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12K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  gordosande 
#1 ·
How many times can you remake something?

Originally i was going to include my adventures in vise making, into my blog about my new work bench. But the farther along i got and the more mistakes i made, the more i realized it should be separated.

Here was my goal:
1. build a leg vise that is extremely strong and worked well.
2. Not to spend a fortune (ie +$300 for the BenchCraft kind)
3. Try out some new ideas
- could i use regular threaded rod?
- is there a better way to make the stop on the bottom part of the vise?

I started it all off by making the bar to turn it, and the head for the threaded rod

Cylinder Wood Gas Auto part Metal


Then i made the vise itself. It's a variation on the ShopNotes version. Mine is longer and a bit wider

Blue Wood Wood stain Gas Flooring


Wood Gas Hardwood Tool Engineering


This leads us to Mistake NO#1

After i finished, i realized i cut the threaded rod way too short. So decided to remake the rod and the head. (since the old one was epoxied to it) It was also wider and longer to hold up better

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Here comes Mistake NO#2

Originally, the leg vise was going to be attached to the actual leg of the table….well once i installed it, i realized it blocked the drawers.

This is right before i realized my bone head move. It looked great and worked nicely.
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Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plywood Door


This is after:
Furniture Wood Shelf Wood stain Table


Which brings us to Mistake NO#3
I should NEVER have cut the vise down. thankfully i cut it on the band saw so the kerf was small. I re glued it and put some wooden dowels in it

Wood Wood stain Floor Flooring Hardwood


I then moved the mounts to the outside of the leg

Wood Gas Machine tool Hardwood Machine


this was the beginning of Mistake NO#4

But ill save that for the next post. I need to load up some more pics.

JD
 

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#2 ·
Time to start over from scratch

Here is the leg vise i made, it works OK, but i can tell the force it puts on the mounts i made are going to fail over time. (see pic below)

Wood Gas Machine tool Hardwood Machine


Then i came across this picture of an old black smith vise and wondered why hadn't anyone one done one like this before? seemed simple, strong and fairly fool proof (ie Me Proof)

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Wood Gas Automotive exterior


So off i went to build my own:
1st i turned a wheel using 2 pieces of 6/4 hard maple, laminated together.
then i epoxied and pinned some 3/4" acme rod in to it ( found 6' of the stuff on ebay for less than $40, so dont feel like you have to drop big money to use acme rod)

Wood Tableware Natural material Wood stain Serveware


Wood Kitchen utensil Hardwood Wood stain Varnish


Next i bought 8 3/4" ID falanged bearings. Put 2 in the leg vise itself, and 2 on the bench, along with the 2 acme nuts (also ebay. 5 for $12)

Wood Table Hardwood Wood stain Machine


Wood Door Flooring Hardwood Wood stain


The chain is 35p and the sprockets are 17 teeth (i think)
i bought all 3 from a GREAT sight for less than$15 www.surpluscenter.com

i used my mortiser to cut the grove the nuts fit in. Made it tight so there wouldnt be any slop

Wood Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood Varnish


Yes that is my blood on the wood…not a bad cut, just bled a lot

Wood Household hardware Hardwood Wood stain Gas


I then built a very robust mount for the bottom half of the vise. the top is ok, im going to rework it.
(ill show that in my next post)

Door Fixture Wood Latch Dead bolt


I'm not finished yet..there are more tweeks and touches to go. I'll show you the finished product and steps on my next post
 

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#3 ·
Time to start over from scratch

Here is the leg vise i made, it works OK, but i can tell the force it puts on the mounts i made are going to fail over time. (see pic below)

Wood Gas Machine tool Hardwood Machine


Then i came across this picture of an old black smith vise and wondered why hadn't anyone one done one like this before? seemed simple, strong and fairly fool proof (ie Me Proof)

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Wood Gas Automotive exterior


So off i went to build my own:
1st i turned a wheel using 2 pieces of 6/4 hard maple, laminated together.
then i epoxied and pinned some 3/4" acme rod in to it ( found 6' of the stuff on ebay for less than $40, so dont feel like you have to drop big money to use acme rod)

Wood Tableware Natural material Wood stain Serveware


Wood Kitchen utensil Hardwood Wood stain Varnish


Next i bought 8 3/4" ID falanged bearings. Put 2 in the leg vise itself, and 2 on the bench, along with the 2 acme nuts (also ebay. 5 for $12)

Wood Table Hardwood Wood stain Machine


Wood Door Flooring Hardwood Wood stain


The chain is 35p and the sprockets are 17 teeth (i think)
i bought all 3 from a GREAT sight for less than$15 www.surpluscenter.com

i used my mortiser to cut the grove the nuts fit in. Made it tight so there wouldnt be any slop

Wood Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood Varnish


Yes that is my blood on the wood…not a bad cut, just bled a lot

Wood Household hardware Hardwood Wood stain Gas


I then built a very robust mount for the bottom half of the vise. the top is ok, im going to rework it.
(ill show that in my next post)

Door Fixture Wood Latch Dead bolt


I'm not finished yet..there are more tweeks and touches to go. I'll show you the finished product and steps on my next post
nicely done
 

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