Panavise accessory arbor

[mklotz]

The Panavise base, shown here mounted on a bench hook*,

has a very DIY-friendly clamping arrangement to hold the vise. The clamping cotters inside the green sphere are each equipped with half of a 5/8" hole. When the red knob is tightened, these cotters clamp the 5/8" rod on the base of the vise and lock the vise in both azimuth and elevation. No nasty proprietary threads or sizes, just a simple arrangement that works and works very well.

It didn't take me long to take advantage of this arrangement. A 5/8" rod attached to my matched sliding vises...

made them much easier to use - especially so when soldering.

I've meant to further exploit the simple clamping in this very useful base and today I got an opportunity to make this...

A 5/8" steel rod is threaded 12 x 1 mm on the left end and 3/8 x 24 on the right end. (That should provide a bit of confusion for my heirs when they discover it.)

The 12 x 1 allows me to mount any of the Unimat chucks, 3jaw, 4jaw, and drill...

and the 3/8 x 24 accommodates the watchmaker's vise...

If you have a Panavise, I heartily recommend getting the base...

https://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-305-...=panavise+base

and give some thought to which of your tools can be improved by mounting them thereto.

Damn, it's nice to have a shop and a lathe. I only thought of this part this morning in the shower. It's not made or sold anywhere but by this afternoon I have one in my hand.

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* The bench edge clamp supplied with the base puts the Panavise too close to the edge of the bench. There is no support for one's forearms so it's difficult to hold the hands steadily enough to do fine work. By moving the Panavise back from the edge by use of the bench hook, the forearms are supported and steadier work is the result.

[bruce.desertrat]

Very nice! I'm curious, the other end of your bench hook has some additional stuff on it" I see the planing stop on the end (although it's a bit high for a traditional planing stop..but then all the bench hooks I've ever used were for wood working ), and kind of understand why a right angle corner would be useful, but there's that bit that looks bolted onto the outside.

[wizard69]

That poor bench hook!

Great little set of ideas here. Panavises have been around forever and are a fantastic product. Well worth looking into for those that don’t have one yet.

I’ve often wondered about building one as a project. Like many things today though it is often cheaper to buy one. Accessories though are another thing and all it takes is some imagination.

[Peter Sanders]

Thanks Marv, you just "forced" me to buy two new low profile bases! I have have had the original Panavise with vacuum base for MANY years. The idea of using the base for other things never really came up. I checked the price here in Australia (Amazon) and at AU$31 was cheaper than buying from the US (with the conversion rate).
I have a small faceplate that I bought "for something", now I have "the something" to make. A fixturing plate for one of the new low profile bases.

Thank you Marv :-)

[mklotz]

Very nice! I'm curious, the other end of your bench hook has some additional stuff on it" I see the planing stop on the end (although it's a bit high for a traditional planing stop..but then all the bench hooks I've ever used were for wood working ), and kind of understand why a right angle corner would be useful, but there's that bit that looks bolted onto the outside.

I'm not a woodworker (actually hate working with the stuff) so my "design" isn't thusly influenced. Actually, the hook just sort of grew using scraps of the brown stuff that were in the bin.

I added the 90 degree corner to the backstop after a part with a rounded end kept slipping along the backstop and threatened to slide off the end. The small piece of wood bolted to the side is an auxiliary backstop. The big backstop may be too far away for small parts so the auxiliary is bolted to holes drilled in the plate. Three sets of holes allow it to be placed such that a part of any size is held at a comfortable working distance. When the auxiliary isn't in use it's convenient to store it and its securing bolts where they are in the picture. That way they don't get misplaced and are immediately available when needed.

When I can't accurately predict all the end uses of a given tool, I like to use an evolutionary design philosophy. Keep modifying the tool to do each job that arises. Eventually, the tool will work for all needed uses or become such a jumble as to be useless. In the latter case, it becomes a perfect icon for the design of the next generation of its species. Hey, it works for animal species, why not tools? Of course, sometimes you end up with an anteater or a giraffe and not a leopard or an eagle. Doesn't matter, anteaters still fit their environment.

[mklotz]

Thanks Marv, you just "forced" me to buy two new low profile bases! I have have had the original Panavise with vacuum base for MANY years. The idea of using the base for other things never really came up. I checked the price here in Australia (Amazon) and at AU$31 was cheaper than buying from the US (with the conversion rate).
I have a small faceplate that I bought "for something", now I have "the something" to make. A fixturing plate for one of the new low profile bases.

Thank you Marv :-)

The tool itself isn't much - a piece of steel with threads turned on each end. At first I was a bit reluctant to publish it. But I consoled myself with the thought that so often we miss the obvious conjunction of our tools to produce new tools or augmented capabilities. Your response highlights that, so thanks for helping me justify the post.

Now that you have two bases you can think about building a heavy-duty version of the common third hand. Make some "graspers" and mount them on each base, then fix the bases to a plywood base (perhaps a super-sized bench hook) in such a way that the graspers can almost reach each other.

[old_toolmaker]

mklotz,

What a useful tool!!! I have had no first hand experience with the PanaVise. I had always steered clear of the PanaVise as I thought it had light duty look to it. My opinion has now been changed forever! Thanks for posting! I am impressed.

[mklotz]

mklotz,

What a useful tool!!! I have had no first hand experience with the PanaVise. I had always steered clear of the PanaVise as I thought it had light duty look to it. My opinion has now been changed forever! Thanks for posting! I am impressed.

Well, it's not a Kurt but, then, it was never meant to be. It's an amazingly handy device with a wealth of useful accessories including...

wide mouth head

https://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-396-...words=panavise

self-centering wide head

https://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-Self...words=panavise

circuit board holder

https://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-315-...words=panavise

miniature head

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SQWPY0...539450771&sr=2

fixturing head

https://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-437-...words=panavise

All that plus the ability to easily accept homemade accessories makes it a good bit of kit. They don't make a fly-tying head for it yet but they should. That would be a good tool for the folks on this forum to develop. Something along the lines of this one...

THE COTTARELLI VIsE THE ULTIMATE FLY TYING TOOL FOR SALMON FLY TYER

[old_toolmaker]

mklotz,

Thanks for posting the links to the accessories, Marv! The vise does look very versatile. I will either build my own base or buy one. I am undecided at this point.
I have built a couple of simple fly tying vises. My first one was done over fifty years ago but no where near the quality of the Cotterelli. Now that would be a good project!

[Peter Sanders]

Hi Marv
Yes, that's a good idea. I was think about implementing your soldering gluing fixture...

http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/s...7314#post36845

...and adapting it (them if I make two) to the Panavise base.
I'm also think about the three small magnetic based dial indicator holders I bought, and using them (suitably modified) as adjustable graspers.