Stanley 400 Mitre Vice Issues

[Paul Carson]

Hello,

I bought a Stanley Marsh 400 mitre vice for picture frames and other mitre joining tasks. After a good clean it has two issues.

One vice runs perfectly smoothly on its threads, but the jaws are not parallel and seem to get further out of parallel as they close.

https://imgur.com/a/NYwmZaB

Does anyone one know the cause of this, and was the solution may be?

The second vice runs smoothly until it's open about 2" and then it gets tight until becomes almost impossible to open further.

Is anyone familiar with these issues? Any recommended solutions?

Thanks, Paul

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Paul,

I have 3 of these, 2 Stanleys and 1 Marsh. My goal is to acquire one more and set up an adjustable framing jig using heavy duty T-Tracks. All mine work perfectly, so I’m not sure what the problems are with yours. The only thing I can think of is that the threaded rod is bent and out of alignment with the channel. If you can post close-up photos perhaps it would aid in diagnosing the issues.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Another thing just occurred to me after examining my vises. It’s possible that it may have been dropped and knocked the whole thing slightly out of alignment. If you have a reliable straightedge, check the tables from a variety of directions. I assume you’ve cleaned and lubricated all moving parts.

[Paul Carson]

Hello Stephen, yes all cleaned and lubricated. I'll examine the tables with a straightedge as suggested.

Thanks for your help.