homemade bench vise

[tigman250]

work was a bit slow today so my boss pulled out an old broken chinese cast iron bench vise from under the bench and told me to fix it. i said (joking) "it would be cheaper to make a whole new vise" he said (also joking) "if you can come up with a better vise than the chinese go ahead" not being one to back down from a challenge i set off to build a bench vise! 6 hours and 116 lbs of steel later this is what i came up with.

http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim08705tz.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim08719lk.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim08738qx.jpg
http://img102.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim08727pl.jpg
http://img102.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim08872fq.jpg
http://img102.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim08849ir.jpg
http://img102.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim08814xc.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim08807ik.jpg
http://img102.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim08776tg.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim08745uu.jpg




sorry i got a little carried away taking pics, the only thing reused from the china vise (against all my pleading not to) was the screw and female threaded bushing i begged him to go up town and purchase an acme screw and bushing but he refused (i'm really going to hate to tell him "told ya so" when it breaks) it is the absolute weakest link by far. we still haven't decided what to use for jaws he might order some but he also suggested using some brass scraps we have laying arround. the whole project was on a budget so all the materials came out of the short or scrap pile. let me know what you think, i believe if it were not for that chinese screw it would perform as good as any Wilton

[Coalsmoke]

looks good, I have never seen a homemade bench vise before, so this is a first. I am confident as well that the vise will outlast most things in that shop. As for the jaws, I'd just screw on a couple plates of 1/4" aluminum. cheap and easy to replace when the time comes. I ahve a 100+ pound leg vise in my smithy from, the 1800's and I wouldn't be surprised if it outlives my future kids and grandchildren. There is strength in forged maleable metal vs that cheap chinese castings.We dropped one of those cheap vises on a cement floor once and it busted up, just from a simple 3 foot drop onto concrete.

[wb5jhy]

Very nicely done! Those welds look great. Mayby you should change your handle to Migman250.

Tom

[katiebo]

You didn't happen to make a couple extra did you.

[tigman250]

thanks Coal, i didn't even think about aluminum

wb5jhy, i appreciate the comment, i take alot of pride in all my work, especially the welds. most of that stuff didn't need multiple passes but hate to let the chance slip by. next to a tig bead a multi pass mig weld is my second favorite to put down, they just look so beefy, like they really mean business!

[tigman250]

You didn't happen to make a couple extra did you.

not yet you can bet when my father and i open shop there will be one hanging on my bench! that is as soon as the scrap pile will allow it

[Rvannatta]

not yet you can bet when my father and i open shop there will be one hanging on my bench! that is as soon as the scrap pile will allow it

the next project is to make a bench that is worthy of it. the problem with a good vise is that some gorilla comes by and puts something in it and then tips the shop over prying on it--that is if the shop is hooked to the bench.

IT seems that not everyone everywhere fully appreciates the difference between a vise and a press.

[tigman250]

the next project is to make a bench that is worthy of it. the problem with a good vise is that some gorilla comes by and puts something in it and then tips the shop over prying on it--that is if the shop is hooked to the bench.

IT seems that not everyone everywhere fully appreciates the difference between a vise and a press.

got that covered too, my bench has a 1 1/4" thick 8'X10' top with 6" I beam bracing under it and 6"X6"X3/8" legs. my father has a 10'X10' 1 1/4" table, they were fixture tables from a local factory that got scrapped out we happened to be at the scrap yard one day and saw them and couldn't live without them. they have a machined top with squaring lines machined in them, both very VERY nice tables. we just had to put the legs on them! ain't no tipping them over!

[cope]

the next project is to make a bench that is worthy of it. the problem with a good vise is that some gorilla comes by and puts something in it and then tips the shop over prying on it--that is if the shop is hooked to the bench.

IT seems that not everyone everywhere fully appreciates the difference between a vise and a press.

I pulled one of my first workbenches apart with a big vise. The bench was attached to the studs with lag bolts or it would have tipped over first.

[KB Fabrications]

Very nice job indeed tigman250!

[hankj]

OFF THE WALL!

Killer job! Nice exhibit of clean, aesthetically pleasing no-grindy, welds! I'm proud to know ya!

Hank

[Rvannatta]

got that covered too, my bench has a 1 1/4" thick 8'X10' top with 6" I beam bracing under it and 6"X6"X3/8" legs. my father has a 10'X10' 1 1/4" table, they were fixture tables from a local factory that got scrapped out we happened to be at the scrap yard one day and saw them and couldn't live without them. they have a machined top with squaring lines machined in them, both very VERY nice tables. we just had to put the legs on them! ain't no tipping them over!

That would work.---- then you just drill a hole right in the middle of the table
so when it is time to rearrange the furniture, you install your eyebolt and the ever present chain hoist does the rest.

[TOMWELDS]

Nice! and made in America brother!

[tigman250]

Nice! and made in America brother!

**** right, you won't find China stamped anywhere on that bad boy!

[jbmprods]

Thats one fine piece of work there Tigman. I think its one **** of an inspiration to us all. makes me wanta build one. I'm tired of cheap junk vices