07-02-2016, 12:25 PM
Is it a vice to have too many vises? I have quite a few in my shop but needed another for smaller projects. I was lucky to find a small EMCO (from Austria) that just fit the bill. Extra lucky for me that the clamp shoe was MIA and that flaw apparently caused many to pass it by. I came up with a fix that cost only two cents.
After checking with the US Mint, I found that drilling a hole in a US penny is not illegal unless there is intent to defraud. Reasoning that there is no fraud in an honest repair, I proceeded to drill an undersized hole in a zinc penny. I placed the hole on top of the pin and forced the penny home by tightening the screw against a scrap of wood. Then I hot glued another penny to cover. It holds everything in place and also serves as a flexible gasket. Now I have a sweet little vise for those undersized projects.
It arrived in pretty good shape for its age (100 yrs?). I brushed off crud and oiled the screws. The handle required a little straightening. After the re-shoe, it is ready to go back to work.
After checking with the US Mint, I found that drilling a hole in a US penny is not illegal unless there is intent to defraud. Reasoning that there is no fraud in an honest repair, I proceeded to drill an undersized hole in a zinc penny. I placed the hole on top of the pin and forced the penny home by tightening the screw against a scrap of wood. Then I hot glued another penny to cover. It holds everything in place and also serves as a flexible gasket. Now I have a sweet little vise for those undersized projects.
It arrived in pretty good shape for its age (100 yrs?). I brushed off crud and oiled the screws. The handle required a little straightening. After the re-shoe, it is ready to go back to work.
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Please visit my website
splintermaking.com
Please visit my website
splintermaking.com