes are quite common.

The good news is they do weld nicer than cast iron. Can you put up some pictures of the cracks please?

 

[Turbo]

Cast steel, malleable/nodular/SG iron are all much harder to cast than grey iron so the finish on the high quality vices is likely to appear worse than the cheaper vices, inclusions and small holes are quite common.

That was my thinking too. But it looks like they did the bare minimum cleanup on the main body casting after it was cast. You can still see the joins from the mould and other casting snot in places normally hidden by the sliding jaw.

I'll have to do some tidying with the die grinder before I paint anything. I know it will not prevent the vice from working and it can't normally be seen but I'll know it's there and it would annoy me.

The good news is they do weld nicer than cast iron. Can you put up some pictures of the cracks please?

Tried to take some pics of the cracks but they didn't show up in the photos. Any tips on welding a cast steel vice? (I have Mig and MMA welders)

 

[CwazyWabbit]

When is comes to clean up done by Record at time of manufacture I've come to the conclusion that the only two tools the had were an angle grinder and perhaps a really coarse belt sander, so if they couldn't get to it with either of those it stayed.

With the welding I've only used TIG to repair vices, either Aluminium Bronze rods or 312 Stainless (dissimilar metals rod), I'm too tight to buy the special nickel rods.
The trick to avoid cracking is supposed to be to keep it either hot or cold, so either heat the whole vice up before welding and keep it hot (allow it to cool very slowly) or don't heat the vice and do short runs allowing it to cool enough to be touchable between runs. That said I've not had any cracking problems and I've done all my repairs without heating the vices up, sometimes putting in more heat with the welder than I should have.
I'm sure you already know about grinding the crack out and drilling holes at the end to stop it spreading etc.

 

[Turbo]

Firstly, thanks for the welding tips cw.

Next some pics of the casting dross they failed to clean off.

Now some 'after' pics, it cleaned up rather well!

Each part spent 2 days in the e-bath with a jet wash half-way through and at the end. There is some flash rust from the washing but everything is cleaned back to bare metal with minimum manual cleaning.

Unfortunately upon reassembly I noticed that the jaws are badly bowed!

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Both jaws are affected, the castings themselves are bent! I was thinking of removing the jaws and machining the castings parallel. Then I could heat the jaws up, straighten them then fit them back into the vice, tighten it and let them cool.
Any other suggestions on how to repair it?

I was down at the local auction house today and I spotted a Woden 190/s steel vice, looked to have 4.5" jaws and quick release. Everything works perfectly but the jaws have bowed the same as my 111 and the jaw inserts have actually cracked in the middle! Is this a rare model and worth a punt?

 

[CwazyWabbit]

I wouldn't be certain they had bowed till you remove the jaw inserts and then check the perch with a straight edge. I have a No 36 that looks like the jaws were bowed but it's just the inserts are worn, until removed I thought the jaws were bowed but the top back edge of the insert has also been hammered over adding to the illusion.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Just to add the jaw inserts are hardened so heating them up to straighten them will make them softer.

 

[Turbo]

From laying a ruler along the top of the perch it does look like it is bent but I'll know better when I get the jaws off. Might not be easy as all the bolts have been either riveted or welded to stop them loosening!

Just to add the jaw inserts are hardened so heating them up to straighten them will make them softer.

I realise that, I will harden and correctly temper them once I have them straight. I have a beast of an oxy/propane rosebud that I picked up on ebay that will be perfect for the job. Any idea what colour/temp to temper them to?

 

[MattF]

Drill the bolt heads off will be the easiest method for getting those out. Go down through the head with a pilot drill, and then go in with a drill bit slightly wider or same size as the bolt shank and take the heads off.

With regards the temper, it's quite easy to crack/chip an insert with a hammer, (you know how I know this ), so they're at the more fragile end of the spectrum.

 

[Turbo]

I was down at the local auction house today and I spotted a Woden 190/s steel vice, looked to have 4.5" jaws and quick release. Everything works perfectly but the jaws have bowed the same as my 111 and the jaw inserts have actually cracked in the middle! Is this a rare model and worth a punt?

Any of you guys any advice on this. Auction is Thursday night, is it worth bidding on?

 

[MattF]

Wouldn't say they're rare as such, but the steel vices are always less prevalent than their iron counterparts. Looking through those pages which CW has scanned from his catalogues, it looks like that will likely be a 7A, at that jaw width. Always worth bidding on a good vice, but if it were I personally, I wouldn't go to silly prices, (yeah, I'm a Yorkshireman, so do I ever ). Keeping in mind the cracked insert and the fact you don't know overall condition, probably be worth bidding £25 absolute maximum unless it was in otherwise pristine condition, IMHO.

End of the day, with patience, you can come across most vices eventually for good prices, so any bid you're thinking of placing has to reflect that.

 

[Turbo]

Thanks Matt.

Looking through those pages which CW has scanned from his catalogues, it looks like that will likely be a 7A, at that jaw width.

Any chance of a link?

What's a record no 36 worth? Just spotted one for sale mounted on a steel bench plus a bench grinder for £150. Unfortunately it's a 2 hour drive away.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

A record 36 will sell for between 50 and 150 on ebay, realistically I'd say a reasonable condition one is probably worth around the 80 quid mark. They are a top end vice with 6" jaws and made of the same materials as the 111 you own.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

 

[Turbo]

Thanks for info.

This is the woden vice.

It says either 190/5 or 190/s on it, so not listed on that page. The top of the slide has been used as an anvil and is covered in marks. I'll take a steel rule with me tomorrow, check the dimensions and if the perch is bent. I can't see it making very much given the state of the jaws.

 

[MattF]

I've seen better and seen worse. Definitely wouldn't go too silly on bidding with that though, if it were I. Class it as a potential beater vice, and if it's in better nick than that once you start cleaning it up, it's a bonus. Let us know how you get on.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Thanks for info.

This is the woden vice.

It says either 190/5 or 190/s on it, so not listed on that page. The top of the slide has been used as an anvil and is covered in marks. I'll take a steel rule with me tomorrow, check the dimensions and if the perch is bent. I can't see it making very much given the state of the jaws.

I've checked a few catalogues and none show a 190/5, could it be a 190/8 with a badly cast 8? or is not that big?