This project is a great tool for working on small parts, specially if you also need to do any soldering.
To hold larger items I have a Panavise that I bought that has the "soft jaws", but unfortunately it is unsuitable for small items:
I was fortunate that for a base/foundation I had a Panavise tool available that I picked up for free when the lab at my old company closed - you can see it here with the attachment to hold large PWB's. On the left you can see the 4x Flex-A-Mag magnifying piece that I will also be attaching to the base (more on this later). Right in front you see the small pin vise that I have bolted to the bench, which has been a little bit less than satisfactory due to being very sloppy:
I first started with the pin vise:
So I started by dissasembling the pin vise:
and measuring the dia of the alignment rods:
and finding a drill that would work for this dia:
Not only am I going to setup new fitted, Delrin sleeves for the alignment rods, but I am also going to create a new fitted "nut" made from Delrin to also eliminate most/all of the slop in the screw mechanism:
Once I drill a larger hole, I started making a Delrin plug to match that hole I just made:
The original screw is 1/4"-20tpi:
Delrin is a slight press fit:
Then I drill and tap it:
Here is the finished part:
Since gluing Delrin is not easy at all, I chose a mechanical way to keep the plug from moving, so I drill/tap on the bottom side using some small screws:
I then proceeded to make the larger holes so that I can fit the new Delrin sleeves which will remove all play. Since it is a curve surface I proceeded to use a stiff solid carbide drill to enlarge the original hole and make it "flat" enough for the actual drill to start enlarging the hole. I don't have a DRO installed yet, but I aligned everything by hand/eye as best as I could, plus using a drill that matches the original hole as a centering device:
The new holes came up perfect - much better than I hoped:
Again I cut Delrin to the right dia:
and drill to match the alignment rods:
Again I used screws to mechanically keep the Delrin in place:
Here is the finished, fitted, "restored" pin vise. On the second pic the Delrin sleeve on the right side of the photo looks bigger in dia than the rod - that is just the bevel I cut on each end. The fit is perfect with zero play:
One of the goals was to make this pin vise available as an accessory to the Panavise, so it would be easy to reposition as needed, so I will have to drill/tap in order to make it work with the Panavise, but also with a small, movable arm as well. Once I drill and tap the end of the arm, I was able to make it work in a fixture that it fairly firm and adjustable (having it bolted to the bench is not that convenient):
Now, to make the pin vise work in the Panavise, I modified the end piece and drill/tap the end:
Once done, I now have the pin vise in an even sturdier platform, which is also completely adjustable:
To complete the setup, I bought the 4x Flex-A-Mag, and 3x of the premium "3-rd hands" from Otto Frei:
The tips on these are worlds apart from the traditional aligator tips:
Now, I got lucky, as the Panavise had already 3 holes with the same exact size/threads as the ones being used by the Otto Frei 3rd-hands:
So I cut to length some screws:
I then drilled a hole to attach the Flex-A-Mag:
and then bolt the Flex-A-Mag - note it is not quite touching the bottom as I wanted, while giving a firm hold (the left and right black ones are the rubber feet):
Here is the complete "fixture" without the pin vise:
and through the magnifying lens:
Here are the two tools that can hold the restored pin vise:
and this is the Panavise setup with the pin vise:
Now I will finally have a great setup for small parts/projects
