The finish of the vice is critica, the handle finish so long as durable is irrelevant.

Robert Butler

Never cared much for those folding joint handles.

I know the theory is that the swivel joint gives you clearance between the handle and the end of the vice or milling table without the business end being over long. In practice they always seem to be at the wrong angle so a good deal of removal and re-fitting is involved when adjusting and final tightening the vice. Always seem to need two goes at tightening 'cos they are at exactly the wrong angle.

I prefer the breed with a short offset socket and extension piece. The extension is permanently on my favourite Vertex wide opening, three nut position, vices so I can always twirl the handle.

Clive

Might not the rougher finish provide a better grip for oily workshop hands?

I do like your shop made crank though, with the extra short-throw hex hole for 'rapid traverse'.

An improved handle like yours is among the many "to do" modifications I have in the pipeline. Alan has already made a short radius handle for the Bison vises which will miss the Y axis handle on the round column mill when being turned. We now have three variations of handles for the 100mm Bison vises which get used most often. At the moment, the 5" ARC vise is being used exclusively on the round column to hold the new cross slide for the Atlas lathe which should be finished within the next 2 weeks.

Depends on your attitude to tools maybe? I value them for their functionality rather than good looks, and believe that aesthetics are secondary in a workshop. To me it's the parallelism of the vice that matters, and I note that can't be measured by the most critical human eyeball.

There are ergonomic objections to fancy handles. Knurling should be avoided because it chews up skin, and high polish because it's slippery. The purpose of a handle is to provide a decent grip, and arguably that handle will do a good job.

I'm a dreadful cynic though. Granny taught me to never judge a book by it's cover, her point being the ease with which junk can be made to look smart with paint, putty and polish. Never mind a tool's appearance I say, how well does it work? All is well if I value its performance.

My attitude isn't for everyone. Many friends enjoy owning spotless workshops full of beautiful tools. More like museum collections than work places maybe, but that's fine by me – it's just a different take on Model Engineering. However, Far Eastern hobby tools don't fit well into collections because they're affordable. Don't buy them if your tools are also required to be objects of desire.

On the subject of handles, what does the team think of choppers?

I suspect the wide handle-bars and long forks are mostly added to boost the riders ego! Having the front wheel that far out means the bike is good at straight fast cruising, but less happy on bends, and noticeably unstable at slow-speeds. Excellent bragging rights arriving for a night out in a busy town centre, but a city courier wouldn't ride one professionally. Ridiculous bike for delivering Pizza's too!

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 04/06/2023 12:23:18