Nice work Rob (there really should be a dedicated "nice work Rob" smiley).
What about case hardening the jaws?
Hi Mayhem
Case hardening would be one option , BUT they would need to be pack hardened/box to get a good depth of case to allow for any distortion to be removed by surface grinding , I would have gone that rout if they hard fit in my case hardening box , 1/2 inch too long


take it in stride when a step didn't turn out, and make it again, better even than before, And showing the problems so we can all learn.

Hi Vtsteam ,,,,,,, Some days things dont go to plan ,would of if I new exactly what I was trying to harden

, either way it has give me a chance to change a few things in the new jaws

. Oh if your making full new sets ...........dont go throwing anything in the bin ............ I know someone that might try practicing T.I.G welding on parts something like that
Cheers Mick

are you sure Mick ,,,,,, did a bit destructive testing , took a sledge hammer and an anvil to bust


Hi Peter ,,,, It happens

Well my plans went out the window, wile cracking on with making a new set of jaws,minding my own business I here the thud thud thud of an old motor cycle put up ,my mate on his Norton ,in he comes jibbering on about Stafford show ,centre circle and needing his Triton built in six weeks ,so I have now been roped into helping out

Then mentioned do I want a Beaver mill for nowt . went and had a look.

Just a tad too large for my needs

so it ended up skipped , but I did whip the slotting head off, may come in handy


and wile rummaging around the scrap I stumbled across a Elliot vice , bit rusty , but not drilled another one to add to my collection of vice's that need attention .

Back to the jaws ,I managed to get a set of blanks machined up .

Hardened the plain jaws , oil quenched this time .

and ground up.


Dont no if its just me but they seam to have a better grip for less tightening of the vice .

And holding thin parts edge on at the tip of the jaw is a breeze , ruler is 0.4mm thick

Rob