Back from easter, glad people seem to like it. A few FAQ's ive seen: -It does have rubber feet, I just failed to mention it. The feet have a thread which replaces the bolts. -It does not ride on the nuts, it sits in the rubber ring although it only has .5mm of clearance so it seems like its on them. -Ill try make an imperial parts list/ version -Yes, a detent or locking turntable version is in the works I just wanted to get a more ideal turntable to base the design around first.
ill be printing some parts tomorrow. since I'm in the US ill be trying 5/16th instead of the 8mm. I'd imagine it'll still work as the difference is super small
i've tried something similar with those 2 ring turntable bearings from aliexpress. the problem with those is that the locking screw just goes straight into the bearing race and either hits a bearing ball or squeezes in between. They don't brake the turn table smoothly, there's like a bit were it starts to break and then you have to turn the screw a bunch to push the bearing balls to the side and when it bottoms out there is still a few degrees of play on the turn table which is unacceptable so i ended up just buying a vevor ball vise.
Greetings, I'm from Indonesia, I'm a coin and knife engraver. This is very interesting but I hope you upgrade it again to be used to carve under a microscope... maybe the top part remains round like a ball vise vise in general. All this time I have been looking for a solution for a ball vise, I can't afford the original one. I hope you reply to this comment
@@devluz You should get new friends. Seriously, if your friends aren't even slightly interested when you get excited about something, that says a lot about them
Exactly this, cement gets warm/hot as it cures, PLA would deform without it (PLA deforms at 45-50c and cement curing goes up to about 70c) Edit: Plaster would be the same, just slightly cooler. Still warmer than PLA needs to deform.
I'm really curious where did you get this... information. Portland cement is the only one who gets "hot" ( not 160 C hot - 30 C hot) . PLASTER - GYPSUM- gets hot , but not enough to deform PLA... HOT PIPE water temperature is usualy 56 C - try and melt PLA with it , then try and put your hand in it ... After you come back from hospital, tell me how can i find this ...information of yours...about how hot can cement get ... Is obvious to me you never used Plaster- Cement in your life and come up with weird information and unreal ...
@@recka5000 PLA doesnt deform at 45-50 C ...otherwise you would heat the plate to 60 to sick on it ... and you would need 205 C to melt it . At 180 C you struggle to print with it ...
Idea for possible improvement: Make the main body from a metal bowl and use a switchable magnet like magswitch in the base to be able to lock it in place. That way with the base bolted to the table maybe you would be able to even use it for wood carving or cutting things with angle grinder
My thought was to print a cam with a lever that presses against the side of a cylender on the rotating part, to lock it in place relative to the hemisphere. Lever 'up' free to spin, lever 'down' locked down. But a magswitch could work as well to work with a plate that goes all the way around the turning part. Lot's of possible solutions.
Great idea. Metal kitchen bowls are either stainless or copper (expensive). Neither are magnetic (enough - cheap stainless is a _little_ magnetic). My experience with electromagnets suggests you'd need the iron to be quite close to the coil, so dumping old nails inside would probably not be adequate. Answer might be iron filings in the base, with a cap of cement. Or a cap of pourable plastic. In the USA we have the advantage of having guns, and materials to reload them. So steel shot is commonly attainable without the dark forces of gubbermint all getting into your face. So that's another option. So a stainless bowl filled with iron filings, capped with something, then placed on a base with an electric ring magnet, might work well.
1:35 I don't know about Australia, but in the US you can walk into any tire shop(better if a local place, just because some corporate managers have a stick up their ass) and ask them for a handful or two of old lead weights used to balance tires. In the US they have to pay for them to be disposed of so you're saving them money by taking them. When I worked at a tire place there were always guys getting old weights to use in fishing lures and weights.
@@TwoshoestringsUsing lead would also allow you to make it smaller while keeping the weight similar. You could then make one for your friend closer in size to the ball vise Dispae makes for scale modeling/minis.
Just keep future disposal in mind. If you put a good amount of lead in it and cover it in concrete, no one except you knows the real content of it. Lead itself has a low melting point, so maybe cast itself and have it pretty obvious for later persons to find and know what it is.
Agreed on disposal - please do not do this. Lead has costly disposal for very good reasons. Unless you're going to follow those rules, stay away from lead and don't contribute to the problems it causes.
I was thinking the same thing about locking the turntable. Smooth rotation is a nice feature for certain things (like filming that coin), but I think most of the time I'd want that locked, and I could rotate the whole thing the same way I'd change the angle. I'm now thinking of building two of these. One for a vice, and one for a light stand. This is a dangerous line of thought. Pretty soon you've got half a ton of concrete on your workbench!
@@aliancemd Same, I don't know if it's just my tastes evolving or if TH-cam has improved their algorithm, but I've been finding some great smaller channels these last several months. This guy isn't even that small, I've got a few now that are in the hundreds and have at least a couple of really interesting videos.
Excellent video, design and recommendation! I have a ‘real’ ball vise that cost several hundred dollars and yours will probably do most of what it can do. I suggest printing some ‘domes’ to fit over the bolt heads to keep the bolts from digging into the ball over time. The little metal had vise you showed is an excellent addition too. My ‘real’ vise came with that built it, very handy
in 2016 I built a nearly exact copy of your ball vice using a bowling ball. I mounted a small drill press vice to the top using a Lazy Susan just like you. Cutting the Bowling Ball in half was the biggest challenge, but I did that on my lathe using a cutoff tool.
with that rubber strip for friction, you've almost built a lock into the base. build a little lever assembly with a piston (a simple syringe possibly) and use a little tubing connecting to the base under the ball and you can use that piston to create suction. You would just need to plug the hole at the bottom which gives you an opportunity to design a vacuum port.
This is a great idea, but one thing to keep in mind is that fdm prints are not air tight. so while the ball might be fine due to the concrete, the rest of the plastic around the ring may still pose additional challenges for creating a vacuum.
Thank you Chris I try to make one. To make a smoother rotation on the Lazy Susan bearings, I use a very heavy silicone grease that they sell at Home Depot to grease valves and faucets; it comes in a very small 1" round container with a light blue cover. It gives the feeling of an hydraulic movement.
for the turn table, you can probably 3d print a base with a raised circle, and a top that has a channel mirroring that circle. this would allow rotation pretty smoothly and would have less wiggle in it. further, since you're 3d printing it, you could have a screw that with a half turn, would lock the two together with a little tension.
Really great ! I think I'm gonna make 2 of those : one for me, amateur guitar tech, and one for my son, who paints warhammer miniatures. Thank you so much !
Absolutely have to make one of these and thank you for a great tool. I use BB's for weights for various purposes (filling boxes before annealing, distributed weight on complex surfaces, when glueing, etc) and it would be the ideal filler for the base - with plaster, or even without (make the top of the base a solid surface). I'd probably get rid of the rotary bearing and just use a simple adjustable pivot that's also 3d printed - the extra friction is ok, for my purposes. Again, brilliant! I subbed.
great idea, cant wait to make. I watched a video of some guys doing this with a bowling call for welding and garage work. This is definitely more in my range of doing, cheers !
This is awesome ! This is a cheap and ingenious version of an otherwise very expensive tool, my only criticism would be mentioning the build cost, for example “ it only cost $10 ” step 1 use $20 worth of filament and go up from there :)
2:35 Use a vibrator to help the plaster flow between the parts. That way, 3:20 it will be solid instead of having loose parts inside. Beautiful project!
Good to see other makers on here. I've seen your submission on the Ergonomic Workshop contest page! I'm newer to modeling and printing, and it's really taken a hold. These contests are bringing a lot of education to the community. Hope to see you all on the page, make sure you check out all the other awesome entries there!
I've been wanting to 3d print a fractal vise for my in-law and this looks like just the thing. I also appreciate that you mentioned a part that can be purchased versus the one you milled yourself. So often I'll see cool projects that look doable and then they start machining something out of metal and at that point I drop out. So thanks for the cool project. Sub'd. ps. Adding 360-degree marks on the base might be helpful.
Never done epoxy stuff before, should I clean the lead before using it in epoxy? If so, what should I use? There's a fishing shop near me and I'd be buying lead weights from there.
@@kawag2780 It is kinda dirty. Swishing it all around in some alcohol wouldn't hurt but not really necessary. I honestly don't remember if I cleaned it before doing it last time or not. I suggested #12 shot because it's very small and you can get a lot in there. The fishing weights will work but the end result won't be as heavy is all. If you can't get shot, find the smallest fishing weights you can.
@@kawag2780 If you wanted to get really industrious with it you could create a pattern and then pull a sand mold off of it to then melt the lead into. If you wanted to get the most in there, that would be the way to do it. I've never wanted to go that far with it hence the shot and epoxy.
If you design the receptacle well then you don't need epoxy. It can just close properly and keep the lead shot inside. Probably much better for the environment too as it does not need to be disposed of later as the lead can be re-used.
You could add a counter weighted lever to the bottom of the stand that pushes a small ball bearing lift to the bottom of the base. This will make it easier to spin the base into position without having to lift. Then put some 3d printed caps on the top of the hex nuts that make contact with the rounded base when the lever is up. The top of the caps could have a silicone/friction surface to lock the base in position. Then the user can apply more pressure to the work area.
I loved it when you left the wheel in place of the box of nails Very Indiana Jones. My Vevor ball Vice just arrived yesterday. Then today I fell upon this. I’m now torn between buying the 3-d printer to try and get into that, OR just pay someone who’s already got their printer dialed-in/calibrated to build your amazing pieces that lock into the dovetailed base. Ingenious innovations. Burrowing l from the many ways people have done things before, and then coming up with this one, it’s spectacular. I guess now, I should start lifting weights if my ball vise is to be put to any use! Accolades to you for being such a sharing and helpful friend! And not only to your family and friends, but to people whom to you are no more than strangers, such as myself!!
Due to this video I am not sure if you're aware, but you can vibrate concrete to make it go into the places it should. So for the rusty nails and all that you could put it in first, then pour the concrete, and vibrate it to make sure you're getting as much as possible inside and theres no air gaps
I made an engraving vise much like yours but from a sawn off bowling ball for a base. I think I used that exact lazy susan bearing and that turned out to be the the weak point, terribly rough in rotation and with a lot of lateral movement. A shaft running in two ball bearings is a far better option I think. It also gives you the option to lock the rotation of the vise with a set screw running through the side of the base (in an threaded insert in the base print maybe?). This is useful for when you need to apply force and frees up your other hand. Good for light hammer and punch work for instance.
fantastic design that id find many uses for, i have a simple suggestion to help solve the locking of the rotation bearing: is a hole drilled in the bearing plate and a threaded whole in the top vice plate between the bearing plate and vice of choice with a adjustable thread that pushes the bearing plates away from each other and locking under tension. this would let you keep the simple design materials also.
I agree some way to quickly lock in place would be a must for us painters :) as well as to lock in place if we were fitting out a PCB as when soldering a move at the wrong time can cause wasted time from have to clean solder from a spot not needing to be soldered :). I would probably use old lead sinkers instead of rusting iron/steel as rusting metal will just keep rusting even inside the concrete and eventually cause the concrete to crack, just like concrete stumps under Houses do as the metal reenforcing rusts over time as I had to replace all the stumps of my house as they were all in different stages of breaking apart. Just a thought as I noticed a lot of rusty metal not just a few pieces :)
possible simple locking method is a magnet on the base you use a simple lever to raise and lower so it engages with the cement & steel sphere and that locks it to the base
On the heft side, visit your local machine shops. They'd be glad to get rid of their steel dust. Mix that in 5:1 with Portland cement and it will weigh upwards of 7g/cm3. In contrast your mix likely hit 2g/cm3.
As well as a lockoff, I'd need some kind of hand rest for painting. I like to paint with my hand resting on something and then just move my fingers. Great work - a great match for the fractal vise!
if you make a hole in the desk with an adjustable support underneath you could adjust the height of the thing you are working on so you'd have a better support resting your hand on the desk.
really cool project. I think a magnetic switch integrated into the base could serve as a "stop" when you want the work to absolutely not move. That's a whole separate mechanism and probably involves a redesign, though.
Great idea, cant wait to make this! I printed out the base and am waiting for parts, but while figuring out assembly before pouring I noticed you forgot to add the m8 nuts for the base assembly to the parts list.
My I suggest a couple of "upgrade" ideas. Instead of having the ball sitting on a desk/table, instead, build a rail that would be mounted to the table and then the ball vice would sit on it. Much like how a camera rig works on a track for steady filming. This way your friend's issue of the piece being too far away when tilted a certain way can be resolved. And a lever bolt can be used to lock the ball in place on the rail. Also a lever bolt can also be used to lock the ball from shifting, much like a ball socket on a tripod. As for the rail, if you use the dimensions of camera rails, this mount can also be used for camera shots too. Or better yet, a slightly altered version with a slightly lighter weight for camera grips. Hope this is useful.
For a more smoother finish on the concrete get a "thin vibrating thingie" and stick it in the wet concrete to allow it to reach all the crevices and shake out the trapped air bubbles
potential point of improvement, I know it'll increase the cost to make it, but integrating a switchable magnet in the movable base will allow it to be able to properly lock the position of the vice and allow for some more heavy duty work
This is such a solid idea and super well executed! For the base, while I think it's pretty perfect. I was curious to ask if there's one way to improve on it would be reducing the weight of it perhaps thinking about people who may issues with lifting or maneuvering heavy objects. My question on potentially improving it might be removing some of the weight but finding a way to line the spherical aspect with a metal finish. For the base-base points of contact which look to be bolts and having those perhaps be magnet. It might assist in "Locking" the base as well if anyone were looking to apply more force onto what their working on.
Great product. For the miniature painting feedback, I would look into a taller and smaller base, the 'half ball' part would also be smaller of course, but less weight should be fine due to the light weight of the miniature, and then reduce the length of the miniature stand. That way the painter can be close to it, and more importantly when turning it, it won't move that much.
If anyone is trying to find the orange rubber ring he uses I believe it is 6mm PU Transmission Belt (PU = Polyurethane). Amazon only sells it in bigger quantities, but that was the only place I could find it
I really need a 3d printer… This is a great idea, I saw the turntable wiggle before it was mentioned, and that seems like an easy upgrade. Perhaps a camera mount for a tripod, I have a couple myself that have very smooth rotation and a simple locking knob that your friend mentioned would be a nice feature. 🤜🏼🤛🏼
This thing looks awesome and looks like a great project. The only change that I would make to it is, A brake to the turntable or an index locking wheel to the turntable. To prevent it from turning when you don't want it to. This is not a criticism at all, it looks like great work.
🇦🇬 I like it very much. It’s thoughtfully designed. It’s multi purpose. May I suggest you use small lead weights from your local tire installer/balancer, or sinkers from an angling/fishing supply store; the lead is heavier per cm3, and it won’t rust and expand inside the mortar. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 🙇🏾♂️
This is quite an excellent design and feedback process you've shown here, and a very usable ball vice. Nicely done, I may just have a go at printing one.
Just a piece of caution, when you chuck the metal inside, make sure its somewhat evenly spread, last thing you want is your ball to be so unevenly balanced that it makes it not stable, defeating the point of using metal in the first place
Funny, this video popped up right after I saw your reddit post. I’m definitely going to print this eventually. For mini painting, I think having some kind of magnetic attachment would be nice, so you can quickly pick up the mini if you need that added dexterity, or to get a quick view from the bottom.
Magnificent build! A good vise is an essential workshop tool; I use mine all the time. This type that doesn’t need to be bolted to a work table would be perfect for indoor use. As for not wanting to use your bins of mystery screws to weigh down the base, I totally relate to that. I have many similar bins myself.
Great vid, and love the design think this setup is great for many of the examples you showed like sculpting and soldering where using your aux hand gets in the way. I don't think it will win mini painters over since they have typically have 100s of hours trained using both hands. But using this setup for airbrushing miniature would be excellent.
Another awesome tool idea, and your video presentation quality improves every time (esp with letting your humour shine through). For the miniature painting setup, as well as locking the turntable having the stand flex and lock into position might help
I would change the base design. Make the center of rotation where the objects are being held, i.e. increase the radius. You may need to limit the motion to 45 degrees, but that is probably plenty
Chris! I first found you on the Kirby soldering fan about a year ago, and then kind of forgot about you lol. Recently rediscovered you on the IBM monitor video and, MAN am I ever loving it! Great work bro!
If it used a metal sphere for the ball mount and installed a hand pump to add vacuum you could get that thing to handle some serious pressure against it.
Really neatly done. I think I'd have printed the bearing with a latch (or machined it with a latch) etc - it would I think be handy to be able to lock it firmly sometimes, and for the mini painting and possibly sculpting I'd add a fairly easy adjustable wrist rest on a dovetail sliding into the base - that way you can rest the weight of your arm effectively directly onto the table for a nice stable platform to do the detailed bits, but still easily removable for those times its not wanted (could probably be entirely separate, but desk space is limited and the ball is already there and heavy). Surprised it was heavy enough to be that stable, all the ones I've ever seen are much heavier hemispheres, I guess your rubbery stuff is grippier (at least while new) or weaker grip but still good enough I suppose.
Hmmm.. I think I'm going to make one and fill it with iron filings. Then, mount magnets inside of the ring base. That might replace the rubber ring and hold a bit better?
Bruh,Perfect! it seems odd that it doesnt has any locking mechanism but it seems very stable,A feuture improvement i would make is to add rubber feet to the bolts under the sphere,so there will be more friction and would be 10x stable,you will lack a bit of slip so it would be little more challenging to relocate,but its better to be more stable especially in metal work,desoldering Etc.
i would put knobs on the base, around the top, that way you could move it with your fingers and not have to grip the whole thing to move it, or grab the top.
Back from easter, glad people seem to like it. A few FAQ's ive seen:
-It does have rubber feet, I just failed to mention it. The feet have a thread which replaces the bolts.
-It does not ride on the nuts, it sits in the rubber ring although it only has .5mm of clearance so it seems like its on them.
-Ill try make an imperial parts list/ version
-Yes, a detent or locking turntable version is in the works I just wanted to get a more ideal turntable to base the design around first.
This looks great! I can see massive appeal. Thanks for answering those questions.
I'm confused about the turntable. Is that metal? Is it a print? Is it included?
ill be printing some parts tomorrow. since I'm in the US ill be trying 5/16th instead of the 8mm. I'd imagine it'll still work as the difference is super small
i've tried something similar with those 2 ring turntable bearings from aliexpress.
the problem with those is that the locking screw just goes straight into the bearing race and either hits a bearing ball or squeezes in between.
They don't brake the turn table smoothly, there's like a bit were it starts to break and then you have to turn the screw a bunch to push the bearing balls to the side and when it bottoms out there is still a few degrees of play on the turn table which is unacceptable so i ended up just buying a vevor ball vise.
Greetings, I'm from Indonesia, I'm a coin and knife engraver. This is very interesting but I hope you upgrade it again to be used to carve under a microscope... maybe the top part remains round like a ball vise vise in general. All this time I have been looking for a solution for a ball vise, I can't afford the original one. I hope you reply to this comment
Rarely see a maker video where they show their friends and have their friends give actual feedback.
Makers have friends?
News to me
Everyone I know just roles their eyes when I want to show them my latest inventions :s no way I would get them to take part in a video
Yes was a great touch to the video, very interesting
@@devluz You should get new friends. Seriously, if your friends aren't even slightly interested when you get excited about something, that says a lot about them
true, even tho the sound is quite bad and didnt understand what he said XD
Congrats on winning the practical category in the Printables Awards this year, Chris.
The sand isn’t to hold it still, it’s to provide back support when the cement heats up and would warp your sphere
Exactly this, cement gets warm/hot as it cures, PLA would deform without it (PLA deforms at 45-50c and cement curing goes up to about 70c)
Edit: Plaster would be the same, just slightly cooler. Still warmer than PLA needs to deform.
Why ASA is king 😎
I'm really curious where did you get this... information. Portland cement is the only one who gets "hot" ( not 160 C hot - 30 C hot) .
PLASTER - GYPSUM- gets hot , but not enough to deform PLA... HOT PIPE water temperature is usualy 56 C - try and melt PLA with it , then try and put your hand in it ...
After you come back from hospital, tell me how can i find this ...information of yours...about how hot can cement get ...
Is obvious to me you never used Plaster- Cement in your life and come up with weird information and unreal ...
@@recka5000 PLA doesnt deform at 45-50 C ...otherwise you would heat the plate to 60 to sick on it ... and you would need 205 C to melt it .
At 180 C you struggle to print with it ...
So...just print with ABS/ASA?
Idea for possible improvement: Make the main body from a metal bowl and use a switchable magnet like magswitch in the base to be able to lock it in place. That way with the base bolted to the table maybe you would be able to even use it for wood carving or cutting things with angle grinder
Combining the magnet switch with a welding foot pedal would be probably very effective
My thought was to print a cam with a lever that presses against the side of a cylender on the rotating part, to lock it in place relative to the hemisphere. Lever 'up' free to spin, lever 'down' locked down. But a magswitch could work as well to work with a plate that goes all the way around the turning part. Lot's of possible solutions.
Oh shoot, I just saw your comment after posting pretty much the same thing, though I was thinking a hand pump to create a vacuum instead
Great idea. Metal kitchen bowls are either stainless or copper (expensive). Neither are magnetic (enough - cheap stainless is a _little_ magnetic). My experience with electromagnets suggests you'd need the iron to be quite close to the coil, so dumping old nails inside would probably not be adequate.
Answer might be iron filings in the base, with a cap of cement. Or a cap of pourable plastic. In the USA we have the advantage of having guns, and materials to reload them. So steel shot is commonly attainable without the dark forces of gubbermint all getting into your face. So that's another option.
So a stainless bowl filled with iron filings, capped with something, then placed on a base with an electric ring magnet, might work well.
you absolute bastard. I was typing out this very idea when i read your comment.
1:35 I don't know about Australia, but in the US you can walk into any tire shop(better if a local place, just because some corporate managers have a stick up their ass) and ask them for a handful or two of old lead weights used to balance tires. In the US they have to pay for them to be disposed of so you're saving them money by taking them. When I worked at a tire place there were always guys getting old weights to use in fishing lures and weights.
this is actually super useful information and I'm totally gonna do this
@@TwoshoestringsUsing lead would also allow you to make it smaller while keeping the weight similar. You could then make one for your friend closer in size to the ball vise Dispae makes for scale modeling/minis.
Just keep future disposal in mind. If you put a good amount of lead in it and cover it in concrete, no one except you knows the real content of it. Lead itself has a low melting point, so maybe cast itself and have it pretty obvious for later persons to find and know what it is.
Most weights have been zinc for a long time, you might get lucky and get some lead ones but it is unlikely these days.
Agreed on disposal - please do not do this. Lead has costly disposal for very good reasons. Unless you're going to follow those rules, stay away from lead and don't contribute to the problems it causes.
I love your energy. All killer no filler and you are really generous with how much substance you give your videos. Thank you.
Indeed!
I was thinking the same thing about locking the turntable. Smooth rotation is a nice feature for certain things (like filming that coin), but I think most of the time I'd want that locked, and I could rotate the whole thing the same way I'd change the angle.
I'm now thinking of building two of these. One for a vice, and one for a light stand. This is a dangerous line of thought. Pretty soon you've got half a ton of concrete on your workbench!
3d printing is very often a solution looking for a problem, and I love it.
Rarely, just rarely, TH-cam's algorithm will have a perfect recommendation and this was one. Subscribing.
Me too
I find that TH-cam is recommending a lot of well made videos from small channels - this is happening to me for the past few weeks
@@aliancemd Same, I don't know if it's just my tastes evolving or if TH-cam has improved their algorithm, but I've been finding some great smaller channels these last several months. This guy isn't even that small, I've got a few now that are in the hundreds and have at least a couple of really interesting videos.
Same!!!
I have personally seen identical setups used in Tool and Die Shops, but it consists of a bowling ball, sawn in half, placed over a similar such base.
Excellent video, design and recommendation! I have a ‘real’ ball vise that cost several hundred dollars and yours will probably do most of what it can do.
I suggest printing some ‘domes’ to fit over the bolt heads to keep the bolts from digging into the ball over time.
The little metal had vise you showed is an excellent addition too. My ‘real’ vise came with that built it, very handy
in 2016 I built a nearly exact copy of your ball vice using a bowling ball. I mounted a small drill press vice to the top using a Lazy Susan just like you. Cutting the Bowling Ball in half was the biggest challenge, but I did that on my lathe using a cutoff tool.
with that rubber strip for friction, you've almost built a lock into the base. build a little lever assembly with a piston (a simple syringe possibly) and use a little tubing connecting to the base under the ball and you can use that piston to create suction. You would just need to plug the hole at the bottom which gives you an opportunity to design a vacuum port.
This is a great idea, but one thing to keep in mind is that fdm prints are not air tight. so while the ball might be fine due to the concrete, the rest of the plastic around the ring may still pose additional challenges for creating a vacuum.
finally a channel with useful projects i need to print more than toys & trinkets.
Nice project looks awesome.
Maybe you could test a V2 with a magnetic base for locking the sphere like ur friend suggested.
Thank you Chris I try to make one. To make a smoother rotation on the Lazy Susan bearings, I use a very heavy silicone grease that they sell at Home Depot to grease valves and faucets; it comes in a very small 1" round container with a light blue cover. It gives the feeling of an hydraulic movement.
for the turn table, you can probably 3d print a base with a raised circle, and a top that has a channel mirroring that circle. this would allow rotation pretty smoothly and would have less wiggle in it.
further, since you're 3d printing it, you could have a screw that with a half turn, would lock the two together with a little tension.
buying a high quality turntable for $30 would likely also just work
Really great ! I think I'm gonna make 2 of those : one for me, amateur guitar tech, and one for my son, who paints warhammer miniatures. Thank you so much !
You just gave me a good idea with a old bowlingball I have
This would be good for metal engraving and carving. It looks very versatile with the dovetail
Absolutely have to make one of these and thank you for a great tool. I use BB's for weights for various purposes (filling boxes before annealing, distributed weight on complex surfaces, when glueing, etc) and it would be the ideal filler for the base - with plaster, or even without (make the top of the base a solid surface). I'd probably get rid of the rotary bearing and just use a simple adjustable pivot that's also 3d printed - the extra friction is ok, for my purposes. Again, brilliant! I subbed.
this is such a brilliant idea
low tech solution that works great
ts raw dont stop brother
great idea, cant wait to make. I watched a video of some guys doing this with a bowling call for welding and garage work. This is definitely more in my range of doing, cheers !
This is awesome ! This is a cheap and ingenious version of an otherwise very expensive tool, my only criticism would be mentioning the build cost, for example “ it only cost $10 ” step 1 use $20 worth of filament and go up from there :)
Yes that is a bit silly. Even the bolts alone are more.
2:35 Use a vibrator to help the plaster flow between the parts. That way, 3:20 it will be solid instead of having loose parts inside. Beautiful project!
Good to see other makers on here. I've seen your submission on the Ergonomic Workshop contest page! I'm newer to modeling and printing, and it's really taken a hold. These contests are bringing a lot of education to the community. Hope to see you all on the page, make sure you check out all the other awesome entries there!
I've been wanting to 3d print a fractal vise for my in-law and this looks like just the thing.
I also appreciate that you mentioned a part that can be purchased versus the one you milled yourself.
So often I'll see cool projects that look doable and then they start machining something out of metal and at that point I drop out.
So thanks for the cool project. Sub'd. ps. Adding 360-degree marks on the base might be helpful.
Love that!!!
For the weight, instead of concrete, mix up some #12 lead shot and epoxy. It will be heavier and more stable.
Never done epoxy stuff before, should I clean the lead before using it in epoxy? If so, what should I use? There's a fishing shop near me and I'd be buying lead weights from there.
@@kawag2780 It is kinda dirty. Swishing it all around in some alcohol wouldn't hurt but not really necessary. I honestly don't remember if I cleaned it before doing it last time or not.
I suggested #12 shot because it's very small and you can get a lot in there. The fishing weights will work but the end result won't be as heavy is all. If you can't get shot, find the smallest fishing weights you can.
@@kawag2780 If you wanted to get really industrious with it you could create a pattern and then pull a sand mold off of it to then melt the lead into. If you wanted to get the most in there, that would be the way to do it. I've never wanted to go that far with it hence the shot and epoxy.
If you design the receptacle well then you don't need epoxy. It can just close properly and keep the lead shot inside. Probably much better for the environment too as it does not need to be disposed of later as the lead can be re-used.
You could add a counter weighted lever to the bottom of the stand that pushes a small ball bearing lift to the bottom of the base. This will make it easier to spin the base into position without having to lift. Then put some 3d printed caps on the top of the hex nuts that make contact with the rounded base when the lever is up. The top of the caps could have a silicone/friction surface to lock the base in position. Then the user can apply more pressure to the work area.
I loved it when you left the wheel in place of the box of nails Very Indiana Jones. My Vevor ball Vice just arrived yesterday. Then today I fell upon this. I’m now torn between buying the 3-d printer to try and get into that, OR just pay someone who’s already got their printer dialed-in/calibrated to build your amazing pieces that lock into the dovetailed base. Ingenious innovations. Burrowing l from the many ways people have done things before, and then coming up with this one, it’s spectacular. I guess now, I should start lifting weights if my ball vise is to be put to any use! Accolades to you for being such a sharing and helpful friend! And not only to your family and friends, but to people whom to you are no more than strangers, such as myself!!
That is cool.... and your mum is also very talented as well.... thank you for sharing...
Due to this video I am not sure if you're aware, but you can vibrate concrete to make it go into the places it should. So for the rusty nails and all that you could put it in first, then pour the concrete, and vibrate it to make sure you're getting as much as possible inside and theres no air gaps
Lmao the Indiana Jones reference 🤣
I made an engraving vise much like yours but from a sawn off bowling ball for a base. I think I used that exact lazy susan bearing and that turned out to be the the weak point, terribly rough in rotation and with a lot of lateral movement. A shaft running in two ball bearings is a far better option I think. It also gives you the option to lock the rotation of the vise with a set screw running through the side of the base (in an threaded insert in the base print maybe?). This is useful for when you need to apply force and frees up your other hand. Good for light hammer and punch work for instance.
fantastic design that id find many uses for, i have a simple suggestion to help solve the locking of the rotation bearing: is a hole drilled in the bearing plate and a threaded whole in the top vice plate between the bearing plate and vice of choice with a adjustable thread that pushes the bearing plates away from each other and locking under tension. this would let you keep the simple design materials also.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Awesome build.
I agree some way to quickly lock in place would be a must for us painters :) as well as to lock in place if we were fitting out a PCB as when soldering a move at the wrong time can cause wasted time from have to clean solder from a spot not needing to be soldered :).
I would probably use old lead sinkers instead of rusting iron/steel as rusting metal will just keep rusting even inside the concrete and eventually cause the concrete to crack, just like concrete stumps under Houses do as the metal reenforcing rusts over time as I had to replace all the stumps of my house as they were all in different stages of breaking apart.
Just a thought as I noticed a lot of rusty metal not just a few pieces :)
this is actually a very awesome and practical design mate.....
I should print this. I think i agree with upgrading the dovetails to metal for tighter tolerance
possible simple locking method is a magnet on the base you use a simple lever to raise and lower so it engages with the cement & steel sphere and that locks it to the base
and for the mini painting stand make the top pivot ~120 degrees and be held in place by a tensioning bolt
On the heft side, visit your local machine shops. They'd be glad to get rid of their steel dust. Mix that in 5:1 with Portland cement and it will weigh upwards of 7g/cm3. In contrast your mix likely hit 2g/cm3.
As well as a lockoff, I'd need some kind of hand rest for painting. I like to paint with my hand resting on something and then just move my fingers.
Great work - a great match for the fractal vise!
Unbelievable! Thank you so much for your hard work!
if you make a hole in the desk with an adjustable support underneath you could adjust the height of the thing you are working on so you'd have a better support resting your hand on the desk.
really cool project. I think a magnetic switch integrated into the base could serve as a "stop" when you want the work to absolutely not move. That's a whole separate mechanism and probably involves a redesign, though.
Great idea, cant wait to make this! I printed out the base and am waiting for parts, but while figuring out assembly before pouring I noticed you forgot to add the m8 nuts for the base assembly to the parts list.
My I suggest a couple of "upgrade" ideas. Instead of having the ball sitting on a desk/table, instead, build a rail that would be mounted to the table and then the ball vice would sit on it. Much like how a camera rig works on a track for steady filming. This way your friend's issue of the piece being too far away when tilted a certain way can be resolved. And a lever bolt can be used to lock the ball in place on the rail. Also a lever bolt can also be used to lock the ball from shifting, much like a ball socket on a tripod. As for the rail, if you use the dimensions of camera rails, this mount can also be used for camera shots too. Or better yet, a slightly altered version with a slightly lighter weight for camera grips. Hope this is useful.
For a more smoother finish on the concrete get a "thin vibrating thingie" and stick it in the wet concrete to allow it to reach all the crevices and shake out the trapped air bubbles
Love the concept! I would recommend an active ball joint mechanism for the base rather than a heavy ball which you pick and place manually.
Brilliant work, brilliant video. You've earned a subscriber :)
potential point of improvement, I know it'll increase the cost to make it, but integrating a switchable magnet in the movable base will allow it to be able to properly lock the position of the vice and allow for some more heavy duty work
Excellent use of 3D printing, and everyone loves a vise build. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum last week 😎
Just incase you haven't heard it today I APPRECIATE YOU!
Definitely printing this later this week.
This is such a solid idea and super well executed!
For the base, while I think it's pretty perfect. I was curious to ask if there's one way to improve on it would be reducing the weight of it perhaps thinking about people who may issues with lifting or maneuvering heavy objects. My question on potentially improving it might be removing some of the weight but finding a way to line the spherical aspect with a metal finish. For the base-base points of contact which look to be bolts and having those perhaps be magnet. It might assist in "Locking" the base as well if anyone were looking to apply more force onto what their working on.
Great product.
For the miniature painting feedback, I would look into a taller and smaller base, the 'half ball' part would also be smaller of course, but less weight should be fine due to the light weight of the miniature, and then reduce the length of the miniature stand. That way the painter can be close to it, and more importantly when turning it, it won't move that much.
Please add a captive pin option with a spring that allows to fix the turning option on demand. It would really improve the design.
Working on it right now!
If anyone is trying to find the orange rubber ring he uses I believe it is 6mm PU Transmission Belt (PU = Polyurethane). Amazon only sells it in bigger quantities, but that was the only place I could find it
Hey Chris, if you found a bowling ball do you think you can adapt it for a vice like this, don't need as much cement.
I really need a 3d printer…
This is a great idea, I saw the turntable wiggle before it was mentioned, and that seems like an easy upgrade. Perhaps a camera mount for a tripod, I have a couple myself that have very smooth rotation and a simple locking knob that your friend mentioned would be a nice feature. 🤜🏼🤛🏼
This thing looks awesome and looks like a great project. The only change that I would make to it is, A brake to the turntable or an index locking wheel to the turntable. To prevent it from turning when you don't want it to. This is not a criticism at all, it looks like great work.
AWSOME lil vice. Great creation
Consider trying to add a fan in the base to add suction as a kind of lock
Super Handy! The amount of uses, is insane.
🇦🇬
I like it very much. It’s thoughtfully designed. It’s multi purpose. May I suggest you use small lead weights from your local tire installer/balancer, or sinkers from an angling/fishing supply store; the lead is heavier per cm3, and it won’t rust and expand inside the mortar. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
🙇🏾♂️
This is a cooler upgraded more versatile version of a cannonball used for gold damascene really cool and useful
This is quite an excellent design and feedback process you've shown here, and a very usable ball vice. Nicely done, I may just have a go at printing one.
Great build. Your 3D printing and design skills are top notch. Can't wait to see what you come up with next.
Just a piece of caution, when you chuck the metal inside, make sure its somewhat evenly spread, last thing you want is your ball to be so unevenly balanced that it makes it not stable, defeating the point of using metal in the first place
Funny, this video popped up right after I saw your reddit post. I’m definitely going to print this eventually.
For mini painting, I think having some kind of magnetic attachment would be nice, so you can quickly pick up the mini if you need that added dexterity, or to get a quick view from the bottom.
Magnificent build! A good vise is an essential workshop tool; I use mine all the time. This type that doesn’t need to be bolted to a work table would be perfect for indoor use. As for not wanting to use your bins of mystery screws to weigh down the base, I totally relate to that. I have many similar bins myself.
Great vid, and love the design think this setup is great for many of the examples you showed like sculpting and soldering where using your aux hand gets in the way. I don't think it will win mini painters over since they have typically have 100s of hours trained using both hands. But using this setup for airbrushing miniature would be excellent.
Thats a nice design, very flexible and handy
Another awesome tool idea, and your video presentation quality improves every time (esp with letting your humour shine through). For the miniature painting setup, as well as locking the turntable having the stand flex and lock into position might help
For the base, you could inset the screw that sit on top. Maybe give it an Audemars Piguet vibe.
I would change the base design. Make the center of rotation where the objects are being held, i.e. increase the radius. You may need to limit the motion to 45 degrees, but that is probably plenty
for your friend doing the miniature painting put the same rubber tubing you used in the base under the lazy Susan to make it a friction turn base.
You could easily make 2 bases - one to accommodate locking (or maybe just not "smooth movement") and the base you have here.
The Vevor brand jewellery vices are great value for the price, highly recommend
Chris! I first found you on the Kirby soldering fan about a year ago, and then kind of forgot about you lol. Recently rediscovered you on the IBM monitor video and, MAN am I ever loving it!
Great work bro!
If it used a metal sphere for the ball mount and installed a hand pump to add vacuum you could get that thing to handle some serious pressure against it.
great thing, thanks for this one
i'll build this pretty soon
Granite filled epoxy would also be a really good base material! Its what they make milling machines out of.
Really neatly done. I think I'd have printed the bearing with a latch (or machined it with a latch) etc - it would I think be handy to be able to lock it firmly sometimes, and for the mini painting and possibly sculpting I'd add a fairly easy adjustable wrist rest on a dovetail sliding into the base - that way you can rest the weight of your arm effectively directly onto the table for a nice stable platform to do the detailed bits, but still easily removable for those times its not wanted (could probably be entirely separate, but desk space is limited and the ball is already there and heavy). Surprised it was heavy enough to be that stable, all the ones I've ever seen are much heavier hemispheres, I guess your rubbery stuff is grippier (at least while new) or weaker grip but still good enough I suppose.
A way to lock the ball down would be nice. Australians save EVERYTHING. its like some rescuers down under complex
You, sir, are clearly completely insane. And also a genius. Amazing. I need one!
That's so neat. Nice job.
You can still improve the base further by having it on a swivel arm to gain more comfort/access to finer work.
An arm would be considerably less stable. The main benefit of this design with a heavy weight is that it doesn't move while working on it.
mom's approval is all I need. putting this on my to-do lis
Hmmm.. I think I'm going to make one and fill it with iron filings. Then, mount magnets inside of the ring base. That might replace the rubber ring and hold a bit better?
This is so awesome. Another idea instead of cement would be steal or lead shot.
Nice. A use for PCB soldering.
Awesome design and good video. I love the real world case uses for the design it’s absolutely amazing and stunning. Good work my man!!
Very smart and versatile design. Nice job!
Bruh,Perfect! it seems odd that it doesnt has any locking mechanism but it seems very stable,A feuture improvement i would make is to add rubber feet to the bolts under the sphere,so there will be more friction and would be 10x stable,you will lack a bit of slip so it would be little more challenging to relocate,but its better to be more stable especially in metal work,desoldering Etc.
i would put knobs on the base, around the top, that way you could move it with your fingers and not have to grip the whole thing to move it, or grab the top.
This is a bloody good idea.
You should partner up with Magswitch and have them incorporate a way to lock the rotating base with switchable magnets.
Been looking for exactly this for a while