A retired friend broke the jaws on his Paloma vise. Would anyone have an extra set they’d be willing to sell?
Please email if you have something and I’ll put you in direct contact with him.
Thanks ahead of time for any help you may offer.
Moderators: If this post in the wrong place, my apologies and please move as required.
Never heard of a Paloma Vise. Do you have a link with a picture?
Could not find a thing on a Google search.
This vise in question is probably a “Pamola Fly Lathe,” not Paloma. Long out of production, so good luck finding parts. FWIW, the mfr contact info I’ve seen is: Brewster (“Bruce”?) Newton @ Pamola Fly Lathe, P O Box 435, Upton MA 01568, ph 508-529-6086
Interesting thread discussion here…
http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=61859&st=15
Yes - Pamola not Paloma. Sorry for the confusion and frantic Google searching trying to help. My friend said the manufacturer has past away so spare parts are not an option. I’m hoping someone has one laying around unused that might be able to help.
Assuming a “dry stick” break a good machine shop might be able to repair the jaw. A machinist and a good welder can do wonders.
Yes, he had a machinist weld it and it broke again.
Thank you to all that have tried to help.
If I have such a nice vise and did not have the money to replace it, think the cost of having a machine shop machining a new piece might be higher than a new vise, I would check at the local trade school. It could be good practice for the kids learning to run the machines there. I had a friend who was a supervisor of a company and operated large aircraft, he had a spindle built for me with left hand metric threads. I ask if it was a challenge, he replied not really they are just that good.
A JVS school would be good place to start. I know my son can do just about anything on the CNC machine but without seeing one but cost of producing a new one might not be cost effective enough tho.
The key to a proper set of vise jaws is the proper material and heat treating. Although I am sure you could get a set of jaws made at a voc/tech high school that would fit, I doubt they would be satisfactory. In short, the only way I see to properly repair this vise would be for a competent machine shop with an engineer with a metalurgical background to identify the material used, and apply the proper heat treating. As someone else pointed out, this would likely be more costly than a new vise. Unfortunately, the vise in question is no longer made, so unless a used one can be found, it looks like a different make is in order.
This looks like a great vise. from what I see on the net if someone manufactured it, it would sell. I wonder if with modern tooling it would be less expensive to make?
Eric
Knowing a little about the capabilities of a good machine shop, I would think machining jaws for a vise would be something they could do with very little effort.
Not to belabor the point, but I worked in machining and manufacturing for over 30 years, and as an outside salesman and applications engineer for a steel service center for 10. I agree that any competent machinist could make a set of jaws that would fit the vise, but that’s only part of the problem. The type of steel and heat treat method will determine the longevity and effectiveness of the jaws. From the picture, it seems they have a longer unsupported length than most vises. I’m betting that it was a flaw in the heat treating process that caused the original jaws to break, and I’m not at all surprised that welding didn’t work. My advice is to look for a used vise of that type, or purchase a new vise of a different type. The OP could spend a ton of money having vise jaws made that were too soft, too hard, or too brittle.
There is a pamola lathe on ebay right now. Might be worth
looking into if the collectors dont drive it up too high.