Goodafternoon, everyone!!
So, I just posted another video, figured I'd stop in and share it real quick...
Basically, I recently built a replacement for my old Craftsman bench vise... And not being one to leave well enough alone, I decided to rehabilitate the thing for future use...
And one of my largest complaints about that particular vise, is that it "turns" too easily... When you go to crank down on something, it swivels to the side and when you try to tighten down the swivel-lock thing, the tensioning bar/handle bends...
So, I decided to come up with my own solution.
Since I rarely if ever swivel a vise, I decided that the way to go here would be to make a base plate, weld it to the vise, and bolt it to the table, so thats exactly what I did...
I cut out a plate from some 1/2" scrap metal, and got to work... I tacked it in place with a no-preheat welding technique, and then got out the rosebud. I gave it a nice long and as-even-as-i-could-get-it heating, just to warm things up a bit and relieve stress...
At which point I began the welding process...
My choice of filler for this job was 308L Stainless Steel mig wire... I know its not "good-enough" for our resident know-it-alls, but its something I see as an inexpensive and commonly used, widely accepted method for non-critical welds on cast-iron, or cast-to-steel like this... Its something that a lot of people swear by, and have had success with in the past, so it was my go-to wire for this job...
I put down three welds of a couple inches in length each, to limit heat input and help reduce stress... At which point I started peening my welds, and then I buried the entire piece in sand, and let it slowly cool down for a few hours.
I'm VERY pleased with how this turned out, my trusty old vise is back on the road to being used, and I got to try mig welding cast iron to steel, which I'd never done before...
If I were going to do this repair again, I'd probably do something different for my pre-heat... I felt that it was tough to heat something of this shape with a torch, and I'd probably find an oven of some kind, or even a BBQ grill, and let it warm all the way through for a few hours before welding...
Anyway, just thought I'd share the video, hope you guys enjoy it. Have a great week, everyone
video1
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So, I just posted another video, figured I'd stop in and share it real quick...
Basically, I recently built a replacement for my old Craftsman bench vise... And not being one to leave well enough alone, I decided to rehabilitate the thing for future use...
And one of my largest complaints about that particular vise, is that it "turns" too easily... When you go to crank down on something, it swivels to the side and when you try to tighten down the swivel-lock thing, the tensioning bar/handle bends...
So, I decided to come up with my own solution.
Since I rarely if ever swivel a vise, I decided that the way to go here would be to make a base plate, weld it to the vise, and bolt it to the table, so thats exactly what I did...
I cut out a plate from some 1/2" scrap metal, and got to work... I tacked it in place with a no-preheat welding technique, and then got out the rosebud. I gave it a nice long and as-even-as-i-could-get-it heating, just to warm things up a bit and relieve stress...
At which point I began the welding process...
My choice of filler for this job was 308L Stainless Steel mig wire... I know its not "good-enough" for our resident know-it-alls, but its something I see as an inexpensive and commonly used, widely accepted method for non-critical welds on cast-iron, or cast-to-steel like this... Its something that a lot of people swear by, and have had success with in the past, so it was my go-to wire for this job...
I put down three welds of a couple inches in length each, to limit heat input and help reduce stress... At which point I started peening my welds, and then I buried the entire piece in sand, and let it slowly cool down for a few hours.
I'm VERY pleased with how this turned out, my trusty old vise is back on the road to being used, and I got to try mig welding cast iron to steel, which I'd never done before...
If I were going to do this repair again, I'd probably do something different for my pre-heat... I felt that it was tough to heat something of this shape with a torch, and I'd probably find an oven of some kind, or even a BBQ grill, and let it warm all the way through for a few hours before welding...
Anyway, just thought I'd share the video, hope you guys enjoy it. Have a great week, everyone
video1
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