Fitting new vise to old table

teacherman · Post by **teacherman** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:10 pm

Well, my new SS drill press vise arrived today, and it has two flat mounting bolts designed to grip the slots in newer model saw tables. Not enough meat on the casting to accommodate cutting slots in the miter gauge grooves, so I need to drill four holes through which to run bolts to affix the vise to the table. If they are chamfered and bored straight, I don't see a problem with doing this. HOwever, I am new to the SS world, and I would like to hear some opinions and ideas regarding how to best approach this issue. One idea I have is to find a rigid metal disc to which I can mount the vise, in which are some curved slots near the edge, through which I can run some wing nuts, which would give me full 360˚ versatility on the vise angle. Whattaya think? Pic attached.

wa2crk · Post by **wa2crk** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:26 pm

Look at the SS site for a fixture that looks like it can be easily reproduced.
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... _jaws.htme
Bill V

wa2crk · Post by **wa2crk** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:30 pm

Look on the SS site for a fixture that looks like it would be easy to replicate.
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... e_jaws.htm
Bill V

teacherman · Post by **teacherman** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:54 pm

wa2crk wrote:Look on the SS site for a fixture that looks like it would be easy to replicate.
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... e_jaws.htm
Bill V

Wait a minute! I can bolt it to the saw blade groove. I can raise and lower the table to move the vise. Thanks!

fitzhugh · Post by **fitzhugh** » Fri Apr 25, 2014 3:10 pm

If you get another table insert and moto the vise to that you can add and remove it with only 2 screws and no teaching under the table for washers and nuts.

I'm really glad you came up with this idea. I've got an old style table and didn't get past the "oh, guess it won't work" stage when looking at the dp vise.

I was planning on getting another insert I could drill out so it had a larger hole in the center to drill through. Seems people just count on paying attention and not drilling into their table.

teacherman · Post by **teacherman** » Sat Apr 26, 2014 7:35 pm

Well, I now have a super strong mounting setup for my vise. 7/16" carriage bolts fit snugly in the vise slots ( I had to dig through the bolts to find four that actually fit all the way in), and wing nuts under the table tighten it up quickly.

I have to drill a 3/4" broken dowel out of a piano bench leg, and I need to mount the jaws parallel to the quill movement. I offset the holes a bit to allow me to drill the center of a workpiece from 1/2" wide to the full width of the vise jaws. The vise slides back and forth to accommodate this. The part I drilled is thicker than the rest of the table, and there are gussets right there, two of which I had to modify slightly. It is a sturdy casting, and I think it will be just fine. It won't affect any other function I can think of.

I even ordered a set of SS Forstner bits so I could fix this piano bench. My wife's friend from work brought it over. I hope they are good ones. The vise actually has a problem with the Acme screw threads on the tightening shaft not meshing well with the teeth on the quick release button, or maybe the jaw gets hung up on its guide bars. Great design, but I think they cheaped it a bit, which was why I could afford it, I suppose....

The little hole was already there, having been provided by a previous owner.

teacherman · Post by **teacherman** » Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:07 pm

I suppose I could have done this for the price of a couple of miter gauge slide bars, but I will be drilling in broken-off end grain hardwood, and there may well be some irregular stresses and bouncing on the piece from the drill bit hitting it, and I figure there is no room for error, so I went for what I thought was the absolute sturdiest configuration.

teacherman · Post by **teacherman** » Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:23 pm

I got an email telling me my Forstner bits, along with some bandsaw blades, etc., are now en route, likely to arrive Thursday! I feel like a little kid. I will post pics of the unique clamping arrangements I've devised that will allow me to use the horizontal drilling machine, along with my butchered saw table, to drill out a 3/4" hardwood dowel that broke off on this piano bench. The bench itself will require a bit of odd clamping and support as well as the leg.

I am fully convinced that had I not happened upon this old machine at the Habitat ReStore, I would never be able to take on a project such as this. I have not used my SS to actually DO anything yet, so this will be its first project.

fitzhugh · Post by **fitzhugh** » Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:51 pm

Where are you located? I ask because the habitat restore here had 2 and wonder if you got one. Probably not, since they probably show up occasionally at many.

Now, be sure and show your work! (Sorry, had to say it teacherman - do want to see photos though).

teacherman · Post by **teacherman** » Tue Apr 29, 2014 8:42 pm

I'm in the KC area. I wish there had been two of them. They had one, which was the first one I'd seen since the 1970s, when I was visiting my father in California. I'm glad I was able to snap it up, because I had no idea these were such good tools!

I have designed my SPT and accessory storage cabinet, which will be a rolling cabinet six feet high, three feet wide, and about 16" deep, with two doors on the front. It will hold a jointer, bandsaw, saw table, lathe tailstock, separate extension table, and all the other stuff I have. Imagine having all those tools in a quality configuration, with such a small footprint.

I'll try to get a decent drawing together and post it.

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