I have a Swindens rotatable vice and it is very practical, but the other day I noticed that there was quite a bit of resistance while moving the jaws in and out. I took the thing apart without finding anything wrong, but when I put it together again I found the cause of the drag. The side of the slot in the sliding part of the vice had been deformed and squeezed out so it was catching on the part it slides through. The cause of this was obvious: The square key that fits in the groove to keep the jaws from rotating independent of each other had dug in during a certain work operation. This certain operation is any operation that involves forces that will try to rotate the jaws away from each other around the sliding part. I know when it happened because I had issues getting the tool to stay in the vice. Now you may ask how much force I used. The answer to that is that my workbench isn't even screwed to the floor or wall or a cabinet, so the force that can be applied is limited.
In the pictures I have filed the burr down so that it will operate smoothly for the time being. What should be done is to have a much longer key that can take the stress.
I just wanted people to know of this weakness. Might not be an issue for most work though.
In the pictures I have filed the burr down so that it will operate smoothly for the time being. What should be done is to have a much longer key that can take the stress.
I just wanted people to know of this weakness. Might not be an issue for most work though.
