Swindens vice

[MattF]

Leather shim's a nice touch Matt...

Cheers. Wasn't sure if I'd get labelled as an anal git or not for adding that.

I'm gonna make a plastic bushing for mine - to fit on the outside of the dome so it only sees load when opening.

It would definitely see far less wear done that way. There was some reason I went with a thrust washer instead of going that route, but for the love of me I can't think why, now. It was probably some minor, inconsequential reason though, knowing me.

Made the rear plate up for the inner cylinder today. Ended up going back to the initial design I envisaged. Was going to go with the original style, working from your photo's, but when I turned the screw a couple of turns to check on it, noticed that the end of the screw was waggling notably. Only a few thou or so, but enough to make it so that I'd have had to oversize the hole in the rear plate, hence making it so that it offered no support to the rear end of the screw. Therefore, decided that I might as well go with the other method and enclose it completely. So, the remainder of the copper sheet has been out again.

Dished the centre by drilling a 1" hole in a piece of ply and using the ball of the hammer to shape it into that. Finished it off with a ball knob, (which promptly split, so my drill press handle is now knobless for the time being ). This is the cover after a hour or so in the electrolysis vat to clear off the oxide from the annealing.

Fitted.

The screw on the right is the original, (there was just that one screw there when I got it). Wasn't originally planning to reuse it, as it was battered to hell, but decided to give it a whirl with the files to see how it turned out, and it seems to have come out half decent, (my needle files have seen more use on this vice than they've probably seen in the three years previous ). The one on the left is made from a 1/4" brass bolt. The slit was roughly cut with a junior hacksaw and then tidied and opened up with a needle file. The head was turned down on the lathe and then finish shaped by file on the lathe. Barring the total mismatch in metal types, I'm thinking they look a close enough match, (they're not an exact match on head shape though), to leave as is?

Just on a tangent, I'd love to know why English/European manufacturers of old seemed to have such a hard time drilling holes straight. The only manufacturers, upto just, that I've never noted the problem with are Pollard and Drummond. Everything else I've worked on so far, it seems that the philosophy was fairly close is reyt enough. That large Rapidor, for example. Just fitted a couple of brass studs to that whilst I've been doing this rear plate. Reason I keep using brass studs on that machine is so that I can bend the devils once they're fitted to get them looking something like straight. This vice too. Both of those screws on that cover skew slightly to the left, hence why the brass screw is on the left, as a precaution in case it scrapes slightly against the inner wall of the outer cylinder if opened up fully. The steel screw leans in towards the centre, so that one's safe in that regard.

 

[MattF]

Well, she's not far from done now. Need to sort refitting the handle, (they weld the knobs in place on the handle, btw, incase anyone ever comes to removing one in the future. The knob is slipped over the handle and then the knob has a countersunk tip where they run a bead of weld about 1/8" thick to bind them together), get new bolts and nuts for the jaws and get those fitted and then just need one more 3/16" countersunk screw for the cylinder retaining collar. After those are sorted, so will be the vice. Some more gratuitous photo's.

Main thing now is deciding how to finish the handle. Do I just refit the old knob as a tight slip fit, thread the handle end and make a new screw on knob else ditch both existing knobs and make something a bit fancier.

 

[TAITSIE]

Hi Matt
Do you ever sleep ? lol Some of your posts are in the middle of the night and you always seem to be doing something
You must be young with limitless energy

 

[MattF]

I'm an erratic sleeper at best. Generally dead to the world when I do eventually get to sleep, but getting to sleep is a different matter entirely. Btw, depends what you class as young. Recently turned 41.

 

[Robotstar5]

Hi Matt
Do you ever sleep ? lol Some of your posts are in the middle of the night and you always seem to be doing something
You must be young with limitless energy

Fine by me, gives me something to read on nightshift this week

 

[MattF]

Thought I'd noticed you online at unusual hours quite a bit recently. That explains that.

 

[TAITSIE]

I'm an erratic sleeper at best. Generally dead to the world when I do eventually get to sleep, but getting to sleep is a different matter entirely. Btw, depends what you class as young. Recently turned 41.

Your just a youngster, I am sixty this year

 

[MattF]

Aye, I'm just a whipper-snapper by your reckoning.

 

[Norm]

Great job as usual Matt, that is looking really nice, excellent work on the rear cover

 

[TAITSIE]

I would never use the vice after all that effort restoring it, could bolt it to the dining table in the house and make it a conversation piece

 

[MattF]

Great job as usual Matt, that is looking really nice, excellent work on the rear cover

Cheers.

I would never use the vice after all that effort restoring it, could bolt it to the dining table in the house and make it a conversation piece

Not a chance. The wife would very quickly find something to clamp in it, and I prefer my plums just the way they are.

 

[TAITSIE]

She couldn't get a better vice to do it with

 

[MattF]

That's a good point. Far preferable to a couple of bricks.

I'm beginning to think I'm a bit of a magnet for vices with jigged leadscrews. Decided to finally whip the screw out of the Woden I refurbed ages ago today and sort the problem with it not closing fully, (sound familiar? ), and it had just about every problem possible. Bent, distorted and stretched, so it's had the same treatment as the Swinden's one plus a session with the rubber mallet. Didn't even attempt to save the first four or so threads on this one, after the little mishap with the nut on the Swinden's. This is the one.

Can close her by hand now though, without the handle, (which is going to have the paint removed, before anyone says it ), fitted.

 

[MattF]

Decided to make a couple of screws for the retaining collar. Dug out a couple of brass woodscrews I've had knocking about for donkeys and used those to make them. One of the screws fitted.

These are the screws. Original screw on the left, the two new ones in the middle and the type of screw adapted to the purpose on the right.

Just down to getting hold of the machine type screws, (what's the proper name for the countersunk head machine type screws with a partial plain shank below the head, like the two I've made above, btw?), for the jaws now. I ain't making those unless I really have to.

 

[Pete.]

Funnily enough I was tidying up my workshop last night and came across a sintered bronze thrust washer (actually part of a motor clutch) and it's ground steel mating part that fitted my vice crew perfectly after I bored the middle out a couple of mm. Now I have the lash reduced to less than half a turn of the handle, and I've halted the wear on the face of the vice

 

[MattF]

Nice one Pete. Killed two birds with one stone there. It's lovely when you drop across something which fits the bill perfectly. That Oilite washer is the perfect solution, and like you say, it'll protect the front face nicely too.

On a slight vice tangent, handles. Due to be refitting a handle to the Swindens, hence had a bit of a thinking, (I try not to do it too often ), session. Barring the obvious length of the handle for applying some serious grunt point, is there any other real reason for bench vice handles being of the design they are? It's always been my one little gripes with vices, the handle, as it's quite oft that the design is inconvenient, so was thinking of trying something completely different with this Swindens for the handle. I'm not the type who usually applies shedloads of pressure to anything, so something a bit more compact and without the slidey effect would likely be more useful. Just wondered if there was some other reasoning I was overlooking regarding the design though, as I can think of no other barring simplicity?

Not going to post any info on the intended design as yet, (but the handle is going to be made from some fairly common item), just incase it's a dismal failure. Trying to retain the modicum of dignity I have left instead of having the pee taken.

 

[Pete.]

Half a turn of back-lash is just right, it allows you to always be able to hang the handle down out of the way.

I can't think of any design that would improve over standard, except maybe a mill vice one with the square drive. Nice to have a removable handle.

 

[MattF]

That's a good point on leaving a little bit of backlash. I'd never considered that aspect, but now that you mention it, it is an awfully handy thing to have a bit of. How many times does one have to slide a normal vice handle out of the way whilst hoping that it doesn't slip into the way again.

I like the way the machine vices do their handles too. The crank handle style always looks classic. Did think of that initially, but it would have been a devil to achieve whilst making no permanent alterations to the original design, so scrubbed that idea. New handle isn't going to be removable per se, but it'd be easy enough to remove if needed. It's making sure that I don't drastically reduce performance which is my main consideration. Going for something which has a bit of meat for grasping and turning by hand, but not relying on the length of the bar for applying force, though a bar could be slipped in if needed. I've realised that I don't tend to be a vice grunter, as in I rarely apply lots of pressure to anything in the jaws, so working on that line of thought at the moment.

 

[MattF]

Opinion time. Feel free to p*ss take if you wish. Still undecided myself as yet as to whether the new handle is going to stay or go. I do like it, I'll be honest. My main gripe with it is that I managed to balls the pin up and drill one of the holes slightly off centre, hence had to undersize the left hand side piece by around 1/8" to stop it binding when it was being assembled, so the right hand portion of the pin is doing all of the work. The original handle is on the bench below the vice to give an idea of size.

This is the new handle. You can be brutally honest.

This is the pin. Hard to make out from the photo, but the left hand portion is around 1/8" in diameter smaller than the right hand piece. As it is, the right hand side of the pin is going 2/3 or more through the ball, (as shown in the second photo), so will it be okay as is? I know it's likely a non point, but it really is bugging the hell out of me the fact that I managed to cock that bit up.

Both ends of the pin.

Cut the slots for a screwdriver and the C spanner with the hacksaw then file finished them. That little 3/16" locking screw is the original screw from the cylinder retaining collar. Thought I might as well put that to use rather than just shoving it in a drawer, so drilled and tapped the screw end of the pin to make sure that it can't work loose, shortened that screw and popped it in there.

 

[TAITSIE]

Got to be honest , I don't like it
I don't know what it is about it but it just don't look right, sorry Matt