Swindens vice

[MattF]

Thought I'd pop this in its own thread rather than peeing Norm off any more. So much for me not having a fiddle with this vice until I'd got other stuff done. An obligatory mug size comparison. It's a 4" vice. Pipe jaws are approx. 2-1/2" wide.

The cylinder parts stripped down.

The base/body after derusting.

The base/body has had its first coat of paint.

Thought that seeing as I had it all stripped down that I might as well go the full hog and paint it, seeing as there was nothing resembling a notable amount of original paint left on there.

Had a devil of a time getting the jaws off. Some of the securing screws were rusted to their bolts, and the pipe jaws has each had one smooth face screw added, so that they couldn't be easily removed. Had to drill the countersink head off by drilling down through the heads with a drill bit equal to the shank diameter, until I could punch them from the shank.

 

[magnet]

Nice little project...................Looking good.................Magnet

 

[Norm]

that's looking tidy Matt, sounds like a pig of a job stripping it down but well worth it, should be a useful addition to the workshop when you've done.

 

[MattF]

Cheers. I do hope it'll be useful. I'm sure I'll find a few tasks to test it with.

It's coming along steadily. Everything barring the leadscrew and handle have been cleaned/derusted, and just one last coat of paint left to put on the front jaw part, (I will be scraping that paint overflow off before I reassemble, btw ), and she should be almost ready to go back together, once the enamel has cured for a week or so.

I've left it as beaten up physically as it was when it came. Not tried to smooth any parts, barring on the rear locking ring for the cylinder, so it'll still look well used but with a fresh lick of paint, and jaws which hopefully close.

 

[Epicyclic]

That's looking good Matt, not seen one of those before It looks in pretty good condition for its age I'm guessing.

As a matter interest what make is it? Doh, the clue is in the title I guess, sorry!

 

[MattF]

That's looking good Matt, not seen one of those before

Was only about three years or so ago that I learned of their existence. Been keeping an eye out for one occasionally since then, but if it hadn't been for that thread of Norm's and Jester mentioning this one, I'd likely not have dropped on this one. For £36 quid, it'd have been criminal to pass on the chance of having one of these.

It looks in pretty good condition for its age I'm guessing.

It's not too bad, all things considered. Mechanically, it seems quite sound, for something which is 78 years old. The leadscrew thread appears almost mint. Physically, it has had some good old bashing sessions, but nowt of detriment. I haven't got rid of any bruises, dents, ridges or such unless it's interfering mechanically with owt though. With it being of the age and an A.M one, some of those dents could have been made whilst working on owt from a Hurricane to a Lancaster, so they've all been left as is. Or, it could just have been stuck in somebody's office doing owt and nowt tasks.

As a matter interest what make is it? Doh, the clue is in the title I guess, sorry!

Yeah, it's a Swindens.


Done a bit more work on it today. Decided to clean the paint overflow off whilst the enamel was still somewhat soft. It's messier than doing it once it's hardened, (soft paint clings to everything like mad), but it's easier to get off in that state. It was a bit of impatience to play with it more than owt else.

The base cleaned of excess paint and the anvil section just tickled with a file to remove some sharp ridges:

The cylinders:

 

[Epicyclic]

Very nice Matt, good colour too.
I was amazed to see they still make them: http://www.swindens-vices.co.uk/
Another must keep an eye-open for one of those notes duly made....

 

[Pete.]

Identical to mine, except mine is blue and has no cup-holder.

 

[MattF]

Very nice Matt, good colour too.

Cheers. It got painted that colour because I haven't decanted the Brunswick Green yet, so the Wine Red is the only colour I currently have on the go. Saying that though, I think the red is a better choice for it. I think I might start using that red for all of the smaller pieces. It doesn't quite look right on large pieces, for some reason I can't put my finger on, but works well with the smaller pieces.

Identical to mine, except mine is blue and has no cup-holder.

Perfect size for a mug that anvil, ain't it. Does yours have the blanking/cover plate over the rear end of the inner cylinder Pete? That bit was missing from mine, and though I've got a fairly good idea of what to make one like, looks wise, was just wondering what the original plate looks like. Not seen any photo's which show that that end of the vice as yet.

 

[MattF]

Well, I'll be damned if I can figure out the specific problem with this leadscrew and nut. The screw appears straight enough, (might just be a gnats fart of a bow), but the nut goes solid once it hits the last four or five turns of the screw. Turn the nut round, and it seizes earlier on along the thread, so I'm guessing a combination of wear and thread distortion is the likeliest culprit? I'd have expected any bow in the screw to make it seize in roughly the same spot whichever way the nut was wound on?

 

[normspanners]

Well I'm not helping you with it AND I'm taking my ball home so there!!!.

 

[MattF]

Well I'm not helping you with it AND I'm taking my ball home so there!!!.

 

[wheresmejumper]

Looking good Matt
did anyone pour a stiff enough drink to email swindons for the price of a new one?

 

[Epicyclic]

4" was £5 16 00 - http://www.toolemera.com/adpdf/swinden-1.pdf

Haven't emailed them but I vaguely remember £170ish for the 4", tried to find the link on Google but can't...

 

[Pete.]

Does yours have the blanking/cover plate over the rear end of the inner cylinder Pete? That bit was missing from mine, and though I've got a fairly good idea of what to make one like, looks wise, was just wondering what the original plate looks like. Not seen any photo's which show that that end of the vice as yet.

Yep I have a plate on mine, it forms a rudimentary bearing for the end of the screw. It's flat on one side, has a 45 bevel on the outside and two screw holes. Od is about a sixteenth smaller than the shaft and ID is (was) probably a sliding fit for the screw.

 

[MattF]

Cheers for that Pete. My guess as to how it would look was totally wrong. I hadn't realised the centre was open, though that does explain why the last 1" or so of the screw is smooth. I'd envisioned that the rear plate would be dished in the centre, to allow it to enclose the end of the screw. I'll be able to make one to original design now. Cheers.

 

[Pete.]

All you gotta do then is find some whitworth cheese-head screws to fix it

 

[MattF]

Think there's likely more chance of finding rocking horse poo than those. I can see this being a case of studs and nuts holding it in place. Always a good excuse for adding a bit of brass though.

 

[TAITSIE]

I never did find out the maker of this monster

 

[MattF]

First thought at seeing that one was that it's possibly an American vice. Seems to have their type of styling.