# Vises-Thanks



## Paul in OKC (Sep 9, 2005)

Thaks for the cooments on the vises. I do enjoy building them. I do plan another run to start in October, it just depends on my job, which has picked up at the moment.


----------



## Dario (Sep 9, 2005)

Paul,

If you don't mind me asking, how much are they?

The rave reviews is really getting me curious  [][][]


----------



## coach (Sep 9, 2005)

Dario, sell some sweet mesquite and save it to buy one!  You won't be disappointed!  I will hopefullly be collaborating with Paul on another project.  BTW, if you need your pen mills sharpened, they come back scarry sharp!


----------



## Geo in Winnipeg (Sep 9, 2005)

That vise looks better every time I use my home made jig.


----------



## Paul in OKC (Sep 9, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Dario_
> <br />Paul,
> 
> If you don't mind me asking, how much are they?
> ...


Current price is $70, which includes shipping by Priority insured.


----------



## Dario (Sep 9, 2005)

Thanks Paul.  It really is very nice and most likely worth every penny.  I'll see if I can afford it by the time you roll out the next batch.  If only I can sell some pens!!! [!]

Coach, I took your advise and posted more mesquite and oak on the individual classifieds []


----------



## coach (Sep 9, 2005)

Not to hijack the thread, but Dario, I found a secret place between my place and yours that has Mesquite I get for free.  Most of it is already 3/4" square.  I will say, none of it is near as pretty as what you have!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Old Griz (Sep 9, 2005)

[][][][][][]Paul forgot I was on the list from the last batch... BUT he did promise to move me up the top of the next list... I can't wait for the next batch... have fun with them everyone... one thing I know is that Paul does make nice stuff..


----------



## Mudder (Sep 9, 2005)

First off I want to Qualify what I am about to say. 

My daily job is a Quality Control supervisor for a company that makes miniature mechanical components. I normally work with tolerances in the ten thousandths of an inch and very often to the micron level. 

At first I was hesitant to buy this vise because of the price and the quality of the vise that I own. ( A woodcraft) I thought that this was just another â€œviseâ€, and would not be much better that what I already had,boy was I wrong. I was not home last night to sign for the package so I went to the post office first thing this morning and picked it up. Brought it into work and opened it up in the QC lab where I have highly accurate instruments and certified flat surfaces to cast a very critical eye on this new product.

Initial visual inspection found fit of this vice to be of the highest quality. No burrs were detected in any area that I would consider being critical, however I did find the slightest of burr around the four mounting holes. These slight burrs were the only thing that I could find to criticize this vise for.

The guide rods are big and beefy and the bronze bushings showed me the thought and care that was used to manufacture this vise. Iâ€™m not sure who cut those threads Paul but they are as near to perfect as I have ever seen. Both threads fell exactly in the center of the screw thread standard and the difference in pitch diameter and outside diameter between then was .0002â€. This kind of accuracy is almost unheard of! Maybe I got the best threading job of the batch but by looking at the quality and the care that went into manufacturing each part of this vise I would doubt this is the case.

Operation is smooth and easy and the jaws are perpendicular to the base within .002â€ over the 6â€ gage that I used. To put this into perspective, a sheet of paper is about .004â€ thick. The instruction sheet provided is clear and concise and Iâ€™m looking forward to drilling the batch of blanks that I have waiting as Iâ€™m sure my drilling accuracy will increase 5 fold.

I am not affiliated with Paul in any way nor does he have any prior knowledge of this review. My intention is to cast a critical eye on his product and give members who are considering a purchase the benefit of my experience. I can honestly say that my initial examination of this vise has left me thoroughly impressed by the simplicity and strength of the design and tight the tolerances were held in manufacture.

I have read two statements from two different members and I must say I agree with both.  

â€œI would not sell my vise for twice what I paid for itâ€
and
â€œTruly, I'd rather have a cheaper lathe than give up this vise!â€

I would suggest you â€œpre-orderâ€ for the next batch of these vises, they would still be a bargain at $100.00 in my opinion.

Great Job Paul, and Thank you.


----------



## Paul in OKC (Sep 9, 2005)

Wow Mudder, thanks!! A burr and .002 heh, guess I'll have to try harder next time[]
I make all the parts myself. Was thinking about farming some out but then I would have to raise the price to $100[:0] (don't worry, I won't...............yet!)


----------



## Mudder (Sep 9, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Paul in OKC_
> <br />Wow Mudder, thanks!! A burr and .002 heh, guess I'll have to try harder next time[]
> I make all the parts myself. Was thinking about farming some out but then I would have to raise the price to $100[:0] (don't worry, I won't...............yet!)



Coming from a machinist background and being in Quality control I must say I'm really impressed by your work Paul. I'm astonished by those threads! Never seen Left and right handed threads on the same piece cut with such accuracy.


----------



## olsenla (Sep 9, 2005)

Paul,

I received my vise today.  As I told you before, I have been drooling over getting one of these for quite a while, but missed all the previous buys.  Looking at this it is well worth waiting for.  I'm not as skilled as Mudder in being able to check the accuracy, but I can tell that it is very precise and that a lot of thought and engineering went into it.  Thanks again for a job well done!!

Larry


----------



## wayneis (Sep 9, 2005)

Paul have you considered making a jig for sanding the blank ends square on a disk sander?  PSI has one but I am sure that you could come up with a better one.  It would also be nice to have sleeves availiable for the different tube sizes.

Wayne


----------



## Dario (Sep 9, 2005)

Mudder, 

WOW...that is such a review.  Now I know who to consult on my next tool purchase [][]

Paul...this thread is killing me!  The more I read the more I drool.


----------



## Ligget (Sep 9, 2005)

I would love one aswell![][]


----------



## Paul in OKC (Sep 9, 2005)

> _Originally posted by wayneis_
> <br />Paul have you considered making a jig for sanding the blank ends square on a disk sander?  PSI has one but I am sure that you could come up with a better one.  It would also be nice to have sleeves availiable for the different tube sizes.
> 
> Wayne


I have, but it is one of those things that is a ways down the list. I have a proto-type thingy in the works that I need to finish first, then vises, then..... well, (plus I try to eat and sleep and say hi to the family in between[]).  Plus having different bushing for each would definitely raise the price, but doable. What do you use now for different sizes? I would think the home made bushings like most have made for pen mills would work.


----------



## redbulldog (Sep 9, 2005)

To all:

They say give credit where credit is due. Paul that is a beautiful piece of workmanship, thanks for a beautifu vise, I agree with everything that has been written,  I was not able to measure tolerances etc. as I do not have that capability at home. I will say that my vise does not have any burrs on any of the mounting holes.

Dario:

Your package is on its way.


----------



## alamocdc (Sep 9, 2005)

Okay, Paul, put me on the list. I'm sold! []


----------



## Paul in OKC (Sep 9, 2005)

Thanks again for all the compliments. Those that have expressed interest in being in on the next batch, please send me an e-mail. That is the easiest way for me to remember. 
Thanks


----------



## Thumbs (Sep 9, 2005)

Wayne, please correct me if I'm wrong!

Paul, I think Wayne was implying that, with the accuracy and quality of your work, you would relieve a lot of us Klutzes of the drudgery of making temporary sleeves of the proper sizes for all these different pens.  

That isn't so bad but dropping and then stepping on them with the inevitable results just causes a lot of extra unnecessary work.  If you could just make us accurate sleeves out of steel that would be less likely to crush and which could be more easily found with the old magnet on a stick.  

Even all aluminum would at least stand up to the "crush effect."  Perhaps just make the sleeves with a threaded end that would have a standard bolt thread such as  1/4 x 20 and we could make our own carriers that would suit our own unique sanding situations.  With a bit longer thread on the stud end a steel nut could be applied which would still allow the aluminum bars to be found and picked up with a magnet when they rolled/bounced under the workbench or the sawdust pile under the lathe!  Offer them as a set?  In your spare time? Puuhleaze!  Thanks.[][]


----------



## Paul in OKC (Sep 9, 2005)

> In your spare time? Puuhleaze!  Thanks.[][]


What is spare time?!?  how many different sizes of tubes are there, anyway.


----------



## Thumbs (Sep 9, 2005)

Paul, I just checked at Arizona Silhouette and he lists 11 sizes of pen mill shafts altogether.  Everybody probably already has the most common ones though, 7mm, 8mm, and 10mm.  Maybe a set with all the less common sizes?

The other sizes he shows are 'O','S','V',3/8",25/64", 27/64",15/32",37/64".  Is there a new 1/2" for the vs.II Jr Gent &Statesman. Of course, I see other bit sizes for various pen kits, too, like 31/64",17/32",35/64",11/32",11mm,'U', even 3/16".

That's about 19 to cover every kit I've just quickly found in two catalogs!  That may be a bit too much....  Of course, maybe any number of these would work for more than one bit/hole/tubing size on a "close enough" basis.


----------



## Paul in OKC (Sep 9, 2005)

The pen mill shaft sizes would be the ones to go by, I would think.  In fact, couldn't you use a set of those for it? Just shorten the one end.


----------



## wayneis (Sep 9, 2005)

Bob right on, exactly what I was thinking.  Paul the problem with your idea is that what they make for the mills are not sleeves but the shafts and you just put a cutter head on what ever shaft size you are using at that time.  

Currently I make my own sleeves but I am not that acurate sometimes.

Wayne


----------



## Paul in OKC (Sep 10, 2005)

> _Originally posted by wayneis_
> <br />Bob right on, exactly what I was thinking.  Paul the problem with your idea is that what they make for the mills are not sleeves but the shafts and you just put a cutter head on what ever shaft size you are using at that time.
> 
> Currently I make my own sleeves but I am not that acurate sometimes.
> ...


I understand that they are shafts, it was just a thought. I will put the idea in the old brain and see what comes out(other than smoke[])


----------



## Thumbs (Sep 10, 2005)

Thanks, Paul! []  Your abilities and our Klutziness could make you a small fortune.  And we'd like to keep it as small as possible![]  
If you get my drift!  LOL! [}]


----------



## jwoodwright (Sep 10, 2005)

Paul, received mine today.  Due to some heavy duty meds, I'm in and out of pain.  It's well built and looks like it'll be a pleasure to use.  Thanks again.


----------



## hazmat (Sep 21, 2005)

I'd like to get on "the list" - email sent.  Looking forward to my new tool...


----------

