I got this old vice in the trunk of a free Miata, so it owes me nothing, but I think it's salvageable. The base plate is missing, so my initial thought is to get a chunk of 8x8x.0.375 plate and have a shop cut a hole to match the 5.375 stepped area on the round plate, weld the round plate to the 8x8 and bolt the whole thing down to my workbench. Is there a better or easier solution? Should I just throw this away and buy a new vise from a big box store? I have no idea what the 8x8 plate will set me back with the needed holes cut and drilled.
Why not just bolt it down using the existing two holes?
That would prevent it from rotating, if that's a problem.
Instead of having someone else cut a stepped hole, why not use two pieces of plate with two different size holes stacked on each other? I suspect you'd also want a round plate inside the bottom one that can be used to clamp the vise into position.
A good vise is expensive, I'd try to fix it.
Keith Tanner said:
A good vise is expensive, I'd try to fix it.
This is good advice. They don't make 'em like they used to.
That is a weird looking vise, I've never seen one like it. Is there a brand name or any markings on it?
Building a swivel base would be a little tricky but doable if you have the tools to cut steel. I'd probably just bolt it down at a 45 degree angle off the corner of the bench and use it as is.
If you want a decent vice without spending insane money, Northern Tool carries the Wilton brand. Even their line of Chinese manufactured vices are decent.
This is the one I bought. https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200752694_200752694
Stay away from the Lowes vices. I bent the last one I bought the first time I used it.
I'll second Wilton for decent cheap vices. Bought one after I broke my trusty old Craftsman years ago. I haven't killed it yet.
APEowner said:
Why not just bolt it down using the existing two holes?
I don't think it would take much abuse before the bolts pulled through the work bench. I think it needs a wider base and more holes to spread the load around.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I'm not too concerned about losing the rotating function, but it would be nice to retain if I can.
stuart in mn said:
That is a weird looking vise, I've never seen one like it. Is there a brand name or any markings on it?
"Allsteel" by Milhoff Steel Products, Bloomington, Minn. It's certainly different from any other vise I've ever owned, but it's well built. There aren't any castings in it, it's all welded from plate. It can still be rotated in one axis by undoing the big nut on the back of the slide.
In reply to Toyman01 (Forum Supporter) :
I don't have the equipment to build a swivel base, I can cut and weld some plate at home, but that's about it.
Jason at Fireball Tool has a YouTube video where he does destructive testing on a bunch of vises. Most of them failed at the swivel. But you can see how several companies went about making them.
It looks like a shop made fabricated vise to me. I'd also just bolt it down. Use a backing plate underneath if needed.
After thinking about it, I could just grind the step off the round plate and then weld it to a flat piece 8x8, with a mounting hole in each corner. No need to involve a shop, just get the local steel shop to cut the 8x8. They may even have precut pieces in the showroom for reasonable money.
Don't grind off the step. Fill it with weld bead.
It's not a cast base is it?
So in American English, the clamping tool under discussion is spelled vise. With an S. Vice is used elsewhere in the world, but also means something like "immoral or illegal practice".
Which makes this thread a lot of fun to read as you guys discuss vices :)
They do make vises like they used to, but you have to pay for it...like you used to. All the old cheap ones are broken so all that is left are the champions. Personally, I've busted a 6" HF vise in half. I have a Yost in my upstairs workshop and while I don't ask it to do the really heavy work (it's not bolted to the center of the earth like my shop vise is), it rotates easily with a solid lock, seems well made and everything runs smoothly. I rotate it frequently so it's not hanging off the end of the workbench, makes me less likely to get hung up on it. I'd buy another one.
In reply to Crackers :
That Fireball video is entertaining and informative. Thanks
I would find someone who can make the stepped plate in one piece from a very thick piece of steel.
Maybe use an old patio umbrella weight or something similar?
Then cut curved slots in the base for the clamping bolts using a rotary table.
Bore mounting holes in base to mount it to the bench.
-or-
Bolt a bumper mount hitch receiver on your bench and bolt the vise to a 2" hitch extension tube with a mounting plate welded to it.
I would cut a disk of heavy steel that would fit inside the base, bolt it on with the original 2 holes and probably 2 more, then weld a 4-6" chunk of 2" square heavy wall tubing straight down. Bolt a receiver hitch to the side of the workbench and the vice goes in with 4 different orientation options.
In reply to oldopelguy (Forum Supporter) :
Not sure what you're proposing. There is no base....that's what's missing.
That vise never had a swivel base; the round disk on the bottom is all it had. I would bolt it solidly to something like a hitch turned vertical so that it could be inserted into the receiver in any of 4 orientations or removed entirely when not in use.
In reply to oldopelguy (Forum Supporter) :
OK, now I get what you were saying for a mount. If you don't think it ever had a base why would the step be machined in the circular piece then?
I think oldopelguy might be optically dilluted. :D
But if you took a 1/4" plate and cut a hole for the step to sit into you can put a strap on the bottom that overlaps the hole and bolts to the body.
Then you'll have to add a spacer so the strap clears the bench. And the appropriate hardware.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:
stuart in mn said:
That is a weird looking vise, I've never seen one like it. Is there a brand name or any markings on it?
"Allsteel" by Milhoff Steel Products, Bloomington, Minn. It's certainly different from any other vise I've ever owned, but it's well built. There aren't any castings in it, it's all welded from plate. It can still be rotated in one axis by undoing the big nut on the back of the slide.
Interesting - that's right here in town, but I hadn't heard of them before. Milhoff is still in business, and I found some information about the vise in an old post in the vise collecting discussion over on the Garage Journal forum. As of 2012 Milhoff was still making them (I don't see it on their website today) and at that time they retailed for $500, so it was not inexpensive.
Their brochure mentions availability of soft steel jaws and brass. Also mentioned is the option to buy a second base so that you can move the guts of the vise from your shop to your truck or other location. They had a patent date: February 14, 1956. Newer vises will have a new address of Burnsville, MN after 2001, so yours was made sometime between 1956 and 2001. It is constructed of all A36 mild steel. Rounds are hot rolled and flats are cold. Jaws and fasteners are all heat treated.
Definitely do not throw it away, the Chinese vises you'll find at the big box store won't be anywhere near as good.
In reply to stuart in mn :
Cool !!! I'll contact the current shop and see if there's a chance they can supply another base.
