The fixed cast iron nut on the screw drive of my Columbian cast iron vise has
broken off & is lost now....What is the best repair?


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On Apr 8, 1:18*pm, John M
wrote:
The fixed cast iron nut on the screw drive of my Columbian cast iron vise has
broken off & is lost now....What is the best repair?

--
posted fromhttp://www.polytechforum.com/metalworking/the-fixed-nut-is-broken-on-...
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Have some fun and watch this. Read the comments, check out his other
links on the same subject:

http://youtu.be/JMu-B62XLOI

On Apr 8, 2:18*pm, John M
wrote:
The fixed cast iron nut on the screw drive of my Columbian cast iron vise has
broken off & is lost now....What is the best repair?

--
posted fromhttp://www.polytechforum.com/metalworking/the-fixed-nut-is-broken-on-...
using *PolytechForum's *Web, RSS and Social Media Interface to
rec.crafts.metalworking and other *engineering *groups

For repair, get a new vise. Or maybe used. Not much can be done TO
repair one, at least so it'll hold. If you try to braze it, it'll
just make the surrounding cast iron brittle and it'll crack. Somebody
with a fully equipped shop could probably turn up a steel nut and
figure out how to fasten it in there so it wouldn't spin, come out or
break the rest of the casting, that wouldn't be me... By the time you
finish dinking around with it, you'll have the cost of another vise in
the time spent. Need a boat anchor, you've got it.

Stan

On Apr 8, 1:28*pm, Stanley Schaefer wrote:
On Apr 8, 2:18*pm, John M

wrote:
The fixed cast iron nut on the screw drive of my Columbian cast iron vise has
broken off & is lost now....What is the best repair?

--
posted fromhttp://www.polytechforum.com/metalworking/the-fixed-nut-is-broken-on-...
using *PolytechForum's *Web, RSS and Social Media Interface to
rec.crafts.metalworking and other *engineering *groups

For repair, get a new vise. *Or maybe used. *Not much can be done TO
repair one, at least so it'll hold. *If you try to braze it, it'll
just make the surrounding cast iron brittle and it'll crack. *Somebody
with a fully equipped shop could probably turn up a steel nut and
figure out how to fasten it in there so it wouldn't spin, come out or
break the rest of the casting, that wouldn't be me... *By the time you
finish dinking around with it, you'll have the cost of another vise in
the time spent. *Need a boat anchor, you've got it.

Stan

If you can get the steel for free and you have time to waste here is
an alternative:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os0i63ZuaE4

Needless to say I'd do it quite differently but the video serves a
purpose. I have nothing but respect for this young man.

On Apr 8, 4:28*pm, Stanley Schaefer wrote:


For repair, get a new vise. *Or maybe used. *Not much can be done TO
repair one, at least so it'll hold. *If you try to braze it, it'll
just make the surrounding cast iron brittle and it'll crack. *Somebody
with a fully equipped shop could probably turn up a steel nut and
figure out how to fasten it in there so it wouldn't spin, come out or
break the rest of the casting, that wouldn't be me... *By the time you
finish dinking around with it, you'll have the cost of another vise in
the time spent. *Need a boat anchor, you've got it.

Stan

I do not know that all Columbian vises are the same, but I am pretty
sure mine has a nut which is not part of the main casting. So if the
nut on my vise was broken, I could take out the remains of the nut and
machine a new nut out of some reasonably good steel and fasten it in
the main casting. I would have a good look. I have a number of
vises, but the Columbian is the one I like best.


Dan

On Apr 8, 2:55*pm, " wrote:
On Apr 8, 4:28*pm, Stanley Schaefer wrote:




For repair, get a new vise. *Or maybe used. *Not much can be done TO
repair one, at least so it'll hold. *If you try to braze it, it'll
just make the surrounding cast iron brittle and it'll crack. *Somebody
with a fully equipped shop could probably turn up a steel nut and
figure out how to fasten it in there so it wouldn't spin, come out or
break the rest of the casting, that wouldn't be me... *By the time you
finish dinking around with it, you'll have the cost of another vise in
the time spent. *Need a boat anchor, you've got it.

Stan

I do not know that all Columbian vises are the same, but I am pretty
sure mine has a nut which is not part of the main casting. *So if the
nut on my vise was broken, I could take out the remains of the nut and
machine a new nut out of some reasonably good steel and fasten it in
the main casting. *I would *have a good look. *I have a number of
vises, but the Columbian is the one I like best.

Dan

Live a little. You have plenty of time not that Ed has you in his kill
file. Buy a forged vise.

On 4/8/2013 3:18 PM, John M wrote:
The fixed cast iron nut on the screw drive of my Columbian cast iron
vise has
broken off & is lost now....What is the best repair?


You can get parts from viseparts.com. I just got a nut for a large old
Columbian vise from them.

On Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:18:02 +0000, John M
wrote:

The fixed cast iron nut on the screw drive of my Columbian cast iron vise has
broken off & is lost now....What is the best repair?

Where did it go?

Machine another one of course.

Gunner

replying to Stanley Schaefer , John M wrote:



For repair, get a new vise. Or maybe used. Not much can be done TO
repair one, at least so it'll hold. If you try to braze it, it'll
just make the surrounding cast iron brittle and it'll crack. Somebody
with a fully equipped shop could probably turn up a steel nut and
figure out how to fasten it in there so it wouldn't spin, come out or
break the rest of the casting, that wouldn't be me... By the time you
finish dinking around with it, you'll have the cost of another vise in
the time spent. Need a boat anchor, you've got it.

Stan


Good answer. You are a funny guy. I could have very well done just that with
the vise, but I am old school. I don't believe in the disposable mentality of
today's world. I was raised around people who lived through the great
depression. They fixed everything, often making it better in the process.
Buying a new vise is an option, but being retired with lots of time to tinker,
I want to give it a go. Perhaps I will be able to report a novel manner of
repair for cast iron items. Perhaps not!

Anyway, I will try nonetheless.


John

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On Mon, 8 Apr 2013 18:04:52 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

On Apr 8, 6:03Â*pm, jon_banquer wrote:
Â* Â*I have a number of
vises, but the Columbian is the one I like best.

Dan

Live a little. You have plenty of time not that Ed has you in his kill
file. Buy a forged vise.

And what brand of forged vise would you recommend and why would that
be better than the Columbian?


Dan


Wilton, Columbian, Prentiss, Parker, Dawn, etc etc

On Apr 8, 7:04*pm, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Mon, 8 Apr 2013 18:04:52 -0700 (PDT), "









wrote:
On Apr 8, 6:03*pm, jon_banquer wrote:
* *I have a number of
vises, but the Columbian is the one I like best.

Dan

Live a little. You have plenty of time not that Ed has you in his kill
file. Buy a forged vise.

And what brand of forged vise would you recommend and why would that
be better than the Columbian?

Dan

Wilton, Columbian, Prentiss, Parker, Dawn, etc etc

Most of Wilton's stuff is now made in China. You are only buying a
name that use to mean something and no longer does. I can't speak to
the rest of the names you mentioned.

On Mon, 8 Apr 2013 13:28:15 -0700 (PDT), Stanley Schaefer
wrote:

On Apr 8, 2:18*pm, John M
m wrote:
The fixed cast iron nut on the screw drive of my Columbian cast iron vise has
broken off & is lost now....What is the best repair?

--
posted fromhttp://www.polytechforum.com/metalworking/the-fixed-nut-is-broken-on-...
using *PolytechForum's *Web, RSS and Social Media Interface to
rec.crafts.metalworking and other *engineering *groups

For repair, get a new vise. Or maybe used. Not much can be done TO
repair one, at least so it'll hold. If you try to braze it, it'll
just make the surrounding cast iron brittle and it'll crack. Somebody
with a fully equipped shop could probably turn up a steel nut and
figure out how to fasten it in there so it wouldn't spin, come out or
break the rest of the casting, that wouldn't be me... By the time you
finish dinking around with it, you'll have the cost of another vise in
the time spent. Need a boat anchor, you've got it.

Stan
Greetings Stan,
I have a cast iron vise that I brazed back together over 20 years ago
and it gets hard use in my shop. I don't know why torch brazing a vise
would make it brittle. I have tig brazed cast iron and it did get
brittle in the HAZ, but every time I have used a torch to braze cast
iron it has worked well and the cast iron has not become brittle.
Eric

On Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:17:24 -0700, wrote:

On Mon, 8 Apr 2013 13:28:15 -0700 (PDT), Stanley Schaefer
wrote:

On Apr 8, 2:18*pm, John M
om wrote:
The fixed cast iron nut on the screw drive of my Columbian cast iron vise has
broken off & is lost now....What is the best repair?

--
posted fromhttp://www.polytechforum.com/metalworking/the-fixed-nut-is-broken-on-...
using *PolytechForum's *Web, RSS and Social Media Interface to
rec.crafts.metalworking and other *engineering *groups

For repair, get a new vise. Or maybe used. Not much can be done TO
repair one, at least so it'll hold. If you try to braze it, it'll
just make the surrounding cast iron brittle and it'll crack. Somebody
with a fully equipped shop could probably turn up a steel nut and
figure out how to fasten it in there so it wouldn't spin, come out or
break the rest of the casting, that wouldn't be me... By the time you
finish dinking around with it, you'll have the cost of another vise in
the time spent. Need a boat anchor, you've got it.

Stan
Greetings Stan,
I have a cast iron vise that I brazed back together over 20 years ago
and it gets hard use in my shop. I don't know why torch brazing a vise
would make it brittle. I have tig brazed cast iron and it did get
brittle in the HAZ, but every time I have used a torch to braze cast
iron it has worked well and the cast iron has not become brittle.
Eric

I suggest that it wasn't the cast iron that became brittle it was the
steel weld filler that absorbed carbon from the cast iron that became
brittle.

I seem to remember that specialized "cast iron welding rod" contain a
significant percentage of nickel to alleviate the problem.

Brazing, of course, doesn't exhibit the problem probably due to the
relatively low temperatures and the fact that adding carbon to brass
doesn't seem to cause it to become brittle.

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Apr 8, 8:56*pm, jon_banquer wrote:
On Apr 8, 7:04*pm, Gunner Asch wrote:





On Mon, 8 Apr 2013 18:04:52 -0700 (PDT), "

wrote:
On Apr 8, 6:03*pm, jon_banquer wrote:
* *I have a number of
vises, but the Columbian is the one I like best.

Dan

Live a little. You have plenty of time not that Ed has you in his kill
file. Buy a forged vise.

And what brand of forged vise would you recommend and why would that
be better than the Columbian?

Dan

Wilton, Columbian, Prentiss, Parker, Dawn, etc etc

Most of Wilton's stuff is now made in China. You are only buying a
name that use to mean something and no longer does. I can't speak to
the rest of the names you mentioned.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Most new vises period are made in China, at least ones you can buy off
the shelf. A lot of the former "names" are out of business and just
attached to the same Asian iron being peddled everywhere. Rigid may
have some US-made tools, but the stuff I see with their name on it in
the stores is Chinese all the way through.

To the O.P., most cast iron vises I've seen have had the "nut" for the
movable jaw machined out of a blob cast with the body. Break that and
you're done. Kudos for Columbian if they have a separate nut trapped
in the casting some way. So how did it get broken?

Stan

On Apr 10, 12:28*pm, Stanley Schaefer wrote:
On Apr 8, 8:56*pm, jon_banquer wrote:









On Apr 8, 7:04*pm, Gunner Asch wrote:

On Mon, 8 Apr 2013 18:04:52 -0700 (PDT), "

wrote:
On Apr 8, 6:03*pm, jon_banquer wrote:
* *I have a number of
vises, but the Columbian is the one I like best.

Dan

Live a little. You have plenty of time not that Ed has you in his kill
file. Buy a forged vise.

And what brand of forged vise would you recommend and why would that
be better than the Columbian?

Dan

Wilton, Columbian, Prentiss, Parker, Dawn, etc etc

Most of Wilton's stuff is now made in China. You are only buying a
name that use to mean something and no longer does. I can't speak to
the rest of the names you mentioned.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Most new vises period are made in China, at least ones you can buy off
the shelf. *A lot of the former "names" are out of business and just
attached to the same Asian iron being peddled everywhere. *Rigid may
have some US-made tools, but the stuff I see with their name on it in
the stores is Chinese all the way through.

To the O.P., most cast iron vises I've seen have had the "nut" for the
movable jaw machined out of a blob cast with the body. *Break that and
you're done. *Kudos for Columbian if they have a separate nut trapped
in the casting some way. *So how did it get broken?

Stan


Perhaps the OP, who seems to have vanished, or others will find this
thread helpful:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=62716

On Monday, April 8, 2013 at 3:18:02 PM UTC-5, John M wrote:
The fixed cast iron nut on the screw drive of my Columbian cast iron vise has
broken off & is lost now....What is the best repair?


--
posted from
http://www.polytechforum.com/metalwo...-b-572598-.htm
using PolytechForum's Web, RSS and Social Media Interface to
rec.crafts.metalworking and other engineering groups

I have a Columbian 203-1/2 vise that had a main/spindle nut that was completely broken in 2 (obviously from someone torquing it down with a cheater bar or sledgehammer judging by the bent handle). I didn't want to spend the money ($85) to have a welder attempt to fix it so I tried JB Weld, which of course immediately re-broke when I tightened it back down. But it gave me a clean break that I then used super glue on (just to hold it together while drilling). I flipped the spindle nut over upside down in a drill press vise and I drilled (4) 1-1/2" deep holes (5/32 drill bit), spaced about 1/2" apart along the length of the main nut, down through the bottom and through the crack/break. I then tapped the 4 holes with a 10-32 tap. I screwed in 4 10-32 x 2" screws as far as I could with vise grips until they broke off. I grinded down the remainder of the screws flat with the base of the main nut. It seems to hold well, and I've cranked down hard on it. It definitely increased the shear strength... probably much more than any surface braze/weld could have done. If it happens to break again I'll re-drill and re-tap (4) 1/4-20 x 1-1/2" bolts up from the bottom which will give it even more shear strength than the 10-32 screws I used.