Carl:
Remember
that unusual Oliver vise I told you about a couple of weeks ago? I
still haven't found a listing for a plain front (no dog) 10" x 4" with
quick release that opens 12". (Weight 45.75 lbs.) Plus, I haven't found any reference to
any with a quick-release mechanism like this one, but here's some pix
and explanations:
ABOVE: I believe the "WW55" is just a casting number as there's other
"WW..." numbers on some of the other pieces. Take note of the fact
that there are NO holes in the front for mounting a wooden face, just
rivets on the sides.
ABOVE: Here's an overall shot. See the wooden face on the front
jaw? Perhaps you can see in this picture (and the previous one) that
the front jaw is actually made of two separate pieces. There's a
(very shallow) "U"-shaped steel part that slides down over the outside
edges and inside face of the cast front jaw. It's a very tight fit.
On the inside of this steel part are the screw holes for mounting a
wooden face. To me, this sure seems like an awfully long way to go
just to hide the screw holes! Could there be another purpose?
ALSO ABOVE: The screw is 1+1/8" with square (not buttress) threads.
The two guide bars are 7/8". Between the near guide bar and screw in
the picture (actually on the bottom of the vise) is a square rod,
which I call the "control rod". More on that later.
ABOVE: This is the rear end of the vise. The two gear segments are
part of the quick-release mechanism. When the vise handle is turned
1/4 turn CCW, the segment on the end of the main screw moves and
drives the other segment - on the control rod - to turn the control
rod. Pins at the ends of the segment on the screw prevent the gears
from turning out out of mesh. The gear on the screw is attached to
the screw only by pressure from a stiff spring on the end of the
screw. This allows the screw to continue turning after the end of the
gears' travel is reached, as the gear slips on the screw.
ABOVE: Here's the vise upside down. The square control rod is
clearly visible on top. When it's turned by the gear segments, the
rod causes the "camshaft" (notice the two cams) to turn either against
or away from the half-nut. In this shot, the cams are pressing
against the half-nut, causing it to engage the main screw.
ABOVE: In this picture, the cams are off the half nut. Since the
whole thing is upside down, the half-nut is still against the screw.
In actual operation (right-side-up), gravity would allow the half-nut
to fall away from the screw.
ABOVE: Here's I'm manually defeating gravity, and releasing
the half-nut from the screw. At any rate, it's a very nice vise that
works beautifully. 1/4 turn of the handle is all it takes to
release or engage the screw. Despite the complexity, the
action is very positive. However, I'd guess this sucker was
rather expensive to manufacture! Do you know anything about this
vise?
McVey
Boise, Idaho