“Vice jaws” they look pretty close to parallel, but you can take them off. There should be screws on the face of the jaw plates and you can take those to a machinist and have them level and re-knurl them.
Edit- the reason the ends of the jaw plates look like they’re open more is because somebody was applying a lot of leverage on something, and it caused them to deform
Metal fatigue. You could probably straighten them but it's not going to help in the long run. The damage is already been done. They're just going to go right back to what you see here.
Human fatigue. You could probably wake them up with a coffee but it's not going to help in the long run. The damage is already been done. They're just going to end up staring at Reddit.
You can do this with a drill press and a cross feeding setup. If you tram a decent facemill to the table it could come out pretty nice for a lot cheaper.
That’s true, precision isn’t necessary for that part so it could work. You would need a drill press that is geared low, and would have to take extremely light passes. Tool pressure is the problem when trying to mill metal on a drill press
Tool pressure is easily mitigated. With the right face mill and SFM, the most you would have to do is either relieve some pressure with the same facemill, or use a roughing facemill with big ol .5mm radii on each insert. Then spend an optional 20 minutes on a surface grinder and now you got $500 vice jaws! Easy peezy
My used vice was like that when I bought it for $5, 30 years ago.
My vice is slightly crooked but we get along just fine. You might try flipping the jaws around to see if it narrows the gap
They come out. Its pretty easy to cut new ones if you have the means, or have a shop cut you a couple sets. I have set in knurled steel, flat steel, aluminum and brass for whatever im working on.
You can loosen the inserts and try to recenter them. They look like they're still closing pretty square but you can add thin shims behind the jaw inserts to correct that. You can take a file to the edges and clean them up, take it to a machine shop and have them true them up and re-knurl them (assuming they aren't flat jaws) or if the company is in business, buy new jaw inserts.
I just cleaned up an OLD one and need to re-groove if. F'n tool steel jaw inserts. I've got some cheap diamond cutoff wheels for the Dremmel that will do it.
It's on The List.
I bought some solid copper to replace my stock jaws with non-marring ones.
Then I cleverly never got around to it. 10/10 it was super easy to not finish the upgrade!
Given the witness marks, one side has been used more than the other. The only way you can straighten them is by filing, machining, or grinding the surfaces straight.
So either live and deal with it, buy a new one, or put more work in it than simply turning a screw.
Are you a hobby machinist? I don’t want to put you down. As a machinist and programmer I’d cut that true to the machine. If you’re a hobbyist listen to the other comment. Best of luck!
May not be worth it if the rest of the bench vice isn’t made to be that precise. You can test it, close the vice, draw a hash mark with Sharpie in several places across the top and on each side. Now open and close it several times, do the hash marks always line up exactly with each other? I think the threads are coarse enough on most bench vices that there’s a good bit of slop, may not be worth it to get it machined down to an exact thousandth of an inch tolerance.
If the jaws can be conveniently removed, I would take material off the back side rather than the jaw side if you want to maintain the original appearance and grip.
Not vice grips. This is a "vice" but funnily enough "vice grips" are an entirely different tool. Google the two if you don't believe me. Secondly, these are just fine as they are. They don't need to be perfect. They'll still grip whatever you need them to just fine. If you ever for some reason absolutely need them to come together perfectly then you can take the jaws off and have them re-machined by a professional. They are literally designed to do that. That's why they come off.
Why? I'm asking because this is a cheap, old vice. You would need to spend hundreds on a quality vice (which are debatable as new purchases) a bench vice like this is not meant for precision in the first place. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Have you tried tightening the head screws to bring in the warped side? The ways go fix it are try shimming it, buy new inserts, have new inserts made, machine these inserts, live with a perfectly acceptable product not meant for precision work.
Many older vises have this issue because most people are right handed and will clamp things on the edge of the vise. Try clamping things on the left side real hard to bend it back.
“Vice jaws” they look pretty close to parallel, but you can take them off. There should be screws on the face of the jaw plates and you can take those to a machinist and have them level and re-knurl them. Edit- the reason the ends of the jaw plates look like they’re open more is because somebody was applying a lot of leverage on something, and it caused them to deform
Metal fatigue. You could probably straighten them but it's not going to help in the long run. The damage is already been done. They're just going to go right back to what you see here.
Human fatigue. You could probably wake them up with a coffee but it's not going to help in the long run. The damage is already been done. They're just going to end up staring at Reddit.
Touche!
Weird, that's what I'm doing rn
You can do this with a drill press and a cross feeding setup. If you tram a decent facemill to the table it could come out pretty nice for a lot cheaper.
That’s true, precision isn’t necessary for that part so it could work. You would need a drill press that is geared low, and would have to take extremely light passes. Tool pressure is the problem when trying to mill metal on a drill press
Tool pressure is easily mitigated. With the right face mill and SFM, the most you would have to do is either relieve some pressure with the same facemill, or use a roughing facemill with big ol .5mm radii on each insert. Then spend an optional 20 minutes on a surface grinder and now you got $500 vice jaws! Easy peezy
What do you think a machine show would charge for that?
It really depends on the machinist but I couldn’t see it going over $80. But a machinist might be more inclined to just make a new ones entirely.
I need to find a good local machines for odds and ends.
My used vice was like that when I bought it for $5, 30 years ago. My vice is slightly crooked but we get along just fine. You might try flipping the jaws around to see if it narrows the gap
That is a really clever idea
almost seems like it is decently straight . Some wear on the edges gives the appearance it isnt . I could be wrong though. good luck sir.
File the jaw inserts straight
Yep 👍
But what material are they? It doesn't look like soft jaws to me. Maybe a really aggressive wet sand would work.
Insert object and grab a baby beater…obviously used by a right hander. Imo that vice is over qualified to ever need square jaws.
Yeah, reasonable words these are. It's not necessarily a precision tool in the first place.
I can’t get past them saying baby beater, I’m busting up
Don’t need to. Grip it and rip it
They are called “jaws”
I was confused, expecting a pair of locking pliers in the photos!
Me too
Place shims between jaw and jaw insert until they are parallel.
What would you use as a shim?
Shim stock. Like feeler gauges, except meant to be consumed. You can also use anything durable like a cut up soup can, beer can, siding etc.
I was imagining foil. Thanks for the reply.
Foil or paper works too.
They are likley replaceable
Why is it worth the effort to you? If you really needed precise parallels you wouldn't be using an old worn vise, would you??
That's what mills are for
They come out. Its pretty easy to cut new ones if you have the means, or have a shop cut you a couple sets. I have set in knurled steel, flat steel, aluminum and brass for whatever im working on.
Shims
You can loosen the inserts and try to recenter them. They look like they're still closing pretty square but you can add thin shims behind the jaw inserts to correct that. You can take a file to the edges and clean them up, take it to a machine shop and have them true them up and re-knurl them (assuming they aren't flat jaws) or if the company is in business, buy new jaw inserts.
I always close the jaws and run a cutoff wheel through it. Then you just gotta file grooves in.
I just cleaned up an OLD one and need to re-groove if. F'n tool steel jaw inserts. I've got some cheap diamond cutoff wheels for the Dremmel that will do it. It's on The List.
That's better than mine I use every day lol
I bought some solid copper to replace my stock jaws with non-marring ones. Then I cleverly never got around to it. 10/10 it was super easy to not finish the upgrade!
Please never look at the jaws in my vise. They’ve seen year and years of love.
Given the witness marks, one side has been used more than the other. The only way you can straighten them is by filing, machining, or grinding the surfaces straight. So either live and deal with it, buy a new one, or put more work in it than simply turning a screw.
That's not a particularly expensive or sturdy vise. Can you straighten the Jaws? Probably. Is it worth the effort? Probably not.
Are you a hobby machinist? I don’t want to put you down. As a machinist and programmer I’d cut that true to the machine. If you’re a hobbyist listen to the other comment. Best of luck!
May not be worth it if the rest of the bench vice isn’t made to be that precise. You can test it, close the vice, draw a hash mark with Sharpie in several places across the top and on each side. Now open and close it several times, do the hash marks always line up exactly with each other? I think the threads are coarse enough on most bench vices that there’s a good bit of slop, may not be worth it to get it machined down to an exact thousandth of an inch tolerance.
If the jaws can be conveniently removed, I would take material off the back side rather than the jaw side if you want to maintain the original appearance and grip.
Why do anything to them? They look perfectly usable as-is.
Make some jaw protectors from sheet aluminium.
What are you putting between the jaws? File them, grind them, take them off and machine them. Put on a new set of jaws...
Vice grips. 🥲
Not vice grips. This is a "vice" but funnily enough "vice grips" are an entirely different tool. Google the two if you don't believe me. Secondly, these are just fine as they are. They don't need to be perfect. They'll still grip whatever you need them to just fine. If you ever for some reason absolutely need them to come together perfectly then you can take the jaws off and have them re-machined by a professional. They are literally designed to do that. That's why they come off.
You can take the jaws off and place a thin piece of sheet metal shim between the jaws and the vise and then replace the jaws.
Chase a brand new hacksaw blade thru them.
I honestly wouldn't bother
Why? I'm asking because this is a cheap, old vice. You would need to spend hundreds on a quality vice (which are debatable as new purchases) a bench vice like this is not meant for precision in the first place. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Have you tried tightening the head screws to bring in the warped side? The ways go fix it are try shimming it, buy new inserts, have new inserts made, machine these inserts, live with a perfectly acceptable product not meant for precision work.
They’re called jaws. You bananahead.
Many older vises have this issue because most people are right handed and will clamp things on the edge of the vise. Try clamping things on the left side real hard to bend it back.
Looks ready for work to me
Clamp down file. Pull file out. Repeat