Grease for a post vice?

[Blacksmith Jim]

Hi All,

I am working on getting my post vice up to usable condition. I had to forge a few parts to mount it, and build the stand, etc.. Anyway, most of the work is done, but I need to pack the the screw / housing with grease again. When I opened it up while initially cleaning, a lot of dried grease came out. There was none that was fresh, as the vice likely sat unused for years.. I have some 3 in 1 oil for the base joint, but am not sure what type of grease I should look at for packing up the screw. Does it matter? Should I just look for some form of generic grease? Any info is a huge help.

Thanks

[jeremy k]

RC - There was a thread not to long ago addressing this subject.... : http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/vise-lubrication-3136/ - JK

[Blacksmith Jim]

Yeah, I just found it from searching. Thanks for the heads up.

[irnsrgn]

BP0485 Vise, Maintenance and Repair

[Shainarue]

Resurrecting this ancient thread because it's exactly the question I have but all the links are dead.

Does it matter what kind of grease? I was at the autoparts store and saw Moly EP grease, white lithium grease, multipurpose lithium grease, general all-purpose amber grease, extreme pressure red grease, and SO MANY other varieties of grease, lol

[Les L]

Shaina, it doesn’t matter, just put a light coat because it will attract dirt, scale, etc

[Shainarue]

Thanks to Glenn for providing a copy of the missing blueprint linked in this thread. The images are gone but this should serve to help others in the future.
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iForgeIron Blueprints
Copyright 2002 - 2011 IFORGEIRON, All rights reserved

BP0485 Vise, Maintenance and Repair
by irnsrgn

As most people have different ways of doing things, this will probably go crossways of the thinking of some. It is not intended to cause friction but is just the method and reasoning behind what I was taught and have learned thru the years.

Leg or Blacksmiths Vise --

The white arrows point to the forward and rear what I call EARS. My Grandfathers leg vise does not have this feature, but is in excellent shape. I have never heard an explanation of what their function is other than my own. My explanation is that they are deflectors to keep hot scale, filings and saw cuttings from falling directly into the the bearing surface of the front screw handle and the contact area where the screw box sets in the split part of the vise main frame. We all know that any kind of abrasive material will abrade away metal that is in constant motion. Even common dust will do this.

LUBRICATION ---

Any Heavy, Thick or Sticky Lubricant should never be used on the screw of a Vise, as it is like a magnet for any foreign DEBRIS to Stick To. The Only Lubricant that should be used on any Vise Screw is a Light Weight OIL. Light weight Oil has the ability to easily discharge or get rid of any Abrasive Debris due to its Thin Viscosity and it does not HOLD Debris to the screw like the Heavy, Thick, Sticky stuff does.

Once a week or so if the Vise gets a lot of use, the Vise Screw should be unscrewed almost all the way and a good spraying with WD40 or other very light weight oil should be used to wash the Screw Off, making sure to turn the screw by quarter turns and spraying to Wash the Old Contaminated Oil from the screw, I hold a shop towel under the screw when doing this to keep the runoff mess to a minimum.

After the Cleaning Cycle, a Liberal amount of Light Weight Oil should be applied to 4 sides of the screw. I use 10 weight Non Detergent engine oil or Marvel Mystery Oil.




A liberal amount of the same Light Oil should be squirted in the end shown by the White Arrow before the Vise Screw is Screwed Back In. Hold the Palm of your Hand tightly against the opening in the end while screwing the screw back in so it builds up pressure and the Excess Oil you squirted thru the hole will be Pushed Out thru the Internal Screw Box Threads and will push the Old Oil and Fine Debris out the other end. An old rag laid in the scissors part of the jaw legs will cut the mess to a minimum.



On Vises with a Closed End on the Screw box, there are two choices. 1. You can Completely Remove the Screw and squirt a liberal amount in the Screw box before reinserting the screw, or you can Bore and Tap the Screw box in the area shown by the White Arrow and screw in a plug before screwing the Screw back in.




Don't forget to Lubricate the Thrust bearing area near the end of the handle. This area should be thoroughly wiped clean before lubing it.




It is a Good Practice to place an Old Rag at the position indicated by the arrow when filing, or sawing to keep the cuttings from falling down onto the screw. If the Vise Jaws are open quite a ways the rag should cover the Whole Exposed Screw.

[Frosty]

Spray graphite works nicely on mine.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Jobtiel1]

I have mine in grease for about two years now, never really thought about it attracting dirt, scale, and other abrasives. It's rinsing time! I'm currently doing shop wide maintenance i.e. grinding mushrooming off, dressing hammers, sharpening and oiling woodworking tools, and stuff like that. Perfect time to disassemble the vise and remove all the grease.

Any tips for removing grease from a vise?

~Jobtiel

[Shainarue]

Dunno if it's the "right" way but when I was cleaning old gunked up oil out of the blower I got, I just used a hose, carb cleaner and a toothbrush & a rag. Blasted it with the hose to get the biggest chunks off. Rag to wipe out as much more as I could. Then carb cleaner for the rest.

[Frosty]

When I get something that's gunked up or petrified I hose it out, carb cleaner it and take it to the car wash and hit it with the high pressure washer.  Wear rain gear and good eye protection you'll be amazed at what comes out of an old blower.

Frosty The Lucky.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

That ain’t no joke I started moving all the blowers an other junk outta the smithy yesterday an today,

an earlier a very discontented critter came out of one and crawled up my arm an stung the (fill in the blank…………..) outta me, left a pretty good welp lol

[Frosty]

What kind of critter was it? 

Frosty The Lucky.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

I don’t even know Jerry! 

I didn’t see it, all I know is it was searing pain, a big welp that spread out quite a few inches and swelling that lasted several hours,

arms still sore but the swelling done went down

im guessin it was an ol wasper or a hornet that didn’t appreciate me moving its house, 

I’ve got black widows an fiddle backs here but those are a different kinda bite all together, I been but three times over the years by fiddle backs an that’s a royal pain when the rot sets in,

today was fast an painful an i didn’t see who got me but I’m sure it was something that flys

I got lots of critters that live around the shop so there’s no tellin what got ticked off lol

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

As far as the oil for the post vise screw & screw box. I use the same oil that I use for our hand cranked blowers and the Star power hammer, chainsaw bar oil with a little STP mixed in. It is thin enough and sticks to the metal better than light motor oil and junk doesn't seem to stick to it like grease, still it's a good practice to flush out the screw, I use kerosene with a parts cleaning brush, dry with a rag and re-oil.

[Frosty]

OUCH! I'm getting more sensitive to bee stings, they used to smart and swell up at the site for a day but now the swelling spreads and stays sore for a few days. Palm sized area last time I was stung by a yellow jacket.

I think I got bitten by a spider last year, I didn't feel anything but had a tiny red spot on the back of my right hand that developed a tiny scab in the center, became sensitive and grew, for a couple weeks. As soon as I realized it wasn't a little wire poke I started treating it, first peroxide, then Neosporin and then an ointment containing colloidal silver. It isn't Silvadyne but is over the counter and works well. It grew from pencil dot size to 5/16+ and popped turning into a red sore that didn't heal nor scab over. 

I treated that spot for months and still have a mark.

I think I'll keep my hands in my pockets when Deb and I visit and Deb's allergic to bee stings! 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[ThomasPowers]

If you ever visit Billy's watch out for that Twisted fellow; they look like they could give a right bad bite!

Here I check my hearing protectors and shop gloves before putting them on.

[Frosty]

When I lived in the high desert I checked everything before putting it on or picking it up. Never just stepped into the brush. I'll have to relearn some habits when we travel. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[smokey07]

to protect the screw after you clean and lube it, take a piece of thin flexable leather and wrap around the screw  when you have the vise opened a bit. jaws opened about 3 to 4 inches or so.  sew the edges together  so the leather tube is very loose around the screw so it will flex when to close the jaws. mine on my vise is about twenty years old and still keeps the scale and crud off the screw.  Smokey

[Rojo Pedro]

Scorpions are the worst. I've been stung twice, once in the arm. Very painful but it was done in about 15 minutes. Another on my foot and that one had me on the couch for 8 hours. Massive pain and sickness. Maybe a bark scorpion that time

Funny thing was I got stung on the right foot and over the course of a couple hours, the pain went up my right leg and down my left and my left foot hurt worse than the right for awhile.

Also was attacked by bees while exploring an old ranch house. We had to run for our lives and I counted 16 stings afterwards. I have been down a lot of roads in my life and I was never more scared then that day.  If I was a bit older or crippled somehow,  who knows? Very scary but I still love bees