Sunday, July 26, 2015

2015 Toolbox Giveaway Project

Loyal followers and viewers,

Its been a long time since I put up a written blog posting. For those of you that have been checking back once in a while thank you for hanging in there. Much of my effort goes into the Youtube channel work that I do and I only have so much free energy these days. For more current work you can follow me in the virtual world on Instagram and Facebook.

This particular post is related to YouTube activity as well. Some of you may know a fine gentleman named Keith Fenner. He has a YouTube channel that is responsible for getting me involved in making videos about metalworking, craftsmanship and the trades.

Every year now for the last three years Keith puts together a toolbox with the intent of finding a worthy apprentice/recipient to give it to. He calls this activity "What's in your box?" This has been hugely popular and directly supports young folks getting a foothold in the trades. Candidates or acquaintances of the candidate submit a video nomination for consideration. These candidates are voted on by some of the metalworking YouTube community and the box is awarded to the selected person.

Keith accepts donations during the year of tools and material to fill the boxes so there is an opportunity for lots of folks to participate and contribute to this great cause. A good portion of the tooling items he has put up himself. This it really a powerful demonstration of Keith's dedication to the trade and his willingness to teach and foster younger folks entering the craft. Check out Keith's website for more specific detail and rules for the toolbox giveaway.

As part of this years toolbox giveaway some of the YouTube machinists community have generously volunteered to actually make some handmade tools to contribute to this years TurnWright machine works toolbox giveaway. I think this is an incredible idea and allows many folks that support the trades and the toolbox giveaway idea to contribute something deeply personal like hand crafted tools.

Of course I volunteered to do a project as part of this years giveaway. I recently announced the fact on one of my weekly Meatloaf episodes . I let folks know that the project I intended to do was fully designed and ready for fabrication. I stopped short of actually telling what the project would be to the dismay of many viewers I'm sure.

My first problem was deciding what the project would be. There was no particular shortage of small projects offered up by the participants of this years event. The problem that I had was that most of the projects I have done at one point or another in my career. Sure I could do another one of these projects for the toolbox giveaway but I really wanted to do something unique that would be challenging and of high interest to the metalworking community. Also it needed to be small enough that any reasonably equipped shop could follow along and make their own with a little Yankee ingenuity. What follows is the description and plans for the 2015 toolbox giveaway project.

Who doesn't like a Wilton bullet machinist vise? I don't know too many folks that do not appreciate a high quality bench vise. Every shop should have at least one high quality bench vise in it. Until you have used one its hard to quantify the differences in performance and the sheer pleasure of using one.

Anybody that follows my work on YouTube, Instagram and now Facebook will know that I really love using and collecting tools. Bench vises are no different. I had the pleasure of using a good Wilton vise many years ago when I was learning the trades. Once you have gone Wilton you can never go back. Needless to say I have a minor collection in my shop. Here is a short history of the Wilton vise company written by kc-Steve over on the Garage Journal forum. The Wilton vise company is a real American success story.
Here is a shot of part of the harem of Wilton vises in my shop. There are actually a couple more but getting them all into a single picture would have involved some disassembly. 

This brings us to the subject of the actual project. We are going to fabricate a copy of the iconic Wilton Bullet vise from scratch. How the heck are we going to do that is the first thing that popped into many readers heads just now I'm sure. 

Just to be clear this is a welding fabrication and machining project. Unfortunately for all the iron casting fans out there we won't be doing any iron casting this week. One of my criteria for the build was that folks with modest home shops could follow along with the build. The blog article is a simple way to communicate the plans to folks that want to build their own. The actual build will be videotaped and posted on YouTube at the Oxtoolco YouTube channel. This video project series will accompany the blog article and document the techniques used and the entire build process.

Wilton vises were built in a huge variety of sizes and shapes. We will focus on the iconic "Bullet" vise design. This is the first and most successful configuration of Wilton vises ever made. Wilton offers a wide range of sizes. From the monstrous eight inch bullet vise with a twelve inch (300mm) jaw opening down to the smallest currently made bullet vise the three inch wide jaw bullet.

There is a particular model of Wilton bullet vise highly prized among Wilton vise aficionados. This particular vise was manufactured in the late fifties into the mid to late 1960's. Marketed to jewelry makers combined with another Wilton invention called the Power-arm. These tiny versions of the bullet design are fairly rare with vises in good condition selling for north of three hundred dollars at the writing of this article. 
I know you guys are not surprised to find out that I have one of these in my collection. You can get a good sense of size and scale in this picture. The jaws of the baby bullet are two inches (50mm) wide. It can open its tiny little mouth to just at two and a half inches (64mm). Just what every toolmaker needs right?
Here is a baby bullet mounted on the omni directional Wilton power arm. This allows you to rotate and position the vise jaws at any angle for doing fine work ergonomically. This is also really handy for welding small parts as you can orient the part favorably for welding. 
Here is the corner on my welding table. I call this setup the NOGA vise after the multi directional indicator arms sold by the NOGA company. This vise can be re-positioned in a huge variety of positions allows access to weld even oddball joint orientations. This vise is a 2-1/2 wide with solid copper jaws. The copper grounding plate can just be seen peeking out the rear of the vise at the base.
Close up of the power arm showing the pivoting ball arrangement. The ball is clamped by shifting the black knob. This pushes a threaded seat up against the ball locking it the desired position. The vise can rotate as well as lay over past ninety degrees as the ball stem goes into the slot. 

How the baby bullet project was conceived. Most projects in my shop start with what I call a chicken sketch. Named after the pattern that would be left if a chicken walked on the paper and left a design behind. Mentally I broke the vise down into all the different elements. Sometimes when a complex project is viewed as a whole it can be a little daunting. When you break it down like this into single parts each part magically becomes manageable.
The next step was to fully disassemble and measure all the baby bullet components. This took a little while to measure and model the vise up in Solidworks.  Measuring swoopy curved castings is not trivial with generally orthographic measuring tools. In this shot I have not added any blending radii to the vise jaws themselves. This is one of the tricky areas of the build. We want it to look like the original but since folks building their own may not have access to look at one first hand there will need to be some "Artistic License"allowed in this area.
Here I have added some radii to the vise jaws. It really changes the look of the model adding a few radii. You can go crazy modeling radii sometimes so I will probably leave it like this for the build. Some of the sharp corners will be naturally filled when the various parts are welded together. The video documentation will answer some of these questions for folks that are following along building their own baby bullet.
Here is a cross section shot showing the internal guts of the baby bullet project. I didn't model the threads on the clamping screw in case anybody was wondering. This is an accurate representation of the innards of a Wilton bullet vise regardless of its size.
All the materials for the project are readily available and common. I will list the McMaster part numbers for each of the pieces with the drawings so folks that want to follow along can easily source the needed bits and pieces.

Here is a link to a public dropbox file folder. You can download the PDF's of the parts of the baby bullet there. You do not need to sign up for dropbox unless you want to. It is a convenient way to get higher quality documents to the folks that want to build their own vise. Click on the link and select the file you want then at the upper right click on download. As feedback comes in during the build I will most likely add drawing revisions to the folder. These will be the normal drawing format of rev A, B, C etc. Hopefully I have captured most of what is needed to build the vise.

Baby Bullet Project PDF Drawing Link Click Here

I plan to build one of these vises complete on camera for the 2015 Keith Fenner toolbox giveaway. I have had a number of folks step forward and offer to volunteer their time and equipment to help with whatever project I finally decided on. Depending on the resources of the volunteers there may be an opportunity for many folks to participate in this really honorable cause and project.

I hope you follow along with the project and build your own vise for the pure fun of it. Please comment and test all the links for me.

Thanks for looking.

Tom Lipton


34 comments:

  1. Tom I downloaded the files no problem. Looks like a good project I might build one some day.

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  2. Hey Bill,

    Thanks for testing the links and leaving a comment.

    Best,

    Tom

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  3. Hey Tom,

    I love watching your videos, and I'm considering building a vise like this for myself based on these plans (I don't have a mill or welder (or substantive machining skills :) ), but I hopefully can justify an inexpensive welder at some point, and could conceivably replace the mill with files and saws and determination).

    I was curious if you'd be able to break down the nifty powerarm base as well, because I'm curious how that mechanism works inside. I've never seen one in person.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jacob,

      I may get to the powerarm at some point. I will try to show it a little closer on one of my meatloaf videos. Thanks for the comment.

      Cheers,

      Tom

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  4. tom
    watching your vids makes me want to go out and buy some iron
    don h

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    Replies
    1. Hey Don,

      Don't let me get in your way. He who dies with the most tonnage wins. Thanks for the comment.

      Cheers,

      Tom

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  5. Tom,

    This looks like a great project, I think I'll build along with your videos. Any chance I could get the SW models? I have a student seat of SW and like to model all of my projects before building, comes from years designing in SW, helps me visualize the finished part.

    Dan

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  6. G'day Tom,

    Great little vice you have there.
    Just wondering though if you have drawings for the nut and the moving jaw.

    Cheers,
    Darren.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Darren,

      I put the missing drawing for the moving jaw up. Thanks for the heads up. The nut is a commercial part shown in the parts list. Also I added the Solidworks models of the vise in a separate folder there.

      Cheers,

      Tom

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    2. Hey Tom,

      I am following in sync with the series of videos. How is the coupling nut going to be modified to fit with the nut carrier? Thanks!

      Daniel

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    3. Hi Daniel,

      Good catch. I realized that I didn't have a drawing for the nut in the package of drawings. I'll get that uploaded shortly. Really quickly the hex acme nut will be turned round to fit nicely in a hole in the nut assembly. It will be secured by silver soldering or TIG welding the end of the nut to the assembly. Hope this helps.

      Best,

      Tom

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    4. Hi again Tom,

      Thanks for the helpful reply. I was thinking of turning it and cross-drilling two opposite holes with the nut in place in the nut carrier while held inside the base tube somehow. Haven't figured out that last step... yet. :)

      Take care,

      Daniel

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  7. my approach to the baby bullet
    http://hamlertools.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-few-pantograph-projects.html

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    Replies
    1. Hey Paul,

      Thanks for the link. Those are a couple of really cool bullets you have there. I would love to see more of your process making those.

      All the best,

      Tom

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    2. Tom go to my picture folders and click on miniature wilton vise.http://hamlertools.smugmug.com/

      Delete
  8. Hi Tom,

    A potentially useful addition to the project would be a bench clamp base - the small Wilton vice on the UK Amazon site has one, and for a lightweight vice such as this it would extend its versatility for those who have to (as I currently do) steal a section of kitchen counter top for light-weight work.

    The video series has been great so far, and when you look at the cost of a new Wilton of this kind of size, the time taken to make it becomes suddenly very worthwhile for the home machinist.

    Regards,

    Mark

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mark,

      A few folks have asked about the Power-Arm for mounting the vise. I'll see how I feel about the project when the vise part is done. Thanks for the comment.

      Cheers,

      Tom

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  9. Hi, great blog I can't find a "follow" button on it, if its not too much trouble to add I would like to follow.
    http://mishoptoolsinventions.blogspot.com/

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  10. G'day Tom , another bloke who loved the wilton vise build, I'd love to see your take on the powerarm as well!

    Cheers, Ash

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ashley,

      A few folks have asked about the Powrarm. I ended up buying a new one for the project. Need to move on to other projects. I had a great time building the Baby bullet but need to get back on the etching press.

      All the best,

      Tom

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  11. Did I miss the two drawings (concave/convex) for the milling movements for the back of the jaw?

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  12. This was a tremendous series. So much potential with skill and basic tools!

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  13. كيفية إنشاء كائنات مع الجبس قوالب جبس للبيع

    منتجات الجص غير سامة وغير مكلفة وسهلة الصنع والزينة في النقطة الصحيحة: قوالب جبس فهي تسلي الأطفال ، وتختطف الابتسامة من البالغين ، وتعمل كمفضل ، كما أنها ممتازة لغرف العطور قوالب جبس جاهزة ، وخزائن الملابس والأدراج. سنركز في هذا الدليل على كيفية إنشاء كائنات بالطباشير من مسحوق أبيض يمكن شراؤه في أي متجر لاجهزة الكمبيوتر. قوالب جبس للبيع في الامارات لتحقيق المشروع ، لا توجد حاجة إلى مواد باهظة الثمن ولا إلى مهارات فنية كبيرة ، ولكن لا بد من العمل بسرعة معينة.
    قوالب جبس للبيع في مصر
    حاجة
    ماء
    مسحوق الطباشير
    قوالب السيليكون
    وعاء قديم أو وعاء
    ملعقة
    ألوان الاكريليك أو أصباغ مسحوق قوالب جبس للبيع في العراق
    الجواهر المعطرة
    فرشاة الطلاء
    مسواك

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  14. الديكورات المنزلية الحديثة هي من بين الأساليب الأكثر تفضيلا في الآونة الأخيرة. عندما يرغب كل من المصممين وأولئك الذين يرغبون في عمل الزخارف في إجراء تغييرات في الزخرفة دون تدمير بنية المناطق الحالية ، فإن اقتراحات الديكور المنزلي الحديثة تأتي في المقدمة. في التغييرات التي ترغب في إجرائها دون تغيير الهندسة قوالب جبس للبيع في مصر
    قوالب جبس للبيع في العراق ، ستجذب الديكورات المنزلية الحديثة انتباهك من خلال قابليتها للتطبيق ووظائفها بسهولة. إذا كنت ترغب في ذلك ، يمكنك الحفاظ على الهيكل الأصلي لمساحات المعيشة ، أو يمكنك تجديد منزلك من خلال تغيير من أعلى إلى أسفل. قد تساعدك اللمسات على المساحات الكلاسيكية في استخدام الأفكار الجديدة بنجاح مع الحفاظ على المظهر القديم لمنزلك. بإضافة بضع قطع من الأثاث إلى شرفة قوالب جبس للبيع
    قوالب جبس إلى حد ما ، يمكنك تحقيق مظهر أكثر حداثة وتعبيرية. يوفر عنصر التوازن ، الذي يقع في قلب الديكورات المنزلية الحديثة ، تطبيق سهل لهذا النمط. يمكنك الحصول على مظهر حديث في 10 خطوات دون إجراء تغييرات كبيرة في مساحات المعيشة الخاصة بك.
    قوالب جبس جاهزة
    قوالب جبس للبيع في الامارات

    ReplyDelete
  15. How Lemeridian funding service  grant me a loan!!!

    Hello everyone, I'm Lea Paige Matteo from Zurich Switzerland and want to use this medium to express gratitude to lemeridian funding service for fulfilling his promise by granting me a loan, I was stuck in a financial situation and needed to refinance and pay my bills as well as start up a Business. I tried seeking for loans from various loan firms both private and corporate organisations but never succeeded and most banks declined my credit request. But as God would have it, I was introduced by a friend named Lisa Rice to Le_meridian funding service and undergone the due process of obtaining a loan from the company, to my greatest surprise within 48hrs just like my friend Lisa, I was also granted a loan of $216,000.00 So my advise to everyone who desires a loan, "if you must contact any firm with reference to securing a loan online with low interest rate of 1.9% and better repayment plans/schedule, please contact Le_meridian funding service. Besides, he doesn't know that am doing this but due to the joy in me, I'm so happy and wish to let people know more about this great company whom truly give out loans, it is my prayer that GOD should bless them more as they put smiles on peoples faces. You can contact them via email on {lfdsloans@lemeridianfds.com Or lfdsloans@outlook.com} or Text through Whatsapp +1-989 394 3740.

    ReplyDelete
  16. تبغى أفضل شركة موشن جرافيك بالسعودية ؟
    القصص لها مفعول السحر على النفس عندما تُحكى، فما بالنا بقصة قصيرة متحركة بسيناريو محبوك، تجذب عميلك المحتمل ليصبح من عملائك الدائمين موشن جرافيك دقيقة واحدة من الزمن ؟
    لأننا أفضل شركة موشن جرافيك بالسعودية ، أدركنا مبكرًا من واقع خبرتنا بالتسويق الإلكتروني لسنوات عديدة مدى تأثير الموشن جرافيك شركة موشن جرافيك السعودية في نجاح أي حملة أو خطة إعلانية، وأنه عنصر رئيس ولا غنى عنه في وسائل التسويق الرقمية.
    شركة موشن جرافيك بالرياض
    الكثير من المدراء وأصحاب المشروعات في المملكة العربية السعودية أصبحوا أكثر وعيًا بأهمية التسويق بالمحتوى، خاصة المحتوى المرئي، وهذا يسعد أي شركة موشن جرافيك بالسعودية والرياض تحديدًا لأنها قلب المملكة النابض، فكلما كان العميل مؤمنًا بأهمية تصميم الفيديو الترويجي والفوائد الجمة التي سوف تعود عليه منه، كلما كان التعامل أكثر مرونة وسلاسة.
    شركة موشن جرافيك
    خدمة الموشن جرافيك في مكة
    يتزايد التنافس على تقديم عبد الرحمن سليم الموشن جرافيك بالسعودية بشكل عام، وفي مكة شركة موشن جرافيك فى مصر خاص، ولأنها محط أنظار العالم الإسلامي والعربي وقِبلة الأرواح والقلوب، فإننا نهتم في بتقديم خدمة شركة موشن جرافيك جرافيك بمكة بعروض خاصة جدًا لأهلها الكرام.

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  17. من خلال خدمة "منتقي الألوان" يمكن لمستخدم تطبيق صباغ جنوب السرة الجزيرة على الهواتف الذكية انتقاء لونه بدقة؛ فإثر التقاط صورة للون الذي يرغب في انتقائه، كأن صباغ جابر الاحمد لون لوحة في المنزل، أو لون وسادة، أو لون قطعة أثاث... إلخ، يتم النقر على اللون الذي صباغ القصور بانتقائه؛ فتظهر له درجات وأسماء ألوان دهانات الجزيرة المطابقة للون الذي انتقاه؛ ليقوم بشرائه مباشرة عبر الجوال.
    صباغ مبارك الكبير
    ويمكن لمتصفح موقع الشركة الاستفادة من خدمة "زيارة المختص المجانية"، عبر تسجيل بياناته في صفحة زيارة المختص، وتحديد الوقت المناسب للزيارة، ليقوم فريق صباغ الكويت بالجهراء الجزيرة بالتواصل والتنسيق معه لزيارة المختص لموقعه أو منزله، ويقدم له مجموعة كتالوجات المنتجات مع توفير خيارات لونية ملهمة تساعده في اختيار المنتجات صباغ باكستاني بالكويت والألوان المفضلة بكل راحة وسهولة، وبإمكانه طلب خدمة تنسيق الألوان أيضاً، وهي خدمة تقوم على استشارة مهندس أو مصمم ديكور صباغ مصري بالكويت تابع للشركة، ليتمّ التصميم وتنسيق الألوان وفق أحدث طرق التصميم العصريةوالألوان الحضارية وحسب توجّه العميل ورغبته، وتقدّم هذه الخدمة افضل صباغ بالكويت رسوم تخصم من الفاتورة عند شراء العميل للمنتجات.


    من الجدير بالذكر أن "دهانات الجزيرة" تسعى أن تكون شريكاً دائماً لعملائها داخل المملكة وخارجها، وتلبية رغباتهم وتقديم الخدمات لهم بسبلٍ أكثر يسراً وسهولة, ويمكن الاستفادة من خدمات موقعها الالكتروني وتطبيقها على الأجهزة الذكية على مدار الساعة، إلى جانب خدمات برنامجها للمكافآت "صباغ منازل الكويت "، بالإضافة إلى خدمات مركزها لخدمة العملاء على الرقم الموحد (920000085) وهو المركز الأول من نوعه في مجال الدهانات بالمملكة، فضلاً عن إمكانية التواصل عبر نموذج الاتصالالموجود في الموقع الإلكترونيأو عبر منصات التواصل الاجتماعي للشركة.



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  18. تنسيق حدائق منزلية صغيره تعتبر من اصعب انواع شركة تجهيز ملاعب رياضية عي شركات تنسيق الحدائق حيث ان المساحة الصغيره للحدائق تحتاج الي مصم حدائق محترف , فمن الواجب ان يكون مصمم الحدائق علي علم اولا حتي يرسم في خياله اولا تصميم الحديقه المنزلية الصغيره ,ثم طريقه تقسيم ارض شركة نجيل صناعى المنزلية الي اجزاء جيده حتي تتسع لجميع الاشجار والنباتات , ثم فن اختيار الوان وانواع الاشجار الملائمه للمكان المناسب ها في الحديقة المنزلية وان يلاحظ ان لكل مكان ظروفه من ناحيه نوع التربه ودرجه الحراره وانواع الزهور والاشجار تنسيق حدائق الكويت له وان يكون خياله واسه حتي لا يكرر جميع اعماله في كل مكان حتي يكون المظهر العام للحديقه متناسق ويبهر الجميع ثم اجزاء الارض التي يتم التصميم عليها , ونأتي لاهم شئ ارضيات مطاطية تنسيق الحدائق وكيفيه توفير التكاليف لدي العميل حيث ان التصميم الجيد والتنسيق المميز والمبني علي علم يوفر الكثير من التكاليف , ثم بعد خرسانة مطبوعة نأتي لنقطه التنفيذ كيف يكون لدي المصمم مهاره سرعه تنفيذ العمل , وفي نهاية الامر تتمني شركة تنسيق حدائق الرياض ان ترضي كل عملائها وتقديم افضل تنسيق حدائق منزلية بالرياض شركة تنسيق حدائق ناحيه الجوده والاسعار ...للمزيد هنا

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  19. Hi Tom,
    I've been watching your Baby Bullet series. It's a pretty cool exercise in breaking a project into constituent parts, keeping it simple as much as possible, and prioritizing precision. Very informative, fun, impressive, and incredibly entertaining. I'm slightly less than half way through the series, and I'd really like to give this project a go. I love my early forties No.4 Bullet vise, and would like to build a couple of these baby bullets for my close work bench. I've tried to download the pdf, but the link doesn't seem to work. Would it be possible to get a copy of your plans pdf?
    Best,
    James

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  20. As the comment above, this would be a project I would love to have a crack at. Any chance of emailimg me a copy? Thanks Caillan

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