Why is my Colombian bench vise not breaking?

Don't give up !! You can figure out a way to break it. db

I have a similar model I got from a company I worked for 30 years ago. I was lucky & got the swivel base with it. It was old then. Very heavy duty. Not sure of its' construction but it's mighty durable.

You need a longer cheater bar. :)

John

And maybe a bigger sledge hammer too.

The handle looks nice and straight The handle should bend before the vise will break.

I have straightened the handle.

You did a good job

My favorite bench vise is a Columbian , possibly from Boeing Surplus. But I do not abuse it. Take care of it. It is one of the better vises one can find.

Dan

Nope, dont believe this one. But a good try tho. Andrew VK3BFA

I was just thinking the last time I broke a bench vise I was using it to press in U-joints for my buddy's truck. I wound up taking them over to my Dad's place. He had just bought a bigger hydraulic press and gave me his old one. The best thing I ever did to that hydraulic press was add an air over hydraulic jack. I keep telling myself I'm going to make a flip flop handle for the bleeder valve, but there is always something more important to do.

Now, I have broken two or three of those cheap drill press vises, but what do you expect out of HF cast lead and iron alloy.

Look at the shear mass of metal compared to:

What's not to believe? You never seen someone abuse a tool? While still in high school, I bought my first vise, what looked to me at the time, like a nice 6" vise. First time I tried bending a piece of

-huge- amounts of abuse and today, close to 50 years later, it's battle scarred but still just as solid as the day I first saw it.

I resolved to never buy an import vise again, and since I couldn't afford a new quality vise the time, to only buy used older vises. Until someone here several years back posted that Starrett was dumping closed out vises. I wanted the 4" Machinist vise with the swiveling back jaw but they were sold out, so I bought the 6". It's the only new vise I've ever bought.

It's still in new condition, sitting behind my lathe. Sucker is so tall, if I mounted it to my bench, I'd be be working at near shoulder height! When I get my shop set up down under, it'll get on a steel post set into the concrete floor...

Jon

How about a posted welded to a steel plate with a few gussets, and then deadhead it into the floor? I keep telling myself I'm going to do something like that for my bench grinders, but then I never do. LOL.

Well, might do something like that. But not here, I just rent. Landlord is very understanding of my shop here, but bolting stuff to the floor might push it a bit too far...

Jon

I am in process of building a stand for one of my bench grinders. I got a truck brake drum , a car disk brake and some 6 inch pipe from the local scrap yard. If I had found some nice pieces of steel plate, I would not have used the car disk brake. I have welded the disk brake to the pipe using some stainless rod. The disk brake bolts to the truck brake drum. I hope to find a piece of plate tomorrow to weld to the top of the pipe to mount the grinder on. The stand will weigh about 120 lbs. I had made a similar stand, slightly lighter and it worked well. Did not need to be bolted down. But left it on the west coast when I moved.

Dan

Bob was talking about a stand for his bench grinder. And it works for that. My vise was mounted on a 10 foot long work bench made of 2 by

I have thought about filling the truck brake drum with concrete, but it is not necessary for a grinder and not enough for a large vise.

=20 Dan

The 6" Starrett machinist vise with swiveling back jaw easily weighs more than 120lbs in and of itself. IIRC, the shipping weight was something like 240lbs.

To use the vise's potential is going to require it's bolted to something very very substantial. Like the floor...

Jon

My 5" Mechanic's vise from HF, ca 1975, has been used as a ball joint remover, u-joint press, bender base, anvil, and vise through thick and thin and it has never given me a squeak of hesitation all these years. I have used extension pipes and hammers on the bar until it started to bend, but the vise held.

Maybe you're just not holding your mouth right, Bob.

Make better jaws for it or modify inserts. They might keep you from having to use the pipes on 'er next time.

-- Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball!

You could ask, and tell him that you'll fill the holes with cement gray bondo before you go if he wants. He may say "OK, but leave the holes/threaded inserts there."

-- Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball!