on cleaning and refurbing my new columbian vice, I had assumed the screwbox was slip fit, if indexed, and that it would slide out when I pulled the screw out the other way.

but no dice.  it is loose in the socket of the leg, and is indexed, but I can't find the right way to turn it to get it out.  is there a trick to this?  could clumps of old grease and scale be jamming it up?

i sprayed a whole lot of degreaser in and around the screwbox...but shouldn't it just slide out?

tonight i'll try again, and maybe use a wood block with the socket supported closely and try to hammer tap it out.

there is a key molded into the outside of the screwbox that needs to align with a slot on the vise.  This is supposed to be automatic as you can't slip the screwbox in place without aligning it and this is what keeps the screwbox from rotating as the screw gets turned into it.  If this is a marriage then there could be a mismatch, it could be dirty or missing a spacer to allow it to fit in at the proper distance for the key and slot to work together.

With the vise apart you should be able to look in where the screwbox portrudes on the inside of the vise and see the slot and clean it if needed.

tap tap tap tap tap tap hammer on a piece of scrap wood.  dropped right out.  it's soaking in krudkutter as I write.

be careful if you're hammering to disassemble these old post vices. .

some of them use hardened steel wedges that might be brittle