1 Attachment(s)
PDF build manual for Armstrong linear bearing leg vise
I am so impressed by Matt Armstrong's linear bearing leg vise that I've taken his original description, edited it, rearranged it and followed up his parts list with prices and so on. I did this so that I could really understand how to make one myself. The pdf attachment here (7 A4 pages) is the result. It is sort of like a build manual.
Attachment 269557
The upshot is that it requires parts from a couple of US mail order suppliers, but the parts aren't expensive (don't know about the shipping costs). The only metalwork involved is to turn down the threaded rod end for a machine handwheel, and cross-drilling of the rod and the handwheel for a rollpin to fasten them together. Also, the acme thread nut has to be given a couple of spot welds onto a flange. Pretty straightforward.
Personally, I see the projecting handle on the machine handwheel presents a danger of painfully striking your leg while you move around the bench. Alternatives would be a Kipp cast-iron handwheel without handle (a bit like a pressure valve handwheel) or use a modern-style Kipp machine handwheel with a fold-away grip. Kipp has a distributor in Heidelberg West in Melbourne, North East Industrial Supplies P/L