It Spins!

[Marko Milisavljevic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBry3hSjr_Y

I went with Lake Erie Toolworks screw (http://lakeerietoolworks.com/shop/category_2/Wood-Vise-Screw-Kits.html?shop_param=cid%3D%26) and Jim Ritter's chain (http://ancorayachtservice.com/?page_id=221) - basic kits for both. End result exceeded my expectations. Here are a few interesting details for someone building similar:


Chain is hidden in a groove in back of the leg - looks clean and won't mar project parts you leave on the shelf.
Parallel glide is below the shelf. It slides on a urethane wheel which I harvested from this caster (http://www.leevalley.com/US/hardware/page.aspx?p=70055&cat=3,51976&ap=1) and mounted it onto this 6mm shaft (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=64983&cat=1,250,43243,50237,64983) (a perfect fit, and 1/4" won't work). This shaft is hardened, so after wearing out a hacksaw blade, I used a rotary tool with cutoff disc with much better results.
Handle is permanently centered in the hub - required if you want to spin it. 12" handle is more than long enough and doesn't get in the way. I would guess 10" and maybe even 8" would be OK too. I stuffed some metal inside handle caps to give it extra oomph. It travels 8" if you spin it right, down to 2" if you just give it a very sloppy slap. The only time you need to turn the handle is to tighten or release.


End result is a very smooth vise that spins like a popular metal-screwed leg vise at about half the cost (if you make your own handle and garter) and to me looks a lot sweeter. The secret to making it spin is that the screw has to be on the same axis as the nut as any amount of binding will sap the energy. The easiest way to make that happen is to mount the nut as the last step, so you can make the screw exactly parallel to bench top. You don't need a special contraption to measure parallel - the way you will know it is the sweet spot is that when you look where screw meets the garter, you should see that it leaves same-sized light gap all around (the garter will be ever so thinner than the groove, and you'll see a gap around it).

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[Jim Ritter]

Sweet installation Marco, well done. Enjoy it.
Jim

[Brian Holcombe]

Very nice clean install. I like that it is not obvious that a chain is there.

[Jim Belair]

Nice job Marko. And I like your innovative sourcing of the wheel and especially the shaft.

[Tom M King]

Love it. I like wooden screws best too.

[Jim Koepke]

Very nice. Just one question, is there a gear for the chain's turn at the bottom?

jtk

[Marko Milisavljevic]

Yes, the small block of wood screwed into the back of the leg you can see in third photo supports one end of the rod that gear is on. The other end is in a small block of wood that is glued onto the stretcher.

On top, the gear is internal to the leg, axle was inserted through a hole in side of the leg. On bottom it is external to the leg.

[Curt Putnam]

Totally awesome!

[Steve Voigt]

Looks great Marko!

[David Weaver]

Well done, I agree with the appearance. Very pleasing to the eye.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Wow. Never would have guessed a wood screw would do that. Well done. Again I say; Well done.

[Jeff Ranck]

I think this is the setup I'm going to end up with on my bench. Thank you for blazing the way!

[Joe Bailey]

Brilliant!

Jim's chain kit is on my list too.

[Winton Applegate]

As a mechanism it travels exceedingly well.
I like the look of wooden threads.
For a shoulder vise.
For a rails in the way vise having the screw even wider than a steel screw seems counter productive.

It would be fascinating to watch the vise as it clamps down on a smaller piece of work.
Is there anyway you could put up a vid of that? I would like to see how the bottom rail responds.
In other words is it as solid as having a pin through a hole or does the rail continue to travel while the vise tightens down on the work ?

Thank you for posting this.
I am always open to better things though I cling to what I have found.

[Marko Milisavljevic]

Hi Winton,

As top stays in place and the bottom moves in, there is rapid tightening of the chain that then makes further travel of the bottom very difficult. Amount of travel presumably depends on internal slack between chain links and how bendy the chop is. In my case, it travels under 1/4" (I'm estimating, not at home now) until I see no reason to further tighten it, even for long boards that stick out with leverage. If I go full force (as in, you would not do this for fear of breaking something), bottom may move 3/8". I adjust length of the chain so that bottom is out about 1/4" more than the top, so when I tighten hard I get even contact. I also use leather on both sides, which may remove some sensitivity as to how exactly parallel the faces are. Whether I'm clamping a sheet of veneer or a large block, it performs great - can go crazy on the piece without it moving. I never used a different leg vise, so I don't know what aspect may be better or worse than competing designs. I could take more exact measurements and video tonight.

[Jim Ritter]

Winton the chain is easily adjusted to have the jaw parallel at full clamping tension. Once set there is little need to adjust unless you want to clamp something that is out of parallel to begin with. I have one in use now for about three years and have not touched the tension since the initial setup.
Jim

[Winton Applegate]

Marko,

under 1/4"
Seriously cool.
Sounds like a keeper.

Jim,

I have one in use now for about three years and have not touched the tension since the initial setup.
Very nice work.

[les winter]

Aside from the fact that you do nice work, Marko, what is the secret to getting such smooth operation?

[Marko Milisavljevic]

The secret to making it spin is that the screw has to be on the same axis as the nut as any amount of binding will sap the energy.


Aside from the fact that you do nice work, Marko, what is the secret to getting such smooth operation?

I only ever made one of these, but my feeling is that it shouldn't be hard to repeat. I tried to make it as neatly as possible, but I don't have more than beginner-to-intermediate level skills, so it is not an example of precision craftsmanship. Reduce friction and vibration, and it will spin.

There may be variations in screw/nut mating as shipped by manufacturer that make some just naturally more easy to spin.

[Curt Putnam]

Have you finished the nut & screw? If so, how & with what. Lastly, did you wax it? If so, what kind of wax?

[Marko Milisavljevic]

All I did, out of the box, is apply my own paste wax which is... I don't remember exactly what I put in it, but a pretty basic mix of beeswax, turpentine and a wee bit of paraffin.

The only thing that I'm sure makes a significant difference (aside from handle being reasonably centered, otherwise vibration is too much) is relationship between screw and nut. Small movement of the nut seemed to be the difference between smooth and not - 1/16 off is too much. This is why I suggest mounting the nut last, allowing you to find the sweet spot. In the end, I feel I didn't do anything special except being mindful of friction and vibration as I built it.