Stick weld repair to small machine vice

[waddycall]

I recently got hold of a very nice little Fritz Werner milling machine that came with an original FW indexer and quick action vice. Sadly the vice base is cracked. It’s easy to see why as it’s very thin for a machine vice and the lever means a lot of force can be put on it. The Achilles heel of this machine is the small table and single t slot which limits workholding options a fair bit. I’d like to repair the vice if I can as it fits the machine and is part of its history.
I have an oven in the garage and can preheat to 250C and control the cooling using the oven. My concern is that it may be too delicate a job/part for stick welding. I could try tig brazing but that’s not something I’ve done before.
Which would be the best option for a tidy repair that maintains the geometry?
Thanks,
Pete

 

[tom2207]

Id be stick welding it ,,, theres plenty there to weld . if you have gas to hand , and its not in two bits , it may braze well.

 

[Memmeddu]

Which would be the best option for a tidy repair that maintains the geometry?

Holes, threads and bolts

 

[oldbikedavey]

Holes, threads and bolts

And steel side-bars......

 

[oldbikedavey]

I recently got hold of a very nice little Fritz Werner milling machine that came with an original FW indexer and quick action vice. Sadly the vice base is cracked. It’s easy to see why as it’s very thin for a machine vice and the lever means a lot of force can be put on it. The Achilles heel of this machine is the small table and single t slot which limits workholding options a fair bit. I’d like to repair the vice if I can as it fits the machine and is part of its history.
I have an oven in the garage and can preheat to 250C and control the cooling using the oven. My concern is that it may be too delicate a job/part for stick welding. I could try tig brazing but that’s not something I’ve done before.
Which would be the best option for a tidy repair that maintains the geometry?
Thanks,
Pete

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Vorsprung Durch Teknik.....

 

[waddycall]

Vorsprung Durch Teknik.....

Not no more it aint

 

[waddycall]

Rückschritt Durch Teknik

 

[Turbo]

Tig or gas brazing/silver soldering would be my suggestion.
Whatever puts the least amount of heat into it. The biggest problem you will have here is warping as the joint cools.
It will be highly likely that you will have to machine the vice afterward to get everything flat again, making the base even thinner.
It might throw the jaws out of square too so they will need machined as well. And maybe the upper surface of the vice.

In other words it will be a gamble on how accurate the vice will be after brazing. Solid clamping will help but you might struggle to heat it up enough if you clamp big lumps of steel to it.

 

[Turbo]

The other option as I think @Memmeddu was hinting at is buying a thick piece of plate, machine it flat and bolt the vice to it, threading holes into the vice casting and fasten it from underneath the plate using countersunk bolts.

It's a bit more work but less likely to affect the accuracy of the vice and it will retain the patina of the vice.

 

[mike 109444]

In your 2nd pic the crack seams to stop about 1/2" from the large hole. If so then it is worth drilling a small (2mm) hole at the end of the crack to stop it running into the large hole the moment you start to heat up that area.

 

[waddycall]

The other option as I think @Memmeddu was hinting at is buying a thick piece of plate, machine it flat and bolt the vice to it, threading holes into the vice casting and fasten it from underneath the plate using countersunk bolts.

It's a bit more work but less likely to affect the accuracy of the vice and it will retain the patina of the vice.

Yeah, I quite like that idea

 

[Memmeddu]

In your 2nd pic the crack seams to stop about 1/2" from the large hole. If so then it is worth drilling a small (2mm) hole at the end of the crack to stop it running into the large hole the moment you start to heat up that area.

Nah it cracked cause it doesn't have enough surface area touching the table.
So all the pressure applied to the jaws is transferred to the unsupported part that flexes and eventually has cracked