Record brand vise

[DuncParticipant @dunc]

Thank you for an excellent web presence. I signed on for the mini-lathe series and have purchased (from retail book store) all the issues.

 

I obtained a Record vise that appears in excellent shape – no rust, no obvious mis-treatment. What I need is the how to…

 

The mechanism for closing/opening is not a simple “turn the handle.” Instead, the moving jaw can be slid into contact with the piece to be held and then turning the handle engages the thread and the vise is tightened. A half-turn releases it.

 

At least, that’s how it is supposed to work… the sliding part works flawlessly but the “engage the thread by turning the handle” leaves me frustrated. Sometimes it works and other times it does not (mostly the latter). I am sure there is a simple way to do this consistently but it escapes me. The release works correctly.

 

On the other hand, is something broke? Can anyone refer me to a diagram of the inner workings?

 

 

[DuncParticipant @dunc]

Quick release

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi There

Long time since I used one of this type of vice.

Seem to remember a spring being involved.

regards David

 

[Jim WhetrenParticipant @jimwhetren72358]

Hello Dunc,

 

I was once lucky enough to be given one of these vices by a friendly garage owner, who had been using it to press in auto bushes. It too had the same intermittent problem.

 

The screw has a buttress thread (saw tooth shape) and when the release lever is pressed, a cast plate containing about half the thread diameter is lifted, releasing the screw.

 

With the vice upside down, a piece of scrap was clamped in the jaws and as the screw was tightehed, the plate twisted slightly, allowing the thread to disengage. This was due to wear on the pressure points at the edge of the plate.

 

Once I saw which corner of the plate was moving, a piece of shim to take up the slack cured the problem instantly. As I couldn’t work out how to keep the shim in place, lateral thinking led to the equivelent amount being filed off the opposite corner and truing up all the contact faces, allowing the plate to remain square to the screw thread.

 

I hope these ramblings are of some help.

 

Regards

Jim

[DuncParticipant @dunc]

Thanks for the replies. Will have a look at the innards.

 

Dunc

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