Fractal vice anyone

[Minto]

Just watched this YT video of the restoration of a fractal vice, I'd never seen one of these before, but I think I need one in my life.
https://youtu.be/QBeOgGt_oWU
Jase

[groily]

Brilliant Jase! Thanks for posting.

Skills to die for
Kit to kill for
  . . . and I want one too!

[Bsareg]

Some bit o' kit.

[RichardL]

I want one.

[chaterlea25]

Hi All,
Add me to the list 
I wonder why they or similar vices did not become popular
I would think that they were very expensive to make???

John

[Minto]

Hi All,
Add me to the list 
I wonder why they or similar vices did not become popular
I would think that they were very expensive to make???

John

And even more expensive to buy, hence not in everyone's garage.
Been searching eBay and the net for one, nothing yet.

[terryg]

A fascinating tool and video. All that AND the guy has a sense of humour.

I suspect the original design and manufacture was denied the benefits of CAD/CNC, which wouldn’t have helped with costs. The patent is dated 1913 after all.

[Rex]

Only ever seen one in use before, and that was many years back in a tool room and being used by highly skilled fitters.
As the video shows, it's used for gripping odd-shaped objects for machining without using excessive gripping power to hold them. Also as the video show, they're too susceptible to accidental damage in use.

[Greybeard]

Wow wow wow!
I just devoured that video.

What an amazing piece of kit.

[Minto]

I've just subscribed to his Chanel, he does some nice flics.

[berger]

that reminds me of a vise a had years ago, it's back jaw turned 360 and it had two 1 inch guiders as well as the screw. it had normal straight jaws but you could turn the back bit and there was half circles of different sizes and triangula bits in it. i have looked on the interwebby thing and can't find one. i took it to work when was rebuilding betsy in 1980 and got the fitters to drill it and peg it because if you put something in one side to get clearence it would make the back jaw swivel and end up not holding the piece properly,----------------------- i sold it at a car boot in the 90's so i could go to the pub!!

[muskrat]

G'day Minto.
Wow, never seen one of those. How handy would that be in various sizes in he drill press/mill or bolted to a face plate on the lathe.
Thanks for posting.
Cheers

[groily]

Can't get this thing out of my head! None out there, and if there were, probably an arm and a leg plus extras to buy  . . . .
Was bored yesterday, so decided to try to create an extremely primitive and very simple device with at least some level of adjustability.

Having discarded the idea of a load of sliding pins through each jaw (which I really like, but can't do owing to the hassle of clamping the thing up using hydraulics (if only!), some sort of cam action or even a powerful electro-magnet), I just attacked my cheapest  Chinese 4" machine vice, drilled and tapped holes for c/sunk screws, and slung it together.
It does actually work, within the limits of the shallow jaw depth and the fiddle of adjusting the screws, and will certainly hold quite a few odd-shaped items for drilling and tapping. Swivelly and/or curvy bits of eg brass on the operating ends of the screws would be nice too, might do something on that later. (Different screws could be knocked up for particular jobs - but I just used what was lying around.)

Anyway, a pic to amuse - and suggestions for 'better' (within the limits of a home workshop!) would be very welcome.

[Greybeard]

Can't get this thing out of my head! None out there, and if there were, probably an arm and a leg plus extras to buy  . . . .
Was bored yesterday, so decided to try to create an extremely primitive and very simple device with at least some level of adjustability.

Having discarded the idea of a load of sliding pins through each jaw (which I really like, but can't do owing to the hassle of clamping the thing up using hydraulics (if only!), some sort of cam action or even a powerful electro-magnet), I just attacked my cheapest  Chinese 4" machine vice, drilled and tapped holes for c/sunk screws, and slung it together.
It does actually work, within the limits of the shallow jaw depth and the fiddle of adjusting the screws, and will certainly hold quite a few odd-shaped items for drilling and tapping. Swivelly and/or curvy bits of eg brass on the operating ends of the screws would be nice too, might do something on that later. (Different screws could be knocked up for particular jobs - but I just used what was lying around.)

Anyway, a pic to amuse - and suggestions for 'better' (within the limits of a home workshop!) would be very welcome.

Whilst I'd like to own one of those fractal vices, (they are a piece of art) life is too short to consider making my own. Good luck with the project.

[groily]

Just amusing myself Neil really, waiting for a shy sun to deign to show its face and for the clouds and wind to b****r off somewhere else. Praying for a decent weekend, as quite a lot of bike miles planned - but the omens aren't good sadly.

I couldn't dream of being able to make even the faintest approximation to a proper tool  . . . this was just a spare afternoon spent drilling and tapping holes in pox-ridden Chinese cast iron. I only had a limited objective, but maybe not much more than a mirage for all that  . . .  It's the journey more than the arriving, I keep saying to myself!