A Set of Instrument Makers Vices

[RobWilson]

Morning Lads ,


I made these wee vices a few years back and they have been a godsend in the shop for working on small parts ,so I thought I would share .


Ok lets go , more photos than words , I DO PHOTOS ! ,feel free to ask questions if something is not clear :thumbup:


The stock , old forklift forks grab a set if you can ,good tough material for making home shop tooling .



That was cut up and machined to make the vices jaws .







Jaw blanks .



After a we bit more milling to give them some shape and relief .




I used my small toolmakers fixture plate to hold the wide jaw vices for machining off of the sharp corners .







Next the bottom of the moving jaws was rounded ,I used a tool makers vice in the mill vice for this operation .





A few lengths of Drill rod / Silver steel where hardened up for the jaw guilds .



After a polish these were pressed into the fixed jaw , small washers under the jaw were used to set the push through distance .
I had also turned up threaded and plane Bronze bushes and pressed those in.





The screw was a straight forward turning job , I screw cut the threads ,material ,stainless steel .




The T bar also in Stainless .





And there we go , job done nearly .








I decided they needed a stand .





The End !



Rob Wilson

 

[Nick Hulme]

Nice job!
A bit cheeky showing square holes at the end there! ;-)

- Nick

 

[jayville]

Very nice....clem

 

[DJP]

These clamps are too nice to be used.

That's a compliment.

 

[vederstein]

Excellent.

 

[ShopShoe]

Those are really nice.

My "Got to try this someday" list just got longer again.

--ShopShoe

 

[Wizard69]

These clamps are too nice to be used.

My very first thought! Looks more like art than a tool.

That's a compliment.

Excellent workmanship. I do wonder how one keeps them from rusting, being handled daily must result is a lot if salts and stuff getting stuck in places a wipe off doesn't get.

 

[RobWilson]

Hi Lads , Thanks for all your comments and interest .

I do wonder how one keeps them from rusting, being handled daily must result is a lot if salts and stuff getting stuck in places a wipe off doesn't get.

Good point Wizard69 ,

Choice of materials , the T bar handles and screws are made from Stainless , the Pins are hardened which gives those some corrosion resistance , the steel used is about a 4140 / 4340 grade which is a Chrome -Moly alloy steel that stands up allot better to handling than say Mild steel /BMS . And the base I gave that a Heat bluing .





Regards Rob

 

[petertha]

Beautiful work. I love shop made tools, especially the ingenious & elegant ones like yours.

Can you elaborate on your heat blueing procedure for the knurled base?

 

[RobWilson]

Thanks for the compliment Peter

Can you elaborate on your heat blueing procedure for the knurled base?

The process is very simple but effective , The part needs to be cleaned , then cleaned some more with Acetone of some other such cleaner that will remove all traces of oil and grease /finger prints so were gloves when handling the part , then the part is heated up slowly and EVENLY , most reach for the propane touch , me I prefer to use a cheap heat gun , the type used for stripping paint .
Work the heat evenly over the part until the desired colour is achieved , from straw yellow through to purple (the tempering) colours . Whats happening is an oxide layer is being built up on the part as it is heated .

Regards Rob

 

[dennisa49]

Good day Rob,
These clamps are a top job and to be to be admired.
Great work.
May I ask how you achieved the finish please?
Are they machined and then hand finished?
Regards,
Dennis

 

[RobWilson]

Thanks Dennis

May I ask how you achieved the finish please?
Are they machined and then hand finished?

Sure , no problem , I tend to aim for a straight machined finish with just a deburring of the part required using a fine file .

I did clean up the guide pins in the lathe with some emery tape .


Regards ,Rob