Miniature Tools

[john k]

All day making threaded nuts and bolts, doesn't sound crazy to me, in fact was thinking silver threads, and the old song came along.  Silver thread and golden needles,,,, . ahem.   Glad the molds have come out so well.   Got to be tedious being so tiny. 

[Branson]

This table vise is becoming just delicious!  I can scarcely wait to see the finished product.

[Art Rafael]

Thanks, gents.  Silver threads I do now have - golden needles?? - maybe some day.  But how incredible that you conjured up the song by thinking of it, John.  I've heard of that kind of telepathy.  If only we could just think of a small table vise and make it appear.  I'm doing it the hard way - building it one piece at a time . . . (I waited some few minutes to hear Johnny Cash come on the radio, but nothing doing.  I just don't have the touch.)   Have made some progress, though.  The mold worked out great and yielded a beautiful set of jaws.  I didn't document those steps having posted some such similar pictures earlier.   Almost there; the tricky parts are done.   Ralph



This is the Master, the soft wax pattern and finally one of the jaws for comparison

[Art Rafael]

Cold and snowy day in Colorado - great day to stoke the shop stove and to tinker indoors.  More progress on the miniature vise.  Today I fabricated the spindle and bar of brass and the clamp and bar.   Ralph

[Branson]

I think I may be falling in love...

[johnsironsanctuary]

The jaw bar looks like the balls on the ends are machined. The clamp bar looks like a casting. Do you solder one ball on or is it somehow cast in place?

[john k]

You are doing great following proportion and shape.  This is my oldest post vise.  No name, but one can see the hammer marks.  Plus the threaded barrel is bronze.    The jaw is six inches wide.

[Art Rafael]

Well, Branson, it did turn out lovely.   It weighed in at a finished weight of 2.6 oz.  I think it's a keeper.

Yes, John.  The balls at the ends of the spindle bar and those on the clamp bar are all machined freehand on the outer surface on a cordless drill and with files since I lack the proper machinery to do it otherwise.  And they all, along with both ends of both rods are threaded 4-40, and the balls are screwed on.  Same with the spindle and its threaded rod, but this union was also soldered to prevent the spindle from unscrewing when turned counter clock.

Thank you all for following the build process and for encouraging me along the way.  I will post a few preliminary pictures today as I continue to document the process and hope to have more and a video up soon, although I am not as handy with a camera as with a saw and file.   Ralph

For comparison - the final and the original after which it was patterned.

















and just for fun  :)

[Art Rafael]

All right, John K.  Yes that's the old master post vise as I remember seeing in the old blacksmith shop when I was a kid.  The table vise follows this general shape but is much smaller and has a clamping apparatus to mount it on a table.  Thanks for posting that picture.  It brings authentication to this build string.  Ralph

[Art Rafael]

The action video is up on YouTube.  Please view it and let me know what you think.   Ralph


http://youtu.be/0CTModW5hdg

[Lewill2]

Art, another great job, both the vise and the video. What is your next challenge?

[Chillylulu]

Nice job.  You are an artist.  Do you ever get up to Denver?

Chilly

[Branson]

Art, another great job, both the vise and the video. What is your next challenge?

Well, how about a slightly different table vise?  There are problems with this one on eBay this morning, but look at the jaws!  Like the even older style of jaws for a leg vise.  And while probably cobbled, the bracket for attaching is that of a leg vise rather than a table vise.

[Art Rafael]

Thanks again, Les.  Don't know about my next project.  Nothing has appealed to me yet.  This miniature vise called for so many challenging operations that next I need to do something which yields more timely gratification, or I need a change of pace. 

Hi Chilly, and Thanks.  Denver?  Some of my favorite hang outs are in LoDo, but haven't been lately.  I like the Museum of Natural History, and sometimes just zip by headed for Black Hawk.

Thanks Branson.  I don't know that I will ever build another vise, but will try to snatch up every small table vise I can.  Then again, vises keep calling my name.  Right now I am in transition.

[rusty]

> more timely gratification

Blacksmith's vise certainly needs an anvil to go with it, and a few things to stick in the anvil......