Converting scrap metal in to a heavy duty vice

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Hi all, I had a pile of scrap metal which I had been collecting for a while and needed to move some of it as it was getting in the way and I was wondering what to due with it. Anyway I was thinking about it and while I was using the old vice, the thread to tighten it was playing up and the old light bulb lit up. I needed a heavy duty vice!!!So here are some pics of the process from junk steel to goodies:Pic 1 & 2. Had some wide channel with 12mm sidewall 180mm x 79mm which I reduced to 100mm x 70mm, took out the required width with  thin cutting disks on a 5" angle grinder and welded it back together on both sides.Pic 3, built the back out of some 12mm flatPic 4, welded up the C channel with a piece of 12mm plate drilled with a 32mm hole flush inside the channel, "V" grooved and welded both sides, added another 12mm plate with 30mm hole in front of it and flush over the outer sides of the C channel, effectively making the front 24mm thick.I will have to do several posts because of the number of images. Attached ImagesMiller Auto Invision 456 + S-62 wire feederC6240B1 Gap bed lathe16 ft3 air compressor16 speed pedestal drillHafco BS-912 Bandsaw
Reply:Pic 5. Had a large  steel rod with 30mm x 3.5mm thread on both ends, so cut off the required length, drilled 35mm? hole in a 10mm plate and then made a washer out of it to do the driving plate, lathed out a section in the rod so I could fill it up with weld and then turn it down flush. The metal rod thickness on the other side of the washer is wider than the hole. Pic 6. welded the rod and filled the gap with plenty of amps and Voltage, about 350A and 30V. Plenty of penetration.Pic 6a. Welded 3 nuts togeter to make onelong nut to give extra squashing power without risk of ripping the threads out, welded a small plate to a section of 16mm base plate, welded the joined long nut to that plate and then also welded a 10mm plate to the sides of the nut and also to the baseplate.Pic 7. Basic stage 1 level 1 complete with bar through the rod for turning, Pic 8. 12mm Web reinforcing of the first half, The 2 angled pieces were formed by grooving out a wide V section, bending to required angle then welding the groove to fill it up and then welding all around to the c channel. I lost couple of pics so there is more work done than shown, there is a 16mm plate cut for the front wall angled to make it an offset vice and an across to the top of it for the temp placement of the jaws, I actually had to use it as I was building it due to the other one playing up. Attached ImagesMiller Auto Invision 456 + S-62 wire feederC6240B1 Gap bed lathe16 ft3 air compressor16 speed pedestal drillHafco BS-912 Bandsaw
Reply:Pic 9 and 11. (10 was renamed to 6a for better sequencing). Weld on the inside of the vice where that plate joins the c channel. 330A  and 28V, all plates on this vice are deeply grooved before welding due to the thickness of them. I had to use the jaws from the old chuck while building this new one so I could use it during it's construction.Pic 12Pic 13. 16mm plate gets added to the top, welded to the webbing all round and a 12mm plate gets welded to the sides all around to tie it all in Pic 13a. repeated it all to do the back of the vice. Added a 16mm section at the rear of the back for use as a anvil, so that section is now 28mm thick, (should take a decent amount of hammering). Here is the first level completed and lugs for the bolts welded to the bottom, there is another bolt hole hidden from view at the back of the plate for bolting down the back of the vice. Attached ImagesMiller Auto Invision 456 + S-62 wire feederC6240B1 Gap bed lathe16 ft3 air compressor16 speed pedestal drillHafco BS-912 Bandsaw
Reply:Pic 13B and 14. The two sections complete to the first levelPic 15. Vice nearly complete, slight surface rust due to the condensation from all the rain we had, didn't work on it for a week Have added another level. Similar to before and moved the jaws up, added webbing, and welded an angled side and top. This gives clearance when doing tap threading on it so you don't remove skin when turning tapping taps ect. Pic 16. Made some changes, changed the handle holder to a square end. This was due to the arrival of my new (used) lathe which enabled me to do it, filled the the handle hole with weld, and lathed it down. Drilled out a larger hole in a 50mm square steel bar to fit over the rod. Placed it over the end and welded it to the rod and also welded the end closed. V'd the ends and added another section of v'd 50mm steel block with a drilled hole for a thicker handle, filled the deep v join between the two blocks flush, ground and sanded flat. There is also another 8mm washer on the inside locked in by a through bolt which pulls out the vice as you turn the handle to open it up And finally a paint job to complete it, all pretty now, seems a pity to scratch it up and damage the paint by using it. I think it was a good use of scrap metal which I scrounged out of a recycle bin from a local steel fabricator, total material cost about $60 in wire, gas, paint, 5" cut-off wheels, and a lot of labour but well worth it, should be able to crush steel pipe ends without too much trouble. Total weight about 46Kg and no way is the tread/nut going to wear out on this one!!! Anything I would do different if I would do it again, Yes,.... now I have a large lathe I would bore out a hole out of a 50mm square steel and thread that instead of using 3 welded nuts. Much simpler and stronger! but I didn't have that at the time so I used what I had. Attached ImagesMiller Auto Invision 456 + S-62 wire feederC6240B1 Gap bed lathe16 ft3 air compressor16 speed pedestal drillHafco BS-912 Bandsaw
Reply:A work of art! At first I could not figure out why the offset .Then the light bulb went on! you are a smart fellow.
Reply:Looking twice at it. I think I would have spent some cash for acme threads.Then it will last for several generations.Why don't vice manufacturers put grease zercs on the nuts?
Reply:WOW, I love home made tools! This is great!HH187Hobart 500i plasma cutterClark 4.5" GrinderDewalt 14" chop saw30 gallom 1.6 hp compressor10 gallon pressure pot sand blasterlots of hand tools
Reply:that is great wotk
Reply:Thanks for posting the progress photos, that's a killer vise. I like big vises, but never thought about building one. I'm going to check out my scrap pile.
Reply:Stuff like this is why i love this site
Reply:That's brilliant, Ed!!! The offset jaws are super smart!200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:Very cool vice. The offset is brilliant! Nice paint. Good job.
Reply:Excellent work, that looks great!Millermatic 135Syncrowave 250
Reply:Originally Posted by 1-800minerLooking twice at it. I think I would have spent some cash for acme threads.Then it will last for several generations.Why don't vice manufacturers put grease zercs on the nuts?
Reply:Very, very, very, NICE!
Reply:Mmmmm. That's got me thinking. Nicely madeG
Reply:now that is a work of art.  i want one.
Reply:nicely done !!  That's cool  better than pron !!Daye
Reply:O K FINE! i give, whats the off-set for?
Reply:more versatility in what you can clamp... have never seen this feature in any commercial made vise Originally Posted by grnxrymnkyO K FINE! i give, whats the off-set for?
Reply:kudos -Graham-Mechanical EngineerAutosport Mechanic/Fabricator
Reply:It's brilliant. Might want to look into patenting it. Though might be screwed by putting it out in public domain.200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:Dawn make offset vices.
Reply:Originally Posted by bert the welderIt's brilliant. Might want to look into patenting it. Though might be screwed by putting it out in public domain.
Reply:I'd be proud to have that on my bench. Nice work!If you don't want to stand behind our Troops, feel free to stand in front of them.Originally Posted by Ed.Hi, You would be suprised as to what is out there and patented, but not nessecarily in production or available in an area. An item may be commercially produced but for some reason or other not available due to marketing or production reasons. I investigated the patenting procedure for something I  invented about 2 years ago, to do a proper patent on anything would cost about $10000 and that is only for Australia, to do one in the States would be about $20000-40000 and so on for every country that you would want to patent it in, and someone still could contest it. Oh! and patent lawyers charge like a wounded bull, you think normal lawyers are bad wait till you see the rates that these guys charge.  My wallet seems a bit light for that sort of cash outflow, without any guaranty that I would make any money out of it, I ended up doing a design patent which ended up about $2000 including the searches and still haven't made any money out of it.  A friend of mine said he had a brilliant idea and was planning on making a fortune making it. Said he hasn't seen anything like it out there, I did a search and came up with 2 other patents that covered the same sort of thing. That's life!  You learn or you go broke LOL.
Reply:Great build Ed, thanks for posting it up.I have seen a factory-built vise that was all welded plate, no castings. I believe that I posted a picture in the vise/vice thread.Good Luck
Reply:very nice vice
Reply:Very cool and I agree the offset on the jaws is a smart move!RD 1984 Chevrolet C30 welding truck1966 Lincoln SA200 Continental F162 1942 Lincoln SA200 Hercules IXB-51991 Lincoln LN25
Reply:Originally Posted by 1-800minerA work of art! At first I could not figure out why the offset .Then the light bulb went on! you are a smart fellow.
Reply:so you can clamp stuff vertically without the vice getting in the way....My name's not Jim....
Reply:Originally Posted by Boostinjdmso you can clamp stuff vertically without the vice getting in the way....
Reply:Great project vice Thanks for answering the offset thing I missed that fine point too.This site make it great for seeing what other have built and provokes projects for us all to enjoy.  We just need to remember the gears turn the other way down under (typhoon and equator thing) .have funTom
Reply:EdThe quality and workmanship are beyond compare. The offset is a stroke of genius.Really appreciate the progress pictures as well. This thread is definitely a keeper for a later build for my shop!!Sign on East Texas payphone: Calls to God 40 cents......it's a local call...
Reply:beautiful...
Reply:Great idea, great job."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Hi, Thanks for the complements, I have recently made another of these offset vices as I had more scrap and also wanted one that had a larger jaw opening than the first one I made, and as I said earlier, I wasn't happy with the actual jaws in my first vice attempt as I reused a set from another small 150mm vice I had, so I made the jaws for this one, (200mm x 40mm x 15mm). I have yet to harden them up still as I am also in the process of making up a TIG cooler for myself, so a bit short of time at the moment to make a kiln. The jaws open up to 32cm wide as compared to the 21cm gap in the first one. The build is fairly similar to the first one so I wont post more pictures of the build, except for the fact that I didn't use webbing/gussets in the heads, instead I used scrap from a solid 45mm trailer axle to form them, and then capped them with 16mm plates. Added a grease nipple to the threaded nut and used the same sized 30mm x 3.5mm screw machined from an trailer axle on my lathe.This vice will be for another work table that I am about to make (another project) and will be the last one of this size (I think) that I need . The weight of these vices is getting ridiculous, this one is 70kg. Wanted a second table as I came to the conclusion that I need two tables, one to keep all the bits and pieces on top, such as the metal parts, power tools, clamps, hammers, files etc, and another table to weld it all up without those bits cluttering up and getting in the way in the work area. Attached ImagesMiller Auto Invision 456 + S-62 wire feederC6240B1 Gap bed lathe16 ft3 air compressor16 speed pedestal drillHafco BS-912 Bandsaw
Reply:I have a question... would you be interested in building a smaller one for $$? design it to fit in a large flat rate box (12" x 12" x 5-1/2")if you're interested at all... shoot me a quote. I might politely decline, but I am interested in what you have to say.
Reply:I love the threads where you blokes make tools to then make other stuff.Yeah, I carry.House keys, wallet, some change, usually a newspaper, maybe a pen.
Reply:Originally Posted by TaidenI have a question... would you be interested in building a smaller one for $$? design it to fit in a large flat rate box (12" x 12" x 5-1/2")if you're interested at all... shoot me a quote. I might politely decline, but I am interested in what you have to say.
Reply:Woops! I didn't realize you were down under. Thanks anyway though. I don't have a machine that will weld at high enough amperage to do this. I might have to do something at school.
Reply:That's so nice, I don't even deserve to look at it.  WOW!http://www.youtube.com/user/c599209/videos
Reply:those vises are friggin awesome.  Nice work man.  I really want to try to build one for myself, but I think I'll be disappointed if I compare it to your work.Millermatic 135Syncrowave 250
Reply:very impressive!(Retired) Professional firefighter, amateur everything else I try to do...Oh yeah:  Go Big Red!   (You know: one of the 12 members of the Big 10 cuz we left the 10 members of the Big 12...)
Reply:Originally Posted by mot krigthose vises are friggin awesome.  Nice work man.  I really want to try to build one for myself, but I think I'll be disappointed if I compare it to your work.
Reply:Nice job!  that looks tough as hell!Buy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:I think I might have to.  I gotta take care of a couple more projects (fix my rototiller that I broke, build a pig roaster on a trailer so I can get the huge tank/sh1tty trailer out of my back yard ) on my list before I start - not to mention making a trip to the steel yard to stock up on thicker material.  All the scrap I have is too thin to really make a stout vise.  If you were making ANOTHER one, anything else you'd do differently?  I definitely like the idea of offset and wide jaws.  The vise I use now is pretty puny....   Originally Posted by Ed.Thanks, but you should go for it, honestly, they're really aren't that hard, picture in your mind how you want it to look and then cut out the metal to make it look like that, at a very basic level,  a vice is just a long threaded bolt and nut, and the rest is two funny looking washers which make up a frame.I find that if I can't picture it in my head then I can't build it. If I still have trouble visualizing it and can't work out a mental picture, I will have a look at an existing or similar item then match it or modify the design to suit. When I started mine, I took the view that I am starting with scrap and if I stuff it up I will end up with just a pile of welded scrap and only I will know or care. I will have gained some practice in the process and  it has hardly cost me anything but my time, a bit of welding wire, gas, and some cutting disks as the metal was only scrap to begin with, this last one probably cost me about $40 in consumables and took about 30 odd hours which I spread out over several months.Most people don't have a lathe but there are a lot of metal scrap yards that have big bolts and nuts and the scrap prices aren't that expensive. If you don't have a large welder then bevel the metal and just make multiple passes using a small welder. The biggest piece of metal is the base and the channel (which I made thinner) , the rest are out of pieces less than 6" x 4" flats. So go for it, you will have fun.
Reply:Originally Posted by mot krigIf you were making ANOTHER one, anything else you'd do differently?  I definitely like the idea of offset and wide jaws.  The vise I use now is pretty puny....
Reply:Originally Posted by Ed.Thanks, but you should go for it, honestly, they're really aren't that hard, picture in your mind how you want it to look and then cut out the metal to make it look like that, at a very basic level,  a vice is just a long threaded bolt and nut, and the rest is two funny looking washers which make up a frame.I find that if I can't picture it in my head then I can't build it. If I still have trouble visualizing it and can't work out a mental picture, I will have a look at an existing or similar item then match it or modify the design to suit. When I started mine, I took the view that I am starting with scrap and if I stuff it up I will end up with just a pile of welded scrap and only I will know or care. I will have gained some practice in the process and  it has hardly cost me anything but my time, a bit of welding wire, gas, and some cutting disks as the metal was only scrap to begin with, this last one probably cost me about $40 in consumables and took about 30 odd hours which I spread out over several months.Most people don't have a lathe but there are a lot of metal scrap yards that have big bolts and nuts and the scrap prices aren't that expensive. If you don't have a large welder then bevel the metal and just make multiple passes using a small welder. The biggest piece of metal is the base and the channel (which I made thinner) , the rest are out of pieces less than 6" x 4" flats. So go for it, you will have fun.
Reply:Very impressive!"Never mistake education for intelligence."AIRCO Oxy/AccMiller Thunderbolt