Setting up a Pattern Makers Vise

A pattern maker’s vise can be set at a lot of angles, but first it has to be setup correctly,

On a nice thick table like this, a lot of alterations are needed.

So I chiseled out a channel for the vise to fit into.

The angle lock has to be mounted in just the right location to allow full movement to the vise.

This lever allows you to free the vise for moving the angle up and down.  It locks easily and releases easily.

This lever allows you to free the vise head to rotate, or lock in place.

The extra work to set up a pattern maker’s vise is well worth doing!

Bob

4 comments to Setting up a Pattern Makers Vise

  • Jon Vetterlein

    I have this vise but can’t find the owner’s manual. There is a screw on the top of the vise and another one underneath and opposite the one on top–I am wondering what these are for (the bottom one is visible in the picture directly above the “Leave a Reply” box). Does anyone know what the screws adjust, or have a pdf of the manual?

    Thanks,
    Jon

  • Bob Strawn

    If they are the screws I think they are, they are called pivot screws and they align the outside jaw vertically. Loosen them, close the jaws but not tightly, tighten the screws. That should get you close to adjusted.

    Bob

  • Jon Vetterlein

    Great, thanks!

  • Skip Jarrett

    I didn’t remember this old article, it’s excellent!
    Thanks;
    Skip

Leave a Reply

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>