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Post by jake on Oct 10, 2007 23:01:55 GMT
You know those Veritas twin screw vices that cost a fortune? Well a while ago I snagged a few record vices in a job lot on ebay including two record 53s, for not very much at all. Liked the idea of a bigger front vice than a record though. So I got a couple of gear wheels from RS and drilled the main hole to match the diameter of the thin 'prong' which is at the end of a record vice screw, and then drilled a smaller hole through the side at right angles:  to match with the hole through the 'prong' at the rear of the screw (i.e. the hole which the cotter pin normally goes through to hold on the brace which locates the screw and guide rods):  fitted the vices a couple of feet apart, popped the gear wheels on 'prong' and secured them with a bolt through the hole in the side of the wheel. Added some matching chain, and fixed two lengths of steel hollow square section (from B&Q no less) over and below the guide rails of each of the vices, with a length of wood between them (all to stop the chain just pulling the ends of the two vices towards each other, rather than actually turning the other screw):  Result, a twin screw vice, with four guide rods, solid as as all hell, moves with one finger:  With the jaws fitted:  Umm, well, there you go. |
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Post by paulchapman on Oct 11, 2007 6:05:11 GMT
That looks great, Jake. Cheers  Paul |
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Post by dom on Oct 11, 2007 6:12:12 GMT
Brilliant, to me anyway.
Dom
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Post by Alf on Oct 11, 2007 7:52:21 GMT
S'marvellous, Jake. Just what's wanted for most people, I'd have thought. The Veritas does have a feature to it that still might make it desirable for some - the ability to skew the jaw - but I reckon most of us spend our time trying to stop vice jaws doing that...  Cheers, Alf |
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Post by jake on Oct 11, 2007 9:23:27 GMT
No chance of skewing this (unintentionally), it is rock solid, what with the two sets of two guide rods set at distant centres.
That's one of the things I really like about it; you get the rigidity of a vice with guide bars as well as screws, but still have about 500mm of unobstructed space in the middle for holding wide boards and stuff vertically.
Another is that I haven't planed anything yet which has needed a board jack etc on the other end, just 'cos the jaw is so long.
You can actually skew it a little using the QR on one side to get the screw on that side a turn or two ahead of the other, but not much more than that as the QR nut soon starts popping and banging off the thread until it unskews itself. Not enough to count, really.
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Post by Scrit on Oct 11, 2007 17:11:45 GMT
Neat idea!
Scrit
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Post by mooretoolsplease on Oct 11, 2007 20:52:33 GMT
Great idea, i'm planning on modifying my bench at the moment to have a tail vice on it.
This might come in handy as a full width vice.
How wide are your vices apart?
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Post by jake on Oct 11, 2007 20:59:42 GMT
Just measured, 750mm from screw to screw, so more like 600mm unobstructed space between, and the jaw is about 1200 long
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Post by jfc on Oct 11, 2007 21:06:47 GMT
Now that is a good idea !
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Post by houtslager on Oct 12, 2007 15:39:22 GMT
bloody good idea, now where's my 53  |
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Post by jake on Oct 12, 2007 16:05:29 GMT
If anyone wants to follow suit, I have a lump of chain (which was the most expensive bit from recollection, have to check whether it's enough, though) and a spare gear wheel, which I'd sell on at considerably less than cost to any interested party.
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Post by dom on Oct 13, 2007 15:45:40 GMT
Hi Kaaskop welcome to the forum.
Did you escape, or are you new ? ;D
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Post by carlsberg on Oct 14, 2007 16:45:06 GMT
Thats impressive, can you give the link of the gear wheel from RS, or the part number?
Also, will the vice skew if you use just one of the quick releases? ( thats if you wanted to skew it.)
carlsberg
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Post by jake on Oct 14, 2007 20:25:46 GMT
It won't skew more than a very few degrees, because the QR nuts of the 'lead' vice won't take the slant and just pop off the thread until it's back in line, as I said above.
Can't help much with the sprocket right now, it was a while ago and I've got nothing in my RS order history. I can't find the spare right now, either! I'll have another look next weekend.
It's about 32 teeth from the look of it. I think it is 06B chain. I chose the sprocket by 'what looks about the right diameter' (about 75mm or 80mm I think) and with a hole a bit smaller than the diameter of the end of the vice screw. Don't think it's critical. Ans there are no doubt places much cheaper than RS, I was being hasty and impatient at the time and couldn't be bothered to look anywhere else - paid the usual RS penalty for that.
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Post by mrspanton on Oct 24, 2007 21:28:18 GMT
If you had to hold a taper'd peice in the jaw's you only need a simple wedge matching the taper of the work piece so they get held like a pair of folding wegde's.
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Post by Sparky on Oct 27, 2007 1:21:30 GMT
Hello vice enthusiasts,  I don't want to completely hijack the tread (that is a great looking vice jake), but does anyone know anything about the twin-screw vice that Lie-Nielsen sells. It looks very solid but does it rack with uneven clamping pressure? I would think not but on the web site they have a disclamer about using stop blocks which leads me to wonder. Thanks Sparky |
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