Lantern Vise

Just about the whole company is designed around 80/20 . All the frames , supports , etc . We make our own machines down in the other shop and it seems they fell in love with the stuff . :grin: You ever notice when you remove something off of the frames the insert nuts disappear when re-mounting it ? :big grin: LOL , I fill the whole channel up with those pesky nuts .
 
All types of saws , slitters , extrusion die blowers , seats , benches , carts , wrappers , end treaters ............the list goes on . :grin:
 
Wow, seems expensive. For me the major drawback of the "system" is how outrageously complicated it is. These different "series". And I got no info what it was I got. I figured out its 10 series. And the other series are metric and all the different hardware which is not compatible with other hardware. Oi! Luckily I got a ton of hardware, corners, braces, even feet and castors. I still have one stick of 2x2x92"L. And yeah, those nuts dissapear and it always seem I have to do something that amazingly enough they don't have the hardware for. I also have a bag of the kind of special nuts you can roll into a slot without taking the whole thing apart. It does have its drawbacks and disadvantages.
 
It's great for light duty applications , but hit it with a forklift or move it and it flexs and bends very easily . It's nice when it goes together , but over time everything weakens . I now replace the formerly used bolts with studs into the roll nuts or insert nuts for ease of locating the alignment holes . Not fun holding up 200 lb motors just to find the nuts have moved 1/16" .
 
Yup, Gravity is a harsh mistress. My main unit is a press former and it's basically a multi layered box. It's all pneumatic so I'm dealing with 100's of lbs of force, not 1,000's like with hydraulic. Periodically I check tightness and everything is holding up fine. The whole unit is slowly evolving as I use it and for what I do I don't think I could find a better system because of its built in adjustment. Different models I make need to be able to adjust the machine. Yeah, that can work against you in things coming loose.

The unit is close to a 3'x3'x4' square. Everything in the shop has to be on castors so it's moved all the time but maybe because it's over braced and not that heavy I've had no problems. Also no forklifts! You could break an anvil with a forklift so it's not fair to say 80/20 can't stand up to a forklift IMHO. But it's also not a machine that works 24/7. It gets pulled out, plugged in with air and 110v for a couple of hours every week or two. It has has been a boon for me and has kept me a one man shop while increasing my output 10x at least. So it was an incredible find used locally on CL for $175.
 
I keep considering 80/20 for simple stands and such, but it's a bit pricey and never seems to pop up used. Also seems you need to have a pretty good idea of exactly the pieces you'll need before ordering, and if I've gotten that far in the design I'll just bang something out in aluminum or steel.

Looking at the examples on their website, it seems geared towards people who don't have a machine shop. Or maybe adults who miss Legos. And really, who doesn't?
 
Lego was long after I was a kid. Was more the Erector Set generation. But I know what you are talking about and 80/20 appeals to the part of the brain that want to make something from a kit. But it's like a drug dealer where they lure you in and then you're hooked because there are so many bits and pieces. And you never have enough. I bought all my other stuff off eBay and there are guys selling knock off hardware and used pieces for much more reasonable prices. But it adds up. What I got used (which you NEVER see and none has popped up since!) for $175 would have cost me over $1,500 new. I never would have done that.

To me making simple stands and such is what they push on the website, but it's a waste of the tech IMHO and like mmcmdl noted unless you really over brace it, it will fall apart. You are way ahead to fab it out of steel or aluminum.
 
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