Bench vice - weldable?

[nakman]

Apparently 30 years is the service life of one of these Larin bench vices. Or maybe you’re not supposed to use a big cheater bar to bend metal parts…. At any rate, I broke my vice.






Kind of an interesting casting here, a lot more pourus than the hunks of steel I usually zap together. Any hesitation in going for it? I mean, I can’t really break it any worse than it is right?

 

[60wag]

Cast iron does not weld easily at all. It can be done, read up on it first. I doubt you'll be able to achieve any real strength by welding it and it will crack again. ):

 

[DaveInDenver]

That's a thick casting. It can be done, but whether you want to try or will be successful, though, is the question. You'll need to clean up the crack, grinding into a nice groove and do multiple passes. Stick or TIG will probably be necessary. I'm not sure you could get the high enough nickel MIG wire. A high nickel wire that comes to my mind is what they use for spot welding battery terminals.

Note that cast iron is different than cast steel and this affects your choice of electrode/filler/wire and technique. It's important to make this distinction because a lot of videos and advice uses the terms interchangeably, like when people talk about success or failure welding knuckles or axle housings, which are probably cast steel vs cast iron cookware or something like that.

https://www.raxindustry.com/blog/nickel-electrodes-for-cast-iron-welding/

https://app.aws.org/forum/topic_show.pl?tid=7922

Can you just square of the end and make your vice throw a little shorter? Nevermind, this is the fixed end of the jaw/beam that broke, so obvs not.

 

[allen.wrench]

That break looks very much like cast iron. Also the majority of time vises are made of cast iron, so you can definitely expect it is cast iron. You could try spark testing if you want to play with that.

But yeah welding cast iron is different from regular steel welding. It is entirely doable just out of the ordinary if you feel like trying. The primary difference with cast iron (assuming a good weld is desired) is needing a pre-heat and slow cool down because cast iron especially in thick sections will tend to crack if there is enough of a temperature gradient.

Many others have broken vises and repaired them. At swap meets if you see an old vise with some gold coloring, it's likely been repaired by brazing which is a more forgiving repair option. If you choose welding, two videos are helpful in my experience:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsN4T9k3vd0


and:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQN_yz-4Hhg


In case you don't feel like the work is worth it, I have heard Hazard Frought Doyle vises are decent enough. I am expecting HF to have a parking lot sale at the start of October. See the Den of Tools video:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf8uLTGImnw


If you want a real good vise and have the money, Fireball Tools has some amazing vises. Link: https://www.fireballtool.com/collec...GI3Z9AXdNDqTEiywewr_QT5EPFbk2gFOCMDwzmaa-Ezxs

Allen

 

[nakman]

Sweet! great info here, thanks all. So in conclusion...

1. I could probably weld it, but likely won't be very good at it.
2. I'll spend more than the vice is worth trying to fix it. should just get a new one.

I use this tool almost daily... twice today I walked over to it and then remembered oh yeah it's broken. So I'm getting a new one.

Anyone want this one to play with?

 

[Runnin on E]

Also there is grey cast iron and nodular cast iron. Better vises are nodular. They can take a hit.

 

[allen.wrench]

Makes sense Tim. Fireball Tool tortured a lot of vises. For the sake of entertainment just one of their videos:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CubcmE4kt78


If you do buy a Fireball Hardtail vise I would be so insanely jealous! But also like I said, the HF Doyle is supposedly decent enough too.

Of course there are some other decent brands that'll get the job done and readily available. When I got out of college in 2015 I bought a new Wilton and have been using it happily since then. Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004XPVG?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_0&th=1

Allen

 

[Hulk]

I bought a restored Wilton for $400 from a guy in Elizabeth. Still using it.

 

[Corbet]

I bought a 6-1/2” Wilton at an estate sale a decade ago. Very happy with my choice.