OldTools Archive
Recent | Bios | FAQ |
265502 | Thomas Conroy | 2018‑03‑19 | Ball-joint saw vises; expertise wanted. |
O Galoots: A couple of weeks ago they finished taking down Fred, the 20" live oak that was endangering our gas lines, electric cables, and roof. R.I.P. The foreman of the tree guys brought by his saw vise to show me, inherited and cherished though not used much in his professional work. I would have fallen in love, except that it was another's It was tall over the bench, clamped on. And there was a universal ball joint. I drooled for a while, and we talked and I showed some of my stuff, and then he had to go on to his next job, taking the vise with him. I have a perfectly adequate vice, no frills but clamp-on and everything works. I have used it three times (my go-to saw is a bowsaw, with a Japanese-toothed blade, gets the best of both worlds). But this one... I love the socket joint. I want one. But even more I want to know more about them. A bit of time on line and I was able to determine that there are at least two brands, the Disston #1 and the Sargeant #105. Apparently an E.C. Stearns as well. I found a good article on experience with saw vises by The NorseWoodsmith, and a good comparison at Blackburn Tools. They seem unenthusiastic about ball- joint saw vises (not rigid enough). But I still want more information. Can anybody talk about them? Is there a significant difference between the Disston and Sargent? What are the drawbacks and advantages? Does anyone love them or hate them? Its the ball-joint vises that I'm lusting for. I undrstand the advantage of the big 15" Wentworth, and the Grammercy copied from it, but I have nowhere to install one, so that's a frost. I understand the advantages of maaking your own from wood, but I have nowhere to keep a full-size freestanding one, and I don't want a saw vise that clamps in my bench vise and sprays steel filings all over my woodworkiing area. I notice that everyone seems to like the Disston #3, but they don't say enough about why they like it for me to understand. What I want to know about (well, honestly, want to purchase wisely eventually) is the ball- vise variants. Tom Conroy Berkeley |
|||
265503 | Matthew Groves <grovesthegrey@g...> | 2018‑03‑19 | Re: Ball-joint saw vises; expertise wanted. |
I use a few ball joint model. Never seemed to lack rigidity. I do like being able to swivel. Sometimes to catch the window light just right on the teeth. Sometimes to put the file motion in better line with my arms motion. But most of all so I can file from the other side without unclamping. Matthew Groves Springfield, MO |
|||
265504 | Claudio DeLorenzi <admin@d...> | 2018‑03‑19 | Re: Ball-joint saw vises; expertise wanted. |
I've got a ball joint one, maybe 8" across, but if I recall it doesn't have a makers mark. Oh, and it's spray painted silver. I remember walking into the flowershop where I bought it. The owner was using it to clamp his order sheets. I made him an offer, and came home with it. It holds OK, but like all small saw vices it vibrates during the cut (even if you line the jaws with rubber). I paid $50 for it, maybe 15 years ago. It's in storage with about 20 other ones. If there is any interest, I can dig them out of the pile and take some pics. By the way, when I'm in a hurry and just want to touch up, I kerf a strip of 3/4 by 1 1/2" soft pine, and clamp the blade in my woodworking vise. That works quite well (no vibration) and it doesn't take up any storage and the price is right. Also, you can draw some helpful guidelines across the top with your bevel square to help you file true. I use magnifiers, and I only do one stroke per tooth per each pass , after a light jointing (jointing-- single stroke of a 10 in smooth cut mill file... makes a tiny shiny flat across the tippy top of each tooth, easy to see under magnification). I try to fight the urge to keep going on the high ones with a wider flat...for me, it's better to skip the low ones on the subsequent passes. I can't get too far off if I only do one stroke on each tooth per pass, because I find it much easier to judge tooth height once the adjacent teeth are all shiny. Cheers Claudio |
|||
265506 | scott grandstaff <scottg@s...> | 2018‑03‑20 | Re: Ball-joint saw vises; expertise wanted. |
Tom Like you I fell hard for the look of the ball n socket saw vises long ago. I determined to get one. I finally saved up enough, and bought one from Sandy Moss. (How I miss Sandy's sale lists!) I had to pay postage from Maine. Well, sorry for this but,........ they vibrate. With the saw so far from the bench its clamped to, up on the tall single post, its just an invitation to shimmy. No way to firm it up enough. When the work vibrates your files don't last for crap. It used to be you could get Nicholson saw files at every corner hardware. No problem. The rise of warehouse hardware killed that off. No matter what I say, anywhere, and try as I might, the general public is enthralled with being treated like lemmings. Park in Kentucky, greet 16 year old minimum wage clerks, and then wait in line 20 minutes to get them to take your money. ugh Warehouse stores often dump their new Pakistani files, the few they sell, loose into bins. Clanging together, the quickest way to ruin any file. So now we have to guard our expensive mail order saw files under pain of death. Anyway, low, solid, and as heavy a saw vise as you can find, is self defense in this climate. Its not as comfortable to use but its --possible--. Unless you really want to try it for yourself. If you do, I have that same Disston #1 saw vise, in very good condition, I would happily trade off, if you find something I need. Except you would have to pay partial postage. They really are bulky to ship and heavy. yours Scott -- ******************************* Scott Grandstaff Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca 96039 scottg@s... http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/ http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html |
|||
265507 | Don Schwartz <dks@t...> | 2018‑03‑20 | Re: Ball-joint saw vises; expertise wanted. |
On 2018-03-19 9:56 PM, scott grandstaff wrote: > Tom > Like you I fell hard for the look of the ball n socket saw vises long > ago. > I determined to get one. I finally saved up enough, and bought one > from Sandy Moss. > (How I miss Sandy's sale lists!) > I had to pay postage from Maine. > > Well, sorry for this but,........ they vibrate. > With the saw so far from the bench its clamped to, up on the tall > single post, its just an invitation to shimmy. No way to firm it up > enough. > When the work vibrates your files don't last for crap. So ... cool, but you maybe don't want to go there! Don -- I have decided to leave my past behind. So, if I owe you money...I am sorry, but I’ve moved on. "The harder they come, the bigger they fall." Ry Cooder |
|||
265508 | Thomas Conroy | 2018‑03‑20 | Re: Ball-joint saw vises; expertise wanted. |
Matthew Groves wrote: "I use a few ball joint model. Never seemed to lack rigidity. I do like being able to swivel. Sometimes to catch the window light just right on the teeth. Sometimes to put the file motion in better line with my arms motion. But most of all so I can file from the other side without unclamping." Interesting. I find with filing in general that it is easier to keep the file flat and level, rather than maintaining it at a compound angle to the workpiece and the ground. So my notion was that with a ball-joint vise I could set it so that the angle to my file is correct when the top of the file is parallel to the ground. Then I could move the saw in the vise without changing the angle I file at. No need of little skeletal angle guides, no need to remember a complex compound angle and then mirror-image it. I'm looking seriously at the price range on these; they seem pretty common, though the shape they are in is apparently a big issue. Hard to tell from a photo. Tom Conroy Berkeley |
|||
Recent | Bios | FAQ |