My new Peak vise lacked some features that I liked on my Danvise so I added them. All parts were bought at Ace Hardware for less than $5. I added a crank handle to make the vise easier to rotate. Parts are: a 1/4 inch collar, a 1 inch stainless screw with an Allen screw head, and a 3/4 inch nylon spacer. I drilled and tapped the collar for the ss screw. You could just remove the set screw from the collar and buy a ss screw to fit the set screw hole. This makes the vice easier to rotate when adding body material etc. Adding ribbing with perfect spacing is easy by holding the ribbing at an angle while rotating the vise.
Next I added a 3/8 collar to the vise shaft to prevent the shaft from dropping all the way through the base and possibly scratching the table. I sometimes like to rotate the vise 90 degrees vertically so the vise is facing me. I could just rotate base and all but found this awkward. The only other option is to loosen the set screw at the base which meant finding the allen wrench and fumbling around. I attatched the allen wrench permanatly to the set screw with epoxy making it easy to loosen and tighten the set screw. If you do this, make sure the wrench handle is at a near vertical angle when tight before you glue it in place The last thing I added was a profile plate by drilling a hole in the base and adding a wire to hold the profile plate. The plate is a piece of corrugated plastic sheet. (real estate sign). Hope this helps someone. The attatched photo should make it self explainatory I Hope.
Crap, I just bought a Peak crank handle for $9, (I think). I still may use your idea to lengthen the handle…
Nice work. I had to raise the height of the jaws 4 inches to be comfortable with LESS back pain and be closer to eye level. I drilled a 3/8" hole in both ends of a 3/4" square piece of hardwood. Inserted a 3/8" dowel into the base end and snug fitted the vise stem with waxed floss. Worked like a charm with no loss of functionality and less strain on the eyes and back. I tried to remove the stem from the jaw end but discovered it may be a friction insert so I decide to leave it alone. It would really be a simple thing to make an extension sleeve from square metal stock and tap in set screws.
Just love the originality you gents show! No reason not to have the vise do what you want it to. Well done!
Thanks to you Ladyfisher for providing a platform for sharing ideas. I have gotten a lot of valuable tips from this forum.