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Problem with LV large face vise

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Problem with LV large face vise

#1

Problem with LV large face vise

Stephen in Ottawa

>I'd installed this vise on my bench about a year and a half ago but only just discovered that the guide rods don't run parallel to the carriage base, they are at a slight angle. This causes the jaw to be angled with respect to the edge of my bench top. I'd initially believed this misalignment to be an error in my installation, thougth I'd taken great care to ensure that the bench top and bottom were parallel and that the side was square. I'd shimmed the jaw to make it usable. It was only this week that I disassembled the whole thing and discovered the problem with the vise.

Has anyone else experienced such a problem? Would it be inappropriate ( owning to the length of time I've actually used the device ) to ask Lee Valley for a replacement? I do know they have excellent customer service, but I wouldn't want to misuse it. Not sure what to do.

Thanks,

- Stephen

Re: Problem with LV large face vise

#2

Re: Problem with LV large face vise

Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO

>Does the top of the vise close sooner than the bottom? That is, when you close the vise, does the top meet before the bottom so that there is still a slight gap of about 3/16" at the bottom?

If this is the case, it is by design. Since the support rods are at the bottom, the bottom does not distort much under load. The top will bend outwards when you really crank down the vise. Under a load, the faces should become parallel.

My Record vise is built this way, but I found that it worked best, for the loading that I used, if I put in slightly bevelled wooden faces so that the effect was not so pronounced. I expect that as the vise wears, there will be more distortion under load and I may need to plane the outside wooden face so that it compensates.

Ted

Re: Problem with LV large face vise

#3

Re: Problem with LV large face vise

Stephen in Ottawa

>Actually the bottom closes before the top. If it were the other way around and the top closed first, that wouldn't be a problem. I had actually planed a slight angle ( about 2 or 3 deg ) on the face so in fact the top would have closed first if the guide rods were parallel to the bottom / top of my bench ( and the vise carriage ).

- Stephen

Re: Problem with LV large face vise

#4

Re: Problem with LV large face vise *LINK*

Rob Lee

>Hi Stephen -

Short answer is - we'll replace it if you're not happy with it...

It sounds to me that what you're saying is that your guide rods are not perpendicular to the edge face of your bench - but the carriage supporting them is...

When installing a front vise - the recommended procedure is to screw the carriage to the underside of the bench only once the jaw has been fixed flush with the front edge...

No worries about the time...we'll get you "squared" away...

Cheers -

Rob


See steps 10-14 plus troubleshooting here....

Re: Problem with LV large face vise

#5

Re: Problem with LV large face vise

Stephen in Ottawa

> >It sounds to me that what you're saying is that your guide rods are not perpendicular to the edge face of your bench - but the carriage supporting them is...

That's correct Rob, which is why the jaw will never align tight to the edge of the bench, unless I doctor the jaw :)

Looks like I'll be visiting the Ottawa store this weekend.

Thanks,

- Stephen

Re: Problem with LV large face vise

#6

Re: Problem with LV large face vise

paul womack

>It sounds easily fixable by a non-parallel (AKA tweaked) vice jaw. So that's what I'd do.

Here's an interesting run-in I had with a s/h Record.

Oldtool story

BugBear

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