Unique V Block Help

T

Todd3138

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
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Apr 4, 2022
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So when I got my lathe and mill home, among the tooling and other miscellaneous items was this v block. I have looked everywhere I can think of online to find a match and stumbled across an identical one on ebay. Turns out the seller said it was an old listing and he had no idea what happened to it. I was bummed because I really had hoped to have a matched pair. I know this might actually be a fun and very educational project for me to just make one and, being new to lathe and mill operations, it would probably be great practice. However, if anyone has ever seen one of these or has an idea where I might find one, I'd still like to pick one up in the meantime. There are absolutely no markings on this anywhere to give a hint as to its manufacturer. I'm totally stumped.

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I have a couple of them that were prismatic jaws for different vises. Unfortunately the screw spacing is proprietary to the particular vise. I’ve found them very useful for different odd project where I didn’t need two v blocks. I also have a section of v way that would be used as a guide for machinery or CNC setups. It is way smaller and I’ve cut a couple out of the length of the original to make small v blocks which have been even more handy.
 
Yep, its an aftermarket jaw for a bench vise. I have a couple that are aluminum and affix with magnets. You could easily drill yours to accommodate your vise.
 
mine are hardened steel(file just skates) and the only thing that touches them is a cutoff grinder. I don't have anything that will drill and tap them. YMMV.
 
I see, maybe they can't be drilled then...
 
C-Bag said:
I have a couple of them that were prismatic jaws for different vises. Unfortunately the screw spacing is proprietary to the particular vise. I’ve found them very useful for different odd project where I didn’t need two v blocks. I also have a section of v way that would be used as a guide for machinery or CNC setups. It is way smaller and I’ve cut a couple out of the length of the original to make small v blocks which have been even more handy.
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Wow, I never even considered that this might have come off a vise! That would explain the threaded holes - I thought maybe they had some connection to a holddown for a mill table even though they did seem too small for that purpose. That will change how I search for them online now. Thanks a lot for shedding light on this for me!
 
C-Bag said:
I have a couple of them that were prismatic jaws for different vises. Unfortunately the screw spacing is proprietary to the particular vise. I’ve found them very useful for different odd project where I didn’t need two v blocks. I also have a section of v way that would be used as a guide for machinery or CNC setups. It is way smaller and I’ve cut a couple out of the length of the original to make small v blocks which have been even more handy.
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First web search using "prismatic vise jaws" - https://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-D4165-Prismatic-Cross-Vise/dp/B005W17ICA

They are also for sale on Grizzly's website. Given that my lathe and mill are from Grizzly and that the guy I bought them from had a nice selection of Grizzly tools and accessories, I'm certain that's where this came from. And, oddly enough, I have the exact cross-slide vise this was made for having bought it a couple of years ago.

Amazing how much stuff you can find online when you know what the heck to search for!

Thanks again!
 
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About drilling holes in hardened parts, I did see in a YT video yesterday a guy needing to make two counterbore holes in a part he was modifying. He opted to use hardware store carbide masonry bit which he then sharpened with diamond disc to have cutting edges and relief angles. I am not sure how round the holes ended up, but it definitely worked!
 
Todd3138 said:
Amazing how much stuff you can find online when you know what the heck to search for!
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I suffer from this all the time and this is why I pay to be a member here. 99.9% of the time I’m not the one who knows what it is so I’m getting the benefit of the huge experience base here. Without the name you could spend forever searching and might not ever bump into it. My two prismatic jaws I found in yard sales and unfortunately don’t fit any vise I have. I don’t even remember how I found out what they are called but miraculously remember what they are called.
 
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