Vice repair

[Archie Zietman]

Hello.
I have a problem: My vice is a bit broken. The screw which brings the jaw of the vice in has lost the divider bit which keeps the screw and the mobile jaw together. Hard to explain, so here's a picture. How shall I go about fixing it? Forge a little collar? Cut a divider out of sheet metal? The screw has a groove in it seperate from the threading to keep the little metal divider in place. The red thing indicates the divider which is broken.
How shall I fix it?
Thanks,
Archie

[jeep4x4greg]

i'd say forge one if the shape of the threaded portion would keep it from sliding off.

depending on the shape of that rod, you could also take a hex nut and drill and tap it for a few set screw that would hold it in place.

[irnsrgn]

go to a hardware or farm supply store and get what is known as a set collar, some are pot metal, try to get an iron one, put an allen head set screw in place of the original if it doesn't have one. Put the collar on the vise screw and lock it down, then loosen and tighten several times, this should leave a circular mark on the screw, remove the screw, center punch the center of the circular mark, and drill into the shaft with a drill bit the same size as the set screw just deep enough to make a depression. Reinstall the screw, set collar and make sure the set screw goes into the depression when you tighten it securely.