Question: Diy engravers vice

Thomaseason

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Hi everyone, this is my first post and would like to know if this is a good idea? Im very new to engraving, ive wanted to have a go for 20 odd years after admiring my dads engraved tools, now is finally the time, ive attempted to create my own engravers vice by buying a 360 degree rotating bearing, a stainless steel tea pot and an engravers hand held vice.

Firstly i screwed the rotating bearing to my workbench, sawed off the tea pot handle, drilled hole off centre in the bottom, turned it upside down then screwed the handle off the hand vice, put it through the hole and reattached the vice on the other side, then bolted the upside down tea pot onto the top of the rotating bearing. This spins full 360 degrees with the vice on top, ill post some photos a bit later but would anyone mind having a quick read of this a letting me know if its a good idea, thank you, Tom.
[video]https://www.facebook.com/tom.eason.792/videos/10157478389175156/[/video]
 
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atexascowboy2011

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Buy a good quality ready made vise and concentratate on learning to engrave.
If you build a POS your engraving will be likewise and you will probably give up.
The proper time tested tools will cut your learning curve tremendously.
 

Mike_Morgan

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This spins full 360 degrees with the vice on top, ill post some photos a bit later but would anyone mind having a quick read of this a letting me know if its a good idea, thank you, Tom.

The only person qualified to tell you if it is a good idea is you, after you have determined if it works well! If it gets the job done, holds the parts that you're engraving solidly, and can be configured to hold a wide range of parts, then it is a good idea... if the DIY vise adds to the length of the learning curve, then it probably wasn't a good idea.

Welcome to engraving!
 

Memorymaker

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......... And if you build a great one you have something to be proud of. Don't let people discourage you . JJ Roberts has a great vise made from a duck pin bowling ball.
 

Mike_Morgan

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BUT,he uses his LeTourneau !

BUT, some beginners without the funds to commit to a LeTourneau, have benefitted from the idea of making their own, and with varying degrees of success.

Each person is on their own journey, and while it's important to have quality, high functioning tools, this doesn't always translate to buying the best of the best, just to get their feet wet.

At my engraving bench I'm using a DIY turntable that I wouldn't trade for the world. I feel it is as good, or superior to anything I could buy. Of course, I own a machine shop, so it's "barely" DIY, but hopefully you get my point.

That being said, I spent a fair amount of time trying to make my own pneumatic handpiece, and it actually works... but doesn't hold a candle to my Lindsay Handpieces... but the effort wasn't wasted... It helped me to decide that engraving was something I wanted to do, and it helped me to be willing to invest in proper tools to make my life easier.

Who knows... we have not seen the pictures of the teapot/vise... it might be an innovation that helps entry-level engravers for generations to come. Only time will tell.
 
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dogcatcher

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I say go for, I use a bowling ball with a drill press vice mounted on the top. The bowling ball was cut in half and sits on a 4" PVC pipe floor flange. It cost me $5 for the bowling ball and I had the drill press vise in my shop, a new one costs about $20. This is a hobby, I try to get by with what I have or I can make.
 

speeedy6

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Is it short and stout ? I have lots of homemade tools, jigs and brackets. I'm only just now thinking I need a more sturdy turntable stand and I'm going to make that one too. Some of these people have started with a practice plate hot glued to a 2x4.
 

John B.

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Cafe members,
Please don't discourage engravers from making their own tools.
For some engravers it is an important and enthusiastic phase in their learning curve.
For others it is their only affordable way to start on their journey.
Not everyone is in a rush to come to professional level. Some are enjoying the voyage of discovery.
Their tool might work wonders and it might not. But they enjoy a valuable learning experience either way.
Also please remember that John Rohner, Don Glaser, Ray Phillips and Steve Lindsay all had to start somewhere in making their prototypes.
Luckily they were on the right track and had the energy and resources to bring us some of the great products we enjoy today.
Homemade tools combined with determination and skill can carry you a long way.
As an example please do a forum search showing the tools that Master engraver Lee Griffiths started with.
Yes, he's moved on from there, but these crude tools carried him through his early burning desire to engrave affordably.
Just my thoughts, don't mean to hijack this thread.
Sorry. Off the soap box.
 
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Chujybear

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i have a couple vises...
for flat work the tip ability of the vise is more of a liability than anything, so i just glue down to a tin can full of lead on a turntable.
i also started out years with a plate screwed down to a short section of dowel. i still use it quite a bit.. particularly if i travel.
 

Memorymaker

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Cafe members,
Please don't discourage engravers from making their own tools.
For some engravers it is an important and enthusiastic phase in their learning curve.
For others it is their only affordable way to start on their journey.
Not everyone is in a rush to come to professional level. Some are enjoying the voyage of discovery.
Their tool might work wonders and it might not. But they enjoy a valuable learning experience either way.
Also please remember that John Rohner, Don Glaser and Steve Lindsay all had to start somewhere in making their prototypes.
Luckily they were on the right track and had the energy and resources to bring us some of the great products we enjoy today.
Homemade tools combined with determination and skill can carry you a long way.
As an example please do a forum search showing the tools that Master engraver Lee Griffiths started with.
Yes, he's moved on from there, but these crude tools carried him through his early burning desire to engrave affordably.
Just my thoughts, don't mean to hijack this thread.
Sorry. Off the soap box.

+1 ..... Plus one (must be 10 characters) lol
 

monk

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cant wrap my head around your description. i think that the thin walls of the teapot may cause a vibration problem. i own 3 store bought ballvises. now & then, for a large flat plate, i still use my half bowling ball. there's nothing wrong with creating your own tools. nor, is there anything wrong with buying the hitech toys. enjoying what you're learning to do is paramount to all other phases of this work. who would want to become a master engraver, only to resent every moment at the bench ?
 

Thomaseason

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Hi, thanks so much for replying to me, it does kind of work, i think i need to fill the teapot up with cement to make it heavier though, also when i turn the thing the graver gets caught on the vice pins, guess i'll shorten them a bit
 

Thomaseason

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Kirkbymoorside UK
Hi, thanks for replying, im currently saving up my cash but im so eager to learn that im trying to improvise and attempt it for now so i get used to graver angle, turning work to the graver and correct depth, the price is huge to me but that pays off in satisfaction im hoping ☺
 

kuzcokelly

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I applaud you thinking outside the box. With one of my earlier efforts I too had a thin walled object for work holding but the give and the vibration from the flexibility of the "vise" gave me line work whose depths I couldn't control. Filling the teapot with concrete I'm sure would help quite a bit. Good luck with your endeavors and I look forward to hearing more about your endeavors as you go. Thank you for sharing!
 

monk

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Hi, thanks so much for replying to me, it does kind of work, i think i need to fill the teapot up with cement to make it heavier though, also when i turn the thing the graver gets caught on the vice pins, guess i'll shorten them a bit

yes. filling with pitch, cement, most anything, would help reduce the vibration to a normal level.
 
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