David Hillman
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After shopping for an extractor for a while, and finding the prices mostly outrageous, I decided to build my own. I saw this thread and started to build one. I bought the vise, and cut the aluminum sections... but then I looked hard at the design, and changed my mind. In particular, I didn't like the looks of that bent metal strip pinching the shaft. I guess it works, but it didn't look right to me.
Then I noticed that the Wolfcraft vise came with an auxiliary clamp... and that it'd be perfect for holding a shaft. I just needed to build something to hold it in the right spot.
Voila!
It wound up being easier than I thought. The base started life as a 6x2x12" aluminum box channel ( $13.81 from McMaster-Carr, p/n 88935K721, http://planet-torque.com/golf/extractor3.jpg ) and that was the only piece I purchased, other than the vise.
I cut it about in half, which left me with a base for the shaft clamp, and for the vise.
After that, it was a simple matter of drilling a bunch of holes and scouring the garage for suitable nuts and bolts. Once the two pieces were mounted, I cut one-third off the scrap from the first cut, and made a shaft collar out of it. That C-shaped piece bolts directly to the movable jaw of the vise.
That's about it.
If anyone else is thinking about building one, I'd advise against using this vise. The safety release effectively prevents using it for the intended purpose. I'm going to have to figure out a better way to disable that; hopefully I'll be able to weld it 'open'. I can provide more details if someone would like to copy this, but I was designing as I went, and not measuring much
Also, if someone is looking to build the shaft puller in the thread I linked above, I have the aluminum bits and don't need them. All you need to do is buy your vise, and drill some holes. In fact, I have enough raw material for another couple sets, since I bought it for a different project that never happened. $10 shipped.
Then I noticed that the Wolfcraft vise came with an auxiliary clamp... and that it'd be perfect for holding a shaft. I just needed to build something to hold it in the right spot.
Voila!
It wound up being easier than I thought. The base started life as a 6x2x12" aluminum box channel ( $13.81 from McMaster-Carr, p/n 88935K721, http://planet-torque.com/golf/extractor3.jpg ) and that was the only piece I purchased, other than the vise.
I cut it about in half, which left me with a base for the shaft clamp, and for the vise.
After that, it was a simple matter of drilling a bunch of holes and scouring the garage for suitable nuts and bolts. Once the two pieces were mounted, I cut one-third off the scrap from the first cut, and made a shaft collar out of it. That C-shaped piece bolts directly to the movable jaw of the vise.
That's about it.
If anyone else is thinking about building one, I'd advise against using this vise. The safety release effectively prevents using it for the intended purpose. I'm going to have to figure out a better way to disable that; hopefully I'll be able to weld it 'open'. I can provide more details if someone would like to copy this, but I was designing as I went, and not measuring much
Also, if someone is looking to build the shaft puller in the thread I linked above, I have the aluminum bits and don't need them. All you need to do is buy your vise, and drill some holes. In fact, I have enough raw material for another couple sets, since I bought it for a different project that never happened. $10 shipped.