I had a big discussion with my friend today concerning jaws in regular
metalworking bench vises. I was arguing that soft jaws are more useful
than hardened jaws. My point is that vise jaws are for holding parts,
not for damaging parts. A soft jaw would mold around the part and hold
it, instead of deforming the part. My friend, though, does not think
so.

While I am sure that one could find applications for both sorts of
jaws, I would like to know if you think that hardened jaws or soft
jaws are a more practical choice for a general purpose vise.

i

In article ,
Ignoramus5688 wrote:

I had a big discussion with my friend today concerning jaws in regular
metalworking bench vises. I was arguing that soft jaws are more useful
than hardened jaws. My point is that vise jaws are for holding parts,
not for damaging parts. A soft jaw would mold around the part and hold
it, instead of deforming the part. My friend, though, does not think
so.

While I am sure that one could find applications for both sorts of
jaws, I would like to know if you think that hardened jaws or soft
jaws are a more practical choice for a general purpose vise.

Depends on what kind of work you do. I find that toothy hard steel jaws
are a problem, because most thing I need to hold do not tolerate the
surface damage well. Right now I have copper jaw covers in place, but
plan to fabricate some smooth brass jaw inserts for general use. When I
get around to it.


Joe Gwinn

There are applications for both. I make aluminum jaw covers and use them most of the time.
Steve

"Ignoramus5688" wrote in message ...
I had a big discussion with my friend today concerning jaws in regular
metalworking bench vises. I was arguing that soft jaws are more useful
than hardened jaws. My point is that vise jaws are for holding parts,
not for damaging parts. A soft jaw would mold around the part and hold
it, instead of deforming the part. My friend, though, does not think
so.

While I am sure that one could find applications for both sorts of
jaws, I would like to know if you think that hardened jaws or soft
jaws are a more practical choice for a general purpose vise.

i

"Ignoramus5688" wrote in message
...
I had a big discussion with my friend today concerning jaws in regular
metalworking bench vises. I was arguing that soft jaws are more useful
than hardened jaws. My point is that vise jaws are for holding parts,
not for damaging parts. A soft jaw would mold around the part and hold
it, instead of deforming the part. My friend, though, does not think
so.

While I am sure that one could find applications for both sorts of
jaws, I would like to know if you think that hardened jaws or soft
jaws are a more practical choice for a general purpose vise.

i

Soft jaws generally won't prevent deforming parts. What they will do, if
used right, is minimize the damage to the *finish* of a part.

Most of us have hard jaws in our vices and homemade soft covers that you can
slip over them when needed. Mine are 3/16"-thick pieces of 1100 aluminum. I
have some lead shoes that just go over the jaws, home made from lead sheet
(which was also home made, by pouring molten lead on a piece of steel plate
that had been well smoked with a torch). And I have plastic, leather, and
rubber scraps under the bench for use on the vise jaws when needed.

--
Ed Huntress

So far I've seen 3 replies, all of which say that there are uses for
both & speak to soft jaws, but don't say what the hard-jaw uses are. I
can't think of them either. Maybe if you mostly held large structural
pieces that needed to be held tightly, which would deform soft jaws too
quickly. You people that use hard jaws - why?


Bob

On 2010-02-12, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
So far I've seen 3 replies, all of which say that there are uses for
both & speak to soft jaws, but don't say what the hard-jaw uses are. I
can't think of them either. Maybe if you mostly held large structural
pieces that needed to be held tightly, which would deform soft jaws too
quickly. You people that use hard jaws - why?

Bob, I totally agree with the spirit of your question, but I think
that large pieces do not mar jaws as much as hard, small pieces.

I do not think of vise jaws as something to be preserved and
cherished. So if they are marred by valuable parts, and the parts are
not marred, I am happy.

i

In article ,
Ignoramus30621 wrote:

On 2010-02-12, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
So far I've seen 3 replies, all of which say that there are uses for
both & speak to soft jaws, but don't say what the hard-jaw uses are. I
can't think of them either. Maybe if you mostly held large structural
pieces that needed to be held tightly, which would deform soft jaws too
quickly. You people that use hard jaws - why?

Bob, I totally agree with the spirit of your question, but I think
that large pieces do not mar jaws as much as hard, small pieces.

I do not think of vise jaws as something to be preserved and
cherished. So if they are marred by valuable parts, and the parts are
not marred, I am happy.

The issue is not only hard versus soft, it's also toothed versus flat.
Many smaller vices have hardened jaws that are ground smooth. They are
smooth to not damage the workpiece, and hard so they don't lose wear out
too quickly.

Then there are the jaws that are grooved to better hold round stock
firmly but without marring.

Joe Gwinn

Bob,
Hard jaws are useful for gripping firmly, when surface finish is not so important. When using heat. When filing to reference line
or when sawing and the vice jaws are used as a guide.
Steve

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message ...
So far I've seen 3 replies, all of which say that there are uses for both & speak to soft jaws, but don't say what the hard-jaw
uses are. I can't think of them either. Maybe if you mostly held large structural pieces that needed to be held tightly, which
would deform soft jaws too quickly. You people that use hard jaws - why?


Bob

On Feb 12, 2:21*pm, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
So far I've seen 3 replies, all of which say that there are uses for
both & speak to soft jaws, but don't say what the hard-jaw uses are. *I
can't think of them either. *Maybe if you mostly held large structural
pieces that needed to be held tightly, which would deform soft jaws too
quickly. *You people that use hard jaws *- why?

Bob

I use smooth hard jaws all the time in my bench vise. The hard jaws
stay smooth. I only tighten the vise as much as necessary for what I
am doing. Since the jaws stay smooth, I think they do not mar the
pieces being held as much as soft jaws that are no longer smooth
because they were used to grip rough items.

What sort of jaws do you use in a milling machine vise?

Dan

wrote:
On Feb 12, 2:21 pm, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
So far I've seen 3 replies, all of which say that there are uses for
both & speak to soft jaws, but don't say what the hard-jaw uses are.
I can't think of them either. Maybe if you mostly held large
structural pieces that needed to be held tightly, which would deform
soft jaws too quickly. You people that use hard jaws - why?

Bob

I use smooth hard jaws all the time in my bench vise. The hard jaws
stay smooth. I only tighten the vise as much as necessary for what I
am doing. Since the jaws stay smooth, I think they do not mar the
pieces being held as much as soft jaws that are no longer smooth
because they were used to grip rough items.

What sort of jaws do you use in a milling machine vise?

Dan

Depends on what I'm doing . I have a set of soft jaws that I use for some
things - I can machine a ledge if I need to . I also use the original smooth
steel jaws for some things - like holding rough stock for the initial
machining operations .

--
Snag

wrote:
I use smooth hard jaws all the time in my bench vise. The hard jaws
stay smooth. I only tighten the vise as much as necessary for what I
am doing. Since the jaws stay smooth, I think they do not mar the
pieces being held as much as soft jaws that are no longer smooth
because they were used to grip rough items.

What sort of jaws do you use in a milling machine vise?

Dan

Good point! As long as the jaws are smooth they aren't going to mar
anything. But if you had to grip something so rough that it would mar
your hard jaws, it would be good to use some sacrificial jaws, or inserts.

Thanks,
Bob

On Feb 12, 9:21*am, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
So far I've seen 3 replies, all of which say that there are uses for
both & speak to soft jaws, but don't say what the hard-jaw uses are. *I
can't think of them either. *Maybe if you mostly held large structural
pieces that needed to be held tightly, which would deform soft jaws too
quickly. *You people that use hard jaws *- why?

Bob

Soft jaws deform when cranking hard on a stuck bolt, and then they
scar anything softer like aluminum, wood or plastic. I like grooved
hard jaws to unscrew old pipe fittings etc, smooth hard ones for
shearing or filing sheet metal, copper covers for general light work
and scrap sheet aluminum to clamp a polished shaft.

jsw

On Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:26:58 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:


I use smooth hard jaws all the time in my bench vise. The hard jaws
stay smooth. I only tighten the vise as much as necessary for what I
am doing. Since the jaws stay smooth, I think they do not mar the
pieces being held as much as soft jaws that are no longer smooth
because they were used to grip rough items.

What sort of jaws do you use in a milling machine vise?

Dan

Likewise. I do have 6ft of 1"x1"x1/8" aluminium angle that I bought
specifically to use as soft jaws. But in three years I haven't needed to use
any of it.

If I need to get a really strong grip on a cylindrical object, I'll bore a
matching hole in a block of mild steel and then split it on the bandsaw. This
can give incredible grip.

Mark Rand
RTFM

On Feb 12, 11:26*am, " wrote:
...
What sort of jaws do you use in a milling machine vise?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dan

A previous owner of my horizontal mill had made a number of aluminum
jaw inserts for it, mostly with steps a short ways down to hold thin
work up high without parallels.

It is a "bench mill" with a lever operated table and may have been
fixtured for small production runs, though I dragged it out of the
basement of a house.

jsw

On Feb 12, 6:48*pm, Bob Engelhardt wrote:

Good point! *As long as the jaws are smooth they aren't going to mar
anything. *But if you had to grip something so rough that it would mar
your hard jaws, it would be good to use some sacrificial jaws, or inserts..

Thanks,
Bob

The hard jaws are really hard tool steel. But when I need to grip
something rough or odd shaped where the hard jaws would mar the part,
I use some wood. I might use aluminum, copper, or brass instead, but
generally there are some wood scraps closer at hand. Some sort of
slip on jaws might be handy. I just have never made any.

Dan

There are some things which just slip out of soft jaws (usually when you
apply a torque to an awkward-shaped part). Sometimes you have to
tolerate the damage to the surface finish in exchange for being able to
grip the part securely.

Today I wanted to drill out a wingnut to make an improvised knob. I
couldn't do it in the drill press because the drill kept snatching,
making the drive belt slip. And I wasn't in a mood for hanging around.
So I managed to drill out the wingnut using a handheld drill while one
wing of the nut was gripped tightly in the hard jaws of the vice. It
worked, but was somewhat ugly. So I would not recommend drilling out
wingnuts. It's a pain.

Chris

Jim Wilkins wrote in news:ec8e44bf-22f8-42d5-97e2-
:

On Feb 12, 9:21*am, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
So far I've seen 3 replies, all of which say that there are uses for
both & speak to soft jaws, but don't say what the hard-jaw uses are.
*I
can't think of them either. *Maybe if you mostly held large structural
pieces that needed to be held tightly, which would deform soft jaws
too
quickly. *You people that use hard jaws *- why?

Bob

Soft jaws deform when cranking hard on a stuck bolt, and then they
scar anything softer like aluminum, wood or plastic. I like grooved
hard jaws to unscrew old pipe fittings etc, smooth hard ones for
shearing or filing sheet metal, copper covers for general light work
and scrap sheet aluminum to clamp a polished shaft.

I have about a half dozen sets of jaws for my bench vise. The one's I
used the most are aluminum, with V-grooves to hold round stuff. I have a
second set with hard rubber facing, a pair of smooth flat bronze ones,
two kinds of soft plastic jaws, and some cast iron ones that are actually
a bending blade on one side & a Vee on the other. Most of them have
magnets to hold them from flopping around. The bronze ones have tabs
that curve over the back to keep them in place.

Doug White

On Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:21:05 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

So far I've seen 3 replies, all of which say that there are uses for
both & speak to soft jaws, but don't say what the hard-jaw uses are. I
can't think of them either. Maybe if you mostly held large structural
pieces that needed to be held tightly, which would deform soft jaws too
quickly. You people that use hard jaws - why?


Bob
I was happy to have hard jaws the other day when I needed to shorten a
couple adjustable shelf brackets. These things are almost impossible
to cut, so this time I put them in the vise and sheared the surplus
off with a cold chisel. Quick and easy!
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada