My engraver vice - bowl vise

[kbalch]

Hi Christophe,

What an amazing piece of work! Beautiful and functional. Your Engraver's Bowl Vise is the 'Tool of the Week'!

As you've already received one of our official HomemadeTools.net T-shirts…



… we'd like to award you a $25 online gift card from GiftRocket.

Please send me (via PM) your email address and we'll get things processed directly.

Congrats!

Ken

[Christophe Mineau]

Hi,
Thank you so much, I'm very proud, this is a great honour !
I was very happy this time to show something quite unusual
Even if the tool by itself is very specific, I hope the idea for building the central screw can be of help for some other builders projects.

Have a good week end and thanks again !
Christophe

[kbalch]

This thread has been moved to the Must Read subforum. Congrats (and thanks) to Christophe for making such a valuable contribution!

[Toolmaker51]

Mr. Mineau;
Admittedly I've looked at lots of your projects; amazed at 110% evident craftsmanship. I have a commercial [surplus] ball vise not half as nice. Really creative re-utilization of common hardware, like a turnbuckle for right/ left hand thread components. Probably cost a 10th of what a pair of taps and dies would run.
The brake mechanism is very much like an indexer uses, save for attractive wood and finish. I'm wondering how the wood base functions against the bowl. Mine's a compressed felt ring, only one I know of, smells like horsehair though. All the others are a leather ring.
Anybody know a safe way to cut bowling balls in half?

[mklotz]

Ingenious design and exquisite execution. Be very proud, Christophe, very proud.

Might I suggest that your next learning foray be learning metal spinning. Making your wife a replacement bowl could be your key to future happiness. :-)

[Christophe Mineau]

Hi Marv, and Mr Toolmaker51 !
Thank you very much for the kind words, this is gratifying.
Marv, good idea for the metal spinning, but the bowl has already been replaced in the kitchen and the project I would certainly do before would be a trumpet , horn or straight saxophone !
One day, maybe. I am currently thinking about a wooden saxophone, but why not metal, one day....

For toolmaker, I did no fancy between the bowl and the wooden base, it's just the wood against the the stainless steel. As I tried to shape the profile of the base spherical, rather than conical, there is a good enough surface of contact and it doesn't slide. I must say the bowl is quite heavy, with plenty of inertia.

An idea for splitting a bowling bowl : chainsaw ?

Thanks again guys, read you soon !
Christophe

[mike the goldsmith]

Thats a brilliant engravers vice. I like doing a bit of engraving and usually rest it on a leather sand bag but lust after a proper vice. Maybe the idea of making one is not such a bad idea although pretty tricky all the same. thanks

[mike the goldsmith]

I also do wood engraving and it would be good for holding small blocks too.

[tonyfoale]

Nice one, Christophe.

[rossbotics]

Hi Christophe
That's some head scratching work there my friend, I'm sure you went thru a lot of trial and errors before you got it just right, been there done that,
That's some pretty work my friend

Thanks for sharing

Doug