Advice Needed On Welding Chinese Vise

[drizler]

Just your typical chepo vise but worked well for 20 years . Trouble is I never knew the anvil on the back was 1/8" thick. Well I do now as you can guess. I have some old salvage 1/2 or 5/8" highway plow scraper that would fit it nicely. So how do I weld it to that cast and get it to hold up to a bit of pounding or am I better to just leave it alone????????

[Dale M.]

Just your typical chepo vise but worked well for 20 years . Trouble is I never knew the anvil on the back was 1/8" thick. Well I do now as you can guess. I have some old salvage 1/2 or 5/8" highway plow scraper that would fit it nicely. So how do I weld it to that cast and get it to hold up to a bit of pounding or am I better to just leave it alone????????

If you want a vice you can pound on get old "blacksmiths post vice".... Machinists vices are not made to pound on....

Dale

[Northweldor]

Just your typical chepo vise but worked well for 20 years . Trouble is I never knew the anvil on the back was 1/8" thick. Well I do now as you can guess. I have some old salvage 1/2 or 5/8" highway plow scraper that would fit it nicely. So how do I weld it to that cast and get it to hold up to a bit of pounding or am I better to just leave it alone????????

If you weld steel to the cast it will likely just break in the HAZ when you pound on it, and, as Dale said, those vices will not take more than light punishment anyway. Brazing in a piece of steel might restore it to original condition for light use. Ni-rod could also be used, but the real solution for pounding is a steel vice.

[Northweldor]

Just your typical chepo vise but worked well for 20 years . Trouble is I never knew the anvil on the back was 1/8" thick. Well I do now as you can guess. I have some old salvage 1/2 or 5/8" highway plow scraper that would fit it nicely. So how do I weld it to that cast and get it to hold up to a bit of pounding or am I better to just leave it alone????????

If you weld steel to the cast it will likely just break in the HAZ when you pound on it, and, as Dale said, those vices will not take more than light punishment anyway. Brazing in a piece of steel might restore it to original condition for light use. Ni-rod could also be used, but the real solution for pounding is a steel vice or anvil.

[drizler]

Ok so how about the partly stripped section at the top of the jaw ? Braze? It just won't tighten quite enough to stay put long term? I'm not much interested in taking the jaw cap off anyways.
As for the section on the back maybe I will try brazing that too. Nothing to lose really if it doesn't work. As for the vise itself it's held up very well for speaking Chinese. For all the torture I have given it since 1992 it still works as well as it did and all I have done to it was replace the jaw spring with an old valve spring from some ancient Dodge truck. I sure cant complain 24 years and counting for $50.

[Dale M.]

Time to treat your self to a new vice... Get a real vice... I just picked one up for $40 needs a bit of restoring but will out last any Chinese vice ever made...


(disclaimer- Not picture not of my vice, but similar)


Dale