20$ panavises (standard base unit with standard 301 vise)

[mkawa]

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12717861

available in-store at your local radioshack. these are the things you should be using instead of stupid third hand alligators that never stay in place, etc.

[dorkvader]

sweet, I need a vice top for my awesome vacuum base. Excellent price, I'll have to drop by that awful store and get disappointed again. (my radioshack is worse than most. Amazing, I know. I didn't think it was possible either.)

[mkawa]

it seems to be a limited time clearance offer. that said, the central hubs have way more stock than they're letting on to. the stores have two units each, generally.

[esoomenona]

Just grabbed one of these. Thanks!

[mkawa]

just fyi, this was going to be a surprise, but i've hit a bit of a roadblock in the scheduling of it all.

i have ~ 20 units of these and am going to powdercoat them in geekhack colors and then apply some secret sauce to them that i've learned from 10 years of working with panavises. basically, i can get them to actually stay still and take huge amounts of pressure on the mobile joints on demand without moving. the price will definitely be more than 20$ though, as the parts i have to add to do this are not as cheap as i want them to be (although i'm trying hard as heck to find them cheaper). i'll be selling these units on the geekhackers store once they're done. i suspect this will be a one-time thing, no matter how many more of these radioshack has at their DCs, as it's probably going to be a break-even effort at best. the exciting thing for me was just that it's possible to do this modification and resell at this price point.

[CalmB4tehPwn]

Wow. Crazy interested, though. Hopefully I don't miss the announcement when these go up, Kawa.

[esoomenona]

:/ right after I buy one... Would it be possible to get the parts and know how to mod it as you would those, less the powder coating?

[CPTBadAss]

Welp, kawa killing it again. Guess I'm not going to Radio Shack and I'm getting one of those instead

[mkawa]

:/ right after I buy one... Would it be possible to get the parts and know how to mod it as you would those, less the powder coating?

yep. i'm still playing around with materials though. i'll post the final modifications and most likely start a living panavise thread at some point when things are more stable.

[mkawa]

also at one point i owned 4 panavise bases. i didn't like the vacuum mount base so i gave it away but even before this i owned three bases, two screw-clamp mount, one weighted mount, and at least one of every vice head (two standards, one long, one centric long, one pcb with every length of pcb arm)

typically when i use a panavise and i'm doing anything that's not trivial soldering, i'm using more than one base

[Tranquilite]

Hmm, these look quite useful. I'll probably pick one up today.

[dorkvader]

also at one point i owned 4 panavise bases. i didn't like the vacuum mount base so i gave it away but even before this i owned three bases, two screw-clamp mount, one weighted mount, and at least one of every vice head (two standards, one long, one centric long, one pcb with every length of pcb arm)

typically when i use a panavise and i'm doing anything that's not trivial soldering, i'm using more than one base

Just want to chime in here and say that I really like my vacuum base. It stays put for about 12-20 hours (depending on the surface) before falling over, and is excellent for soldering. It can hold up an entire G80'8200 PCB like it's nothing.

I cant use the "normal" base right now, as I dont have a place to put it on, though I might make a hobbyist table in my room. we'll see.

[mkawa]

yah, dv got my vacuum base. glad it's working out man!

[Neebio]

mkawa, when you have the panavise locked in a position, how much force will it take to move it out of position?  Assumption here is that the base is immobile (Does it flex and return to position, or is it rock solid?)

I've been looking for a way to get a more configurable vise on my little hobby lathe, and I'm wondering if these have enough strength to lock in place to hold a piece being milled...

[esoomenona]

Have you tried either of these bases? It'd be nice to have something portable to move around to where you need it.

http://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-312-Tray-Base-Mount/dp/B000B63208
http://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-308-Weighted-Base-Mount/dp/B000SR134C

[mkawa]

i've owned both. i now only own the weighted mount (it's like a solid ingot of something very dense). i didn't much like the tray. it wasn't as heavy as the weighted mount at. all. and the tray was useless for actually holding things. it just got splatter all over it and i have a separate iron and spool holder that i like better. i would happily buy more weighted mounts. size and shape are both quite good for light duty. for really serious stuff, go to a metal shop, pick up the biggest piece of dense remainder you can find. and just JB weld your base to that thing.

[mkawa]

mkawa, when you have the panavise locked in a position, how much force will it take to move it out of position?  Assumption here is that the base is immobile (Does it flex and return to position, or is it rock solid?)

I've been looking for a way to get a more configurable vise on my little hobby lathe, and I'm wondering if these have enough strength to lock in place to hold a piece being milled...

a piece being milled? hooo boy. i would not screw around with that, because even if i can't see flex, there's probably flex happening somewhere in the vice or mount. if your mill is at all serious you need to go with a milling vice designed for your mill, period. it's hard enough to hit tolerances on a mill with a part that's purpose made. going with a hobby vice is going to make it impossible.

[kishy]

I was in the US yesterday and picked one of these up...what an awesome little vise! At this price they're really a steal if you do any projects where they might be useful.