Building a barrel vise...need input/advice

ahlsy

ahlsy

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A little east of the rockies
So I have a little free time coming up in a machine shop, and I'm planning on building a barrel vise. I was planning on building a split bushing style vise (similar to Guntech's that has been posted a few times) but I got to thinking...would collets from a collet chuck hold enough torque to remove a barrel?

If you guys could post a few pictures of vises that you recommend that would be great. Must have/nice to have features as well. And if anyone wants to weigh in on the torque limit of a collet that would be cool too. I can't find any listings for max holding torques anywhere in collet manufacturers catalogs or websites.
 
Collets will be hardened and will tear into nice barrels if they slip. They would work, but then you need to get one for each size of shank and there are many barrel contours to deal with. I've made up several aluminum sleeves with both one or two slits. Two slits meaning the bushing is cut in half and tapered on the ID to conform with various barrel contours.

Once you start taking off factory barrels you'll see that simpler is better. Split sleeves are more than enough to hold a barrel for removal and not put a mark on them.
 
And I find plain steel bushings with powdered rosin on them do not mark barrels either, or a piece of heavy paper in them ... and I think the split bushing is the way to go... simple is better. Break the sharp edge of the bushing with a file and polish.
 
They'd likely hold with no fuss, considering what they were made to do, but they'd also be expensive. Way moreso that bushings made out of regular mild steel.
Making a barrel vise is a lot easier and less complicated than it appears. It's really just two hunks of steel machined flat on one side with two big bolts and a hole drilled through the middle. The one I made, eons ago, I did from nothing more than a picture. Made the thing a lot heavier and bigger than it needed to be. Weighed close to 50 pounds.
 
I use 2x2 aluminum. Cut a chunk off the length, drill and bore to size then split it in two. The bench vise and hand vise are the typical two steel pieces bolted together for tension but without any 1/2 circles or V notch.
 
I have two or three of the half bushing style and made of brass. Basically drilled and bored a piece of brass shafting to approximately match the barrel diameter and contour then milled a flat on opposite sides and cut the bushing lengthwise with a hacksaw. On luger barrels I had to use some quick setting lock tite to keep the bushing from slipping. Lugers seem to have exceptionally tight barrels

cheers mooncoon
 
Thanks guys, much appreciated. I've been checking into the collets, and I'm pretty sure the cost will become prohibitive by the time I get a decent selection. Otherwise they would make a pretty decent vise. The collets that are reasonably priced don't go big enough, and the ones that are big enough would cost a small fortune. So this will be a split bushing style vise.

This will be as much a machining project as it will be a useful tool in the end, so the intent is to make a really nice one. I'll post some pics when it's done. Anybody have any preference of aluminum, brass, or steel for the bushings. Less chance of damage vs holding power.
 
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