Making my own vice (for grins & giggles)

Starting new thread.


I'm a come back member....Looks like the last time I was on here was in 2016... Since then I have retired....now trying out getting into some tying. Crappie jigs or Bream, mostly. Not very good at fishing for them, yet, so the idea of tying my own jigs came to mind to have something different the Crappie might hit.

I bought a Super II vice....it'll work for a while.

Ive got in mind to get or make a true rotary one. My past experience isn't in using fancy lathes and such tools... I'm more a lawnmower mechanic.... so I've been looking over the production rotary vices. Some are real eye candy and expensive. Some are under a $100, and some around $50.... I could do them as far as cost.

I'm a beginner....at tying. That's not necessarily at building something like a rotary from scratch. Just for grins and giggles, and after researching what production rotaries look like, and their features, I've concluded what I like or dislike about them. That's from watching videos demonstrating the features. I'm not trying to be better than them. I just want to see if I could put one together using basic parts from my background of being a lawnmower mechanic. You'd be surprised what can be found in a hardware store. I've started on my drawn plan. I have the rotary part about half finished. The angle of the main rotary shaft on the bearings mounted in the head. The vice part, is bigger than most I've observed. That's because the one thing about the cheap Super II that I bought is its length of the vice. I have pretty good size hands. I'm building this one so I have room to have my hands doing the tiny work, with the vice and head to rest my wrist on. Maybe it won't be a total waste of time and money. I'm not trying to re-invent the rotary vice. This is more an effort to see whether I can make a useful vice for my pleasure of saying I built it myself.Attachment 364614Attachment 364615Attachment 364616Attachment 364621Attachment 364622

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Wow, go for it.

I do not think building the vice will be the problem however the jaws need to be made from very good quality steel. I have had several vices and the jaws are usually the problem with the cheaper models. Either the steel is too soft or can be too brittle and chip. Good luck and I hope this helps.

You are correct.... I'm aware the the jaw needs to be hardened. Ordinarily, it needs to be heat treated then quenched in oil, then tempered. My steel is from a piece of 3/8"x3" angle from a building being erected.... I admit it could be soft. It doesn't act like it when I've been grinding and sanding on the pieces. I'm going to use it as is, and then check for deformation. I'm only planning on a range of 2/0 - 6 hooks... And probably never use bigger than size 1 hooks.

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Originally Posted by addictedangler

I do not think building the vice will be the problem however the jaws need to be made from very good quality steel. I have had several vices and the jaws are usually the problem with the cheaper models. Either the steel is too soft or can be too brittle and chip. Good luck and I hope this helps.

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I’ll enjoy following, keep it up!


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Looks good. Nice project and the satisfaction of a custom build to boot.

What an awesome project. Very interested in this thread. Amazing talent and skills people have. One thing I noticed though isn't the jig suppose to be inline with the main shaft so when spinning stays level? Otherwise your hook will go up and down. Might not be an issue if not really using this function.

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

One thing I noticed though isn't the jig suppose to be inline with the main shaft so when spinning stays level? Otherwise your hook will go up and down. Might not be an issue if not really using this function.

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Yep, it is off. My drawing was showing it would be aligned. But the original jaws that I had made were like those in the drawing. Then I changed them to be smaller, and that changed the jaw position. Now I'm changing the bend in the main shaft to become a pivoted one. Or I strongly want to change it. If I were to go teeny sized hook sizes is why I changed to the smaller jaws. If I tie bigger hooks I need the jaws to be adjustable to the axis of the main shaft.. I wanted something that would be strong for that bend. I've been looking for a strong way to do that.. and I believe I got a solution. I haven't been able to work on it, since last week...but I'll work on it asap.

I finally got a chance to work on the vise today. I ground the nose to roughly what I want. I installed the hand screws for adjustment of hook clamping.

More later...Attachment 365385

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Wow, nice work.......following

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Originally Posted by tlefire

Wow, nice work.......following

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Thanks!
Right at the moment, it does look clunky, and not very polished. I'll work on the finish after I've worked out all the mechanical parts working properly.


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Spent more time fine tuning the clamping parts on the vise jaws. I installed a spring between the two jaw halves. This was installed at the half way point between the thumb screws. Now the jaws open smoothly as you adjust the jaw for the hook. Then the back thumb screw can be tightened to securely hold the hook.

Next will be the brake controlling the turning of the main shaft from just spinning freely on the bearings. And the turning handle on the end of the shaft. And I have a piece of 1" granite I'll be attempting to drill and cut for a base. Attachment 365534Attachment 365535

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I finally got it mostly done. I've done a fair amount to make it a good vice but I need to fine tune some of the rotary drag part. And with that being said the vise works well.
The base is a piece of stair tread I had left over from my staircase project. I need to put some rubber feet under it help it from sliding around .
The rotary stand is 9 1/2" to the top. From the rotary hand crank on the left to the tip of the vise jaws is 9 1/2" wide.

Construction of the rotary head was made with plumbing pipe, lawnmower bearings, and nuts, washers, bolts from my hardware store. Specialized pieces I bought were aluminum aircraft 6065 stock for the vise jaws adaptor. Thumb screws for opening or tightening the vise jaws from hardware store. Because of my timeline, I went over $25 to buy the special items needed to build this.
The tools I had on hand, were 4 1/2" grinders. I have three, one is a cup brush, another was a metal cutting (1/16" thick) disk. The last was my normal grinding disk. I also used my belt sander, as well as a drill press.
Hand tools were the simple vice grips, adjustable wrench, Allen screw wrenches. The drill bit assortment on hand and a tap & die set. And last and very important was the bench vice.
All of the time I spent creating this was about 20 or so hours. I didn't stay solid on it. I went about 5 different times working on it for several or more hours each time.
I want a better drag screw, so that will be changed. The hand rotary "knob" is actually a lawnmower blade adaptor that I was able to put to use. I actually might change that to a similar knob, but one with a hand knob coming off at a 90° angle for precise rotary control.

My initial idea was to see if I could build one. This one was built without a lathe or mill. My background is repairing lawnmowers, and coming up with ways to create a fix for something that isn't working or a missing OEM part.
Did I succeed? It is a working vise and it does hold hooks firmly. I have only had 1/0 hook in it, and the smallest hook I had was a #10 hook for a 1/32 jig.
Based on my initial tests, the shaft I used, and bent by hand seems a little off true on the axis. I'm a little disappointed. But it does rotate, and hold when I put the drag on. It can be fixed with another shaft....
Just being totally honest about the rotary smoothness. But I'm not trying to sell vises. This was for grins and giggles.Attachment 366134Attachment 366135Attachment 366136Attachment 366137Attachment 366138Attachment 366139Attachment 366140

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Cool stuff. Thanks for posting the process.

Heck yeah. I’m very impressed. It amazes me how talented some people are. Very nice job. :cheers2

Glad to see you took my advice and posted this and feel sure we are all interested to see how you do with it.

Good job!

Skip

This parting shot of my vise ...

I spent the afternoon disassembling and doing some improvements. I added a nylon bushing that fit the rotary shaft where the drag adjustment screw was located. I had originally had the drag screw dragging directly on the shaft. By placing the nylon bushing that solved the uneven drag, as well as the light spray grease I put on the shaft and bushing. It is now a perfectly functioning vise.

Two parting photos of a jig I tied on it using, you guessed it, turkey feather barbules and my fuzzy thread. That's the last time I hope to have to use those materials.
But I had to test the vise for an actual jig tying test. The jaws do hold the hook securely. And the shaft rotates easily and stops where I let go of it.

I'm a happy camper!

My real materials have been ordered.Attachment 366255Attachment 366256

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Very cool project and nice results. What a great accomplishment! :highfive

As with any project, sometimes there are bumps on the way to the finish.

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Very cool project and nice results. What a great accomplishment! :highfive

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Very good work and follow through on your idea. I’ve been around some smart and creative people over the years that have taken on some cool projects and a lot of them got finished, but some didn’t. Having the time is good for staying focused and not getting sidetracked. Good Job, now let’s see some jigs!

I don't have a lawn mower, use a tractor. But if I did and it needed work, I know where I'd take it.

Very nice......:cheers2

Good job!

Skip

Been watching this and am impressed. You are an inspiration to all of us folks that are creative in our own ways. GREAT job.

The homemade vise is still in use...the wooden base is a little less shiny. The steel of the shaft and the jaws are a little less polished looking. But it still works as it was intended.

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Good craftsmanship there