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Finally figured out what to do with cheap garage sale vise! (Check it out)

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evintho

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Joined
Apr 6, 2006
Messages
1,358
Location
Santa Rosa, CA.
Craftsman 3-1/2" picked up at garage sale for $2

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Bought a 20' stick of 1" square tubing for $25 and got to work building a base.

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Support bar.

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Mounted the vise.

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Built the table.

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Found this 1/8" thick steel tray in the dumpster at work and cut out the plate.

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Mounted the plate.

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Chucked my portable bandsaw in the vise and presto. Instant stationary metal bandsaw!

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Now, it's not my idea. Gotta give credit to SWAG Offroad for coming up with the original.
http://www.swagoffroad.com/Portaband_V_THREE.html

Nice piece they have but I built basically the same thing in a weekend and saved $100. I'm just cheap that way! Mine is solid and works really well. The vise just holds it in position. All the weight is on the support bar. I gotta do a little finish welding and make some aluminum jaws for the vise so I don't screw up the bandsaw handle too much. I suppose I could clean everything up, paint it and make it look all purdy and such but I've got a roadster frame to build. Purdy's just gonna have to wait!
:rocker:
 
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blue dog

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Culver City Ca.
Kick ****. Very fine job. Please enjoy a cold beverage of your choice on you for the good work you have done.

So, how well does it work.
 
A

adamsredlines

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Aug 28, 2011
Messages
872
Location
CenTex
Thats pretty cool, but are you not afraid of the vise "working loose"? Seems if it did, you'd have a pretty hairy situation on your hands.
 
OP
E

evintho

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Apr 6, 2006
Messages
1,358
Location
Santa Rosa, CA.
Nice clean cut on the 1" tubing. I'll be trying it on some 2"x3" .120 wall tomorrow. Should work as intended.

adamsredlines said:
Thats pretty cool, but are you not afraid of the vise "working loose"? Seems if it did, you'd have a pretty hairy situation on your hands.
Click to expand...

I don't think it'll be an issue. Just need to make sure the jaw stays tight. Periodic checks should do it. Beside, if it starts to come loose I'd know it long before it became a problem. In addition to my frame rails it'll be used to cut plates for suspension brackets, etc.
 
L

Lomotil

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Mar 14, 2011
Messages
7,993
Location
South TX
Inventive... I like it!

Oh, and I think this is certainly deserving of a "YOU ****!" :evil:
 
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BWS

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Sep 3, 2006
Messages
923
Location
Mnts of Va
Isn't that gonna be a little heavy to pick up?



Cool,you'll get lots of use from it.Its amazing how much our porta band gets used(got other,bigger BS's).
 
P

Piper

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Nov 17, 2006
Messages
590
Location
Muskoka, Canada
If you were really concerned about the handle loosening off you could weld a loop on the end of the handle and once its been cranked tight on the saw fix the handle with a zip tie. There's lotsa ways to keep that vice handle "locked".

Nice job. :beer:
 
M

MPOWERD

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Jun 7, 2011
Messages
578
Wow that was well engineered out! I would have never thought of such an adaptation...
 
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Journaler

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Apr 25, 2012
Messages
572
That is pretty sweet. Kept on thinking, "Why did he mount the vise on the bottom?" until the last few pics.
 
D

dumper

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Oct 22, 2006
Messages
673
Location
Oregon
hey, that so-called "cheap vise" actually is a very decent bench vise. Cleaned up, you see them on ebay for $50-$100. The only reason I sold mine was becasue I found a 5" version of the same vise.
 
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