May 31, 201610 yr SOMETHING NEW FOR THE VICE SQUAD A little project of mine I hope to be able to test soon.... The Autovice the idea behind this is to make a vice suitable for hammering on ( unlike normal bench vices ) that is hands free for those jobs requiring frequent vice use and a good grip with smooth jaws. I started with a fork lift fork ( tine ) and cut it at the bottom to make the base of the vice and the fixed jaw then cut the base to length and cut another piece for the moving jaw.some rectangular hollow section was found that was a good fit for the slide and the jaw welded on to it, the slide had strips of brass added to the sides and there was a lot of grinding on the base to get the slide to move well and still be a good fit. next I need to make the mountings for both ends of the hydraulic cylinder, this will connect to the same power pack as my other presses but operating the foot switch will open it, when the switch is not down the vice will be closed. a feature I thought may be handy is to make the vice tilt so either the base can be level as normal or upright with the moving jaw going up to open. it is now nearly done, 2 more bolts, hoses, a little welding and it can be tried out then I will add the mountings to allow it to pivot and a cover over the cylinder
May 31, 201610 yr Looks a lot like an air actuated vise Emmert Studebaker had in his blacksmith shop. His had a foot pedal to operate it.
June 1, 201610 yr Author I am not known for under engineering things, I want this to be able to be hit ( there is more metal to add yet. was hoping to test this today but could not find some connectors I need so had to order more
June 1, 201610 yr I have wanted to get a fork(s) to make a post vise, and recently someone posted one they made with a fork.
June 2, 201610 yr Author BGD, this stuff can be hard to cut and drill and for forging a power hammer or press helps
June 2, 201610 yr Author going to make it pivot so like an ordinary bench vice or with back end up so jaw goes up and down
June 2, 201610 yr I thought you meant something like that but I'm wondering how you're going to secure it on a pivot well enough to hammer on. It's certainly doable I'm curious as to how you're going to do it. That little beauty has a ton of potential I want to see it in action. Frosty The Lucky.
June 2, 201610 yr Hydraulic has the virtue that it's not as much a finger smasher as air is. (more time to get your hand out of the way...)
June 2, 201610 yr With the right tools they are not that bad to deal with. I cut one for a friend at the machine shop I worked at. The horizontal DoAll 916 cut through it in about 45 seconds. No power hammer needed for my design. Cut both forks so that the 90s leave 3" depth for the jaws. Weld a heavy walled pipe on the end of one for a pivot, then drill a hole for a screw to pass through both forks. I have seen forks in the past at scrap yards that were 8" wide. My other design is just fabbing one out of heavy bar stock
June 30, 20169 yr Author first test was it on the floor, it moves well and grips well, will make the mounting for it and a cover to protect the cylinder but the bench to mount it on has to wait for the new shop to be built. there is some vid of the first test but minion has it on his phone and is away at the moment, will post it when I can
July 1, 20169 yr Watching this with interest. ID, don't be letting miniom play with that, as I recall from the last time I saw him, he has a propensity to get digits in the way of heavy moving steel objects...did the swelling ever go down?
July 5, 20169 yr Author first test of vice, at the moment it is on the floor and moves about, later it will be bench mounted and will be able to pivot, it will also have a cover over the cylinder. it moves well and grips firmly, vid in next post as doing it together makes the forum eat posts vice test #1
July 19, 20169 yr I love your vise. I had a similar idea only I was going to make a leg vise with a screw. I built my anvil using forklift tines and a vise seemed like a good idea too. I also have some 2" bar stock that I'm considering for a vise as well, instead of the Forklift tines. I have the bar stock but not the tines That vise of yours also gave me another idea. It might make a good mini forging press frame as well.
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