1. Ball Vice Remix: Fusion, USA Hardware, Custom Inserts and More

The ball vice I made results from remixing three models: Open Ball V1 (Ball vise system), D-Series Ball Vise and D-series Dovetail Vises. Credit goes to Chris Borge for the original designs, Chris Deeter for his very helpful Build Guide, and ThatRobHuman for his remixes and excellent visual PDF instructions.

I made a number of changes overall, primarily to use hardware that’s cheap and easy to buy in the USA, but also to simplify my printing and add some new capability.

This is the first of three remixes needed to make the ball and vices in the way that I did. Included are modifications to the Bottom, Bottom Cover, Ball and Nut Ring from Open Ball V1 (Ball vise system). The second remix includes the Index Plate and Dovetail Spin Plate. The third remix covers the vice and jaws.

Some of the metric hardware specified in the original design is time-consuming and expensive to source in the USA. I modified the models to use easy to obtain bolts and coupling nuts.

I imported the models into Autodesk Fusion. I found it helpful to see how the assembly fits together before printing. The Fusion f3d file with my modifications is included.

• Bottom
  • Added thin ribs to eliminate the need to print removable supports.
• Bottom Cover
  • Flared the bottom of the bolt tunnels. This mechanically locks the cover in place if foot bolts aren’t used (the bottom sits directly on the workbench).
• Ball
  • Modified for a 5/16-inch x 2-1/2-inch hex bolt with enough gap to tighten with a socket.
  • Added thin ribs to eliminate the need to print removable supports.
• Nut Ring
  • Modified to accept Everbilt 822271 5/16-inch coupling nuts, which are easily available from Home Depot in the USA. 5/16" x 1/2" hex bolts thread partially into the coupling nuts inside the ball.