Little Craftsman Vise Question

[pwinters]

Quick question for the group: I picked up this little Craftsman vise for small tinkering. I noticed that the dynamic jaw seems bent/sagging which causes the jaws to touch at the bottom and leave a gap at the top. The slide itself seems straight. Obviously, this is not ideal.

What happened here and what are my options to set things right?

 

[Kevin J.]

It looks like the vise had been over tightened in it's past. You could mill the moveable jaw pocket to match the fixed jaw. If you were closer I could do that for you. Do you know anyone nearby with a milling machine. Project like that, estimate cost at one six pack of premium beer.

 

[Shiftless]

This is a common mode of failure for that model. You are lucky that the slide itself is not also bent. That causes binding. It happened to one of mine during shipping. I sold it off to somebody who didn’t care about alignment. I told her all about the problem but she only used it for light crafting work so since it looked so good she bought it. I let it go for $20

 

[1982fxr]

That is so common, has anyone ever wondered if it was happening during dynamic jaw assembly at the factory?

Not usually even accompanied by a bent handle on most I've seen.

 

[Shiftless]

The picture posted by the O.P. shows a main handle and swivel lock handle that are obviously not the original factory handles. Who knows what abuse that vise suffered before being repainted.

 

[mogandave]

The picture posted by the O.P. shows a main handle and swivel lock handle that are obviously not the original factory handles. Who knows what abuse that vise suffered before being repainted.

Indeed, I think a bar snugged into the vice perpendicular to the jaws and yanked on will have the same effect as over-tightening.

I think my dad had that same vice; I think my sister has it now...

 

[Shiftless]

I have 3 of them. They are fun to do up in novelty paint jobs. Here is one I did in ‘57 Chevy colors. See the tail fin on this vise?

 

[pwinters]

The picture posted by the O.P. shows a main handle and swivel lock handle that are obviously not the original factory handles. Who knows what abuse that vise suffered before being repainted.

It’s true; the vise was in sorry shape when I got it. This was my first vise and I had fun fixing it up, but it really doesn’t work for me that the jaws close at the bottom before the top for work holding. Unfortunately, no access to a milling machine.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

They bend at the slide. This is one I straightened using a 50 ton press. You can see the bend in the slide.

 

[LNKMK8]

Unless you are using it to hold a piece of paper, I don't see where it is going to make that much difference day to day.