Lantern pin vise

[mklotz]

It's impossible to securely grip a bolt, or anything shaped like a bolt, securely in a conventional lathe chuck with the head end of the bolt in the chuck jaws. This difficulty led to the creation of something called a lantern chuck which provides a recess to accommodate the larger diameter portion.

I've often thought that it would be handy to have a hand vise that had the same feature for holding bolt-shaped objects. I made a trial version from aluminum...

because, at the time, I didn't have any suitable steel. This isn't something one uses very often so the softer metal hasn't been a problem; besides, it prevents marring the workpiece.