Post Vise Repair

[larnotlars]

I have an old Post Vise that a friend found for me in a foreclosure sale. It seemed to be sticking so I opened it wide and applied Marine Grease to lubricate it. A couple weeks later it started slipping when used on large pieces (a 2 1/2 inch jig for candle baskets). Eventually it began slipping on everything (aka striped). I have a couple questions for those whom might know.

1. Is the marine grease a coincidence or did it contribute to the demise of my post vise?

2. The male thread of the vice seems crisp still. Who would I contact to find the female sleeve to fix the vice? Could the female piece be fixed?

I'd love any ideas on salvaging it.

Thanks

Lar

[Black Maple Forge]

Pictures would help to clarify your problem... (People like me NEED pictures to really understand the problem:rolleyes:)

[yesteryearforge]

i believe there is a blueprint on making that piece but not sure of the number or if it is one of the blueprints that is still in never never land.
maybe someone else on here will know the number.

Mike Tanner

[HWooldridge]

Rest assured the grease did not harm it. You may want to pull the screw and box out of the vise to determine how much is really gone. Sometimes, they wear out and eventually fail - and occasionally someone cranks down on the handle with a cheater bar and breaks the box thread (many were cast iron).

I have also seen the wrong screw and box combination - like a 1" male thread inside a 1-1/8" female box - as if someone put the pieces together without measuring and expected it to work.

Something may become obvious if you take it apart and do a little cleaning.

[larnotlars]

I have taken it apart, but need to do more investigation. The thread inside the box is much lower profile than the thread of the male. I wonder if someone just mismatched them... the male looks crisp & new, and the female feels nearly smooth... An old toothbrush and some goop might prove me mistaken... I read in an old post (that I should have read before posting myself) that I could remake the box by wrapping square rod in the male thread and then braizing it in the box? (possibly in my gas forge?)

We'll learn more tomorrow!

Thanks again!

Lar

[tcreeley]

Richardson in his 1880 blacksmiths book tells ways to fix the nut or screw - usually by wrapping a small spiral of rod around the screw and brazing it where-ever it was worn. Good luck with that. I'd just buy a new nut and screw (buttress) and replace it. ebay search or flea market for similar screws. The grease didn't hurt it, just worn. Sometimes a large washer or spacer in between the front of the twist handle and the vice sets the screw into a different place in the nut and it doesn't slip.
Good luck

[Dragons lair]

My 2 cents here. Grease is a bad thing. Filings and chips stick to the grease, Now you have a lapping paste in the threads.
Ken

[Sam Thompson]

If the female thread is worn out or broken there will be debris in the grease. It must have gone somewhere.

[ArtWerkz]

My 2 cents here. Grease is a bad thing. Filings and chips stick to the grease, Now you have a lapping paste in the threads.
Ken

I agree Ken, it's lapping compound, it's a file in paste form.

[jimbob]

I have taken it apart, but need to do more investigation. The thread inside the box is much lower profile than the thread of the male. I wonder if someone just mismatched them... the male looks crisp & new, and the female feels nearly smooth... An old toothbrush and some goop might prove me mistaken... I read in an old post (that I should have read before posting myself) that I could remake the box by wrapping square rod in the male thread and then braizing it in the box? (possibly in my gas forge?)


We'll learn more tomorrow!


Thanks again!


Lar

Look at the female nut it has a knuckle on it that fits in a grove/slot in the rear leg of the vise; it keeps the nut from turning. if it is not in the proper slot it will do as you say