metal specific jig saw or something better

[Simi 60]

I have a variant of this on board
Several different brands out there.


https://www.toolex.com.au/products/594386

[TrentePieds]

One of the important things a dedicated DIY yottie should do when in the situation I gather our OP is/was in, is make a "workbench" by shaping a common 2 x 12 plank so "cut-outs" on the ends of the plank will, when it lies thwartships twixt them, grip the sheet winches on the cockpit coamings. On this "bench" can then be mounted a grown-up vise when one is called for and available, and, of course, a smaller one when the manful vise is not required. Very often work can be held by clamps.

The "bench" itself can be stowed along the lifeline stanchions for the duration of the work for which it is required, and being a common or garden variety 2 x 12, no fiscal grief will come to the owner if he simply discards it when it is no longer required. Should one be required again in the future, it takes but half an hour with a jigsaw (Ahem!!) to shape the ends of a new plank.

If a jigsaw is too modern for you, or no electrical juice is available, then by all means use a frame saw like your daddy's daddy did. A frame saw comes apart into it's components, and mine, a "chairmaker's saw" specifically intended to cut curves, stows when dismantled in a 4" diameter PVC tube capped at the ends. Now, it does et treated with extra affection because it was MY daddy's daddy's, and he likely made it just before the Kaiser's War :-)!

I mentioned 1-2-3 blocks, and I think it was the OP who mentioned "V" blocks. These kinds of "appliances" were always shop-made by the apprentices in the old days because it taught them not only what is required to hold work securely and safely, but also how to handle the basic tools with which they are made. My aforementioned daddy's daddy taught me to rip a plank with a frame saw - one with a wider blade than the aforementioned chairmaker's saw. His instructions were to mark the cutline with a carpenter's pencil. Then saw so that 1/2 the width of the pencil line was removed by the saw, and the other half remained visible on the "keeper" part of the plank.

Henry Ford was out to lunch! History is NOT bunk, whatever, other than political expediency, may have caused him to say that. History is the platform and the foundation upon which we build all our knowledge and our skills. Not least when we are talking seafaring :-)!

TrentePieds

[waterman46]

I have a small vise, lightweight, aluminum and some kind of steel that never rusts. It clamps onto the "workbench" (unused top bunk in the fore/aft passage of midcockpit boat). Vice has jaws that can be opened very wide, about 6 inches. Pretty small and light, about 8" x 6" x 3" plus the clamp screws.

One of the great features is the wide capacity of the jaws - and they can be quickly adjusted without having to crank the screw. There is release button that when pressed, disengages the gear so you can slide the jaws a long distance quickly then release the button and use the normal crank to tighten on the workpiece.

I wish I could find another one, I'd buy it for use at the house. But I can't find it online and can't remember where I bought it!

[seabreez]

Originally Posted by Seapig

I spent 6 hours yesterday fashioning some backing plates using a multi-tool. I know that anything called a multi-tool means it doesn't do anything well, which I proved yesterday.


So the question:
Is there some sort of metal specific jig saw (not just jig saw blades) that one can use for cutting shapes in metal while on board. Is there some completely different technology that I am not aware of? Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have.

I use a 4" angle grinder with zip cut discs 1/8" thickness. Works very good. A bit tricky to use but once you get the hang of it... great tool!

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "I have a small vise,..."

Spot on! I have a Record, I believe a #2, which I've carted around the world with me these five and sixty years gone :-). 3" wide jaws. I bought it a vast expense out of my pocket money when as a teenager (tho' that concept didn't exist at that time where I come from) I delighted in building model trains and model aeroplanes.

Small though it be, it has been immensely useful over the years, and has more oomph that you would give it credit for when you first meet it :-)

Record, like so many other British makers of tools, shut down maybe 20 years ago, but I believe that firms in the far east now make cheap and grotty imitations. Any tools of that provenance that I've had occasion to use fall into the rubric of what my father, let alone HIS father, would have referred to as "hundelort"

TP

[flightlead404]

Have a look at the tools people use to build aircraft. https://www.cleavelandtool.com/ is a good source. I use a bandsaw with a metal blade in it (ie designed to cut metal).

It won't cut tool steel, but its fine for most things you're fabricating.

If you are using a grinder or similar tool, be careful not to use the same wheel for both aluminum and steel.

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Record, like so many other British makers of tools, shut down maybe 20 years ago, but I believe that firms in the far east now make cheap and grotty imitations. Any tools of that provenance that I've had occasion to use fall into the rubric of what my father, let alone HIS father, would have referred to as "hundelort"

TP

It killed me when my father passed away to basically toss in the trash a large collection of my grandfathers and fathers tools including many Record planes and other woodworking tools.

I even tried to give them away, contacted collectors of vintage tools etc. No one wanted them.

[catalystcat]

Five things (four of which I am stealing from and embellishing from other comments)
1. really good clamping/holding and support - as close as reasonably possible to the cutting location. Preferably supporting both sides of the cut in most cases.
2. Fine enough blade that is sufficiently "hard" for the metal you are cutting. Oh yeah, and not too dull either.
3. low enough speed - sometimes not the lowest speed, though
4. no (or reduced) orbit
5. lubricant (even as simple as wd-40, though a machining oil will help)

Have to agree with most of the tool recommendations as well. A portable bandsaw is great if you have enough work to justify it. (A Bridgeport mill or a CNC is even better for the real fanatics out there.)

[Chili Palmer]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

A 4" angle grinder with a thin metal cutting disk is the way to go. Leave the jigsaw for the wood jobs.

I've been building parts for Jeeps for years, if you're cutting metal this is the best way to go for a mobile application.

[jpendoley]

For a vice-on Ebay you can pick up a Zyliss aluminum portable vice. Weighs about a pound the jaws adjust out to 12" or so and they reverse so you can use them in clamping applications.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by jpendoley

For a vice-on Ebay you can pick up a Zyliss aluminum portable vice. Weighs about a pound the jaws adjust out to 12" or so and they reverse so you can use them in clamping applications.

That one looks real nice. The dual clamps should make it very stable attached to a workbench. Now, I know its a woodworking vice, but to be more useful on board it should have a V groove in the jaws to hold tubing and pipes more securely.

[TrentePieds]

Re the Zyliss vise: Years ago I got suckered in and bought one at the Vancouver Boat Show. The first time I asked it to do a man's work, it distorted so the jaws are no longer in parallel.

I have kept it as a reminder never to spend hard-earned money on "wonder tools" :-)

Just one man's experience, but beware!

You might like to think about the fact that for much work, the beauty of a HEAVY tool like a vise, and indeed of a grown-up work bench is that it has inertia and therefore provides a counterforce to the force of your tool stroke. Light weight is NOT good. That applies to such things as hacksawing and filing, also, when working wood, to planing. Even when using a belt sander a heavy bench is to be devoutly desired!

TP

[jpendoley]

I tried to fit my ten foot woodworking bench with tail vices in the boat and just couldn't make it work. The twenty-five pound machinist vice could double as an anchor I suppose...but the zyliss at least works better than my clenched hands. Its a stop gap measure when something needs doing and the real tools are far away.

[noelex 77]

The German Heuer - Brockhaus vices are very good quality, ideal for metal work. They have a small "portable" 100 model that can be clamped and removed from a bench, as well as adaptors that allow some of larger models to be converted into portable models.


They are forged steel so basically indestructible. They also have well made precise jaws, but they are heavy.

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

On my first cruiser I had a vise on a board. The board was long enough to span the cockpit (side) locker. You pulled it out, laid it on top and clamped the ends of the board to the opening with C clamps. the problem is: Iron rusts!

Select a fender board that can do double duty as a mini work bench just as you describe here.