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

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    Eugene's DIY Den's Avatar
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    New Jaws for Bench Vise Made From an Old File

    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

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    Last edited by Eugene's DIY Den; Aug 3, 2015 at 05:21 PM.
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    12L14 (Jul 31, 2019), Andyt (Jul 6, 2019), gunsgt1863 (Oct 30, 2017), high-side (Jul 15, 2019), jere (Aug 4, 2015), Jerrdan john (Aug 3, 2015), john komo (Oct 2, 2021), Jon (Aug 3, 2015), kbalch (Aug 4, 2015), odd one (Aug 21, 2021), Paul Jones (Aug 4, 2015), PJs (Aug 5, 2015), rlm98253 (Oct 28, 2017), Sleykin (Aug 21, 2021), Toolmaker51 (Aug 20, 2021), tuchie (Sep 7, 2023)

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    I reckon that's neater then dang it!! When I seen the post my first thought was how did he get the holes it it??? I like it!!! I like vice's and just picked up a Yost. I bet your granddad would be impressed and proud.. Jonathan

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    Thanks Jonathan! I saw a tip somewhere about using a metal rod in a pillar drill to press against a workpiece and heat it from friction. This is supposed to do local annealing so holes can be drilled. Haven't tried it though.

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    I use band saw blades for my power hacksaw. I use a punch and a hole in an anvil to put them in. Wouldn't want to try that with an file.. Jonathan

    P.S. My family came from Ireland (Mcclung) on my mom's side.
    Last edited by Jerrdan john; Aug 3, 2015 at 04:37 PM.

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    I was thinking about how the holes would be made as well. Annealing the whole jaws seems better than just the needed area. Files in normal conditions are fairly brittle, annealed i bet they should work much better. Good work and nice source for the jaws.

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    It probably would be a better idea, especially if the "rebates" which the jaw inserts sit into aren't perfectly flat. With a couple of tons of pressure, maybe the flexing could lead to a crack. I was more concerned though that if I totally annealed the inserts, the teeth would wear over time or not bite into what they were gripping. Anyway this vise is retired so I don't need to worry about it
    Last edited by Eugene's DIY Den; Aug 4, 2015 at 07:36 AM.
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    Thanks Eugene's DIY Den! I've added your Bench Vise Jaws to our Vises category, as well as to your builder page: Eugene's DIY Den's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:


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    PJs
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    Great idea to use old files for this. I see them at the Restore all the time and pick up a few in not too bad shape once in a while for beaters. I kind of agree with Jere about the annealing the whole thing for stress relief and it would allow easier removal of the edge serrations at the top...looks to be a knuckle scrubber. ~¿@ Nice old vice you have there...Gpa would be happy I think! Thanks for sharing your excellent re-purposing idea. ~PJ

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    Clever idea using old rough files. They are perfect replacement for the jaws. Grip is probably greater than the stock jaws.

    Al

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