ZA-12 castings enable manufacturer to
get the grip on design award.
The TUCKER vise, manufac-
tured and distributed worldwide by
Veritas® Tools Inc., Ottawa, Based on the shapes needed to surface finish compared to sand
Ontario, is a newly patented vise form the woodworking vise, castings because the molds them-
for the woodworking industry. But casting easily became the metal selves can be precision machined.
even new ideas have their origin in forming process of choice. The In addition, overall tooling costs
the past. In this case, the predeces- question was, what metal to use. for graphite mold casting can be
sor of the Tucker vise is the 19th The inventor/designer, Ed Tucker, lower than sand casting.
century Emmert vise developed for investigated both cast iron and ZA-
the patternmaking industry. 12. In fact, the prototype vise was Tucker cited five reasons for
Starting from the point where the made in cast iron. choosing ZA-12 and graphite
famous Emmert vise of 100 years permanent mold casting. The first
ago left off, Tucker completely As a material, ZA-12 compares reason given was the ability to
redesigned the vise. favorably to cast iron. ZA-12s design features into the various
density approaches cast iron, 0.218 components without machining or
The TUCKER vise is a profes- versus 0.25, but its tensile strength assembling multiple components.
sional tool designed for is actually greater, 48,000 psi Another factor akin to this is
patternmakers, moldmakers, versus 31,000 psi. The real advan- dimensional control. As a sand cast
cabinetmakers, carvers and even tage of ZA-12 over cast iron is its iron casting, the components
the home hobbyist. New to the fluidity, which allows for thinner would not have the dimensional
Tucker vise are a front jaw which wall sections and greater dimen- accuracy needed, thus requiring
may be locked or left free floating sional control. supplemental machining.
to clamp irregular work, integral
swivelling dogs, a quick-release Graphite molds produce tight Another important factor is quality
mechanism, and automatic opening tolerance castings with superior control. Through the prototyping
by foot or hand opera- process, Tucker experienced hard
tion. The design also spots in the castings, voids in the
incorporates three types material distortion and warpage.
of jaws which can be These problems were eliminated
rotated or tilted to an with the introduction of ZA-12
infinite variety of casting. Associated with quality is
positions in order to surface finish. Graphite molds
present any workpiece produce a smooth surface finish
in its optimum orienta- with good detail.
tion. In fact, the design of the
TUCKER vise is notable enough Finally Veritas Tools calculates that
to have been awarded Popular total tooling costs are 25-30
Mechanics 1992 Design Engineering percent lower with graphite
Award. permanent mold casting. This is
comparing the graphite mold with
Eight separate ZA-12 alloy castings sand casting patterns, match plates
are utilized in the woodworking and tooling jigs.
vise. Castings form the pivot block,
front jaw, rear jaw, quick-release The Tucker vise takes advantage All eight components are graphite
nut, yoke, stanchion, mounting of ZA-12s castability and permanent mold cast by Cash
plate and keeper plate. superior mechanical properties. Mould and Casting, Hyde Park,
Ontario.