ToolMaker's Vice small mods

[mzetati]

Finally, I got around making some clamps for my vice. Wonder why I've been postponing it so long: it took less than half an hour of work, to make the four of them.
While I was into 'tooling mood', used the occasion to fit a knurled ring to the vice SH screw (that's too handy!) and also made the shield You can see in the picture out of an old IKEA lamp mounting, some metal/teflon scraps and the X2 protection shield.

Marcello

 

[mzetati]

Forgot to add:

with time and use (reads:abuse) the small rod than engages the slots into the vice got bent and ruined, and had to be replaced.
The short piece of (unhardened) drill rod I used did not last very long, quite obviously: now, a portion of an 8mm mill shank (witha flat ground in the middle, for the setscrew) from once-upon-a-time-they-were-toolbits basket should do.
M.

 

[firebird]

Hi Marcello

I have just bought the same vice and was thinking how to make some clamps. I like your idea so I will make some similar ones. Thanks for showing us.

Cheers

Rich

 

[mzetati]

Rich,

if You have some 12/14mm steel square that would be the ideal material to start from: just put it into the 4 jaws and turn an 8mm dia round on one end, then drill and counterbore a hole for the SH screw close to the vice. - I had no suitable square for the job, got the material from a 12mm plate.
Pay attention to the lenght of the screws You're using: when tightened, they must not touch the bottom of the table. Commercial T-nuts usually have the lower portion left unthreaded (or burred) to prevent that, but I needed through threaded holes in this case: made four of them in aluminium, from a lenght of T-nut blank I had machined long time ago. They will be stored int the vice box, together with clamps and screws, when not in use.
Marcello

(Ps.The picture shows the wrong way of using those clamps: the front clamp shoud be slightly lower towards the vice. - Sounds like the rectangular section I used to raise the far end of the front clamp rocked during the mount)

 

[dvbydt]

Great idea! That is a little job for me to do.

I didn't get on with the standard fittings so I made these modifications, it just makes it easier for me to use.

Ian

 

[mzetati]

Anko had a different (and more versatile) approach into solving the screwless vise clamping problem: I like it!

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=15108.msg155986#msg155986

9th, 10th and 11th picture in the post.

Marcello

 

[Anko]

Marcello thanks for quoting my little invention!

I have it covered in this post: http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=9950.0

works very good and the clamping force is better distributed

hope thats help!

Saludos