Homemade carpentry tool
A vice can be seen in any carpentry workshop. It is often required to clamp parts in order to grind them or simply glue them together. Homemade vices can cope with these tasks, which can be made with your own hands, and the price of such a product will be quite low. Often the jaws at the vise are made of soft wood to prevent damage to the part being clamped.
For convenience, the vise can be screwed to the workbench. In the fixed part, it is necessary to fix the furniture nut, into which the hairpin will be screwed, which, in turn, will move the movable mechanism. A washer must be rigidly attached to the movable jaw, and the crank itself must be attached to the handle. As for the sponge tips, they can be made from pieces of plywood.
If you need to assemble a carpentry vice with your own hands, then this option is considered optimal.
First, you need to mark all the parts, then cut out three identical bars (the longer the length of the bar, the larger the product can be clamped). The bed can be made from thick planks or 3 pieces of plywood. Drill two vertical holes in two fixed blocks. Drill a hole in one of the bars for a pin, which will act as a clamping mechanism. The next step is to install the nut into the timber.
Machine tools
As mentioned above, it is most profitable to make a machine vice with your own hands. They greatly simplify drilling work, and the material for the machine vice is suitable for almost any of the available ones: from the channel, see the video:
to plywood, see plot:
And again the lips
The strength and stability of the jaws for machine vices is even more important than for locksmiths: if a drill (cutter, cutter) turns a part out of them, this is fraught with serious injury. And so, we return to the question above: what to make the jaws of the vice? From a corner from 40x40x4. In this case, the entire sponge will work not for shear, but for bending, which the metal resists much more strongly. This is the case when less iron is stronger.
But not every corner of the same size is suitable. A drawn and cold-rolled corner (pos. A and B in the figure below) is unsuitable - the metal is rather weak. Sponges and homemade and locksmith's, and machine vice must be made from a hot-rolled corner (pos. B). First, it is much stronger. Secondly, a number of its standard sizes are wider: if the thickness of the shelf of a cold-rolled corner of general purpose is up to 0.1 of the smaller width, then for a hot-rolled one it is up to 0.2b. That is, you can find a hot-rolled corner, say, 60x60x12 - the jaws of the vice from it will be quite reliable.
Types of steel angle
A hot-rolled corner is easy to recognize by the type of cut: the entire edge of the outer corner is always sharp (shown by the arrow on the left in the next figure), and inside it there is a fillet larger than that of a cold-rolled corner. If the vice is being assembled for welding, both equal and unequal angles will do. If you assemble them on bolts, it is better to use an unequal shelf with the ratio of the widths of the shelves (1.5-2) / 1 (a / b = 1.5 ... 2/1). In this case, the large shelf is laid horizontally!
Angle steel machine vice
A diagram of the device of a self-made machine vice from a corner on bolts is given in the center in Fig; on the right - drawings of their general view. The slider and the clamp for the clamping screw are bent from a steel strip with a thickness of 1.5 mm. The screw can be fixed in it with a groove, because its fixation works only when the movable jaw is retracted and is loaded negligibly. When pressed, the tail of the screw rests directly on the sponge; the screw itself is M16-M20. For more information on homemade machine vice from the corner, see the video:
Available homemade product from seven bars. Do-it-yourself Joiner's Vise
Friends, DIYers, let's look at a man working with a tree. What a craftsman cannot do without? That's right, without an elementary device for fixing your workpieces.The necessary device that any joiner must have is a simple but reliable vice. For working with plywood, wood, particle board, etc. in fact, the most necessary device is a vise for carpentry work, you won't get much on your knee.
Making this simple device at home yourself is absolutely real and absolutely simple. In addition, a master engaged in creativity can make a vice in accordance with his needs, depending on the parameters of the wooden blanks. In the implementation of his project, any master must determine the dimensions and other parameters based on his needs, i.e. specifically for what work will the above device be used.
In this article, we will show you how easy it is to make a basic model of a simple joinery vice. And then think, decide and create yourself.
Video review of the procedure for making the device:
What we need:- Wooden blocks, depending on the size of your device. - Bolt (in our case, figure eight, length 120 millimeters), punching nut. - Wood screws. - One electrode. - Stain or varnish.
From tools:- Jigsaw (can be electric or manual) or hacksaw. - Drilling machine, or ordinary drill. - Set of drills. - Screwdriver. - Welder (if absent, the operations performed by the welder can be replaced with your own ideas for the solution of the corresponding stage). - Cutting machine. - Kern. - Skin for finishing the product.
You need such a set in order to make a vice.
The sequence of production of our fixture:
- We prepare the bars (sizes based on your needs for further work with wood), seven in total. - Assembling the lower platform of the device. - Assembling the working part of the vice (You can understand by looking at the video review of manufacturing, located in the article above). - Installing the working part on the lower platform. - Using the cutting machine, we bring the resulting vice to a decent look. - We make the final finishing of our vice using sandpaper and varnish or stain.
Step 4: Drill the bolt holes
Retreat 7.5 cm from the side edge of the movable jaw, retreat 5.5 from the upper edge and drill a 13 mm hole, on the other side make the same so that the hole is as straight as possible, make it with a drilling machine.
Place both jaws so that their top edges are parallel. Use a 13 mm Faustner drill to drill through the holes in the movable jaw to mark the holes in the fixed jaw. Your movements must be extremely precise so that the bolts do not get stuck in the wood later. Using a drilling machine, drill holes in the fixed jaw.
On the back of the fixed jaw, countersink the place for the flange nut, countersink diameter 2.5 cm.
Use of old mechanisms and scrap metal at hand
A high-quality new channel, corner, plates are not the only suitable material for making a vice yourself.
An old jack is suitable as a basic mechanism. For the convenience of work, a base plate is made (or pipes with a rectangular profile, as shown in the illustration) and clamping jaws are welded - also from a pipe or channel, an angle. Do-it-yourself vices from a jack are no less convenient than industrial ones.
Another budget option is a rail vise. Considering the load capacity of this rolled metal, the model is very powerful. It can also be used as an anvil, the main thing is to securely fix the product on the workbench.
For those who work mainly with wood, a wooden vice will be a good solution, it is easier and faster to make them with your own hands - no welding is needed, you can saw off the parts manually. The main thing in this model is to choose suitable threaded elements.
The option shown in the photo is designed to be fixed to a workbench on a permanent basis.To make a quick-detachable version, it is better to make the base part with a plate that is bolted to the workbench.
For milling and carving, models with a double-sided clamp are convenient - this design allows you to center the workpiece and / or move it during operation without removing it from the vice.
If the clamping force is not very large, and you often need to change the position of the parts or the parts themselves in the jaws, you can look for a cam mechanism and make a quick-clamping vice. In this version, the screw clamp is replaced by a small cam; you can loosen or strengthen the clamp by slightly turning the lever.
Do-it-yourself work
To work with metal, you will need a grinder and a welding machine. A machine milling vise of this type is made as follows:
- Work begins by welding the flange to the end of the pipe, which will be used as a stationary element. In the central part of the flange, a nut with an M16 thread is welded.
- The next step is to create the moving part. A flange is also welded to the central part, in which a central hole is left to accommodate the screw.
- At a certain distance from the end surface of the lead screw, a nut with an M18 thread is welded. It is used as a locking mechanism. When installing the lead screw, the welded nut must fit snugly against the end of the flange. It is possible to arrange such a mount only if all dimensions are observed.
- The next step is to slide the washer and the second M16 nut on the outside of the flange. These elements will then be welded to the screw to be installed. To reduce friction, an additional nut is installed between the flange and the inner nut.
- After the movable unit has been assembled, it is inserted into a fixed pipe of a larger diameter and the second end of the lead screw is screwed into the nut of the flange of the fixed part.
- The clamping jaws are in contact with the workpiece surface. They can be made from solid metal that is welded to the main structure.
- The immobility can be increased by welding two supports to the bottom of the pipe. The chair version must be made so that the load is distributed evenly.
- During operation of the device, the inner tube can rotate together with the lead screw. This situation creates quite a few problems during the execution of work. This drawback can be eliminated by creating a longitudinal slot, the position of which will be fixed using a special locking screw.
Cast iron and steel
The details of the bed and clamping of the bench vice are supposed to be made of structural cast iron - it rusts very badly, is hard and viscous, has a small TCR (coefficient of thermal expansion), but most importantly, it is practically not subject to metal fatigue. Cast iron vice does not last decades - centuries. Since "the strength of the entire chain is determined by its weakest link", the vice jaws and a pair of lead screw - nut are made from various grades of tool steel. A simple constructional one is too ductile, it leads strongly when welding, and it rusts easily. Therefore, leave homemade vices like those in fig. lower, it is not recommended to spend the winter in the country - during the winter they can become completely unusable.
Homemade locksmith vice
But that is not the crux of the problem. And the fact is that now at the vices bought at an affordable price, the paws of the jaws often break even at the first clamp; at best, with regular use, the vice will last six months or a year. When examining the fracture, it turns out that they are made of simple gray cast iron. The paws do not break, this is how the running pair wears out - the thread there is a usual triangular profile (see below), and steel, it seems, is no better than St44. And the prices for certified vice with full specification and warranty ... let's not talk about sad things, let's remember something good from the past.As a result, the question arises: is it not worth making a vice yourself at home? Not to mention the case when it is necessary to clamp the workpiece, but at least some kind of vice is not within reach. They will not be better, so at least they will be cheaper. Or for nothing, if there are suitable scraps of metal profile in the trash, see, for example, the plot:
Project and drawings
When designing a carpentry workbench, the most important criteria are height, configuration and equipment. In addition, it is imperative to take into account who will operate the desktop - left-handed or right-handed.
Considering that it will take a long time to work at the carpentry workbench, the highest attention should be paid to the height of the future structure. For people of average height, experts recommend making a table no higher than 90 cm
Carpentry Workbench Blueprint
When determining the distance from the floor to the countertop, it is best to focus not on the average parameters, but on the features of your own anatomy. It is optimal if the upper cut of the legs is flush with the hands. If you calculate this parameter taking into account the thickness of the tabletop, then you can work tirelessly at such a workbench for several hours.
The cover of the machine can be made of boards, solid wood or plywood and is a type-setting structure. It is not recommended to use chipboard or OSB for this purpose. Professional carpenters have long determined the optimal size of the tabletop - a maximum of 2 m in length and 0.7 m in width. On such a workbench, with the same convenience, you can make a prefabricated wooden door and a small window.
When designing a structure, do not forget about the strength of the supporting frame. For supporting structural elements, a bar with a cross section of at least 100x100 mm is used. As longitudinal and transverse reinforcing elements, it is allowed to use slats and beams with a smaller section - from 50 - 60 mm and more. The joints of the parts are mounted on spikes or dowels, furniture corners and other fittings are used for strength, and all connections are made using bolts and self-tapping screws. Nails will not be able to provide the required stability and fundamental structure.
Joiner's workbench. View from above
Next, consider the project of a carpentry table¸ made of plywood, or rather, of two 1.8 mm thick plywood sheets glued together. The dimensions of the lid are 150x60 cm. The edges of the tabletop are reinforced with plywood strips, which increases its thickness to 72 mm. By the way, the dimensions presented are not a dogma and can be adjusted, if necessary, in accordance with the needs and characteristics of a particular room used as a workshop.
Features and characteristics of the tool
Modern carpentry vices are not much different from similar devices that were used in the last century. They still have the inherent versatility, reliability, required efficiency in terms of comfort in the process of performing both simple and complex jobs. However, there are situations when they break down, become unusable, for example, at the end of the operational period.
The principle of operation of carpentry yews does not differ structurally from the operation of similar tools designed for processing metal products. Therefore, the main details are very similar:
- two jaws - movable and fixed;
- metal parts - two guides, a lead screw, nuts;
- handle made of metal or wood.
The vice is attached to the surface of the workbench with bolts and nuts or long self-tapping screws.
Joinery vices are different. Some models are widely used for woodworking in the manufacture of products in large quantities in factories, other devices are practical and convenient to use in everyday life, for example, in order to create original handicrafts: pens, wooden toys and other joinery.It is advisable to make a simple adaptation with your own hands for the implementation of any creative ideas.
Carpentry vices for a workbench differ in the following basic criteria:
- size (large, small);
- design (clamping, screw, longitudinal, quick-clamping);
- the material used;
- fastening method.
A large number of joinery vices are produced at domestic and foreign enterprises, but the cost of the products is quite high, which is an additional bonus in favor of making such a tool on your own.
If you plan to use the product exclusively for household needs, for example, creativity, you should decide on the key parameters: size, shape, optimal grip width. And you should also provide for a method of attachment to the workbench.
