Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Time for a new bench vice.........

You can pay a lot of money for a professional bench vice. Hundreds of pounds if you go to a pro-vice supplier. My first (and only) bench vice was Hilka - not a great make in 1979, and may have cost not much more than a tenner. But it's done me well over the years. Originally blue, I refurbed it many years ago and painted it black. Suddenly last week an urge overcame me to replace it.
After much searching, I decided on a Clarke 5" jaw swivel vice. These come in at under £50, and are a bit rough cast, but plenty good enough for the home mechanic.
here's the old Hilka, looking tired, with the new Clarke behind - perspective is a funny thing though. From this angle they look to be a similar size.


But side by side, it's very different.


Here I've liberated the swivel, and you can see how it works. The vice bolts to the middle ring which sits under the ring on the right which is bolted to the bench.


Here the old vice is removed, and the new vice is stripped for painting. Second from the left is the female elongated nut which fits inside the anvil section, and this was a bit loose. Note that the vice is located directly over a bench leg, which takes the strain when hammering something mercilessly from above.


Here the base has been primed, and placed ready for the holes to be drilled. I found a piece of scrap aluminium which will provide a good base on which the swivel can turn. I also found an offcut of L section which has slotted down the front.


Holes drilled.


Here you can see the fixings. Long through bolts with penny washers & lock washers. All dabbed with Locktite. The base is now painted - it looks silver but is VW Jade Green - I had a can in the garage. It's a Passat colour. The base is well greased for ease of turning.


Base now bolted down. Female elongated nut in place. Jaws removed for fettling.


Re-assembled with L profiled offcuts as jaw protectors.


Compare this to how it looked when it arrived...........

Better in green than orange though you do know all bench vices should be blue
( I have a 4" Record my wife bought me 30 years ago )
Did you align the front edge of the fixed jaw with the front edge of the bench so that any long workpiece can hang below the bench top whilst clamped?

No - far less scientific than that - the bracing underneath the bench prevents it being any further forward!!

Dave,

I looked at these very recently when Machine Mart had a VAT free event, but in the end bought a vacuum cleaner!

It's still on my list and so I would be pleased to hear how you get on with it, why not take a sledge hammer and give the anvil a good whack just to see if it fails.......

thanks for the post, it's good to see how the swivel works.

Malcolm T

Dave--I am suprised!! I thought your colour of choice was red? so why the change? Is it because the vice can now harmonise better with the aluminium trolley jack?
Objective = a fully colour cordinated garage----Whats next on the shopping list?

PS Nice job though!

True, I've found RED. BUT, Think about it........
Why would I waste red paint on a vice....
And yes, it matches superJack.

Next on the list is a ....., ,

Who knows?
Not MrsW that's for sure.
Me neither if it comes to that.

A 350i I would guess?

If a +8 is on the list I would have thought it should be a SEAC?

Where's the 4 seater in the list then??

Which TVR 350? The coupe bodied semi racer that appeared around the time of the Sagaris (also nicknamed the Saggy *rse ), or the earlier Wedge (which also came in various engine guises and model designations...).

SEAC Brian - the lightweight shell (allegedly) and only 5 (or 20 something made?)...

Hmmm, kind of miss my little Tamin (yes that was on the V5 ).

Cheers,

Yes both, the 350T/C hairy arsed semi racer with the speed six. That's the problem though. The web is full of tales of woe, and it's shockingly expensive to rebuild. The Sagaris is a little bit too in yer face, but in certain colours and without the silly side exhaust can look good. I'd get a Griff, but they are a bit bland looking and under-wheeled. The wedge SEAC would be a real animal but they look shocking with the hood up.

Where's the 4 seater? - fourth in the pecking order in this post, but a nice plus4 4 seater would tempt me when I'm hunting.

The thing is, I love the look of the Europa - always have. It has an aluminium tub which has the same orange glue used on the Aeros. The bhp/ton is about the same as the Roadster, but it seems to be slightly thirstier - 28 ish, although that's not a problem really. The 9.6 gallon tank might be though when touring. I reckon there's enough luggage space to make touring viable, and I might get by without a Golf with one of these.

I've yearned for a Plus 8 for a long time but the rationale is for the engine noise and not much else. I need to try one for a direct comparison with the Roadster. Maybe they are too similar - and how could I sell my Roadster.............

Decisions decisions.

Bland looking Harumph.

Surely you mean understated, elegant, timeless, a British design classic.

Griff prices are solid now, SE prices are on the up and will soon be matching +8's. Sagaris prices have been steady since it's introduction. I have to say the 350s seem to be the runt of the modern TVR litter, even I a TVR owner at the time lost track of the number of variants.

I would go for a Tuscan 2S myself.

Priced correctly a Tuscan 1/ Tamora/350abc could be a real steal.
Buy one with 25 -30k on it with no rebuild, at a price that reflects it, then put in a TVRPower 4.5 speed-6. The result would be 390bhp at the rear wheels and a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty on the engine all for about £25k.

Ah for more Garage space - and more money of course.

(I cancelled my Tuscan order to place an order for the Aero, The Tuscan would have been speced in Lamborghini Orange with chrome purple leather, piped orange - I always had taste....)