adjustable height vise stand???

NickWheeler

NickWheeler

Joined
Dec 3, 1999
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I think in the new shop, I want to build an adjustable height vise stand for hand work. I have about 10 different ideas floating through my head right now... all of which I think are feasible. But rather than re-invent the wheel, I'm wondering if any of you guys have one, or have seen one you like.

I want HEAVY, STABLE, RIGID.

The vise I'll probably use is about 70 pounds... which is no big deal for me to move around now... but in 40 years it might not be so easy. So I'm dreaming up things that are mechanically assisted.

A quick google search brings this one up... very nice, easy to build, looks pretty sturdy. Something like this one is certainly an option. It has a spring inside the column to help with lifting.

I also thought about finding an old drill press column. Looks like somebody else thought the same thing.


So... any ideas??? Thanks! :)



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ViseStand.jpg


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Good idea, all it takes is the slightest injury to lose all strength in a limb or joint.

Looking at this, I totally understand building one.Looks like a rack and pinion with a set screw
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=99_167&products_id=3561


I love these sorts of challenges, all the fun of thinking about without having to build it.


What height range?

How heavy stable and rigid?
You talking using it for a 15 pound sledge, or engraving?

The rigid above is able to swivel on the round post.
You need that that?

portable, or bolted to the floor, or the bench, or ?

how often would you change positions ?

how fine of a control ?

what have you got to work with?
-electricity
-air
-cranks

how often and how fast do you need to change it?





I like that clamp on the Wilton, very simple, yet very strong.
Much stronger than just a set screw type
The Wilton above also allows swivel if you want that.

My first thought is to copy the Wilton, only beefier to suit yourself.
Instead of a spring, a pneumatic cylinder in the base.
Quick detach air hose fitting, 2 simple button valves one for up, one for down.


Bruce bump did a pedestal grinder with 2 square tubing sliding inside each other and a bottle jack
it's really limited to the short stroke of the jack
attachment.php

There are some long stroke hydraulic bottle jacks
20 inch lift range
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-super-heavy-duty-long-ram-hydraulic-flat-bottom-jack-36468.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-ton-long-ram-air-hydraulic-jack-94562.html
that seems the simplest to me.
BUT
it means you hav eto bend down to adjust it.
It would be nice to adjust it while you are standing or siting at it and see exactly where you want it to be.


unless
you use a discrete hydraulic cylinder and foot pump
you can get them as autobody jack kits
They offer quick detach fittings you can disconnect the jack



threads
I'm thinking acme threaded rod, nuts and slow geared motor
or drill, cordless drill, or pneumatic impact, to drive it, 2 jam nuts and a washer to attach it to,
saves using a gear box set-up.



rack and pinion with a crank seems really simple, but be sure to have a removable crank or your knees will hate that.



Have you ever seen a barber chair
pump pedal, pedal held down releases it.


What have you considered?
 
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A tongue jack for a trailer might do the trick, or if you want heavier a jack from a 5th wheel trailer.


Leadfoot
 
very cool post especially since I have been thinking about this too. I have a salon chair base but it really seems somewhat lightly constructed as far as the jack ect also very easy to bump and drop when there is weight on it . my last whiteboarded idea was very similar to the wilton stand but utilizing a trailer jack in the column for the up and down. I like the idea of the height control and they are designed to lift hundreds of Lbs. Still non constructed but looking forward to see other ideas posted then I will abscond with them and maybe get my stand done better than I would have on my own.
Chris
 
Thanks guys-

Sam, I guess you must approach a lot of this stuff like I do. I have considered all the things you posted. I'd be typing for an hour if I hashed out everything I've thought about... but it's along the same lines of what you're thinking. I don't need a super automated lift, as I just want to raise or lower the vise every now and again to get my hand-work in a more comfortable working position.

The idea I come back to most, is building one like the stand shown above with the Wilton, but buying a trailer tongue jack from HF, cutting the wheel off, and putting it inside the tubing. Of course I'd have to get the side mount handle.... but I think something like that would work very well. Haha, I somehow missed Winterbear's post before I started typing this- great minds must think alike! :D

I'm talking about a pedestal type set-up, most likely bolted to the floor with wedge anchors, that could go from a seated working height, up to a comfortable standing height... strictly for hand work like blade finishing, filing, etc. I have the post vises and the 225# Rigid vise, and recently bought a 4'X8'X1" thick topped welding table.... if I need to break out a 15# sledge on something ;) :)

There are two very tall windows in the new shop, and I'd like to maximize all that natural light for hand work, by having this type of set-up right in front of the windows.... rather than cover the lower half of the windows with a bench. I've never had room for something like this before, but I will now. There have been many times, when I just couldn't get comfortable while sanding on a blade, and I thought about something like this.

Thanks for the ideas guys... I'll gladly take more! :)
 
Tube in a tube is a good bet, with double lock nuts with T or L handles on them, bolted to the floor.
 
NickWheeler said:
Thanks guys-

Sam, I guess you must approach a lot of this stuff like I do. I have considered all the things you posted. I'd be typing for an hour if I hashed out everything I've thought about... but it's along the same lines of what you're thinking. I don't need a super automated lift, as I just want to raise or lower the vise every now and again to get my hand-work in a more comfortable working position.

The idea I come back to most, is building one like the stand shown above with the Wilton, but buying a trailer tongue jack from HF, cutting the wheel off, and putting it inside the tubing. Of course I'd have to get the side mount handle.... but I think something like that would work very well. Haha, I somehow missed Winterbear's post before I started typing this- great minds must think alike! :D
Click to expand...

Yea Nick, we're brilliant like that. (smilies)
That's why I appreciate your posts so much, it really makes sense to me the way you do some things.
Sometimes I already to it that way, sometimes I can't believe I have never thought of it.

So you don't need fast cycle time automation.
That simplifies things

RE the trailer jack.
Also have a look at RV jacks, they have better adjustment range.

The good points of that jack,
they are setup with very fine gearing, so you can really dial in your fine adjustments.

The down side I see is if you are going from the sitting / standing and back again - it's ALOT of turns to cover that distance.

You may be able to weld on a nut in place of the crank and then run it with a drill / cordless drill / air tool whatever for those instances.



I would explore either that,

or a long stroke hydraulic.
Put a little return spring on it and you could run it with your foot.
 
I you could do like A C Richards does with his two disc grinders, mount it on the end of one of you mills. Up down and side to side with ease.
 
12345678910 said:
...It really makes sense to me the way you do some things.
Click to expand...

I am sorry for your wife and/or family. LMAO :D

The crank..crank...crank..crank...crank...crank..crank... of the trailer jack is something I don't like... but I had also considered the idea of welding a large nut to the handle so I could use a drill. I looked at a trailer jack at HF yesterday, and I think I could do that without messing up the jack (well, other than cutting the handle off, of course).

I also looked at the skinny, long bottle jacks. That seems like a pretty good option.

I hadn't even thought about RV jacks...but my dad has a POS camper with l-----o----n-----g skinny bottle jacks on it for leveling it up. One of those might be just the ticket.

William, thanks for that link... I can think of all sorts of stuff to use that for! :thumbup:

Oh, I missed that link above for the Burr King stand somehow. That's VERY cool.

Maybe I can just hire a monkey to lift something up and down for me on the cheap.
 
Hmm... I didn't see that air/hydraulic jack at HF yesterday. For $80... that would make pretty simple work of all this. I didn't really think I needed something quite that slick...but that would be VERY cool. :cool: :thumbup: Thanks for the link!
 
Rig it up to a saddle that your dog can walk under and strap on when you guys go into shop. When the pooch is laying down the vise will be at your sitting height. When the beast stands up it will be at your standing height. And if you want it rotated, inclined or moved from one spot in the shop to another, no prob...it's ready to go with 4-wheel drive and independent front and rear suspension!
 
Patrice- Be careful, you might just get hired! :eek: :p

Phil- I'm not sure why I didn't think of that! Oh wait... yes I do remember why I let that thought pass. The concrete floor in the new shop is only a standard, fiber mesh reinforced 4" slab. I'd hate to have a huge hole in it when one of the boyz decided they wanted to move into the other room. ;) :D

Do any of you have experience with the air/hydraulic jacks? I don't... so I watched a couple videos on youtube, and they seem painfully slow.

Brian- That would certainly work, and be rigid, but my mills will be in a different room from my finishing area. Frankly, I'm pretty surprised Chuck would do that with the disk... seems kind'a scarey making all that fine abrasive dust right on top of the mill.
 
I'm in the process of building my new and larger (a grand 8 by 12) workshop and was pondering exactly how to do this when the "quick and dirty" in me came up with a solution...

I'm getting another vise and mounting it at a different height. I can always use another vise anyway!
 
Given that the range of motion doesn't need to be all that large, does it really matter how much movement you get from the turn of a crank? You'll probably never adjust it more than 5 inches anyway. If you think you'll be moving it greater distances, consider hydrolic lifters. ;) Just rip em out of your low-rider and put it to work in the shop.
 
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