Show us your bench vice(s)

Dieselman 63 · Mar 4, 2017

Just out of interest, has anyone ever come across a Record gnome? They were made at the end of a days casting and used for door stoppers in tool shops.

Westfield-builder · Mar 5, 2017

I agree with Cwazy Wabbit. I remember working with pipe fitters years ago, and the angle allowed 3M lengths of tube to have one end supported on the floor.

If you do replace the pipe vice with a No4, I would be interested in buying it. If you want to sell it, that is.

arther dailey · Mar 5, 2017

be even better with a swindens on...........now I wonder who would have one of them for sale! :whistle:

pondy · Mar 5, 2017

arther dailey said:
be even better with a swindens on...........now I wonder who would have one of them for sale!

guessing you haven't sold your yet, i enjoy using mine, should have got one sooner

arther dailey · Mar 5, 2017

I have one I use and another for sale, but must admit havent advertised it as been to busy, apart from on here that is,you never did say where you got your replacement jaws from..........

pondy · Mar 5, 2017

i wouldnt mind another, a bigger one though. there have been a few sell on ebay since i got mine, one was £300 for a 4" one. i got mine from a guy on ebay, he was selling alot of vices, asked if he had any swindens, he hsd a few so i brought the cheapest/roughest one. he also had a newer one which some thing had snapped on, so i brought the jaws, fairly rare find i would say

clift_d · Mar 6, 2017

You can get new jaws from Swindens directly - not cheap but not totally off the scale either.

pondy · Mar 6, 2017

clift_d said:
not cheap but not totally off the scale either.

your right they aint cheap, around £70, considering the vice was £120, bloke i spoke to about them eas very rude

arther dailey · Mar 6, 2017

so at £190 total for a rough one worked out well for you. :thumbup:

(your words not mine!)

pondy · Mar 6, 2017

arther dailey said:
so at £190 total for a rough one worked out well for you.(your words not mine!)

£70 was what swindens wanted for jaws, used ones was £40. this is when i got mine

CwazyWabbit · Mar 7, 2017

pondy said:
your right they aint cheap, around £70, considering the vice was £120, bloke i spoke to about them eas very rude

That sounds like the bloke I spoke to as well ages ago. Doesn't care much for us tinkerers and vintage users

clift_d · Mar 7, 2017

Probably the same bloke I spoke to but I found he was perfectly pleasant to deal with. I didn't mind spending a bit of money on new jaws for my old Swindens as I only paid a fiver for it in the first place.

Turbo · Mar 8, 2017

Westfield-builder said:
If you do replace the pipe vice with a No4, I would be interested in buying it. If you want to sell it, that is.

I've been after one of these for ages, so sorry, its not for sale!

arther dailey said:
be even better with a swindens on...........now I wonder who would have one of them for sale!

I would dearly love a swindens vice but I can't justify the price & they're rare as hens teeth over here!

So I spent a while over the weekend with a tape measure, digital protractor & some blocks of wood to try to work out what's wrong with my stand. I figure that for maximum stability the legs should form an isosceles triangle & with that in mind I worked out that the rear leg is 3" too short.

With a 3" block under the leg the vice platform is still at an angle, which may be how its designed but not much good for mounting a standard vice on. I'll cut a notch out of the front legs to get the top level then weld them. The under tray is also off level but it's just a matter of drilling a new securing hole.

CwazyWabbit · Mar 8, 2017

Turbo said:
I've been after one of these for ages, so sorry, its not for sale!
*snip*
With a 3" block under the leg the vice platform is still at an angle, which may be how its designed but not much good for mounting a standard vice on. I'll cut a notch out of the front legs to get the top level then weld them. The under tray is also off level but it's just a matter of drilling a new securing hole.

Looking at the catalogue picture the vice platform and shelf are level. How upright are the front legs when you jack it up to make the top level?

Ton-up · Mar 8, 2017

Find a piece if pipe to slip over the leg (or inside) drill a row of spaced holes and have it adjustable, like a axle stand!

Turbo · Mar 9, 2017

CwazyWabbit said:
Looking at the catalogue picture the vice platform and shelf are level. How upright are the front legs when you jack it up to make the top level?

If you add 6" of blocks under the back leg it makes the top & shelf level but front leg is then near vertical which makes the whole thing unstable! Also, if the back leg was 6" longer it would leave it sticking out by 3" when you have the stand folded so it wouldn't sit properly! :vsad:

I think somebody has modified this to have the pipe vice at an angle.

Ton-up said:
Find a piece if pipe to slip over the leg (or inside) drill a row of spaced holes and have it adjustable, like a axle stand!

I have considered that very idea, great minds think alike.

Currently I'm not able to modify the stand as I've a car under repair in my workshop.

CwazyWabbit · Mar 9, 2017

Turbo said:
If you add 6" of blocks under the back leg it makes the top & shelf level but front leg is then near vertical which makes the whole thing unstable! Also, if the back leg was 6" longer it would leave it sticking out by 3" when you have the stand folded so it wouldn't sit properly! I think somebody has modified this to have the pipe vice at an angle.
*snip*

Grabbed a few pics of a couple of the stands from ebay, it seems sticking out by about 3 inches when folded is the correct length :-/
Perhaps they modified it because it was made on a Friday afternoon and the angles were wrong to start with?

Turbo · Mar 10, 2017

CwazyWabbit said:
Grabbed a few pics of a couple of the stands from ebay, it seems sticking out by about 3 inches when folded is the correct length :-/

Doesn't look right & it means it doesn't stand up when folded. The back leg does show signs of being replaced at some point, maybe their measuring tape was out.

There are also signs that a removable angle brace was fitted between the front legs & the platform you stand on. This would make everything very stable if the legs were more upright & its something I was considering fitting. Have you ever seen one fitted?

Turbo · Mar 10, 2017

I bought this vice tonight (see the today I acquired thread for the full story).

Unfortunately the front plate where the quick release mounts is broken, looks like it was dropped.

What is this plate made from & can it be welded? I might just make a new one from mild steel, might be a stronger job. I'm not planning on keeping this vice so not worried about originality.

CwazyWabbit · Mar 10, 2017

Turbo said:
Doesn't look right & it means it doesn't stand up when folded. The back leg does show signs of being replaced at some point, maybe their measuring tape was out.

There are also signs that a removable angle brace was fitted between the front legs & the platform you stand on. This would make everything very stable if the legs were more upright & its something I was considering fitting. Have you ever seen one fitted?

Not seen an angle brace as far as I can recall. It does seem a stupid design with the leg sticking out like that though

Turbo said:
I bought this vice tonight (see the today I acquired thread for the full story).
*snip*
Unfortunately the front plate where the quick release mounts is broken, looks like it was dropped.

*snip*
What is this plate made from & can it be welded? I might just make a new one from mild steel, might be a stronger job. I'm not planning on keeping this vice so not worried about originality.

They are cast, I have repaired the exact same part on a Parkinsons. I TIG brazed the one I fixed.

Show us your bench vice(s)

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