Bench vice repair

[BrokenBiker]

Asking advice before I whirl into making things harder than they need to be...

My little 4 inch vice locked up a while back trying to press a bit of steel into some ali...

Its been very stiff ever since so now my new bench is in place and 6" vice firmly affixed im stripping the 4"

Threads on the shaft and nut are all fine, and when the vice is apart they run beautifully together, but i have noticed the face on the bottom of the nut, that bolts into the vice body, is bent. Ill be honest, ive never had a vice apart and was expecting this to just be cast in and then Drilled and tapped, but thankfully its removable.

As confident as I am that I could remake this quite easilly, I want to try and fix it first but would you say this bend is the issue and causing the threads to bind? Or is it somehow meant to be bent as some sort of preload? The face it bolts to is flatter than a flat thing with the exception of the paint on it

I was prepared to bin the vice if it was properly fubar'd but apart from this bend i cant find anything suspect in there

Also, I assume this is cast iron, partly due to its age (atleast 30 years old) and partly because of what it is, but i will spark test in a min...ideas on repair? Heat and hammer or just flat it off with the belt grinder?

This will become a blacksmith vice when repaired and only really used for twisting, bending and clamping for grinding/filing so hasn't gotta be perfect, just half decent to use

 

[BrokenBiker]

Update, sparks are more orange than mild steel, not quite what I'd expect from cast iron, but definitely not just plain mild steel.

Also, cleaned the face up on wire wheel and can see fly cutter marks so have to assume it should be flat, but I have also found a small crack on the top side of the bend, so thinking it may not be worth repairing and ill juat make a new one if I can get a tap for the thread cheap enough

Crack is in the corner directly above the hole, opens up and is more visible with heat

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Heat it with OA, bend straight.
Then braze the cracks up.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Heat it with OA, bend straight.
Then braze the cracks up.

dont have OA...or any brazing equipment

 

[Dapph2]

Tig bronze brazing rod ?

 

[BrokenBiker]

Tig bronze brazing rod ?

could get some, but dont currently have any. ive got er70-s6, 308l or 309l...after poking about with the crack a bit more, im not sure if its a crack or a casting defect...

im going to get it hot in a bit and try and straighten it, its only a small piece so i may light the forge, then when ive straighened it turn the forge off and let it sit in the heat and cool with the forge slowly, try and prevent any further cracking...dont really do much with cast iron.

surprisingly (to me anyway) its a metric thread, trapexoidal 14x3...every dimension checks out, pitch, major and minor diameters, all match up with the metric 14x3...dont know why, i just assumed (and was slightly hoping) it would be imperial...easier to cut imperial on the lathe, although i do now have my drill powered reverse on it so metric isnt that much of an issue any more...just need a very small tool to get inside the 11mm bore...

a tap is going to cost around 26 quid, i only paid 28 quid for the 6 inch vice so may grind a tool and try making a new nut if straightening this one doesnt work...give me something to do in amongst the other jobs that have stacked up

 

[Dapph2]

Metric threads have been main stream for 60 years .. Even before we officially changed to metric they were becoming increasingly common.

In 1972 had to order a whole range of metric stuff along side WHIT BSF ANF ANC UNC UNF BA Britis motorcycle and bicycle nuts bolts and all manner of washers & split pins/roll pins for out small workshop as we were starting to get metric vehicle into the unit as the army went metric .
1965
The UK began adopting the metric system in a formal capacity with government policy agreed upon in 1965. Discussions about metrication started as early as 1818, and the UK signed the International Treaty on the Metric System in 1969, committing to its adoption. The introduction of metric units into everyday life began in the 1970s and 1980s.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Metric threads have been main stream for 60 years .. Even before we officially changed to metric they were becoming increasingly common.

In 1972 had to order a whole range of metric stuff along side WHIT BSF ANF ANC UNC UNF BA Britis motorcycle and bicycle nuts bolts and all manner of washers & split pins/roll pins for out small workshop as we were starting to get metric vehicle into the unit as the army went metric .
1965
The UK began adopting the metric system in a formal capacity with government policy agreed upon in 1965. Discussions about metrication started as early as 1818, and the UK signed the International Treaty on the Metric System in 1969, committing to its adoption. The introduction of metric units into everyday life began in the 1970s and 1980s.

didnt realise it was that long ago...my father was born in 63 and still works in imperial so i assumed metric must have come in a lot later than that for some reason

 

[RWD3M]

What age and make is the vice? I broke exactly that part in my old Sealey and was able to purchase a replacement for not a lot of money. I actually bought 2 JIC. Burgered if I know what I've done with the second one!

 

[BrokenBiker]

What age and make is the vice? I broke exactly that part in my old Sealey and was able to purchase a replacement for not a lot of money. I actually bought 2 JIC. Burgered if I know what I've done with the second one!

Both unknowns, the age is almost certainly over 30 years old, and there are no brand markings on it at all but I will have a look and see what can be bought