vise question

[CoreyH]

I have a 3-inch vise I got from Harbor Freight that I have attached to my work station.  I had seen videos where guys had placed a wooden bait in the vise in order to securely hold it for chiseling, sanding, or drilling into it.  Is there anything you can add or change that will make the vise hold a lure better than the iron gripper teeth that it comes standard with?  It seems like the bait is either not being held firmly enough and is moving around while I'm trying to work on it, or else I'm tightening it up too much and the teeth of the vise are indenting into the bait. 

[Vodkaman]

The first thing to do is fit wooden jaws. Sometimes the original cast jaws can be unscrewed and replaced with wood, or they can be glued in position.

If slipping is still a problem, you could add a layer of rubber sheet.

Dave

[CoreyH]

Thanks!  One question...when putting on wooden jaws, do you want to use a softer wood, like pine?

[SlowFISH]

You can also buy "Soft Jaws" -  I have a set that are a soft plastic with magnets in them.... so you can put them in place over the steel jaws and quickly remove if you really need to crank down on something.

  J.

Cheap on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Yost-UP360-Universal-Prism-Style/dp/B01EVQH42U/ref=pd_sbs_469_t_2/145-6823576-1110565?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01EVQH42U&pd_rd_r=82440357-91fc-46f3-9a72-69b8f02623e8&pd_rd_w=HCsSN&pd_rd_wg=836hN&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=GESA0MB3A2SF04868N93&psc=1&refRID=GESA0MB3A2SF04868N93

[CoreyH]

15 minutes ago, SlowFISH said:

You can also buy "Soft Jaws" -  I have a set that are a soft plastic with magnets in them.... so you can put them in place over the steel jaws and quickly remove if you really need to crank down on something.

  J.

Cheap on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Yost-UP360-Universal-Prism-Style/dp/B01EVQH42U/ref=pd_sbs_469_t_2/145-6823576-1110565?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01EVQH42U&pd_rd_r=82440357-91fc-46f3-9a72-69b8f02623e8&pd_rd_w=HCsSN&pd_rd_wg=836hN&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=GESA0MB3A2SF04868N93&psc=1&refRID=GESA0MB3A2SF04868N93

Thanks for the link!  I think this is the route I'll go.

[DGagner]

I tried a bunch of stuff.... Now, I just hold it in my hand and use a retractable razor knife and then coarse sandpaper. Fastest for me.

[HokieMusky527]

On 2/15/2020 at 11:13 AM, DGagner said:

I tried a bunch of stuff.... Now, I just hold it in my hand and use a retractable razor knife and then coarse sandpaper. Fastest for me.

i used to do it that way with small chisels and a razor knife.... i recently switched to wood padded vice...i have 3 nice cuts on my left thumb and pointer finger i had to seal shut with superglue thanks to this one little chisel, so to save yourself a little surprise, pain, and hopefully not needing stiches, the vice or other means is WAY WAY WAY better than with you hand...just my opinion

[Vodkaman]

I stick to rotary tools

Dave

[eastman03]

Cheap soft jaws = lots of layers of duct tape for me lol

[mark poulson]

49 minutes ago, eastman03 said:

Cheap soft jaws = lots of layers of duct tape for me lol

I do that, too.

 

[Travis]

On 2/15/2020 at 11:13 AM, DGagner said:

Now, I just hold it in my hand and use a retractable razor knife and then coarse sandpaper. Fastest for me.

Same here I really see no need for a vise for carving lures then again I don't see a chisel as being the best tool for the task either (even though several seam to pick it up from a youtuber).  

A sharp tool and a controlled hand result in little effort needed to peel away wood in clean shavings with a knife.   The other issue is sharp.  With a chisel if you can't cut end grain of pine and end up with a shiny/waxy cut you aren't sharp.  Should be able to get clean cut with no crushing of the fibers.  If it crumbles away need to go back and sharpen.  Learn to sharpen your tools and it gets much easier...from my past experiences many guys sharp ins't.

If wanting to use a chisel and vise I would make some wood jaws like the plastic ones linked above and glue some magnets in to hold in place.   

[Big Epp]

I love the ductape idea @eastman03 and @mark poulson!  I'll have to try that.

I use my vise to hold lures for sanding with a long strip off a belt sander.  It helps me get better rounded edges and helps me rough out the shapes before finish sanding.  I really like how the paper strips help shape the wood and even the curves.  I've been using two pieces of wood 3/8x1x6 to hold blanks in the jaws.  They aren't attached to the vise at all, so sometimes it gets annoying to try and tighten things down.

[eastman03]

@Big epp That's what I use it for as well.  I don't do a lot of carving, I will use my belt sander, or dremel, or router to do most of the shaping.  But it is nice to use long strips of sandpaper to smooth everything out.   The tape is my quick, cheap solution.

Edited February 19, 2020 by eastman03