Magna Block Question?

[ED DELORGE]

i Just Bought A Used Grs Nagna Block Through This Forum , Very Happy About That. Of Course The Ball Is Much Heavier Than My Small Vigor Vise. The Magna Block Is Very Stiff And Does Not Turn Easily On The Tire Nylon Inserts. Does Any One Have Any Ideas On What I Might Do To Solve This Problem To Make It Smooth Easy To Pivot ?

Thanks Ed Delorge

 

[Glenn]

Ed,
There is a lock up socket head screw below the center line of the vise. Is this too tight? It controls the upper portion of the vise rotation. If I understand your question correctly, the ball is not ment to rotate continually on the nylon ring. The upper half is ment to rotate with ease. Hope this helps.

 

[ED DELORGE]

hello Glenn, I Don't Think I Am Stating The Situation Clearly. The Top Half Of The Ball Rotates Fine, But The Bottom Half Is Sticky On The Nylon Pads. My Smaller Vigor Vise Which Is Polished Chrome, Pivots Smoothly And With Very Little Effort. I Want The Magna Block To Be As Smooth And Take Little Effort To Pivot On The Nylon Pads. Any Ideas? Maybe Silicone Lubricant Of Some Sort?

Ed Delorge

 

[Sam]

Hi Ed. I think the magnablock is designed not to tilt so easily so that heavy objects can be held without the vise tipping. You could probably replace the nylon pads with teflon. I think you have a lathe if I remember correctly. Also, call JB at Glendo. He probably has ideas as well. / ~Sam

 

[Ray Cover]

Ed try some kind of slick tape over the nylon buttons.

Ray

 

[Glenn]

This might sound a little stuffy, but I'll try. So here goes.
The way you can get the ball to rotate easier is to decrease the coefficient of friction.
This can be done through lubricants which would be messy.
Next you can go to a harder material to replace the nylon pads.
Next your pad replacement could be a smaller diameter so not so much material is in contact with the ball.
The next thing would be to polish the ball better.
I have a very heavy ball (about 40 lbs) that sits in a hard nylon base. It tilts quite easily, but if I'm engraving a barrel at the breach end the vise will hold and not tilt from the barrel overhang.

 

[Sam]

I tie helium balloons to my vise when I need it to tilt easier. Not only does it decrease the coefficient of friction, it gives my studio a real PARTY atmosphere.
~Sam

 

[Glenn]

I think I deserved that.

 

[ED DELORGE]

Magna Block

well, I Did Some Experimenting, First I Polished The Bottom Half Of The Ball On My Polishing Wheels 500 And 600 Grits. The Machine Marks On The Ball Are What Make It So Abbrasive On The Pads, And The Chrome Plating On The Ball Is So Hard That It Is Not Improved Much By Polishing. To Polish With A Courser Grit Would Likely Break Through The Plating. Not Good. So I Tried Something Else. I Just Happened To Have A Smaller Rubber Tire With Nylon Inserts That Is Used On The Smaller Grs Ball Vise. I Bought From Grs Years Ago. The Smaller Tire Made A Sugnificant Improvement In The Smoothness. I Think It Is Because The Pads Contact The Ball More On The Bottom, And The Larger Tire Contacts More Of The Sides Of The Ball. I Can Live With It Now. I Hope This Makes Sense. And Sam Your Balloon Suggestion Made Me Laugh Long And Hard. Thanks

Ed Delorge

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Ed, I really can't see why you want the lower part of the ball to move easily. The last thing an engraver wants is for the vise to move unexpectedly or to keep moving when you need it to stay in one place. To polish the ball and get it to move in the tyre is (I'm sorry) just plain dumb! Yes, you need to be able to move it into position but you need friction to hold it in place. Perhaps I'm missing something here???

Marcus

 

[fegarex]

Marcus,
I wondered the same. Many times I will flip over the tire (or tyre for you Brits) when working on barrels or heavy objects. I find the nylon bushings fine for minor tilting if needed. I could see more mobility on a smaller ball if you were doing jewelry but for firearms I like it fairly rigid. Just my 2 cents.