Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: ajooter on November 25, 2016, 07:39:02 pm
-
I go through a vise each year. I usually buy my vises from home depot or lowes and they just dont last. I am willing to spend a couple $100 dollars on a vise if I know it will last me a good long while. What are some good brands to look for? and or models?
-
The older the better. Auctions are a good place to find them. You might check your local craigslist for a deal. I look for older USA made vises.
Or you could send Misslemaster a PM and see if he would make his version of the stave press or bow press for you. I've got one of each and I love them. They are built to last several lifetimes.
-
What breaks on them? I have a 4" Record that I've had for almost 40 years. It doesn't swivel though.
-
I have a stave master and its great for limb work...but i like a vise for my handle work. The vices i get have some kind of spring in them rather then just a gear and they dont last. They literally just loose their ability to actaually clamp down. I will surely check craigs list and maybe some flee markets.
-
Have you looked at the Rockwell Jawhorse 9000? Portable, solid and able to hold up to 48" items. Use mine almost daily especially for bow making and construction projects.
-
The older the better. Auctions are a good place to find them. You might check your local craigslist for a deal. I look for older USA made vises.
Or you could send Misslemaster a PM and see if he would make his version of the stave press or bow press for you. I've got one of each and I love them. They are built to last several lifetimes.
I agree with Clint i saw one of mm vices up close and they are built
-
Thats a nice looking horse...but i dont think it would give me the leverage i need when im giving a stave the business with my ferriers rasp. I do the majority of my reduction with an axe or hatchet...but i do almost the remainder right to floor tiller with my ferriers rasp.
-
Find a good used blacksmith post vise and it will outlive you. They are made to be hammered on and come in widths 4" and up. They run about $150.00 and up.
-
I have a 5" Wilton vice that is 20 years old, been on a handful of different benches in 3 of my shops, and has held hundreds of staves, billets, boards, bows, and other jobs. It literally looks like it's maybe 2 or 3 months old.
That said, if I ever have to buy another, I'll look hard at a pattern maker's vice from Highland Woodworking. Very versatile and solid. In fact, I plan to get one if I ever get my new bench built.
-
I bought this one at a flea market about 15 years ago for 50 bucks. It weighs I would guess between 75 to 100 pounds. The best research I could come up with shows at about 60 to 80 years old. I put the pop can in there just as a reference for how big it really is. Like Clint said you cannot replace some of the old tools in quality. With very little pressure on the handle it grabs your material to the point where you cannot move it. I would start shopping the flea markets you won't regret it
-
By the way vices should not be beaten on with a hammer at any time unless you get a blacksmith vise.
-
I would start shopping the flea markets you won't regret it
Yep.
-
That's a nice one Paul. You can't beat the quality of the older vises. The new ones aren't near the quality unless you want to spend hundreds of dollars for a high end model. I picked up this old Poland made vise at an auction last week. I got the contents of a maintenance room for $10 and the vise was in there. It seems very solid. I've got another vise from the same company. It was my on my grandpas work bench for longer than I've been alive.
(http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv22/Outlawstaves/20161120_101949_zps1yxluqg7.jpg) (http://s666.photobucket.com/user/Outlawstaves/media/20161120_101949_zps1yxluqg7.jpg.html)
My daily driver is a large USA made Matco that I got off Craigslist for next to nothing. It was missing the jaw pads. That wasn't a problem. I would have made wooden pads with leather for it anyway.
(http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv22/Outlawstaves/20161117_172944_zpsuqbcrdxd.jpg) (http://s666.photobucket.com/user/Outlawstaves/media/20161117_172944_zpsuqbcrdxd.jpg.html)
-
I like seeing old vises. I've been acquiring a few of them over the last couple of years. Maybe we should start a new post for everybody to post pictures of their stave holders.
-
4 inch Engineering vice. Pad the jaws with thick tooling leather. You American fellas are lucky to have sales where you have a chance of finding old tools....you would be devastated to turn up to one of our 'carboot' sales.....nothing but junk for miles....;) You would be lucky to find a cheapo case hardened file....there are shops that specifically sell old tools but man you want to see the prices.....you don't get 'owt for 'nowt here ;)
-
Those are some nice looking vises guys. I will surely check some of the flea markets out. I wanted to actually have a pedestal mount made that i can set in concrete outside somewhere for fair weather work. I use an old piece of fire hose for my passing when clamping staves.
-
I use a carpenters vice flush mounted onto my bench, wish it was quick-release, but its donkeys years old, I inherited it and its showing no signs of breaking-down despite the punishment I dish out wood-carving and bow-building. The flush-mount has many advantages over a high-mounted engineers vice - I got one of those as well but to be honest, I never use it
-
An old Wilton vise that my neighbor gave to me. A little TLC and she's a real looker. :)
-
Now thats a sharp looking vise....not that looks parallel function...but damn!! It seems the Wilton vises are winning at this point.
-
...What I have is a Yost BV-4 bench vise. I think the kind they sell at Lowe's. So it's gonna break?
-
I have not disected one yet...but they seem to have a spring inside of them that controls the level of tightening the vise is capable of? i think? Not sure what brand mine were but they literally just end up not tightening. With a good vise I would think you could crush a bow blank if you wanted to ( not that i would). The ones i have gotten from the big box stores just dont hold up.
Do any of you guys perform any type of maintenance on your vises? (greasing)
-
When I refurbished mine, I greased the threading and the base plate, where it swivels. Most vises are very simple.
-
That's a cool looking vise Cloudfeather. I've always liked the bullet nose Wiltons. I'm hoping to find one at auction or a garage sale one day.
-
I just got lucky with getting it. The funny thing is that I used it for a few years before refurbishing it. I always thought that it only had a 4" jaw capacity, but it's about 7" after cleaning the insides up. Lol
-
I'll try to post a picture of my grandpa's old vise tomorrow. The front jaw is stationary and the back jaw and body move. It's the opposite of how most vises operate.
-
I use a woodworker's vice.
To augment it, I wrap a belt around it. The belt is specifically used for wood working.
Jawge
-
I use a regular bench vise with diff magnetic pads depending on what is being clamped. I always wanted to get a parrot vise. You will find them in guitar making places. Maybe the grizzley catalog. The head swivels like on a Emmett pattern vise but not to the same extent or range of motion - but also not at the extreme cost. CHeck it out.
-
I have a giant Columbia vice I took from a shop we closed about 5-6 years ago. I also have a sweet version of a press that Cody made for me. If I had to use one and only one? It would be the vice. It can do a few more things the press style cant. At least the way I use it anyway. That being said there are times when the press is priceless.
-
Columbian is a good brand Pearly. I traded for a small one a few years ago and use it as my traveling vise.
Here are the ones I use the most. My big Matco is on the left. I use it for stave work. Once I get down to a roughed out bow I switch to Missile Masters version of the stave press. Its the one in the middle. I would have to use a spacer block to keep the vise plate level. I sunk magnets into the spacers so they would stick to the vise and I wouldn't lose them. Since I only used it for bow blanks I requested a special order bow press from Cody. It's the smaller one on the right. It's just wide enough to hold a bow without using any spacers. I just swapped the two out on my bench a while back.
(http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv22/Outlawstaves/20161127_155327_zpsoaqpdpk3.jpg) (http://s666.photobucket.com/user/Outlawstaves/media/20161127_155327_zpsoaqpdpk3.jpg.html)
Missile Masters versions of the stave press are much beefier and built to last.
(http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv22/Outlawstaves/20161127_155414_zpsqc1o21dz.jpg) (http://s666.photobucket.com/user/Outlawstaves/media/20161127_155414_zpsqc1o21dz.jpg.html)
Here is my Grandpa's vise. The front jaw is stationary and the back jaw moves. Sorry for rambling on about vises. I'm just very interested in them.
(http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv22/Outlawstaves/20161127_143841_zps4s5yvvzc.jpg) (http://s666.photobucket.com/user/Outlawstaves/media/20161127_143841_zps4s5yvvzc.jpg.html)
(http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv22/Outlawstaves/20161127_143901_zpsh5lujgrk.jpg) (http://s666.photobucket.com/user/Outlawstaves/media/20161127_143901_zpsh5lujgrk.jpg.html)
-
Nice collection Clint..usable collection i mean ;)
I have a stave press...i too use it after the bow is roughed out and only the fine tuning is left. I keep a couple packs of door shims that i can stack as i need them to shim up the bow in the press.
-
Old vices are the best for sure as has been said but if you buy new just be sure it is a steel not cast and you will be fine and yes you will pay a good price for one but it will last a life time and you can pass it own to your kids. :)
Pappy
-
I bought this wilton on close out at Lows for $50 bucks its built like a tank the jaws rotate 360deg. & the base sweivels 360 I really like that the jaws sweivel comes in handy.
-
wow.. that wilton one seems awesome, wish mine was like that. mine only swivels 90 degrees i think and the jaws aren't as stable as possible?
-
I broke two large chinese vises in a couple of years, I went to Lowe's and picked up an American made Columbian 5 1/2" vise. It cost about $70 opposed to the $35 I had spent each for the junk I had previously bought. The same Columbian vise that Lowe's sells now is now made in China, bummer.
I have had this vise for at least 15 years, beat on the handle with a hammer often to close it tightly on a flintlock barrel when I am pulling the breech plug or working with metal.
I made some easy on easy off pads for it that work well.
The key to buying any vise now is where it is made. Those few words on mine that say "made in USA" speak volumes about how long my vise will last.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/ekrewson/bow%20making/newvisejaws.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ekrewson/media/bow%20making/newvisejaws.jpg.html)
I set my vise up with a post to support my staves on the end of the workbench. This way you can do some serious osage sapwood removal with a draw knife without dislodging the stave in the vise.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/ekrewson/shop%20pictures/vise%20setup_zpsozmsakej.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ekrewson/media/shop%20pictures/vise%20setup_zpsozmsakej.jpg.html)
-
How much does missilemaster master charge for his?
WA
-
Ahhh the majic? Pm him and find out no money talk on the forum
-
Like Eric, I strapped a 4x4 post on the corner of my bench and I use that paired with my carpenters vice to work on my bows - my wooden anvil is up to elbow-height as I stand to work. I pin a lot of temporary face-plates onto it as additional supports, especially when heat treating for string alignment. I think I use it more than the vice as it is a really solid surface for pounding down on and the working height is perfect for me where leaning over a bench just gives me back-ache
-
I made my bench 42" tall, I don't have to bend over to work on bows.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/ekrewson/bow%20making_zps5mdsohvz.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ekrewson/media/bow%20making_zps5mdsohvz.jpg.html)
-
Good call Eric, maybe I should change my post to read 'I also put my anvil at elbow height' >:D :D ;)
-
(http://i.imgur.com/fpJ4J1b.png?1)
Are the pipe jaws on these vises actually useful? I make shoes like Eric has as well but i was wondering about the pipe jaws and if you guys pad and use them as well.