Which is exactly what I tried to write!Steve Maskery":2ed4548s said:Hi John
The way I see it is this.
When not under tension the bar just slides in and out in the nylon bushing, unimpeded by anything, because there is a clearance hole in the disk.
When the handle is tightened, the gear moves clockwise, driven by the key/slot arrangement (the one we've not seen but believe must exist) and that gear (pinion) moves the wedge-shaped rack to the right.
As the wedge moves to the right, the disk is tilted, because it is being pushed at one point only; so it no longer clears the rod, but grips it and moves it in a wee bit. That small amount of movement is the grip of the vice.
Sorted!
But even if we could buy all the bits, would it really be much cheaper, or indeed even as good, as paying the bloke who already seems to know what he is doing?
Still, it's nice to have the understanding, isn't it?
S
I still don't understand where RR's ratchet comes in though...