From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "Bob La Londe"  wrote in message news:101251f$236uo$1@dont-email.me...   
      
   On 5/26/2025 7:24 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:   
   > "Snag"  wrote in message news:10106f7$1k4i2$1@dont-email.me...   
   >   
   >    Mine's a shop made 2 1/2" made from mystery steel . Realized when I   
   > was about 75% complete the plans called for aluminum .   
      
   I have an old Columbia or Columbian bench vise that came with a heavy   
   steel work bench.  The guy who gave it to me long ago showed me some of   
   the best soft jaws for it was either plywood or MDF cut the width of the   
   jaws with with a notch cut to fit the square lower of the front jaw.   
   Drop on and take off in a second.  For parts sensitive to marring, have   
   one set of MDF drop ins with leather glued inside.   
      
   ------------------------------------   
      
   Cutoffs of oak hold up pretty well as jaw pads or rough parallels for   
   milling and especially drilling. I tested a piece to 2000 PSI across the   
   grain with only slight deformation, mostly erasing the saw marks, to qualify   
   my shed rafter design for metal joist hangers. You may accumulate scrap   
   aluminum the way I do scrap oak.   
      
   The worst job I give soft jaws is clamping pipe fittings and the threads of   
   stubborn bolts etc.   
      
   When the neighbor who installed kitchen cabinets cleaned out his work truck   
   in addition to oak I also acquired countertop scrap which made good milling   
   vise jaw padding. The dull circular saw blades can be annealed, cut, worked,   
   and rehardened enough to cut glass before tempering.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)