Derek C. Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 I picked up a nice big vise this evening. I think it's a 6 incher, but I didn't think to measure, it's definitely 5+. For the most part, it's in pretty decent shape, the screw is not bent or chipped, the box is dirty but also not chipped. The problem is, someone really did a number on the jaws. It looks like they not only welded a big old piece of metal over the top of the jaws, but they put these horrible grooves both in the jaws and in the piece they welded over the jaws. The plate extends partway down the back of the jaws as well. Needless to say, I'd like to get back to just plain old flat jaws on this vise. The way I see it, I have a few options. 1. Cut the lip off, and just use it. as-is. 2. Do #1, and then throw some screwed in or magnetic jaws over the top of the existing jaws. 3. Grind down the welds, remove the added plate, and have someone re-face the gouged out areas. Are there any other options I'm missing? How would you all go about repairing this vise? If I go for #3, do I need to have the holes filled with hardfacing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Any competent welder can fill the gaps with 7018 or 70 series MIG or flux core wire. Preheat to 300F roughly, no post heat needed. Hardfacing is completely unneeded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsoldat Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Looks like an interesting mod to a vise. Wonder if it was for heading or cable lay work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Note too that angle iron can make nice jaw covers trimming it so you fold down the ends to hold it in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 First thing I'd do would be to remove that welded-on piece. It's a job-specific modification that kills the general usefulness of the vise, and you're not going to need it. After that, I'd use the vise as-is. The grooves cut in the face can be handy for holding round stock firmly, but their placement doesn't detract from the general gripping ability of the jaws. If you really need to fill in the cuts, a bit of 7018 will do the trick and probably make her look good as new if you do it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Well I'd say that at least one side would profit from having flat faces... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Thanks Guys. I'm definitely going to take the top piece off. I had thought of leaving one or both of the grooves in there for round stock, but the problem is they're not really cleanly cut, and when you take them both into consideration they really do take up a lot of real estate. If it's just filling with regular 70 series wire, how much skill does that take? I have a flux core welder, but I'm not really great with it. That said, I'd rather do it myself than pay someone to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Clean the metal really good to get rid of the rust all around the area. Pre-heat the piece to 300º or so, and fill in with weld. The pre-heat on a piece like that will only make for a stronger weld, but might not be completely necessary. It won't hurt, that's for sure. It's a good practice project because any flaws or faults can be easily fixed as they pop up. It's not a critical structural weld or anything like that, so use it as a good learning experience and rock on with your welder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Yep, I think I will take a crack at it this evening. Not sure if I'll get to the actual welding though, as there's a whole boatload of the old weld to grind off to get the plate off. You can't see it well in the picures, but the plate goes quite a way down the back of the jaws, and is welded all around. I think I'm going to cut off the lip of that plate first and see what it looks like under the plate. I may just leave the rest of plate on, throw a bead down the seam I'll be opening up, and accept the fact that I'll have larger than average jaws. My wife would probably argue that a vise with a big mouth is a better match for me anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Well, I got one jaw done. Took me about 2 1/2 hours, much of that was prep and then grinding down because I overbuilt the welds by a lot. I did end up just cutting off the lip, because the welds on the plate they stuck on top were too deep for me to want to get into grinding all that out. At any rate, it ain't going to win a beauty contest, but even with the spots where I didn't quite fill enough around the edges, it still looks better than a lot of the jaws I see selling online and locally for 2-4x what I paid. While grinding down I didn't find any obvious inclusions or air pockets, so I think I may have done a halfway decent job. I attached a few more pictures, one showing midway through the process, one showing what it looks like now, and one showing how nicely the screw cleaned up with just a little work. The screw definitely has some wear, but it also looks like it's got a lotta life left in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 Well, 2 steps forward, 2 steps back. I finished welding up the jaws. They aint pretty, but they'll do. Didn't manage to get them to close perfectly, but they're close enough for now. Now, for the 2 new problems. It's missing a wedge. It has one sort of L shaped pin that goes through the mounting plate, but nothing to tighten it up. Presumably, I can just forge a piece of stock the appropriate thickness into a slight taper to make a new wedge? The bigger problem is that the box and screw are not original to this vise, and they're just a bit too long. They're probably fine for anything over 1/4 inch, but I'd rather address the problem. I think I could either make a shim washer to go under the thrust washer out of some flat stock I have laying around, or just forge a new thrust washer. I'm not real great at forging circles yet though, so I may opt for the washer. Do you think there'd be any problem with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 (Deleted double post) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 On most vises I have seen two wedges used with the points facing in opposite directions. If this is what you are referring to then making new wedge(s) from mild steel should be fine. The wedges need to have the same taper. Adding a washer sounds fine, but again that is said without seeing that part of the vise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 I never did report back on this. I've successfully welded up both of the jaws, and I welded on an extension to the washer. I ended up forging and grinding a pair of wedges, and I have the vise temporarily mounted to a bench, until I can find suitable material to make a stand-on portable stand for the vise. Overall, I am okay with how it came out, except that I wasn't able to get the jaws quite flat. They have a bit of a crown, and they are not parallel in the horizontal plane (I know they won't be parallel vertically, and that's fine). They work fine for holding stock vertically, but if I need to hold anything horizontally it's hard to get the vise to take a good grip. I've worked at it quite a bit with a file, but I'm not making any impact, and using a grinder is how I ended up with them looking like this in the first place. Any suggestions as to how to get the jaws flat and more parallel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Suggestions: 1. More grinding 2. Make a good set of copper jaws out of 12 or 14 gauge copper fitted to the vise. These should deform enough to give you a good grip on whatever you are trying to hold. Easy solution to try. If it doesn't work well enough, see #1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 So very likely a twist in the moving leg due to someone cranking down on it with a piece in the far edge of the vise and no space at the other end. You can heat the leg and adjust it back---rosebud and big wrench suggested as you can leave the rest of the vise together and "test" If you have a big screw press you might be able to adjust it cold that small amount. of course the "un-might" is fairly nasty. I was able to use my large screwpress to adjust side to side slop in the jaws by truing up the cheeks of a vise. And please make a set of spacers for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 Thanks! NJ Anvilman - and suggestions for how to grind it pretty flat with an angle grinder? I used a flat flap disc and still failed. Thomas - Where would you suggest heating? Seems like the easiest part to heat is going to be near the bottom of the arm. Guess it's time to break down and buy a rosebud tip for my torch. I'm going to steal Jim Coke's idea for spacers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I'd keep heat away from the pivot point and from the jaw area. As I don't have a rosebud I'd stick it across the hot spot in my forge and when it's up to temp bung the leg in a vise and tweak it---but very little is needed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 Yes, I won't get too close to the pin. Was thinking somewhere between the screw and the pin. As you said, it will be easier to adjust on the vise, and I have been meaning to get a rosebud anyway so that option appeals to me. It definitely only needs a tiny bit of adjustment in the horisontal. The un-flatness is the bigger problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Draw filing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 Interesting, that's a new technique to me. Sounds tedious, but I'll give it a shot. I definitely didn't do well with regular filing. I've got a bench vise that opens wide enough to hold the jaws, so I'm thinking that if I hold the jaw in there, and cut a couple of pieces of mild stock to clamp on either side of the jaws as a guide that might help me keep the file level too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 looks to me like its high in the middle in both planes. I would use a simple hacksaw and saw it a few times til you have a perfect fit. the screw will keep it tight and the spring should keep it from binding the blade. tedious you may ask? yup, part of the deal. if you think that's tedious, you ain't seen nothing yet. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I've draw filed the face of an old low grade anvil before; compared to making a chainmail shirt it was fast as lightening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Tedious is a matter of perspective I guess! Anvil, that's an interesting idea. I may see how close I can get it that way and then draw file to finish. BTW - Do you guys prefer smooth jaws, or jaws with a bit of texture? These jaws had diagonal lines in them originally, which created a diamond pattern. Not sure if I should use a triangle file and try to put some lines in it, or leave it smooth and make some drop in jaw covers if I need more bite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 any design will end up in your workpiece if it goes in hot. I do not prefer much "tooth" on my postvise jaws. If I need more grip I can use soft jaw covers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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