Vices use hardened and serrated steel jaws to grip the work-piece. These jaws are removable and can be replaced if worn. In normal use, make sure the jaws are kept tight.
The serrated jaws keep a tight grip on the work-piece but they also inevitably mark it. So in most situations, the jaws are covered with soft metal jaws. The easiest way of making these is to cut some short sections of aluminium angle a little longer than the width of the jaws.
The work-piece is positioned within the jaws of the vice and the vice just nipped-up.
The work is then rechecked for location, keeping in mind that you don’t want your hand tool (eg a file) to touch the hardened jaws of the vice. The vice is then firmly tightened by hand.
Normally the full width of the jaws is employed to hold the work-piece (or the work-piece is centred, as here) but sometimes the item must be positioned at one end of the jaws. Note, however, that doing this frequently over a longer period will distort the jaws – as a result, the clamping force will no longer be even across the jaws’ full width.
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