Features of a "New" Disston 3D Saw Vise - A Discussion for Saturday

[enjuneer]

As mentioned in another thread, I have been putting some thought into producing an updated version of the venerable Disston 3D saw vise. I worked lots of years as a product development engineer and now want to turn my attention to the woodworking tool industry. I have a number of other projects to conclude before starting on this one, but thought this would be a good opportunity to get the input of other woodworkers, sawsmiths, and tool junkies.

Some of the changes that I envision might include:

1) Use of a roller bearing on the clamp lever to eliminate the wear point where it contacts the body of the front jaw

2) Make the jaws about 2 inches longer to reduce the number of times that a handsaw must be repositioned during the sharpening process

3) Improve the bench clamp to minimize the tendency to rotate when filing at the end of the jaws

4) Elimination of the file guide bosses on the rear jaw (they get in my way)

5) Provisions for interchangeable jaw inserts (brass, aluminum, rubber, plastic, leather) to improve clamping and reduce scratching of the saw plate

6) Incorporate an adjustment mechanism in the clamping lever to change the amount of clamping force to accommodate different plate thicknesses and jaw inserts

7) Change material to cast stainless steel to improve strength and reduce corrosion

What other changes/additions would you like to see?

[EricU]

they used the outer cast iron as a spring, which is why they break at the bottom. I'm thinking that there should be some other spring mechanism.

[Mike Brady]

Why not just get the one from Tools for Working Wood? I don't think you'll see a new cast-style saw vise. Particularly if no saw files are going to be available

[Admiral]

My random thoughts, FWIW.

Making the jaws more than half the length of a 28" saw would be good, so agree with you there, but there must have been a reason why they didn't originally do that, perhaps cast iron wouldn't take the additional length without fracture, don't know.

Those bosses get in my way too, but were there to accommodate a filing jig, so you can't blame Disston for that. Good to remove.

The bench clamp does need improving, but why not go with the Wentworth screw-to-a-board solution, like Joel at TFWW did, as no clamp on any vice really works well, and I see yours was modified for a vertical post, which is then clamped with the bench vice. Food for thought.

As far as cushion jaw inserts, design to use the screen door inserts, which are readily available for replacement.

Cast stainless would be really expensive, and you have to think of your price point here; the TFWW vice, certainly good, is pretty expensive and you'd certainly have to come in below that one.

Ambitious project, market is not broad however.

[Mike Brady]

I tried the window screen rubber tubing and found it to be of no value in my wooden saw vise. What I did instead is just add a metal screw clamp straddling the jaws of the vise and it holds on like a June bride.

[MarvW]

Bob,

A few thoughts.... FWIW

The clamping lever is a bad idea. Too much to redesign to make it work better. Think in terms of a screw mechanism to replace it. This will allow for tightening on any blade thickness.

Instead of a cast main frame, think in terms of a steel bent or formed type frame. Tooling for casting is very expensive. This method is more for higher quantities. Fabricating the parts is good for lower quantities and easier to incorporate future improvements and changes.

The two jaws could be much simplified and not so bulky and make them 14-1/2" long. If you were to make the jaws 28" long, the entire vise would need to be in a whole different category.

Design the method of mounting so it can be both clamped or screwed to something solid. Using two screws instead of only one will prevent the vise from swiveling. For simplification, either make it with screw clamps or like the Wentworth. But if you use the Wentworth design, you cannot tilt it for those who will want to do that. Or use the Wentworth design and make it tiltable.

If the jaws are solid enough, you don't need dampening. The back jaw should be straight and flat. The front jaw should have a slight curve where it presses against the blade. Both ends should touch first.

Food for thought........For those who use a rake angle guide with a level vial, they need to level the tooth edge. Some means of fine adjusting the blade up and down at both ends is a very handy feature. This is only useful when using a vise that clamps the full length of the saw blade and when you don't flip the saw. It works well for me because I have a 28" Acme vise.

A good design feature would be so it can be easily disassembled for ease of packing in the smallest box for shipping. And keep the weight down as much as possible without reducing the integrity of the design for lower shipping cost.