10" Craftsman woodworking vise. Fire damage.

[Movin/on]

A friend dropped this off for free, he found it while cleaning out a burned garage for a fellow here in town.
The Acme screw is bent (not too much) about 1/4 way from the back from the fire.
I'm wondering if it's forged or cast. It starts getting to be stiff to turn about 2/3 from closed. If it's forged I can heat it with an Oxy Acel. torch and straighten it in a press. If it's cast the I will have to take a different approach.
Your thoughts?
Movin/on

 

[The Cobbler]

the acme screw won't be forged or cast, it will be some form of steel,machined , probably with a harden & temper to it . if you heat it you'll screw that up, but since it's been in a fire already , I guess it's already compromised.
you can look online for heat treating & tempering steel and re do it. probably bring it to a cherry red and oil quench it to harden, then 500° and slow cool to temper it .

 

[gleman]

I'd leave it alone if it's not too obnoxious to use.

Heating, bending, quenching then cooling down in sand or kitty litter seems like a fun challenge too.

I have a antique 10" vise thats way more handy than I ever thought it would be.

 

[cycle61]

Buy a lathe and machine a replacement screw, obviously.

 

[The Cobbler]

Buy a lathe and machine a replacement screw, obviously.

that's true GJ fashion!

 

[Renegade1LI]

I would straighten on the press but with no heat, just tweak it. A woodworking vise is not a high precision tool, as long as the jaws close parallel is fine.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Can you put some thick jaw pads on it and get it closed?
Here is a restoration of a similar vise.

Craftsman 506-51890 Woodworker’s Vise Restoration

For many woodworkers, especially galoots (woodworkers who specialize in hand tool woodworking) the workbench is not complete without a woodworker’s vise. Excellent vises were manufactured in…

michael-parrish.com

 

[neophyte]

Vise screws are either made by roll threading, or by just machining the threads into rod.
Better modern vises screws are almost always roll threaded, because it produces a stronger thread.
For what was likely a high volume item, a Craftsman vise provably would have used a rolled thread, especially on a USA made vise.

Unlike a steel bench vise, a woodworking vise likely doesn’t need as strong a thread.
In many cases, woodworking vises simply have the front handles pinned in place, and the front jaws are regular grey iron.
Heating the threads and bending then back would probably be fine.

 

[dogdog]

take screw out and heat straighten it, add some paint and put it back to use. Don’t think too much about it. It’s just a wood bench wise. You are not claiming 5,000,000 lbs of force torture or bust some nuts with it.

 

[MoonRise]

A 'regular' Acme screw thread is often just mild steel and probably machined, sometimes of the free-machining alloy type. See McMaster or Grainger for some replacement options. A woodworking vise screw is not likely to be cast or forged IMNSHO.

Unless the screw is REALLY bent/warped, if you can remove the screw from the vise (complete teardown, which you might want to do to check everything else out and make it easier to clean things up and at least slightly polish the two guide rods and their respective holes) you can check more closely as to how much the screw is bent and then apply force as needed to straighten it out. Heat is probably not needed.

The heat from the fire might have warped the actual thread profile on either the male thread on the rod or the female thread in the nut. In which case you might need to chase the threads with a tap, die, or both (I have had to chase some Acme rods that were a little bit 'off' from the machine shop). In which case the fixing got more expensive unless you just happen to have the correct tap and/or die available.

Another option could be to replace the Acme threaded rod (McMaster, Grainger, others).

Your call as to just how deep you want to get into this rebuild. The (cast?) jaws and/or the guide rods might also be heat warped. Check everything out before you get to deep.

 

[BlackVersa2]

This is a $50 vise on a good day...I wouldn't advise spending any money on it. But you do you

 

[exmaxima1]

This is a $50 vise on a good day...I wouldn't advise spending any money on it. But you do you

Those Japan-made vises were machined very well yet fetch significantly less than their USA versions. You can spend many hours restoring it but $50-$75 would buy the same vise in excellent condition.

 

[seber]

In a woodworking vise there is almost zero chance that threaded rod is heat treated. Just pull it out and straighten it. No heat needed. A press would be the best tool for the purpose, but if you don't have one, just put it on a hard surface and support two locations equidistant from the bend with wood pads and hit it with a soft hammer.

 

[Jim greengo]

I'd check the rods also,to make sure they're straight.

 

[Movin/on]

Leaflessshadetree: Thanks !!
I read the Michael Parrish vise rescue and found out more about the vise. I've got disassembled and removed the screw head (drilled the rivet) and pounded it out. In this way I was able to roll the acme screw on my Cast Iron table saw and found it was bent about 1/4" at the end. I found where the bend started and put the screw in a vise used a cheater pipe and bent it back to close to straight. Reassembled the vise and I can now run it in and out. Next step will be cabinet blasting all the parts that will be visible (not the shafts or screw) paint and reassemble.
Thanks to all who have helped with my understanding of this vise.
Richard >>> Movin/on

 

[MoonRise]

Glad that you seem to have it working now.

I'd at least clean up the guide rods with some non-woven abrasive pads (aka Scotchbrite).

Post some pics of the progress as you clean up and the vise. We like pics.