How would you go about sand casting this vise?.

Discussion in 'Sand Casting' started by Mark's castings, Aug 1, 2018.

  1. These 6" offset vises are around $900 Australian when cast in ductile iron, assuming I get set up to cast iron this is one item I'd like to duplicate. I'm just trying to get an idea of how the moving jaw would be cast and all I can think of is assembling several resin bound parts into a mould for the casting. If you have never seen one of these offset vise before, they are a pretty sweet vise to use as the offset jaws let you grip long objects
    without the movable jaw casting getting in the way.

    60181.jpg
     
  2. Al2O3

    Al2O3 Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    I realize when your (my) only tool is a hammer everything looks like a nail, but if you're looking to make 1, I'd say that is an ideal candidate to do as lost foam.......no concerns whatsoever about complex parting lines or cores and very easy to hand fabricate the pattern.

    Best,
    Kelly
     
  3. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    I guess I'd be getting out the baltic birch plywood and maybe some Sculpy clay and have at the pattern. Probably need a core for the hollow in the sliding portion.

    One note: I think I'd beef up the ears on the jaw supports. They look a little weak to me.

    Denis
     
  4. For a few one offs lost foam would be ideal, I totally didn't even consider that at all. There are some aluminium alloys stronger than cast iron too, so an aluminium vise with steel jaws is not out of the question.
     

  5. I'd love to see the factory patterns and how they cast it: Dawn have been around a long time so the early ones would be green sand but the later castings look very consistent and close to final shape with not much signs of fettling the casting.
     
  6. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    Green sand castings don't have to be ugly;) And dimensionally they can be pretty close, especially when someone is casting them over and over---they can be tuned pretty nicely. But, I hear what you are saying.

    Denis
     
  7. :D Made me laugh. But I was thinking lost foam too. Aluminum bronze might be a good candidate for the vise.

    One downside of making a pattern is you're tempted to make more and sell them so you'd have to investigate whether there is a current patent you would be violating.

    Not very elegant solution, but while lusting after one of these for some time I decided I could take a good standard pattern vise and cut and weld to create the offset jaw and base, if you tilt your head it looks like a normal vise with crooked base and jaws.

    I see the biggest challenge to be milling the floor and ceiling of the cavity that the moveable jaw rides on. Probably a fly cutter on a right angle drive.
     
  8. Jason

    Jason Gold

    First time I've ever seen a vise that can look around a corner. I'm just happy if they dont break in half when I put the beans to mine. If that thing isn't from china, it's worth the money assuming you need one. Creep fleabay and see what any old NON chinese made vice sells for. I remember ocd coughed up good money for a big old school vice. Of course an empty box showed up, someone got the vice. Can't spell stupid without a U.P.S.
     
  9. Lost foam would be perfect for this job, even for production work you could have a mould and steam some polystyrene beads to mould them.

    Apparently the offset vice was also made in England back in the day and probably dates back a hundred years or more so no patents to worry about. I remember the high school metalwork shop had one and was probably where I came to like the design so much: they are popular, most owners of one are buried with it beside them. The hammertone blue 6" ductile iron are over $1500 Australian now, it wouldn't surprise me if the blue and the red ones are made from the same iron. I can get hold of one for comparison, it's been buried beside a barn in the mud for years but should be good for dimensions.

    I wonder how the throat is machined, might be a long broach and a press, certainly it's a signature job for a shaper if I owned one.......gotta get a shaper now to make a vise.o_O
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2018
  10. Suddenly I need a shaper:rolleyes:

    I broke down and bought a fabricated steel offset vise from China. At $123 delivered it will do a lot even if it isn't as robust and certainly not as beautiful.
     
  11. Mister ED

    Mister ED Silver

    A wonderfully relaxing machine to watch, if you have the time.
     
  12. Do you have a link to the Chinese version of the vise?.
     
  13. Mark's castings likes this.
  14. HT1

    HT1 Gold Banner Member

  15. Each of the Dawn castings look like they could be made in a two piece mould with core if the right parting line is used. It's hard to find a shot of all sides of the vise.....like the dark side of the moon, most seem to be of the one side. I wonder what the story behind that Oregon University pattern is, the foundry probably got closed down and the patterns were dumped and a few pieces were salvaged here and there.

    Dawn 6 inch.jpg
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2018
  16. HT1

    HT1 Gold Banner Member

    that is exactly what happened the seller has a Whole list of patterns
     
  17. Seems to be a worldwide thing with universities to be moving towards subjects that are low cost (books only) while cutting back on STEM subjects that require lab work or materials. Anyway I'd better stop hijacking my own thread: I think lost foam would be the way to go to cast that vise even for low volume production quantities. For resin bound sand I can only imagine the fixed jaw being done as a two piece mould with draft up the square hole and the moving jaw being done as a three piece mould.
     

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