In August of 2016, I rehabbed and installed a Record #53 E vise on the front of my bench. Those posts are
here and
here. It had worked great for a long time, but lately I'd had a problem. The "half-nut" wouldn't stay engaged with the screw when I'm using the T-bar to open the vise (that is, opening the vise without using the quick release). When this happens, as I turn the T-bar counter-clockwise, the front jaw stays where it is. The half-nut gets pushed out of the thread and pops back down when the threaded rod makes its revolution.
Well, finally it was time to look into it, so I took the vise off the bench.
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| Record #53E |
After cleaning away some sawdust, I got to the screw threads and the half-nut. The screw threads looked fine, but I still removed a little built-up grunge down deep in the gullets.
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| Threads only had minor gunk deep in the gullets |
The half-nut was a different matter. I took off the bracket that holds the quick release bar.
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| Quick release half-nut is down below this bracket |
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| Half nut - doesn't look so bad? Look again! |
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| One thread cleaned of the thick layer of gunk |
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| And the rest cleaned up |
I didn't really need to take the vise entirely off the bench - I could have removed this from below. But I would have needed to contort my body and, well, you know.
The vise works better now. Not perfectly, mind you, but better. I feel like it's too hard to pull the front jaw out and push it in using the quick release, and I don't know why. I might have to look a little deeper to see if something is holding it up. But for now, it's working pretty good.
So a word to the wise - clean that vise once in a while. It's a dusty hobby we've got (even with hand tools) and that stuff gets everywhere.
Hi Matt
ReplyDeleteI had grunge build up in my current vise. I had taken it apart and cleaned it and got back working.
Is there any to adjust the bar where it lifts the half nut? It sounds like it isn't clearing the threads of the screws when it is engaged.
Two things come to mind, Ralph. First, the spring can be wound a little tighter, but that's a tough one and might take a lot of work. I'm not even sure it can be done. The other thing that occurred to me was that on the underside of the bracket that covers the half-nut, there is a little tab that extends into the interior of the bracket. The bar must be positioned so that it's left edge is captured by this tab. If it is not, the quick release will not work right. On mine, it won't work at all, but on some models, it might make the bar not lift the half nut enough. I found this out when I reinstalled the half-nut and bar on the vise and didn't get the bar in the right position.
DeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteI'm down to only one working QR vise in my shop so other than cleaning, which you did, I can't offer much help but I know a sticky/unreliable vise is a PITA to work with. I hope you can find the problem.
ken
Hey, Ken. You're totally right - an unreliable vise can be worse than no vise at all. I was playing with it a little today. It seems to pull in and out fine for the first 7-8" of travel, then gets a bit stiffer for the last few inches. So it's not a big issue. But I think I might go over the rods with some fine steel wool tomorrow to see if that helps.
Delete