Help with a cheap vise

[DaveInPhilly]

So I have had this 5" Buffalo vise for about 10 years now. Someone gave it to me and I'm pretty sure they got it from a garage sale to begin with so I have no idea about its origin. Its made in China, nothing special but it has suited my needs just fine. In any event, as always seems to happen, one project lead to another and I ended up taking the thing apart to clean it up and get some of the rust off.

One thing that has always bothered me and I'm hoping to fix since I have the thing apart, is that the jaw doesn't move with the screw. I need to unscrew it than physically move the jaw to release what I'm working on. There are areas of blue paint showing through the red so I'm guessing someone took it apart to at some point before it made its way to me.

The screw only has a spring and a washer, but I'm assuming there was something else which held the jaw to the screw so it opened and closed with the screw. I just can't figure out how it would of worked. I looked at videos of vise repairs and its seems some have a collar on the outside, and others had a washer or c-clip on the inside but mine doesn't appear to use either.

Any ideas?

 

[tool_scrounge]

What about a cotter.pin thru the hole in the vise screw to keep the spring and washer in place? Or buy an appropriate sized collar to fit the screw?

 

[J.C.]

Take a look at pics 7 and 8 here:

https://motofaction.org/tool-review...n-review-information-history-australian-made/

Handle | Washer | Dynamic jaw | Washer | Spring | Washer | Cotter pin

You should have to compress the spring a little to be able to get the cotter pin through the hole - see pics further down.

If the handle pulls out slightly before the jaw moves add washers or a get a longer spring.

 

[DaveInPhilly]

You guys are awesome. This is just what I needed. Thank you.

 

[tool_scrounge]

One hint I was told was to compress the spring and wrap a couple pieces of wire around it to keep.it compressed. Then reassemble the leadscrew assy. This will be easy since the spring is compressed and will not intererfere with inserting the cotter pin. Finally, cut the pieces of wire so the spring extends back to its normal length.

 

[DaveInPhilly]

So for anyone who happens upon this thread and owns the same vise, turns out, this one only uses the one washer, spring and cotter pin.

I just assumed it was going to work just like the one in the picture. I went to Lowes and searched and searched to find two more washers that fit, nothing was quite right but I found a couple that were close and could be modified relatively easily to fit. Turns out it wasn't necessary.

Handle>dynamic jaw>spring>washer>cotter pin. Now it works like new.

Thanks again fellas.

 

[454ragtop]

2 washers are better so that the spring doesn't chew up the inside of the jaw. The spring is much harder than cast iron.