Improvised Vise

scanker

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 15, 2005
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Cardiff, South Wales
A couple of bits of wood drilled with a pair of holes each, and a couple of bolts to hold them tight together? That sound so simple that you must be asking for something else....?:confused:
 

Eric_Methven

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 20, 2005
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Durham City, County Durham
Take a piece of tree branch about 2" diameter. Split it down the length. Drill a small hole right through both pieces half way down. Put a nail through the hole and bend the point over but leave it about a quarter inch too long (you don't want to nip the wood tight).

Place your blade, or whatever you want to grip in one end and bang a wedge in the other. The end gripping the blade will tighten the more you knock the wedge in.

Wood is good, but a piece of antler works better.

antler-vice.jpg


Eric
 

g4ghb

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 21, 2005
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Wiltshire
Ooooooooh! - I love that Eric! - I'll be making one of them for sure! :D
 

Dave Budd

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Jan 8, 2006
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Dartmoor (Devon)
www.davebudd.com
I've been meaning to make a rotating vice for knifemaking for years, not got around to it yet :rolleyes:

I tend to do the same as Hoodoo, only a bit more simply ;) I have a bit of wood about 10"x1 1/2"x1 1/4" and I've sawn a 1/4" wide slot along two thirds of the length. That's the soft jaws part, then I use a set of mole grips to clamp the knife in :)

Otherwise a G-clamp and a bit of wood would do if you can clamp to a table :D
 

BOD

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Eric that is so beautifully simple and elegant. Is it a mountain man idea or has it been used by other peoples?

scanker, I was looking for some way to improvise a vise, in an area where there is no access to tools or workbenches, which will hold a blade and anchored in a position that i have both hands free to work on it or other things eg. tap a handle onto a stub tang while keeping it aligned with the blade.



Ash
 

Eric_Methven

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 20, 2005
3,600
42
73
Durham City, County Durham
Eric that is so beautifully simple and elegant. Is it a mountain man idea or has it been used by other peoples?

scanker, I was looking for some way to improvise a vise, in an area where there is no access to tools or workbenches, which will hold a blade and anchored in a position that i have both hands free to work on it or other things eg. tap a handle onto a stub tang while keeping it aligned with the blade.



Ash

That design was knocking around in the bronze age. Possible long before that. The simplest one I've seen (and made) was a split stick with natural cordage wrapped in a figure of eight (so the cordage filled the gap enough to allow some pivot). It's about as simple as it gets.

Eric
 

Dave Budd

Gold Trader
Staff member
Jan 8, 2006
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Dartmoor (Devon)
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Ah, sorry.

here is one I've used before:

a 3" diameter tree cut off at waist height (could also be a post driven in to the ground) with a split made into the top, kinda like the clamp Eric showed. The split extends about 8" and is stopped at the bottom by a tight binding. The blade of the knife is placed into the splt and a loose hoop of cordage slipped over the post above the blade. A long stick (2feet by 1") was passed through the loop and twisted to tighten the vice, like a torneque (sp?). Once tight I tied a string around the stick nad the post to stop it unwinding.

It worked for me when I tried it out for the shear hell of it! :D
 

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