vice handle with square bore

[jack620]

I was given one of those bog-standard Taiwanese X-Y vices. I reckon it's about 20 years old and needs a damn good clean up. One of the plastic handles is missing and I haven't had any luck sourcing a replacement. The shaft it has to fit is 8mm square.

I figure I'm going to have to make a new handle. Actually I'll make 2 so I can replace the crappy plastic one that remains. I figure I'll start with a brass boss of around 1" and make an 8mm square hole it it. I can then add an arm and handle to that.

To make the square hole I guess I can drill an 8mm hole then either file it square or make an 8mm broach. To make the broach I would take a piece of 8mm square steel and bore a countersink in one end. That should produce 4 sharp points on the end of the stock. Do you reckon they would be hard enough to square up a round hole in brass?

Or maybe I could make a 3" diameter aluminium disc (I have suitable stock) and make the square hole in that? Then I would just need to drill and tap a hole near the perimeter and screw a small knob into that. That would produce a 3" handwheel.

Appreciate any thoughts.

Chris

[Grahame Collins]

One of my projects for the students was to make a square hole for a double ended 12mm male socket square socket drive. This was a component of a torque wrench,one which was almost identical to the W &B dual signal model.

The square hole was achieved by
Careful marking out.
Drilling a hole
Cutting from the hole (internally) with a hacksaw blade with the back ground for clearance.
Cleaned up with a square file.

About 30 minutes of work.
Alternately if you going to broach it here is a link.

http://www.sherline.com/tip20.htm

Grahame

[toolman49]

G'Day,
Perhaps a brass tap (as in water ) handle might fit.
Regards,
Martin

[jack620]

thanks fellas.

Hadn't thought about a garden tap handle. I'll see if one fits before proceeding.

[.RC.]

Get some steel, mill two slots 8mm wide, 4mm deep....

Weld together with an 8mm square bit in the middle to keep the size correct.. and clean up..... easy 8mm square hole...

[jack620]

Hi RC,
thanks, but sadly I don't have a mill. :C

[Stustoys]

Do you have a welder?

[jack620]

I've got an oxy-LPG torch. Not sure if that qualifies as a welder. It's only good for brazing.

[Michael G]

If you go the first way (drill and file) I'd recommend drilling some small holes in the corners before drilling the main hole so that there is less material to file out. I'd also suggest drilling a 7.5mm or even a 7mm hole rather than 8mm if 8mm is the final size. My drill bits rarely drill spot on (especially if they have been resharpened by hand) and any wander/ misalignment will push you outside the lines too.

Michael

[jack620]

Cutting from the hole (internally) with a hacksaw blade with the back ground for clearance.


I'm not sure what you mean Grahame. Do you mean cutting radially from the centre out towards each corner of the square (i.e. 4 cuts)? Or do you cut out a V shaped piece from each corner (8 cuts)? Or something else entirely?

Chris

[Ueee]

Buy a shaper.......:D

I would cut 2 pieces and cut a v out of each side and then braze the 2 together. No need for a mill or any really difficult filing.

[jack620]

Mmmm, but what does a shaper-less and mill-less bloke cut the Vees with?

[pipeclay]

You could of cut the vee with a hacksaw.
As it is if you had drilled and filed since your 1st post some hours ago you would now have 1 or 2 newly made handles.

[shedhappens]

Here is a 8.052 internal square tube that you could cut to length and braze a handle too.

SHS310RS Small Mechanical Parts and Components (http://www.smallparts.com.au/store/item/shs310rs/sleevessquareholeplain/)

john

[jack620]

Thanks John,
I'll keep that in mind, but at $45 for a 57mm length it's a bit exy. Thanks for looking anyway.

Pete,
true, but if I had spent the afternoon on the end of a file instead of a chainsaw I wouldn't have a nice pile of firewood would I? :) Plus I'm not one to follow the first lead I get. I like to explore all the options before jumping in. Less chance of a f**k-up that way, don't you think?

[Grahame Collins]

I'm not sure what you mean Grahame. Do you mean cutting radially from the centre out towards each corner of the square (i.e. 4 cuts)? Or do you cut out a V shaped piece from each corner (8 cuts)? Or something else entirely?

Chris


Using the blade fed into the hole and from the inside cut lines back into the corner -stock removal.

Dress up what the saw blade could not take out,with a sq file.
With a 8mm square a mini hacksaw maybe the go.

Grahame

[Bryan]

I've made them by welding 4 bits of flat along the corners. Bit fiddly to set up (clamp to a dummy square), but no hacksaws or files involved.

[Grahame Collins]

If welding ,do not forget about a bit of shim between the square and the flats.

The welding will shrink and the item will be fixed to the square very,very firmly indeed.

Grahame

[jack620]

Being time poor I decided to go the lazy route and buy a 7/16" square hole bushing like the one recommended by John (shedhappens). I managed to find a supplier in the US that sells them quite a bit cheaper than the oz supplier (no surprises there). Postage was extremely reasonable too. A small USPS box that holds up to 4lbs for $16.95. I grabbed a few extra goodies to fill the box.

I'll turn up a couple of handwheels and press a short length of the square hole bushing into each.

Thanks for all the tips.

[jack620]

I finished the hand-wheels. I drilled and reamed the bores in the wheels to 1/2" and tapped in a piece of square hole sleeve. Some Loctite 641 should keep them there.

Now I need to strip down and clean the X-Y vice- the shiny new wheels make it look even worse!

Thanks to all those who offered advice.

Here's a couple of pics:

[shedhappens]

well you "handled" that job ok jack :2tsup:

[jhovel]

Have a look at what I did with my brand new X-Y vice:
http://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/restoring-servian-pedestal-drill-press-141363/index2.html#post1430921
I like your handwheels better than the originals. Might follow your lead one day.
Cheers,
Joe

[jack620]

Joe,
It was your thread that shamed me into doing something about the handles! I'll strip, clean & paint the vice soon. The scraping is unlikely to ever happen sadly.
Chris