Gunsmithing cheap barrel vise

[AXEMAN]

thats it, i had the 5/8" all thread, spent $8 on the flat stock. had a buddy drill the holes and he had bolts laying around and i bought 4 wasters for $2, the C clamps were on sale at harbor freight, $6 for both. i drilled holes to mount it to a bench too, but for now i have the clamps. thanks for all the free offers on bolts guys, this will do for now. i had all this either laying around or waiting to get used. it worked and got my savage barrel off. i will modify the other blocks to fit the receiver.

 

[dhutch]

Re: cheap barrel vise

Axe....you are always thinking shit up.....

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: cheap barrel vise

i just cant pay $75 for one of them fancy store bought vises. i know my local steel yard so when i see something i know if its something i can duplicate easily and most importantly, cheaply. once i get the back room cleared out, ill mount it to the bench. but for now, its just clamped to the computer desk. had to open the drawer, but its steady enough for me to get my nut loose. i got like $20 if that in this thing. worse case, i use it to collect some old debts... i kid

 

[cwshooter]

Re: cheap barrel vise

I've done similar with railroad plates and two lead-shimmed oak block sets. Worked fine. Had one that was really stuck, and I put the whole thing inder a bottle jack under the back end of my truck. Got it unscrewed eventually.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: cheap barrel vise

if a guy had a section of I beam he could cut a 6" section and nest the jack in the >I and press against the under/inner part of the top. with wooden blocks and a plate, its just the jacks capacity thats the limit

 

[Malibumick]

Re: cheap barrel vise

That is why I like this site so much. The idea's one can take from here is almost endless. I was going to buy a vise and I have all materials on my steel rack. Well I'll be making my own this weekend. Thanks for opening my eyes axe.

Mick

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: cheap barrel vise

ok just a quick note. $4 in springs and i am done... they really make it easier to use. on this one i havent secured the threaded rods in any way. when i C clamp it to a table the pressure holds the nuts against the table and i can tighten and loosen without the rods spinning. i will eventually have to tack weld the nuts to the rods and the rods to the base plate... not sure yet. total cost still under $20 i think

 

[nitehawk01]

Re: cheap barrel vise

I'm thinking thread the base for the threaded rod, use the nuts for locknuts, maybe loctite bolts to base also. That will keep the bottom flat for mounting.
Good idea on the springs. I'm still gathering parts. Thannks for the idea AXEMAN.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: cheap barrel vise

oh man the springs make it so much easier to use. i dont know about where you live but we have a giant flea market and i will just go but a wrench, open end or combo or adjustable or find a cheap socket and ratchet just to dedicate to this. but its easy enough to grab the wrench. ok, the holes are already too big to thread, i was leaning towards welding, cant get stronger than that, but i like to keep it modular. had the bottom been as thick as the top, i would drill thru the side and use a roll pin to secure it. but its pretty thin to side drill it. here is the thing, when i clamp it down the nuts are flush on the desk, the bolts cant go down any farther so you can tighten as much as you need. not too bad really.

 

[Clark]

Re: cheap barrel vise

I make barrel vises and action wrenches with lengths 2" x 2" steel from the scrap yard.

I make the collets from 1.5" round Aluminum stock.

 

[300sniper]

Re: cheap barrel vise

bonus points for using unistrut

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: cheap barrel vise

nice. i love seeing stuff made -vs- bought

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: cheap barrel vise

bump for a newbie

 

[rotoflex]

Re: cheap barrel vise

just made this one...

 

[steelcomp]

Re: cheap barrel vise

Hey AXE...I like your style. Dispense with the formalities...lets get it done.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: cheap barrel vise

no time for the BS, i get enough of that anyway. my epoxy learning curve was epic, lol. plus with the wheeler being $75 and this having maybe $20 in it, thats just less money i can spend on strippers. you know, to remove paint from stuff, lol

 

[Ferryman]

Re: cheap barrel vise

I picked up my barrel vise off ebay.

I was a little disappointed in the finish but it was not expensive and it performed the task.

At the time I did not have access to a decent mill to make one so this seemed the easy option.

Now I have access to a Bridgeport I will tidy up the faces.

The best thing I did was make a seperate stand to bolt it on out of 80mm X 80mm box tube welded to a 300mm X 300m base plate 12mm thick.

I have yet to find the barrel this will not hold.