On Wed, 7 May 2008 14:09:38 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Ignoramus18547" wrote in message
m...
Are there any serious disadvantages of "soft jaws" made of Aluminum?

The reason for my question is that I have a Wilton tradesman 1765
vise (6.5" jaw width), and I have aluminum angle already. Brass jaws
cost $85 and I thought that I coudl just fabricate something from the
angle.

Any experiences with aluminum jaws?

I've used removable jaws made of aluminum angle for 40 years. They work
fine.

Just clamp the angles in your vise, mark off where to cut them so you'll
have some little adjustable "ears" that you can bend over with a hammer, cut
on those marks with a hacksaw, re-clamp, and bend the ears over so the jaws
don't fall off. When you have to remove them, a screwdriver will pry them
off.


One comment. Aluminum being softer is a bit more likely to have chips
embed themselves into the jaws so they probably need to be changed, or
inspected, more frequently.

Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct Address is bpaige125atgmaildotcom)