C.I.C.L.E. :: » Nuts and Bolts: Get A Grip

Sep 12 '06 - 421 W, 4 I - Vote Good + 5 :: Bad - 2 Nuts and Bolts: Get A Grip

Published September 12th, 2006 by C.I.C.L.E.
Contributed by Harv

Soft Aluminum Bench Vice Jaws

Pretty much the most useful single tool in a bike shop, home or pro, is a bench vise. However most bench vices come with knurled steel jaws which can easily damage a typical aluminum bike part that you may want to clamp.

Traditionally, smooth jaw covers would be made up out of sheet metal. But these move around and can fall off when used. Some vices come with reversable steel jaws that are smooth on one side. But these are still steel and can damage aluminum bike parts.

What is needed for bicycle work is a set of smooth, soft aluminum jaws. There are some commercial suppliers of these, but they use magnets or some other device to hold the jaws in place.

I made up mine from aluminum stock to fit my vice exactly and securely. Just use the existing jaws as a pattern and cut two pieces of 1/8 inch thick aluminum to fit. Drill and countersink the holes and bolt them up over the existing jaws. Use screws 1/8 inch longer than the originals. Save the original screws. Photo's below.

Now you can clamp that aluminum bike part, such as a caliper brake, and not worry about damaging it with knurled steel vice jaws. You'll want to use this set-up even for clamping steel parts such as freewheel extractors, no need to damage them either. I have even clamped threaded steel parts, such as axles, with no damage. If you have a project that requires the extra grip of the original knurled steel, just remove the aluminum jaws and reinstall the original screws.

About the Author: When I was about ten years old and had just received my first full-sized bicycle, my father presented me with an off-set 1/2 - 9/16 box wrench so I could adjust the saddle. It was all uphill from there. Since that single-speed, balloon-tyred Columbia passed from my hands, I have wrenched my way through three-speed hub Schwinns and English Racers, bike-boom tenspeeds, primative mountain bikes, and the modern stuff. I have purchased tools, modified tools, and made them from scratch. My raw materials are sheets of aluminum and wire coat hangers. Workarounds are my specialty.

Back to Front Page

Would you like to contribute to C.I.C.L.E.? Do you a have bike-related article, news story, event, idea, suggestion, etc...? Check out our submissions page.

Is my vise my vice? Or… spell checker runs amok. All instances of “vice” above should be “vise”. Someone should clamp down on these errors! I am gonna put the squeeze on those proofreaders.

Harv (Email) - September 12 '06 - 17:10

Harv… you’re too much! (joker)

Shay - September 13 '06 - 21:53

That vise rocks! It has been in continuous use since it got drilled into the beat-up card table Harv mounted it on. I would go so far as to say that bike shop ain’t a bike shop until it has a vise.

Thanks Harv.

ubrayj02 (Email) (URL) - September 17 '06 - 22:45

One of my proudest moments with my bike was when I fixed up a little tool for myself while putting a chain back together (haven’t gotten that ambitious for years). I was propping the bike against my knees because I had nothing to mount it and was trying to relink the chain on the derailleur (I think that this is what I was doing, anyway), and the spring kept pulling it apart.
So I took a wire cutter and cut part of a wire hanger apart so that it had a hook at both ends of a big V-shape. I hooked those into either side of the chain so that it would hold it in place and I’d have the dangling bits without tension to reconnect.
If only I’d continued doing bike mechanics from there. I just take it to the shop now.

BradyDale (Email) (URL) - September 19 '06 - 14:48

BradyDale, I use a piece of bent coat hanger wire for a similar purpose, but in a different way. I will put this “mini-tip” in a blog so I can include a photo. I call it the “fifth hand tool”. I will explain why in the blog. :-)

Harv (Email) - September 20 '06 - 11:37

these tips are great. BradyDale’s coat hanger trick sure beats my push the deraileur forward with my foot move while I push the rivet through the chain. And I can’t wait to read Harv’s take on it.

Shay (Email) - September 20 '06 - 12:06


Name:		Remember personal info? Yes No
Email:
URL:
Comment:	Emoticons / Textile

To prevent automated comment spam we require you to answer this silly question. What is the total of two plus three'? (please spell out in English) ( Register your username / Log in )
Notify:	Yes, send me email when someone replies.
Hide email:	Yes, hide my email address.
Small print: All html tags except <b> and <i> will be removed from your comment. You can make links by just typing the url or mail-address.

Fair Use Notice:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.