Method of machining vise jaw face

Abstract

An article and a method for manufacturing the same, for use as a jaw face of a vise and which applies pressure evenly along any approximately flat surface clamped therein. The face comprises a plurality of cantilevered beams integral with the body of the jaw. The beams are spaced apart from each other and in the preferred embodiment have along a corresponding exterior surface of each, a pair of projections the tips of which are tangent to a geometrically flat plane. When the jaw is used, the projections bear against a flat surface of the workpiece to be clamped and the individual beams deflect slightly to correct for deviations from flatness in the flat surface, thereby assuring that the clamping force is distributed relatively evenly along the surface. A preferred method for manufacturing this article comprises the making of a plurality of cuts perpendicular to the jaw face of a block, which carries the projections. A second slot is cut to completely intersect each first slot, cutting the entire breadth of a first side intersecting the jaw face, and extending partially toward a second side opposing the first and also intersecting the jaw face. If more deflection is required, a third slot similar to the second but cutting the entire breadth of the second side and extending toward the first side in spaced relation to the second slot may be cut.