Vice jaws rack...

markturner · 14 Sep 2011

Hi, I fitted a big heavy duty vice from Axminster to my bench and installed some beech jaw cheeks, approx 40mm thick , 170mm deep and 300mm wide. However, despite the vice having a double set of tubes as well as the screw, it still racks when you do it up. Any tips on reducing this or stopping it ? I thought the vice would be stiffer than this...

cheers, Mark

Paul Chapman · 14 Sep 2011

Most vices rack, apart from the twin-screw, chain-driven ones. They usually rack when you are using only one side of the vice. All you can really do to stop it is to put a piece of wood in the other side. Some people make this packing piece adjustable by using pieces of hardboard screwed together - rather like feeler gauges.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Streepips · 14 Sep 2011

As Paul says above, racking is easily catered for with compensating pieces, but another thing to consider is if the workpiece is too small for the vice? IE: would using a smaller vice work better with the pieces you are clamping?

markturner · 14 Sep 2011

Hi, I had been using the compensating piece solution, I just wondered if it was normal, as I had some trouble re assembling the vice when I fitted the cheeks, and wondered if it may have been related, however, it seems not. thanks for the advice! as always!

cheers, mark

custard · 15 Sep 2011

Another vote for the "feeler gauge" solution.

I use a thinnish, 125mm long bolt with a penny washer at each end, between the washers are a selection of 125mm x 40mm shims in various thicknesses of 5-20mm, adding up to about 100mm thick in total.

It lives in the tool tray, and I'll fold out a combined thickness that's roughly equal to the work piece thickness and pop it in the "open" end of the vice. Having all these shims on a bolt, rather than loose, makes it easy to set in the vice without needing three hands, and they don't get lost!

bugbear · 19 Sep 2011

Paul Chapman":2evbqrpc said:
Some people make this packing piece adjustable by using pieces of hardboard screwed together - rather like feeler gauges.

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BugBear