Removing the diamond pattern from 5" vise jaws.

[jjr2001]

Put the grinder to use today.(http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/s...9982#post71647) I had previously removed the hardened steel diamond pattern jaws and replaced them with aluminum soft jaws. Soft indeed. For most of my needs the steel works fine as long as that diamond pattern would disappear. So I made the diamond pattern disappear and now I have a nice flat hardened steel jaws. It only took about 30 minutes on each jaw and I was fine with that. This is an old import vise that has been in my shop for about 40 years. Still in fair shape! One more issue was that the vise would not close by about 1/4 inch. I guess I removed quite a bit of metal with my grinder. A little bit of 80 grit emery on that shaft and the vise now closes enough to remove that gap. Still saving the old aluminum ones for delicate work.

The magnetic block is new and this was it's first use. Seems to hold quite well but the surface is quite soft. Scratches very easily but that should not harm it's functionality.

Cheers, JR

[Paul Alciatore]

Nice idea, but I think I would have just made a second set of jaws so I would have had the option of using both.

Or, make a steel version of my magnetically attached secondary jaws. I have three sets of those already; aluminum, oak, and silicone rubber. All of them are smooth, not serrated. I use them all the time and they go on and off in seconds.

Put the grinder to use today.(http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/s...9982#post71647) I had previously removed the hardened steel diamond pattern jaws and replaced them with aluminum soft jaws. Soft indeed. For most of my needs the steel works fine as long as that diamond pattern would disappear. So I made the diamond pattern disappear and now I have a nice flat hardened steel jaws. It only took about 30 minutes on each jaw and I was fine with that. This is an old import vise that has been in my shop for about 40 years. Still in fair shape! One more issue was that the vise would not close by about 1/4 inch. I guess I removed quite a bit of metal with my grinder. A little bit of 80 grit emery on that shaft and the vise now closes enough to remove that gap. Still saving the old aluminum ones for delicate work.

The magnetic block is new and this was it's first use. Seems to hold quite well but the surface is quite soft. Scratches very easily but that should not harm it's functionality.

Cheers, JR

[jjr2001]

Thanks Paul,

Seems like you can always use another set of jaws....I have a nice chunk of brass that is just waiting to be converted to a new set of jaws. The magnet is a great idea and I think I will use magnets to hold the brass jaws to my steel jaws and for extra capacity the steel jaws may be removed and the brass with magnets used to replace the steel jaws. That will remove the holes from the front of the brass jaws for a continuous clamping surface. My older aluminum jaws may be retro fitted with magnets also or maybe just cut a new set of aluminum jaws there by eliminating the holes in the front surface of them.

Cheers, JR

[DIYer]

Thanks jjr2001! We've added your Pattern Removal Method to our Vises category,
as well as to your builder page: jjr2001's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Pattern Removal Method by jjr2001

tags: vise, jaw

[Toolmaker51]

Thanks Paul,
Seems like you can always use another set of jaws...magnet is a great idea and use to hold the brass jaws to my steel jaws and for extra capacity the steel jaws may be removed and the brass with magnets used to replace the steel jaws. That will remove the holes from the front of the brass jaws for a continuous clamping surface. My older aluminum jaws may be retro fitted with magnets...
Cheers, JR

All good approaches.
However, using ceramic's [usually 1/8" thick 1/2" diameter ala refrigerator decorations] or very smallest neo's make sure they are less than flush to surface. All are brittle; shattering under pressure. A bit of cyanoacrylate or anaerobic adhesives work well to retain in counterbore.
https://www.google.com/search?q=cyno...=cyanoacrylate

[jjr2001]

Good point. I have used them on model airplane hatches and canopies where we need max strength and they do wear the plating off after a few hundred flights. We use a magnet on both sides so I suppose a small slice of transparent tape would provide a little buffer without destroying the field intensity. A slight recess for the vise jaws is good info. Thanks for the tip.


Cheers, JR