greenlizard
Well-known member
Last Saturday I stopped at the local scrap yard to see if there was any plate available. Well, no but I did find this 5 inch USA Columbian vise. It wasn't too beat up, but was very greasy and missing one jaw plate. The yard owner typically doesn't sell vises as he uses them but since this one was missing a jaw he suggested $20 so I jumped on it. I didn't want it to walk away while I was in Lowes:
So, the first thing to do is to remove the two broken off bolts that formerly held the now missing jaw. I was pleased they came out very easily. Had I used a left-hand drill bit they would have spun out, instead I carefully used the dreaded EZ Out:
A little cleanup with a knotted wire brush. Man, I love this wire:
I then degreased the whole thing using a spray gun cleaner. It was what I had. After some scrubbing I used a rust neutralizing primer:
Then two coats of Rustoleum-type oil based paint. I used what I had, so it got "Tractor Red" which is really more like "Tomato Red" but it'll do. Tip for others: don't paint the sliding parts with thick brush-on paint, cause you'll just have to scrape it off. DAMHIK. Next one will get a spray job.
Now to make the missing jaw plate. It was pretty easy since I had one jaw and could use it as a pattern. I looked though my scrap collection and found a piece just the right thickness. Using a portable band saw I cut a fairly good copy of the jaw. Then on to my machining department for the holes and counter sinks:
In my bolt collection I found a couple of grade 5 allen bolts in 1/4 20 size to install the new face. I was happy to see everything lines up well and the jaws are not sprung. Since my jaw plate is not tempered I'll probably have to replace it in 5 or 10 years... I can live with that. Total cost: $20 and about 4 hours work time cause I work slow. I highly recommend saving an American vise. It was very easy. Next project will be a stand.
Oh yeah, I'll work on eliminating the "busy" backgrounds for my next post. I didn't realize how distracting background clutter can be in a photo.
So, the first thing to do is to remove the two broken off bolts that formerly held the now missing jaw. I was pleased they came out very easily. Had I used a left-hand drill bit they would have spun out, instead I carefully used the dreaded EZ Out:
A little cleanup with a knotted wire brush. Man, I love this wire:
I then degreased the whole thing using a spray gun cleaner. It was what I had. After some scrubbing I used a rust neutralizing primer:
Then two coats of Rustoleum-type oil based paint. I used what I had, so it got "Tractor Red" which is really more like "Tomato Red" but it'll do. Tip for others: don't paint the sliding parts with thick brush-on paint, cause you'll just have to scrape it off. DAMHIK. Next one will get a spray job.
Now to make the missing jaw plate. It was pretty easy since I had one jaw and could use it as a pattern. I looked though my scrap collection and found a piece just the right thickness. Using a portable band saw I cut a fairly good copy of the jaw. Then on to my machining department for the holes and counter sinks:
In my bolt collection I found a couple of grade 5 allen bolts in 1/4 20 size to install the new face. I was happy to see everything lines up well and the jaws are not sprung. Since my jaw plate is not tempered I'll probably have to replace it in 5 or 10 years... I can live with that. Total cost: $20 and about 4 hours work time cause I work slow. I highly recommend saving an American vise. It was very easy. Next project will be a stand.
Oh yeah, I'll work on eliminating the "busy" backgrounds for my next post. I didn't realize how distracting background clutter can be in a photo.
