02-07-2019, 11:29 AM
Posting this because it might help somebody in the same dilemma. I should have taken more pictures but oh well.
I have an old Emmert vice that was never a beauty queen. It had a big chunk missing on its front face and signs of old welded cracks. I kept it in my basement bench and used it whenever I did work inside the house. I grew too really like the versatility of this vice. One day I used it to press a bushing. This is something this vice was not designed to do. All of a sudden, I heard a loud crack and the front vice face fell on the floor. I was lucky that it did not fall on my feet. The Front face was split in 2 and the back face had a long crack in its center. I started to look in the internet for replacement parts and was in shock at the prices. With nothing to lose, I decided I would try to weld it back together. I went to my local weld supply store and bought 1lb of weld rods (royal 260) designed for cast iron. I was happy to find that the welding rods were formulated to not require any pre-heat. I was worried because we are in the middle of winter with extreme cold temps and cast iron know for sensitivity to temp swings. I am an amateur welder and have a Licoln mig/stick/tig combination box. Once I started welding I realized how easy it was. I thought what the hell I should try and fill in the large missing chunk on the front face. I placed the completed weld job in an disposable Aluminum pan and filled it with preheated play sand. Stuck it in the kitchen oven at 400 degrees for a few hours (it stunk up the kitchen so I will not be doing this again). Pictures below of the completed repair with the vice back to work. I am happy with myself.
First picture shows the Front face. You can still tell where it was split down the middle. All the shiny silver you see on the left was where I had filled it in a big missing chunk of steel.
I have an old Emmert vice that was never a beauty queen. It had a big chunk missing on its front face and signs of old welded cracks. I kept it in my basement bench and used it whenever I did work inside the house. I grew too really like the versatility of this vice. One day I used it to press a bushing. This is something this vice was not designed to do. All of a sudden, I heard a loud crack and the front vice face fell on the floor. I was lucky that it did not fall on my feet. The Front face was split in 2 and the back face had a long crack in its center. I started to look in the internet for replacement parts and was in shock at the prices. With nothing to lose, I decided I would try to weld it back together. I went to my local weld supply store and bought 1lb of weld rods (royal 260) designed for cast iron. I was happy to find that the welding rods were formulated to not require any pre-heat. I was worried because we are in the middle of winter with extreme cold temps and cast iron know for sensitivity to temp swings. I am an amateur welder and have a Licoln mig/stick/tig combination box. Once I started welding I realized how easy it was. I thought what the hell I should try and fill in the large missing chunk on the front face. I placed the completed weld job in an disposable Aluminum pan and filled it with preheated play sand. Stuck it in the kitchen oven at 400 degrees for a few hours (it stunk up the kitchen so I will not be doing this again). Pictures below of the completed repair with the vice back to work. I am happy with myself.
First picture shows the Front face. You can still tell where it was split down the middle. All the shiny silver you see on the left was where I had filled it in a big missing chunk of steel.