Parkinson Vise?
- Thread starter Neil Lawton
- Start date
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TheTiddles
Established Member
Quite a nice looking thing. Depending on what you want to achieve, you could grease the moving parts and do no more. I’d wire wheel the handle and face too, Or you could strip it entirely and bath it, but I don’t think it needs it really unless cleaning up old metal is your thing
Aidan
Aidan
Neil Lawton
Established Member
I want it to grip things. ;-) Might just put some wood in the jaws and put it to use!
TheTiddles
Established Member
An excellent plan! WD40 and off you go
Neil Lawton
Established Member
It's lubricated like new, no WD or sarcasm needed
TINY bit of a hijack here - but may I just ask please - what os the appropriate way of lubricating this beast?
I ask as I have one on my bench. It was a bit stiff, but working, so I liberally dosed the thread with WD40.
Now the pesky thing skips when I try to tighten it....
Any ideas please..
I ask as I have one on my bench. It was a bit stiff, but working, so I liberally dosed the thread with WD40.
Now the pesky thing skips when I try to tighten it....
Any ideas please..
Too much oil can be as bad as not enough. Wipe it down with white spirit to remove the excess.
WD40 was never intended as a lubricant. The WD stands for Water Dispersant. The 40 is the number of experimental mixtures he went through before finding one that made him a millionaire.
It was designed specifically to spray on old motor engine electrical systems to get them to start after being soaked in the old cars.
A very light wipe with some grease on the moving parts should help your vice grip again.
TheTiddles
Established Member
You are partially correct, it’s not specifically designed for use as a lubricant, but you can use if for that at a pinch, or on old things where there’s often damp in the dust to get it off the metal that it’s corroding. It’s original use was for aerospace applications, first used to stop corrosion on the Atlas missile casing that was kept pressurised as it was a balloon tank.
One major advantage is does have as a go-to lubricant in woodwork fields is that it is silicone free
Aidan
Cheshirechappie
Established Member
This might be a wee bit controversial, but I'm not a fan of grease or oil lubrication for the exposed parts of woodworking vices. Grease is just a magnet for sawdust and small chippings, which over time dry out the lubricant and bung things up. (Not so bad on metalworking vices, but the screws of those tend to be covered and protected better.)
It's probably OK to run a woodworking vice with very little lubricant, as the screws tend to be steel and the nuts cast iron or bronze, so dissimilar metals working against each other. The big advantage is that sawdust, for the most part, just falls off. The enemy then is rust, which can be a problem if the vice isn't used regularly.
The modern answer is dry lubricant. Some of the industrial types are superb both for lubricity and corrosion protection, but can be rather pricey. A cheaper alternative is the dry lubricants sold for bike chains.
For the OP's vice, I think I'd strip, degrease and clean, paint up the showy bits if desired, and reassemble with a good coating of dry lubricant on the working parts. That should give a sweet-working vice that continues to provide trouble-free service for many a long year.
It's probably OK to run a woodworking vice with very little lubricant, as the screws tend to be steel and the nuts cast iron or bronze, so dissimilar metals working against each other. The big advantage is that sawdust, for the most part, just falls off. The enemy then is rust, which can be a problem if the vice isn't used regularly.
The modern answer is dry lubricant. Some of the industrial types are superb both for lubricity and corrosion protection, but can be rather pricey. A cheaper alternative is the dry lubricants sold for bike chains.
For the OP's vice, I think I'd strip, degrease and clean, paint up the showy bits if desired, and reassemble with a good coating of dry lubricant on the working parts. That should give a sweet-working vice that continues to provide trouble-free service for many a long year.
TheTiddles
Established Member
I agree, on mine there’s two round bars and one thread that have any exposure to falling dust etc, so I use a silicone free spray to keep any damp off those and occasionally under the top on the half-nut (it’s WD40).
Machinery wax is nice stuff too for larger surfaces and rough cast areas
Aidan
Machinery wax is nice stuff too for larger surfaces and rough cast areas
Aidan
One easy cheap solution is to strip it down to parts, remove any rust, a quick brush with wire brush etc and apply stoveblack. Apply while the metal is warm then buff off with a pad in a drill when cool. Matter of minutes and it's protected in a dryish atmosphere and you can get on with using it.
Just fitted one yesterday finished like this although with some painting.
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/20th-century-colour-add-vise-fitted-it-finally.123143/page-3
Good luck.
Just fitted one yesterday finished like this although with some painting.
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/20th-century-colour-add-vise-fitted-it-finally.123143/page-3
Good luck.
AJB Temple
Finely figured
What is the issue with silicone?
TheTiddles
Established Member
It stops things sticking, with phenomenal efficacy. So you get a bit on your workpiece, then weeks later there’s an are the polish just keeps looking weird on... that’s the bit of silicone. The worst thing ever is Mr Sheen, once used you are never going to be able to refinish it well
I think the OP intends to actually use the vice rather than have a restoration project which is great, so a quick squirt and he’s off woodworking instead of metalworking instead
Aidan
Neil Lawton
Established Member
Definitely going to be used, my friend Walter loves restoring tools though so I'll land it on him at some point!
