A very simple idea

Nov 11, 2014 14 Replies

In 2007 I bought a vice by mistake. I put it under a bench and forgot about it. It was too much trouble to send it back.



This summer I was busy repairing the body of my motorhome, and this involved bending a lot of aluminium sheet. I was putting two steel bars in the vice, clamping the sheet between them, and then adding clamps at the ends. Then I would bend the sheet.



It occurred to me that this job would be easier if I had two vices. I remembered the 2007 vice and fitted it to the bench with the fixed jaws exactly in line. This worked well.



When that job was finished I needed to plane some timber. I found that having two vices was really good. I have two Black and Decker Workmates and I would previously have used them but they are dreadful. They are awkward to use; they move about, and they are far too low. With two vices I could hold a long piece of wood very securely.



I wondered if the two vice idea could help me when I needed to cut sheet material accurately. Accordingly I made a platform with a slot in it. I used some scrap wood, so the result looks a bit rough. It works really well though. Obviously the idea can be enhanced. I might add a movable fence. An unexpected benefit is that the work surface is at a very convenient hight for hands and eyes. This means the platform has already been used for things it wasn't meant for. It's very much better than a B & D Workmate for many jobs.



formatting link



Bill


Simple but extremely effective, and I like the slotted sawbench idea. Bill, can you cut sheet metal with a jigsaw on it? And if so, what sort of thicknesses?

ehh, that's sound ad-vice there lad :)

In 2007 I bought a vice by mistake. I put it under a bench and forgot

for hands and eyes. This means the platform has already

That link doesn't work for me, it just takes me to a weird page of my own Dropbox account!

Mike

In message , Bill Wright writes

Been there, done that:-) Two workbenches with two 6" vices! Useful for holding while riveting 15'0" long harvester blades.

An alternative/variation is to grip two lengths of angle iron in your single vice, thus extending the jaws. G cramps to grip the ends.

Only *two*? I had you down as someone with lots of vices - and maybe the odd virtue!

Yes it makes cutting sheet metal much easier. The thickness is limited by the jigsaw I suppose. I normally cut 2mm aluminium or 1mm steel.

Bill

That's exactly what I spent the previous two months doing!

Bill

Similar here, but to the right of 'my two vices' are two boxes. Clicked the one with lines and pics appeared normally. Don't know why but I do have a drpobox a/c. Nick.

I thought he was going to link it to his nun joke.

It's not a mere joke, it's a poem; a work of art. I'm going to put it in the church magazine.

Bill

What's this [IMG][/IMG] s*it?

Just what happens if you click on IMG code for forums & message boards instead of URL for email and IM both of which will work here. In some forums as opposed to usenet the picture just opens up instantly if you use the former

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required