Vise Rehab

[Monk]

Does anyone have experience with welding up and face milling holes in a vise bed? Can it be done without warping the surfaces? I inherited an old Chinese vise (at least 20 to 25 years old) from a friend's machine shop. It has 25 years worth of accidents (see pic). I cleaned it up and painted it. The vise seems to be otherwise tight and serviceable. I have a 5 inch Magnum vise I used on my mill/drill that gets me by on the BP, but a six inch vise would give me more room for bigger projects. Any advice/experience shared would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Senna]

With the bed that beat up what do you have to lose?
I'm thinking a surface grinder might work better than a facemill for cleaning up the surface.
Welding CI involves a process but if you can do it then I say go for it.

I marvel at how someone could be so utterly clueless as to drill through the entire bed of a vise without being aware of it.

 

[Uglydog]

With the bed that beat up what do you have to lose?
I'm thinking a surface grinder might work better than a facemill for cleaning up the surface.
Welding CI involves a process but if you can do it then I say go for it.

I marvel at how someone could be so utterly clueless as to drill through the entire bed of a vise without being aware of it.

Yep, I agree with Ken.
What have you got to lose?

You may want to do some reading about heat treating and learn how you can best return the vise to optimal properties.
This will also help to keep it flat and operable. If she tacos/warps she may not work as a vise anymore.
The other thing is to make sure that she isn't to soft or to brittle.
With this many holes she is likely going to get pretty warm.

Have you had a chance to read any of the heat treat threads?

Daryl
MN

 

[Baithog]

So the vice is functional, even with the extra holes? So why risk ruining it to make it pretty? If the repair fails, you get to go out and buy a new vise for a new price, or a used one for almost as much. So I'd say that you do have something to loose. If it was mine, I'd just use it. And if I just needed to make it pretty, Id try something like castaloy. It's a low temperature (500F) soldering/brazing process. You cold even do that in the kitchen oven if SWMBO doesn't catch you.

 

[John Hasler]

So the vice is functional, even with the extra holes? So why risk ruining it to make it pretty? If the repair fails, you get to go out and buy a new vise for a new price, or a used one for almost as much. So I'd say that you do have something to loose. If it was mine, I'd just use it. And if I just needed to make it pretty, Id try something like castaloy. It's a low temperature (500F) soldering/brazing process. You cold even do that in the kitchen oven if SWMBO doesn't catch you.

I'd just fill the holes with epoxy.

 

[rafe]

I agree , I'd just use it the way it is, if it functions as it should why bother ....don't try to make a silk purse out of a sows ear ....

 

[Monk]

Thanks to everyone for the help. Several of you voiced the same concerns I had about warping, etc. Since all I need is a level surface, parallel to the table, so that my parallels remain true, I'd considered running a hand tap a little ways in to rough the holes a little and then filling with liquid steel, or with epoxy as suggested, and then facing it off. It's not like I'll be pounding on the surface, or anything. Does that sound reasonable?
I'm with you, Senna, about drilling into a vise being clueless. But then, I'm working with tools I paid for with my own hard earned money. That vise has seen decades of use in a high volume shop with a proportionate number of apprentices who probably didn't get the "clue" until they'd already screwed the pooch ). Thanks, again everyone

Monk

 

[Uglydog]

running a hand tap a little ways in to rough the holes a little and then filling with liquid steel, or with epoxy as suggested, and then facing it off.

I've heard of JB Weld Users having good luck mixing some swarf/chips of similar steel into the adhesive.


Is it possible that "powerfeeds" are by definition dangerous to inattentive users regardless of years of experience?


Daryl
MN

 

[Bill C.]

Does anyone have experience with welding up and face milling holes in a vise bed? Can it be done without warping the surfaces? I inherited an old Chinese vise (at least 20 to 25 years old) from a friend's machine shop. It has 25 years worth of accidents (see pic). I cleaned it up and painted it. The vise seems to be otherwise tight and serviceable. I have a 5 inch Magnum vise I used on my mill/drill that gets me by on the BP, but a six inch vise would give me more room for bigger projects. Any advice/experience shared would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

View attachment 79969

If all least fails you could use JB Weld to fill the holes. Good luck, I used a few of those vises and slotted tables. If nothing else the holes collect coolant and chips.

 

[GarageGuy]

I agree with John and rafe. I would epoxy the holes, and maybe shoot it with some paint to make it look better. If it works good but is just cosmetically ugly, I wouldn't risk welding/warping it. It's still a good usable vise. Best of luck,

GG