Old vise won't open with handle

[vartz04]

I have this old vise (littletown) made in the usa so I don't want to just toss it.

The vise goes in when you crank the handle but doesn't rotate out. There is a little piece that is near the screw shaft that is no longer connected to the moving jaw of the vise. Is this something I could JB weld (or even actually weld if I preheated the vise) or does it have a lot of force placed upon it. From what I can tell its just what the threads use to pull the vise open.

I can take a picture if need be when I get home.

The vise was free with the bench I bought and I plan to blast it and make it look nice again at some point.

 

[crankshaftdan II]

Post a picture when you can--someone will give you an answer as to how to fix it!

 

[rlitman]

On my Littlestown vise, there is a washer on the screw shaft, and a cotter pin that goes through the shaft that pushes the moving jaw out. Is your cotter pin broken or missing?

 

[Outlawmws]

Pics needed...

 

[vartz04]

This is why I love this forum. The washer and pin was the issue.

 

[Tjc]

It might be the pin- thats how I fixed mine when it did that

Edit- already posted.

 

[rlitman]

This is why I love this forum. The washer and pin was the issue.

Heh heh heh. Yes, a picture would have been ideal, but I had a feeling my Littlestown vise was pretty much the same as yours. Guessing that, I can picture it just fine, from memory.

What I did with mine when I replaced the cotter pin, was add a second washer, to reduce the backlash in the mechanism.

 

[Matt018]

My athol vise had a spring and washer that was compressed with a cotterpin put through. Can you pull the jaw out after your loosened the handle?