Vertical vise

A vertical vise adaptable for floor mounting and having two spaced posts. One post carries a stationary work piece engaging jaw on its upper end and beneath the jaw, a vertically adjustable work piece support cradle assembly. The second post is hollow and shorter than the first post. A clamping head positioning arm is pivotally secured in the cavity of the second post so that its upper end is swingable toward and away from the first post. The second post carries a screw which projects thereinto for forcing the positioning arm toward the first post. The positioning arm projects above the second post and carries a clamping head assembly which includes a movable work piece engaging jaw mounted on a lever which is cam actuated. In use, a work piece is inserted between the posts with its bottom edge resting on the support cradle and its upper edge projecting above the clamping jaws. The screw is rotated so as to swing the positioning arm toward the first post and bring the movable clamping jaw almost into engagement with the work piece. Then the cam is rotated to its clamping position whereby the work piece is firmly clamped in the vise. The vise can usually be emptied and reloaded by actuation of the cam.

This invention relates generally, to innovations and improvements in 
vertical vises, particularly vertical vises adapted to be mounted on the 
floor of a workshop. Vertical vises provided by the present invention are 
characterized by their capability of allowing elongated work pieces such 
as wooden boards to be securely clamped in a rapid fashion so that the 
exposed edges of the work piece or board can be worked on without the work 
piece or board becoming loose or slipping. In like manner, the work pieces 
can be readily removed and a different work piece inserted in rapid 
fashion. 
The vertical vises of the present invention have an elongated fixed work 
piece engaging jaw mounted on or adjacent the top of an upright post which 
also carries a vertically adjustable cradle assembly which serves to 
support a work piece from the bottom while being firmly clamped in place. 
Further, vertical vises of the present invention have a movable work piece 
engaging clamp jaw carried by a clamping head assembly on the upper 
protruding end of a swingable clamp positioning arm. This arm is swingable 
toward and away from the first post by being disposed in the cavity of a 
second upright post which is hollow, with the arm being pivotally 
connected to the second post adjacent the bottom of its interior or 
cavity. The clamping head assembly includes a fast operating camming means 
which permit the movable clamp jaw to be quickly and conveniently forced 
into final clamping engagement against a work piece. A screw provided with 
a hand wheel or other manual rotating means is carried by the second post 
so that it can be rotated and bring its inner end into engagement with the 
positioning arm so as to force it into near clamping position wherein the 
fast-acting camming means can take over so that the work piece is securely 
held and the workman can proceed to perform an operation on the work piece 
without it slipping, tilting or otherwise coming loose. 
From the foregoing it will be seen that a general object of the present 
invention is the provision of a new and improved vertical vise which is 
characterized in having the movable work piece engaging clamping jaw 
thereof actuated or operated by two different movements and two different 
mechanisms but with each mechanism including a pivotal arm. The first 
mechanism that brings the movable jaw close to engagement with the work 
piece on the opposite side thereof from the stationary jaw is a screw with 
the end of which engaging an elongated swingable arm. After the first 
near-clamping adjustment is made with the screw which can be manipulated 
by a hand wheel so that the movable clamp is within approximately 1/8 to a 
1/4 of an inch from the work piece, a cam actuated lever is manipulated 
which quickly forces the movable jaw into final clamping engagement with 
the work piece in a firm and secure fashion. The work piece can be readily 
removed by manipulating the cam actuated mechanism. If the next work piece 
to be inserted in the vise has the same or approximately the same 
thickness as that of the one that has just been removed, there is no need 
to adjust the screw since it will suffice to actuate the camming mechanism 
in order to secure the next work piece firmly in place. 
An important object of the present invention is to provide a floor-mounted 
vertical vise which is readily produced from readily available materials 
and will be strong and rugged and capable of many years of frequent use.

In the drawings the vertical vise is indicated generally at 5. The vise 5 
is adapted to be mounted on the floor of a shop and to this end has a 
circular base 6 which may be anchored to a floor or other support by 
screws 7-7. The base of the vise 5 also includes a circular disk 8 which 
is rotatable on the base 6 and is secured in position thereon by a bolt 10 
which projects upwardly through the rotatable disk 8 from the stationary 
support 6. The projecting end of the bolt 10 is provided with a clamping 
nut 11 which may be used to secure the rotatable disk 8, and thereby the 
vise 5, in any desired position with respect to the plate 6 and the floor 
to which it is secured. Two upright posts 12 and 13 are mounted on the 
disk 8. The posts 12 and 13 may be interconnected by one or more struts 14 
(FIG. 2) so as to resist the tendency of the posts to be forced apart in 
use. The posts 12 and 13 may take several different forms, a suitable one 
being hollow and rectangular in cross-section. 
The post 12 is taller than post 13 and has secured on the upper end thereof 
an elongated fixed or stationary clamping jaw 15. A work piece support 
cradle assembly indicated generally at 16, is vertically adjustable on the 
post 12. The assembly 16 comprises a sleeve member 17 which slidably fits 
over the post 12. The sleeve member 12 can be secured in any desired 
position of height on the post 12 by means of a screw 18, the threaded end 
of which passes through a nut 20 secured on the sleeve 17 and the threaded 
bore of which is aligned with an aperture in the sleeve 17 so as to allow 
the inner end of the screw 18 to engage the adjacent side of the post 12. 
The sleeve 17 is provided with a bracket or shelf 21 on the side thereof 
which faces the post 13. The shelf 21 serves as a support for a removable 
trough-like member 22 for receiving the bottom edge of a work piece such 
as the one shown in broken lines in FIGS. 1 and 2 and designated by the 
letter W. 
In the hollow cavity of post 13, a clamping head positioning arm 23 is 
disposed with the bottom end of the arm 23 pivotally connected at 24 to 
the post 13 adjacent the bottom thereof. The upper end of the arm 23 
projects above the top of the post 13 and has mounted thereon a clamping 
head assembly indicated generally a 25. 
Adjacent its upper end, and on the side thereof away from the post 12, the 
post 13 is provided with a threaded sleeve or nut 26 the threaded bore of 
which is aligned with an aperture 27 (FIG. 2) in the sidewall of the post. 
A screw 28 extends through the threaded sleeve or nut 26 and carries on 
its outer end a hand wheel 30. It will be seen that upon rotating the 
screw 28 so that it enters the post 13 the inner end of the screw 28 will 
engage the arm 23 and cause the arm to swing toward the post 12. 
Conversely, upon rotating the screw 28 so as to back it out of the post 13 
the arm 23 will be free to swing in the post 13. It is desired to normally 
maintain the arm 23 in engagement with the end of screw 28. This is 
accomplished by providing a spring actuated pin 31 (FIG. 2) which projects 
through the inner sidewall of the post 13 and the inner end of which 
engages the arm 23 on the side thereof opposite of which it is engaged by 
the screw 28. The pin 31 extends through the post 12 for support and 
carries a collar 32. The collar 32 is engaged by one end of a compression 
spring 33 which is maintained in compression between the collar 32 and the 
post 12. 
The clamping head assembly 25 which is mounted on the upper end of the 
positioning arm 23 comprises a fitting 34 which is fabricated from two 
vertical plates and securely attached to the upper end of the arm 23 as by 
welding or clamping. The clamping head assembly 25 carries a lever or arm 
35 which is pivotally connected intermediate its ends by means of a pin 36 
between the plates forming the fitting 34. At its upper end the lever 35 
carries a movable clamping jaw 37 which opposes the stationary jaw 15. The 
lower end of the lever 35 is engaged by a compression spring 38 which fits 
over a pin 40 so as to normally bias or force the lower end of the lever 
arm 35 away from arm 23 and maintain the jaw 37 in its retracted position. 
The movement of the lower end of lever 35 away from the arm 23 is limited 
by the lever 35 engaging a fixed portion of the fitting 34. 
In use of the vise 5, the movable jaw 37 is brought into final and full 
clamping engagement against a work piece W by means of a rotatable cam 41 
in the form of a disk or circular block which is eccentrically mounted 
between the plates of the fitting 34 on a pin 42. The cam 41 is rotated by 
a lever 43 projecting therefrom, the outer end of which is provided with a 
suitable handle 44. 
After describing the normal operation of the vise 55, certain unique 
advantages thereof will be pointed out which are attributable to its 
construction as shown and described. 
In use, depending upon the particular type of work piece W involved, a 
trough member 22 suitable to that work piece is placed on the shelf 21. 
The member 22 should have a groove which will comfortably accommodate the 
width of the lower edge of the work piece W. If the work piece is wood or 
plastic it is desirable to have the member 22 covered or lined with a 
suitable fabric material as indicated at 45 and the member 22 may be 
formed of any suitable rigid material such as wood, plastic or metal. If 
the work piece W is a piece of glass plate, it is desirable that the 
member 22 be lined with a piece of rubber. If the work piece W is formed 
of metal, then it is desirable to use a support or trough member 22 formed 
of metal without any lining. 
Having placed the member 22 on the shelf 21, the set screw 18 is 
manipulated so as to loosen its engagement with the post 12 and allow the 
work piece cradle assembly 16 to be positioned upwardly or downwardly on 
the post 12 so that the upper edge of the work piece W will project at an 
appropriate height above the jaws 15 and 37. The assembly 16 is then 
clamped into position by tightening the screw 18 so as to lock the sleeve 
17 in its desired position on the post 12. 
With the work piece W resting in its position in the vise as shown in FIG. 
2, the operator advances the screw 28 by turning the hand wheel 30 so as 
swing the arm 23 toward the post 12 and advance the movable jaw 37 toward 
the work piece W. This advancement of the jaw 37 is discontinued when it 
is approximately 1/8-1/4 of an inch away from engaging the work piece W. 
Thereupon the handle 44 on the lever 43 is rotated downwardly whereupon 
the eccentrically mounted cam 41 forces the lever 35 to tilt or swing 
toward the work piece and thereby force the movable jaw 37 into final 
clamping engagement with the work piece W. After the operator or workman 
has performed whatever operation is desired on the work piece W while it 
is firmly clamped in the vise 5, the operator then raises the handle 44 
which produces a rotation of the cam 41 which allows the jaw 37 to swing 
away from the work piece W under the action of the compression spring 38. 
The work piece W is now free to be removed. 
If after performing a desired operation on one work piece W and removing 
the same from the vise 5 it is desired to perform an operation on a work 
piece of similar thickness and dimensions, it is merely necessary to 
insert the new work piece into the vise and manipulate the handle 44 as 
previously described. On the other hand, if a work piece of a different 
size, thickness or dimensions is to be inserted in the vise it may be 
necessary to raise or lower the cradle support assembly 16 and to readjust 
the position of the arm 23 by resetting the screw 28. 
While in normal usage following the procedure described above the operation 
of the clamping assembly 25 and the clamping engaging force provided by 
the eccentric cam 41 will provide adequate clamping force for the work 
piece, there may be occasions when additional clamping force is desired 
and this can be readily obtained by further advancing the screw 28 after 
operation of the assembly 25. It will be seen that with the screw 28 
engaging the arm 23 at a substantial distance above the pivot 24 and with 
the clamping jaw 37 being positioned above the screw 28 at an appreciably 
shorter distance, the action of the screw 28 on the arm 23 provides a 
substantial mechanical advantage, e.g. 3 to 1. 
By having the relatively long arm 23 pivotally anchored in the bottom of 
the post 13 and having it fully supported from opposite sides during its 
swinging movement, the effects of twisting and sidewise bending forces 
that may be exerted on the arm 23 are minimized or eliminated.