side press screw

Since the Veritas/Lee Valley and Jorgensen press screws are no longer made and the Grizzly/ShopFox gets so-so reviews, I went looking for a quality alternative.

I ended up with the 5096A16 from McMaster-Carr, which is $25 and has 12" of travel. The actual unit I received is pretty nice, so I wanted to sharer a more detailed photo for others looking to build their own jigs. Note the vertical handle spins independently of the horizontal bar attached to the screw, and the whole assembly is nicely machined steel.

The only real possible negative is no real "bearing" at the bottom - there's a bushing and a set screw that holds the bottom flange on the screw. I can't imagine it will be an issue in normal use though.

John Dahl

Just buy a length of M 12 threaded bar and a nut,and anything will do for a handle "like the lid of a round plastic jar" can be fitted on top with a couple more of nuts to hold it in place. Just my way of cutting down costs

Timbuck, nicce idea being crafty and avoiding unneeded costs. Your handle idea sounds a bit like a thing we had as kids, called a Sit 'N Spin. Eventually the round plastic handle doesn't hold up to spirited play, and that's the end of your Sit 'N Spin shenanigans.

I'm all for doing things at a reasonable cost, but I try to build things such that I'll only have to build them once.

I'm sorry, but what does this thing actually do? It obviously scrunches something, but what? Thanks! I want one!

I use something similar to crank down the waist caul on my Fox Style side bender.

I've dismantled these things in the past just to get a free leadscrew and nut...I use one on my drill press table.
jack by Ken Timms, on Flickr