Blacksmith's foot vise - video

**Jon** · May 10, 2022, 01:11 PM

Blacksmith's foot vise. By Tyler Bell. 9:26 video:

**schuylergrace** · May 10, 2022, 05:59 PM

Does anyone know if there's a reason why you wouldn't want the moving jaw to pivot to keep it relatively parallel to the fixed jaw when you're clamping? I'm certain the fixed arrangement is stronger and maybe, pinching the work with just the top of the jaw works like putting a rod/wire between the work and the moving jaw on a mill vise. Also, did he dip his drill in borax powder when he was drilling one of the medium sized holes? Whatever he was using, I haven't seen that before.

**Frank S** · May 10, 2022, 08:36 PM

Originally Posted by schuylergrace

Does anyone know if there's a reason why you wouldn't want the moving jaw to pivot to keep it relatively parallel to the fixed jaw when you're clamping? I'm certain the fixed arrangement is stronger and maybe, pinching the work with just the top of the jaw works like putting a rod/wire between the work and the moving jaw on a mill vise. Also, did he dip his drill in borax powder when he was drilling one of the medium sized holes? Whatever he was using, I haven't seen that before.

It would be hard to clamp small parts with a movable jaw. having a fixed jaw set to be parallel at near its widest opening will insure clamping force is always at the top of the jaws, but moreover it is a trade off between simplicity of design and better clamping force,
The way I skip through most videos I missed the event you asked about, I only saw him using 3m oil for his drilling

**schuylergrace** · May 10, 2022, 08:49 PM

Good points about the jaws, Frank. The "borax" event was during one of the first times he was drilling, around 2:10, and he dipped the tip of the drill into a container of some sort of coarse powder. I assumed it was borax, what with him being a blacksmith and all, but it could be something else.

**Frank S** · May 10, 2022, 09:13 PM

Originally Posted by schuylergrace

Good points about the jaws, Frank. The "borax" event was during one of the first times he was drilling, around 2:10, and he dipped the tip of the drill into a container of some sort of coarse powder. I assumed it was borax, what with him being a blacksmith and all, but it could be something else.

Went back and had a look. it appears to not be dry borax powder but a moist paste like compound, similar to soap or a white wax, which could make sense, as either could serve both as a lubricant as well as a coolant.
I was wondering his reasoning for making the movable jaw completely removable with the drop in slotted pockets, but I figured he may have alternative attachments in mind for later on. Should he ever have the need for a much wider jaw opening he could make a different fixture to drop in place. He could even make an adjustable jaw as a conventional vice would have and still maintain the foot operated closing once he had adjusted to nominal width.
Actually a pretty good design for quick clamping abilities

**schuylergrace** · May 11, 2022, 02:48 AM

Apparently, simple minds think alike because he has done a Mk. II version of his foot vise that has the moving jaw able to pivot. However, he discovered one issue that popped into my head earlier, regarding the dynamics of the jaws gripping a smaller piece of material. He also tried using bungee cords to make the jaws more resistant to closing if you're just resting your foot on the pedal. I was thinking the opposite way, though, that a strong spring could keep the jaws tightly closed, except when you really wanted to open them to release the part, but you'd need the foot pedal to work the other way around. And although this doesn't matter as much as the project, I liked the more subdued first video better. He quickly became annoying to me in the second one. I'm so old...

Here's a link to the video:

**Frank S** · May 11, 2022, 07:33 AM

If someone really wanted to make some significant improvements to a vice of this design here are a couple things I would consider. Number 1 the human body does not function well like a Flamingo as the OP discovered in the first video. Making the peddle to be as low to the floor as possible when the jaws are closed is paramount for safe work practice. It is difficult enough to try and position a work piece where you want it sometimes while standing on both feet. this is made even more awkward the further away from your body you have to hold it. Having to stand on 1 foot to accomplish this only compounds the situation. if the peddle were positioned low enough to allow at least your heel to be touching the floor with the toe of your foot resting on the peddle would help, but to further improve on this, Personally I would do away with the peddle and ad a pneumatic cylinder then use a foot valve for activation. I might take this one step even further and design the actuation valve so tapping it with my foot or if I had it mounted so as I could activate it with my knee the cylinder would hold the vice jaws closed until I deactivated it . Another alteration I might do would be to the jaws themselves making them removable or with the ability to flip them from being flat to a Vee this would allow for clamping cylindrical shapes. I might go a step further and make a double Vee grove in them so I could clamp at vertical or horizontal of possibly be able to arrange or change out the jaws for clamping at differing angles, by having the pneumatic cylinder and a holding valve arrangement allowing me to step away to retrieve a different tool like a drill or a grinder or hammer ETC. Lastly I might make the vice more flexible by making one or the other jaws so I could position it further away allowing me to clamp thicker workpieces.