"swivel top nuts for

[katy]

My "York" swivel base vise had 2 hex nuts to secure the vise to the base, which was a pain to have to grab a wrench any time I wanted to re-orient the vise. So I made some what I'm calling swivel nuts as I don't know the proper name for them. I used 2 coupling nuts, cut slots in them, drilled 1/8" holes for roll pins, handles were made from some 1/8" X 1/2" flat.

[Ed Weldon]

Way cool!! Cutting that slot with a 4-1/2" angle grinder is way easier than a hack saw. If it goes oversize for the flat stock you use add a shim washer or two to make up the dfference. If you can't get a roll pin an ordinary flat head machine screw into a threaded hole will work. Another way is to do that if you don't have a tap is to use a rivet or even a nail with a countersink under the headless end and peen it out to fill the conical hole surface with a center punch.

[JanKrompan]

Thank you for sharing this great idea.

[Crusty]

That's a good idea.

I often use coupling nuts to make various special fasteners and I've found that they can save me a lot of time. It's also relatively easy to make a split nut from one which can quickly engage/disengage from a threaded rod.

Here's a machinist jack that I made from one in less than an hour when I needed to support a part for milling.

[hilerioal@outlook.com]

Great Idea! I am going to make a couple of them. The bar type always seems to be in the way depending where the tightening bar stops. thanks al

[Ed Weldon]

Crusty - Nice looking part. Especially the brazed joint between the nut and the washer. It's a natural given that most of these parts come with zinc plating.

[Crusty]

Actually that's a failed brazed connection because I couldn't get it hot enough with the tools I had at hand. Eventually I'll add a couple of TIG spot welds to the bottom now that I've got more argon, but really that's not needed because it's forced together when it's pushing and never works in tension, and the press fit is tight enough to keep the parts together otherwise. I know it won't win any industrial art prizes but it was only intended to solve an immediate problem without wasting too much time.

[Ed Weldon]

This got me to thinking about DIY furnace brazing on a small scale for small parts. Now that we have inexpensive non contact thermometers we have the ability to measure and put better numbers on actual temperatures than just the look of the metal. Which works fine for the experienced hand when dealing with steel, but leaves us with not much when heating other metals (like zinc plating) or ceramics like furnace brick and many types of insulation. But that's another subject.

For this one, the machinist's jack, I suppose if it was a problem having the washer loose one could roughen both surfaces and glue them together with a well prepared joint.

[Crusty]

That's actually what I did. The nut is a light press fit in the base with some red loctite and I know that I'll have to use heat to get them apart.

[DIYer]

Thanks Crusty! We've added your Machinist's Jack to our Jacks and Lifts category,
as well as to your builder page: Crusty's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Machinist's Jack by Crusty

tags: machining, jack