Power hacksaw vise fix

[Michael]

I’ve got this nifty little Craftsman Power Hacksaw, got it for a song, since it was missing the vise parts, and while I can get away with a couple of big C clamps holding stock to the fixed vise jaw, every now and again I run into a ‘you –can’t-get-there-from-here’ scenario WRT clamping stock effectively.

I recall seeing other people solutions to fixing a power hacksaw minus the vise, usually a threaded block or part of a clamp welded to the frame. Not as flexible as the factory vise but workable. Now I can’t seem to find any images that jibe with the recollection.

If you have a power hacksaw that you’ve repaired the vise on, please post a picture so I can get my mind wrapped around what I have to do here. I’m ready to sacrifice a big C clamp, cut it off and bolt it to the frame of the saw, but thought I’d tap into the collective wisdom here before I go that route.

 

Thanks.

[Jim Coke]

Greetings Mike,

 

Interesting saw...  I had on years ago ...   If you look close the saw lifts on the push stroke and sets on the back stroke..  Hence a drag saw..  You could adapt a inexpensive drill press vise to suite your needs...  Also lots of small machine vises out there cheap that students make in classes.   Good luck

 

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

 

Jim

[HWooldridge]

It appears to be built like a chop saw with a quick-lock section where you can pick up the screw and slide it to adjust then lock against the work with a relatively short stroke. I might try to make those pieces and use all thread (or the c-clamp idea) for your mechanism.

[Michael]

thanks for the input, I hadn't thought about a drill press vise,

[Rich Hale]

Could sears possibly have  parts after so long a time?

[Michael]

Sears, Covel actually  still makes all the parts Except the vise parts.  Not sure why, but these come up on the Old Metal Working Machines site.  Have to dig thru the toolbox and see if I have any taps that match the all thread in the scrap pile.

[Quarry Dog]

We actually just received a very similar unit to this one at the shop I hammer at.  The parts don't look like they'd be all that hard to make, besides the screw that they use, but you could probably do well with some 1/2"-13 NC (I think it's 13) allthread.  I'll try and get pictures this weekend, if I can remember that far.

[VaughnT]

Making a replacement jaw for that wouldn't be too troublesome, though you'd have to come up with a design that you like.  The body of the sliding jaw sits on the table of the saw, but it's not connected to the saw in any way.  To operate it, all you do is pick it up and move it forward or backward to accommodate the size of the stock being cut.  

 

Two teeth extend down to engage the racks on the saw proper, and then you torque down the jaw with a single turn of the screw. You wouldn't need more than an inch or two of throw in the vise jaw to close it completely.

 

Building the sled portion of the moving jaw would be a simple matter of welding some barstock of the appropriate thickness to the underside of a plate to act as runners.  The screw should be square-shouldered, but the closing mechanism doesn't need to be anything more than two nuts welded on the plate.  I'd use locator pins to guide the jaw so it closes parallel to the other jaw, unless you wanted to build in some kind of feature that allowed for clamping odd shapes.

 

What to use for the teeth?  That's a good question.  I'd guess it depends on the shape of the racks on the saw.  It wouldn't have to be much, though, because there's not a lot of force being applied to hold the workpiece in place.