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Thread: New Jaws for Bench Vise Made From an Old File

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  1. #1
    WmRMeyers's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eugene's DIY Den View Post
    This is a record No. 6 vice, an heirloom from my grandfather. The jaws had become cracked over years of use. I have a collection of lots of old files and reckoned they would be ideal for making replacement jaws. Files are made from hardened and tempered steel, and have slanted, ridged teeth which I reckoned would be excellent for gripping stuff in a vice. I cut out rectangular sections of the correct dimensions using an angle grinder. The steel was too hard to drill, so I had to anneal it by heating to a red heat with a blow torch in the vicinity of the mounting holes and allowed it to cool slowly. Once the holes were drilled, they were countersinked.

    New Jaws for Bench Vise Made From an Old File-2014_11_03_12_03_52_proshot.jpg
    I don't know if that is sacrilege, or genius. I'll go for genius! I don't have any files large enough to do that to either of my large vises. I may have to give it a try with the Panavise and Wilton that's similar to a Panavise, and now I need to start looking for some larger files, too.

    Bill

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    Supporting Member mklotz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WmRMeyers View Post
    I don't know if that is sacrilege, or genius. I'll go for genius! I don't have any files large enough to do that to either of my large vises. I may have to give it a try with the Panavise and Wilton that's similar to a Panavise, and now I need to start looking for some larger files, too.
    Are you really sure you want vise jaws that are brittle, very difficult to machine and leave marks in anything clamped?

    I replaced the jaws on my vise with ordinary steel into which I had milled a variety of V-grooves, both horizontal and vertical. Putting vertical holes to accommodate pins allows clamping odd shapes as is done with jewelers' clamps.

    A similar prismatic jaw for the Panavise removes the need to mount and dismount jaws for different jobs...

    Prismatic jaw for Panavise
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    Toolmaker51 (Sep 22, 2021)

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    Supporting Member Toolmaker51's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mklotz View Post
    Are you really sure you want vise jaws that are brittle, very difficult to machine and leave marks in anything clamped?

    I replaced the jaws on my vise with ordinary steel into which I had milled a variety of V-grooves, both horizontal and vertical. Putting vertical holes to accommodate pins allows clamping odd shapes as is done with jewelers' clamps.

    A similar prismatic jaw for the Panavise removes the need to mount and dismount jaws for different jobs...

    Prismatic jaw for Panavise
    I agree. Serious vises have serrated jaws yes, 2 or 3 times thickness of a typical file. Unless the jaw 'beds' are dang near perfectly flat, and perfectly seated flat-head screws [not actually possible, cone section are rarely concentric with body of screw], brittleness of a file will be on verge of breaking. Not braking, lol. Thicker material and socket heads front or back are common in good vises. I'd guess hardened jaws don't need a Rc above 45 something. A lot of them are coarsely face milled with flat serrations, and satisfactory in my book.
    Sincerely,
    Toolmaker51
    ...we'll learn more by wandering than searching...

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    WmRMeyers's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mklotz View Post
    Are you really sure you want vise jaws that are brittle, very difficult to machine and leave marks in anything clamped?

    I replaced the jaws on my vise with ordinary steel into which I had milled a variety of V-grooves, both horizontal and vertical. Putting vertical holes to accommodate pins allows clamping odd shapes as is done with jewelers' clamps.

    A similar prismatic jaw for the Panavise removes the need to mount and dismount jaws for different jobs...

    Prismatic jaw for Panavise
    For some things, yes. Not for everything, of course. I have soft plastic jaws with magnets to hold them on like the prismatic jaws in your link. I have bent aluminum sheet jaws, and wood jaws. Hard jaws can be good for hard and very hard materials. Which I sometimes have had to deal with. And I have material here for various other kinds and types of jaws. I also have multiple vises, in sizes from 1" to 6", and also made of several materials. Variety requires and includes versatility.

    Bill

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    Supporting Member Toolmaker51's Avatar
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    Best thing about this entire discussion, and typical throughout our site;
    a] truths are evident,
    b] each of us have different parameters,
    c] a few mere sentences usually dilute the features we try to expound.

    YMMV
    Sincerely,
    Toolmaker51
    ...we'll learn more by wandering than searching...

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