A ball carving vise

[Timberwolf]

Thank you all for answering my post. 

I have a small sanding job on several different parts and the Youtube video from Timberwolf is just what I needed. I even have an extra 1 7/8 inch ball I can use to make it with. So When it warms up enough to me to get back in my shop I will build it. All I have at home is a bench top drill press and a small lathe. And lathe work is my least favorite thing to do so talk about Cabin Fever.

Tom

...............
The spare ball you have will come in handy.....and the 1 7/8" diameter should present enough clamping force to hold a pretty heavy project for carving or other operations...Sure would love to see pics of what you come up with, Tom...


Edit,,,,,,,,,,,,As an old machinst Tom, you may know this, but pine rosin is an excellent "friction force multiplier"......I have a small block of Violin bow rosin I have used for years to increase the holding power of clamps, straps,etc...scrape a little rosin from the block with your pocketknife into that socket and it will hold on like a Pit Bull until you are ready to adjust it... Sometimes friction is your best friend!!!!

[Stwood_]

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

[tablesawtom]

No I didn't know about the pine rosin, But I will put it in my memory bank.  Stwood has an interesting view on it also.  It would be real easy to bore out a couple of floor flanges and I can work on it now. 
 
Thanks again for the ideas. The wood piece could be put on with carriage bolts and that would stop the bolts holding the flanges together A plate can then be screwed on to the wood to hold the part and I can drill a hole in a piece of wood to hold the ball  and clamp it to my bench. I never considered mounting a vise  but while I am at it I can make it so I can of the need arises in the future. And I do know someone who plays the Violin

Thanks again for the ideas I will check them out. And to others out there see it never hurts to ask.

Tom

[Stwood_]

Those pipe flanges I used are steel pipe flanges, not the thick, threaded cast ones that are often used for table legs etc.

Couple bucks each from Amazon.

And I left the flange on the hitch ball, using it as a stop when I drop it into my workbench. But it is machined out quite a bit under the ball so it will rotate farther over. (third pic)

[Stwood_]

This vise I purchased from Garrett Wade. I do *not* suggest buying one from that place. They replaced the first one, and the castings are not much better on this one.

   

   

Fuzzy pic

[Timberwolf]

No I didn't know about the pine rosin, But I will put it in my memory bank.  Stwood has an interesting view on it also.  It would be real easy to bore out a couple of floor flanges and I can work on it now. 
 
Thanks again for the ideas. The wood piece could be put on with carriage bolts and that would stop the bolts holding the flanges together A plate can then be screwed on to the wood to hold the part and I can drill a hole in a piece of wood to hold the ball  and clamp it to my bench. I never considered mounting a vise  but while I am at it I can make it so I can of the need arises in the future. And I do know someone who plays the Violin

Thanks again for the ideas I will check them out. And to others out there see it never hurts to ask.

Tom

..........................
I agree...Steve did a good job on the clamp he made, for sure..........I was just brainstorming and thinking that I would also drill and tap { 3/8"X16 } the threaded end of the bolt to accommodate other things that needed to be held securely.. like a woodcarver's screw, for instance.

And I checked Amazon and was surprised to see that they stocked powdered rosin in very small quantities for as little as six bucks...That would be a lifetime supply!!!!! And I remember that we also used it as a flux when we poured large Babbit Marine bearings for the U.S. Coast Guard...You can still buy "Rosin core solder" for use on wiring etc.

[tablesawtom]

..........................
I agree...Steve did a good job on the clamp he made, for sure..........I was just brainstorming and thinking that I would also drill and tap { 3/8"X16 } the threaded end of the bolt to accommodate other things that needed to be held securely.. like a woodcarver's screw, for instance.

And I checked Amazon and was surprised to see that they stocked powdered rosin in very small quantities for as little as six bucks...That would be a lifetime supply!!!!!   And I remember that we also used it as a flux when we poured large Babbit Marine bearings for the U.S. Coast Guard...You can still buy "Rosin core solder" for use on wiring etc.

I must have have powered rosin stuck in my subconscious because chalk popped into my head. I have used regular chalk to stick morse tapers in drill spindles to keep them in then things are warn out. I know about rosin core solder but never connected the two. 

It is interesting what one can learn on this forum when they are listening instead of being busy talking.

Tom

[Timberwolf]

I must have have powered rosin stuck in my subconscious because chalk popped into my head. I have used regular chalk to stick morse tapers in drill spindles to keep them in then things are warn out. I know about rosin core solder but never connected the two. 

It is interesting what one can learn on this forum when they are listening instead of being busy talking.

Tom

.............................
It is interesting what one can learn on this forum when they are listening instead of being busy talking.

I could not agree more, Tom...




I was just thinking that if you used rosin in morse taper you would need a big hammer and a knockout bar to remove it for sure!!!!!!!