Any thoughts on how to straighten this....

[jweaver]

As some of you know, I have just bought a reconditioned Record No.110 vice and its in really nice condition.. But the hande/bar is bent and its annoying me.

I would like to have a go at straightening it.. And my thought is that once its mounted, I could secure something in the jaws to get the handle at the right orientation, slip a bar over it and bend it by hand. (Stupid question time.. Is the vice strong enough for that? I guess so, but I am not sure if my wooden bench top is...)

But my other idea was to take the whole thing to my friend at my local go kart track and ask if I could use their Hydraulic press (I have the bits to make mine, but have never got around to doing it)

Are there any other methods I could use that I have overlooked and that might save me the journey.

The bar is 16mm by the way.. I look forwards to your thoughts

Jon

 

[Maker]

Sit the ends of the bar on two steel blocks (with the vice sitting over to 1 side) and hammer it in the middle until it's straight?

 

[jweaver]

Sit the ends of the bar on two steel blocks (with the vice sitting over to 1 side) and hammer it in the middle until it's straight?

Actually thats a good idea.. I have to perfect 'slabs' of steel.. But would need an extra few pairs of hands.. I will give that a go before i do anything...Would a bit of heat be worth it? I was thinking that I could heat up the spot that I want to bend (Only got Propane, but could get it glowing).

 

[Maker]

Propane on it's own isn't ideal, but if you can get it red then it'll certainly help.

 

[Screwdriver]

I guess if you have to ask then you haven't got one of these:

The nice thing about using a flypress is you can take out the bend in one go.

Just mark up the high spot. The last two handles have generally only had one or two actual bends so they go dead straight quite quickly without having to chase after it.

You're welcome to pop over W London.

S.

 

[wristpin]

Second stupid question?
How were the knobs fitted in the first place? Surely one at least will be removable - screwed on?
With the bar out there are plenty of options with no risk of damage to the vice.
At the worst, grind one knob off, straighten the bar and get someone to turn you up an interference fit or threaded replacement.

 

[Maker]

Second stupid question?
How were the knobs fitted in the first place? Surely one at least will be removable - screwed on?
With the bar out there are plenty of options with no risk of damage to the vice.
At the worst, grind one knob off, straighten the bar and get someone to turn you up an interference fit or threaded replacement.

I think they're heated and peened over to form a knob. Either that or the bar is made with a shoulder on the end and a "button" (The knob, but drilled out and countersunk on the outside) is made to fit over the reduced portion and the prodruding bit of shaft is peened over. Like a hot rivet.

 

[Screwdriver]

I think they're heated and peened over to form a knob. Either that or the bar is made with a shoulder on the end and a "button" (The knob, but drilled out and countersunk on the outside) is made to fit over the reduced portion and the prodruding bit of shaft is peened over. Like a hot rivet.

Yes, that's my understanding too. Pick an end, emery it smooth and look for a join. You might get away with grinding a flat down to the join on one end and tapping the rod out with a punch. Failing that, chop the knob off flush and reuse it by punching it out the other way. Then just turn the rod down for an interference fit. It's nice to reuse any original parts, any new bits will stick out like a sore thumb.

S.

 

[jweaver]

I guess if you have to ask then you haven't got one of these:

The nice thing about using a flypress is you can take out the bend in one go.

Just mark up the high spot. The last two handles have generally only had one or two actual bends so they go dead straight quite quickly without having to chase after it.

You're welcome to pop over W London.

S.

Thats exactly what I want Thanks for the offer, but as I am in South Wales, its a bit far...

I have a project underway to make a press.. And I blagged some threaded bar from my bosses father who worked for a now bankrupt steel fabircators.. I forgot all about it and a few months later he presented me with 2x1 meter lengths of 40mm threaded bar complete with nuts and washers.. I could hardly lift them and got a bit intimidated by the project... (When I said "big" (meaning somewhere around 20mm, he took me literally).. Anyway.. Now with my recent Plasma Cutter investement, I am going to have a crack again and turn them into a press using a 20T jack.

Anyway.. I had a whack with a hammer.. And it just bounced off.. SO I need a press... The Go-Kart track I used to run my kart at helped me before when I bent an axle.. So as long as my "friend" is there today, I am hoping they will help me out.. I can't dismantle the vice, so am just going to take the whole thing and see if we can do it in situ.

Jon

 

[jweaver]

Yes, that's my understanding too. Pick an end, emery it smooth and look for a join. You might get away with grinding a flat down to the join on one end and tapping the rod out with a punch. Failing that, chop the knob off flush and reuse it by punching it out the other way. Then just turn the rod down for an interference fit. It's nice to reuse any original parts, any new bits will stick out like a sore thumb.

S.

I always assumed that the bars are one piece.. And simply heated/pressed into the shape of the button once they had been passed through the hole in the screw...

If all else fails, I will look to remove the bar, but thats a lot of work for a little bend... I am sure there is a way to do this without going that far.

Jon

 

[chunkolini]

I would get rid of it you cant have damaged goods in a nice workshop.
Tell you what send it to me and I will bin it for you.

 

[jweaver]

I would get rid of it you cant have damaged goods in a nice workshop.
Tell you what send it to me and I will bin it for you.

I am a bit OCD.. I don't mind it being bent if I did it.. But I don't like starting off with bent tools..

 

[500e]

10 Minutes to take to pieces once off the bench

 

[Screwdriver]

Have you got another sturdy vice you can use?

Couple of spacers on the outside of the bend pressing against one in the middle iyswim and you could press it straight in a vice.

S.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Have done the same a few times over the years, don't overthink it..two blocks and a big hammer and job done in less than 2 mins.

 

[jweaver]

Done it.. Took it to my friend. Wouldn't fit in the press.. So we stuck it in HIS vice and he started to twist one of the end 'buttons' off.. It turned.. But wouldn't come on.

In the I got a bit fed up.. Mounted MY bar (still attached) in his vice and belted it a few times.. Its was soon straight...

Cheers all.. Going to fit it to my bench now!

 

[jweaver]

10 Minutes to take to pieces once off the bench

You are certainly right.. But I have no idea how it comes apart and didn't' want to start to dismantle it now.

 

[penfold]

This is overthinking it; just get a length of scaffold tube(about 700-800mm seems optimal for handiness, longer gives more leverage but is unwieldy) over the end, line the bend up with the hole in the vice screw and lean on the scaff tube. I've straightened several over the years like this, some times I'll get it dead on first go, others I'll end up chasing a few times or just get to the point of "that'll do" functional straightness.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Just batter it straight...always works for me

 

[MattF]

I always assumed that the bars are one piece.. And simply heated/pressed into the shape of the button once they had been passed through the hole in the screw...

It varies, but rarely do the ends seem to be just threaded on. Most of the time, the ball end will be countersunk, and then either the end of the rod peened or pressed in, else a bead of weld run in.