Record No.3 vice

[Scott StringerParticipant @scottstringer72593]

I have a Record No.3 vice. The sliding jaw has too much movement. That is up, down, and to the sides.

Question: Does a vice like this affect the quality of one's work for the worse?

If you have experience of a vice like this please respond. Thank you.

Scott

[Scott StringerParticipant @scottstringer72593]

Excess movement in sliding jaw

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

Hi Scott,

Depends on what you use it for. If it clamps tightly and you're just filing in it, or holding two pieces together for drilling with a portable hand drill, it's probably OK. Also OK for light punching, chisel work, and hammering pins in and out, etc.

If you are bending sheetmetal in it using it as a brake, where aligment jaw to jaw is important, or you are depending on it not to shift for holding precision parts together, it might be better to get a new one from the major tool suppliers. Good vises are not cheap. Cheap vises are often not good.

You may be able to salvage the old one by dismantling it, building up metal by bronze welding on the worn areas, and grinding / filing back to a good fit. The parts need to be really clean and free of all oils and grease to do this, and ground to bare metal prior to welding. A lot of work, you may be better to just buy new, unless the old vise has sentimental value.

I've used many badly worn out vises in my time, you can get the job done with them usually, but they can be very frustrating and time consuming to use. A good quality well fitting vise though is a lasting pleasure to use.

Good luck JD

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Even if the vice it's self is a bit worn, you should get quite good use from it as long as it's well screwed down to the bench.

There was someone on this site not so long ago who repairs/refurbishes Record Vices, maybe he will pop in with some ideas.

My 30 year old #3 is showing signs of a little wear.

Ian S C

[MWParticipant @mw27036]

Posted by Scott Stringer on 10/01/2017 16:20:49:

I have a Record No.3 vice. The sliding jaw has too much movement. That is up, down, and to the sides.

Question: Does a vice like this affect the quality of one's work for the worse?

If you have experience of a vice like this please respond. Thank you.

Scott

Hi Scott

If the movement seems excessive, it might be missing a gib strip to take up the slack, Just check and make sure there are no through holes on the side of the jaw where some grub screws might be located.

Michael W

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

There are no gib strips Michael. They were never meant to be precision instruments. All of them have a little movement of the moving jaw. Mine certainly does but shows very little signs of wear after 40 odd years of use and abuse.

Russell

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Ultimately such bench vices are all about getting the mating jaws to line up against each other for a good grip. Having the moving parts a "rattling good fit" lets the various parts shift around as required for self alignment and maximum grip as the jaws clamp up. Such self alignment makes the device very tolerant of abuse and harsh use. With a good bench vice you are paying for proper base material, proper manufacturing methods and proper heat treatment to withstand the efforts of Bubba & Co.

For a bench vice the exact position of what you are holding generally doesn't matter. It just has to stay put whilst you operate on it. Grip is all. Different for a milling vice where workpiece position is as important as grip so everything has to be tight and move in accurate alignment.

Clive

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Perhaps a solution is to drill and tap holes and insert flat ended grub screws and set them to take as much play as possible without binding. Vertical play if possible do the same thing. Just an idea.

Clive

[MWParticipant @mw27036]

Posted by Clive Hartland on 11/01/2017 11:19:57:

Perhaps a solution is to drill and tap holes and insert flat ended grub screws and set them to take as much play as possible without binding. Vertical play if possible do the same thing. Just an idea.

Clive

Seems reasonable enough to me, if it really is moving around that much.

Michael W

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