We’ve all been there. We’ve all gone to bed crying, just wishing we could clamp irregular-shaped objects for our little hobby projects. And since Hand Tool Rescue’s video, most of us realised we’d been crying for nothing. Because a solution does exist. And it's called a ‘fractal vise’.
What is a fractal vise?
A fractal vise might just be the coolest tool you never knew existed. It’s impressive in its design, its engineering, its machining and its thinking.
See? How cool is this! | Source
After Hand Tool Rescue’s video, where Eric Tozzi beautifully restored a 1920s Mantle and Co. Fractal Vise, almost everyone who watched it decided they wanted one. We were no different. “Where can I buy a fractal vise?” we searched for weeks, months, years - with no real luck.
Anyway, to actually answer the question, a fractal vise is unlike its rather boring cousin, the regular benchtop block vise, because not only is it capable of gripping block-like parts but practically anything of any shape too.
Weird irregular shapes? No trouble. Bobbly castings that need pre-machining? Sure. A rubber egg requiring a hole or two in it? With ease. So, for the likes of you and me, a fractal vise means no more whacky bodged-up vise jaws for random one-off jobs - this beautiful antique creation can do it all.
The fractal vise origin story
It makes us sad that there aren’t many to buy. But it makes us even sadder that this beautiful creation existed for 100+ years (100!) without many realising. Talk about a missed turn of luck…
Some of the drawings from patent no. US1059545A
Now, the fractal vise origin story is a tough one to trace. The earliest information we could find traced back to the original patent in 1913, submitted by Paulin Karl Kunze as a “Device for obtaining intimate contact with, engaging, or clamping bodies of any shape.”. And we’re assuming this was the first of its kind.
In 1922, Mantle & Co. used the patent to manufacture and sell them, naming them the Mantle Vise.
Advertising material from The Mantle Vise | Source
But in 1928, Mantle & Co sold all rights, patterns, jigs (and everything else) for the vise to United States Automatic Box Machinery Co. of Boston. And, according to Vintage Machinery, was then retailed as the ‘Boston Automatic Vise’.
The Fractal Father
So, what we now recognise as the fractal vise was originally The Mantle Vise… and then the Boston Automatic Vise. And the switch from Boston Automatic to Fractal is, like a lot of its history, quite difficult to trace.
What we do know, however, is that the term ‘fractal’ was only coined in the 1970s by the Fractal Father, and French mathematician, Benoit Mandelbrot.
This means that, at the time of patent submission, the complex mathematics behind fractals was still in its very early days and hadn’t really been thought about. So, does that mean The Mantle Vise origin story could sit close to our hearts? Quite possibly. It very well could be engineering and machining in its purest form: a creative solution to a frustrating problem.
And let’s be honest, it was a lot of machining too… 30 hand-spun (or filed) double-dovetailed arcs. There were no CNC machines back then!
Source
Maybe that’s why they’ve snuck under all our radars for so long…
What makes a fractal a fractal?
We’re not going to pretend we understand all the ins and outs of fractals in mathematics. They are quite literally (pictures of) chaos… i.e. a simple process repeated over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. But their theory has been a twist of genius for economics, astronomy, computer science and quite possibly the humble vise.
The chaotic-looking Mandelbrot fractal | Source
Theory aside, what’s relevant to us is that fractals are defined as shapes containing a repeating self-similar pattern. These patterns can be identical or just similar. And when you zoom in or out, they should resemble the ‘base pattern’.
But like a lot of discoveries, the fractal discovery was built on the findings of those who came before. So let’s come to grips with it and look a little further.
Fractal Father and Co.
The term ‘fractal’, as I mentioned before, was coined by the Father of Fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot, in the 1970s. Although, he didn’t just magic his discovery out of nowhere. His theories were built upon over hundreds of years by many other mathematicians - and fractals themselves have actually existed long before. (We’ll explore this in more detail shortly)
Mandelbrot on the left, Sierpiński on the right
A well-known fractal is the Sierpiński Triangle, named after Polish mathematician Wacław Sierpiński. It’s one large equilateral triangle with smaller equilateral triangles repeatedly cut out of the centre. Do you see the self-similarities?
Sierpiński made many important mathematical discoveries and was one of the first mathematicians to think about the properties of the triangle. Hence the fractal name.
The Sierpiński Triangle | Source
Courtesy of nnart, and their information on the history of fractals, we can see what theory the fractal vise might have leant on.
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Mathematician
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Date
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Discovery
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Gottfried Leibniz
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1650 - 1700
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Discovers self-similarity
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Karl Weierstrass
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1872
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Invents Weierstrass function
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Georg Cantor
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1883
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Discovers Cantor Set Fractal
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Henri Poincare and Felix Klein
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1880s
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Creation of Self-Inverse Fractals
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Helge von Koch
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1904
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Makes and presents the Koch Snowflake
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Wacław Sierpiński
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1915
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Invention of the Sierpinski Triangle
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Pierre Fatou and Gaston Julia
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1918
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Study iterative functions and dynamics
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Felix Hausdorff
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1918
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Creates the measurement of Hausdorff dimension
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Paul Levy
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1938
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Creation of the Levy C Curve
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Benoit Mandelbrot
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1960s
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Develops cohesive fractal theory in a series of papers
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Benoit Mandelbrot
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1975
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Coins the term Fractal
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Loren Carpenter
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1980
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First Fractal Landscape rendered
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So, if we know the Mantle Vise came in the 1920s, and we assume it was the first of its kind, then the theory available was…
*Scans through timeline… searches each discovery… pauses at something interesting…*
The Cantor Set Fractal
Now, it’s difficult to draw similarities between most fractals to the fractal vise. But not the Cantor Set.
Georg Cantor was a Russian-born mathematician who made a number of important mathematical discoveries, including set theory and the concept of transfinite numbers. Which, to explain it briefly, suggests there is more than one kind of infinity (e.g. uncountable Real numbers have a different infinity to countable Natural numbers… err… yeah… confusing).
The proof of this concept is the Cantor Set Fractal. (Which was actually discovered by Henry Smith and then popularised by Georg Cantor)
The Cantor Set Fractal | Source
It works with a line of length 1. If we remove the middle third, we’re left with two lengths of ⅓, and we can label it 2.
If we then remove the middle ⅓ of the new lines and label these 3, we can see a self-similar pattern forming. And if we repeat this indefinitely, there will always be something left. (If you’d like to read more on the Cantor Set Fractal, you can here)
Now, the theory behind it isn’t all that relevant, only the appearance. Because, compared to the chaotic images of other fractals, we can’t be the only one who see the similarities between the Cantor Set Fractal and the humble fractal vise.
Cantor set vs vise
They may have absolutely no relevance to one another nor have influenced the vise’s creation in any way. But the timelines add up, and they look a little similar. So… who knows.
But if the math theory wasn’t influential, maybe something else inspired the great engineering thinking. Let’s look at what that might be.
Real world examples of fractals
So, despite Mandelbrot coining the term ‘fractal’, which is based on the Latin word ‘fractus’, meaning ‘broken’ or ‘fragmented’, in the early 70s, fractals had existed in our bodies, art and er… broccoli… long before. In fact, nature is full of fractals.
The Romanesco broccoli fractal | Source
Plants and leaves (e.g. Ferns) have internal fractal networks that move nutrients around to support growth and nourishment - just like our and animals' respiratory systems. Pineapples contain fractals. Snowflakes, too. Even trees, rivers, coastlines, mountains, and seashells are examples of fractals. So, they're everywhere.
Mountain range fractal | Source
Many technological developments have echoed nature, so maybe that’s what inspired the clever engineering - or mathematical - thinking. We’ll never know…
But anyway, enough of the background. It's time to look at how a fractal vise actually works.
How a fractal vise works
How does the concept of a fractal relate to the fractal vise? Well, in case you hadn’t spotted, the fractal vise has a series of stacked arcs, where each arc holds two smaller, half-diameter arcs inside.
The Mantle Vise
(In Hand Tool Rescue’s video, the Mantle Vise has 30 separate arcs, with 8 top-level arc jaws, but more recent 3D printed fractal vises have fewer. Some even flex rather than pivot! If you’re interested in 3D printing your own, read this article.)
BubsBuilds approach to a fractal vise via Thangs
So, yes, 30 arcs, 8 of which are jaws. In The Mantle Vises’ case, all of them are double-dovetailed so they can pivot independently and, when the vice closes, grip virtually any arrangement around any object.
Of course, newer 3D printed versions differ from the original fractal vise, but they’re, in essence, very similar.
The Mantle Vise uses a grub screw, whereas Teaching Tech uses bumpers to stop the arc from over-rotating and disassembling itself
If you’ve seen any of the 3D builds, or even Hand Tool Rescue’s video, you can clearly see just how complex (and impressive) this would have been to make with lathes and/or files.
The advantages and disadvantages of fractal vises
Amazing as they are, fractal vises do have their limitations. And before we look at them, let’s remind ourselves, once more, of their wonders so we never forget just how amazing they are.
Grips where others slip
As the original patent directly states, the fractal vise is a “Device for obtaining intimate contact with, engaging, or clamping bodies of any shape.”. And it is…
Intimate contact with odd-shaped bodies | Source
Conventional benchtop vises are limited in what they can hold well. A fractal vise is not. A fractal vise applies uniform clamping force across all contact arcs, so it can hold non-uniform or asymmetrical objects that your usual vise (with flat jaws) cannot.
In fact, when irregular objects are held in a boring vise, forces concentrate on small areas and raise the risk of damage. So, not only can your fractal vise hold odd objects, but delicate ones too.
Like a fractal’s endpoint (there isn’t one)
*Removes rose-tinted glasses* But yes, as amazing as they are, they aren’t perfect. And before we really pick them apart, let’s start with their availability… or what’s left of it, because they’re very hard to find these days.
They were hard to make and heavy to transport, so that might well have been what nipped them in the bud before they could take over the world and become every machinist's favourite finger-squeezing toy.
Loosen before you tighten
Another downside could be the number of 'moving parts'. Compared to a conventional bench vise, a fractal vise has more moving parts. And to keep the arcs moving freely, so they clamp like they should, you may find yourself doing a little extra maintenance.
Slowly but not-so-surely
Like most vises, fractal vises are not particularly fast to use. Nor are they the most precise either. Uniform, yes. But precise? Nuh-uh. Compared to block vise jaws, there also isn’t a huge clamping force. So if you were hoping to cut your initials into your favourite pinecone, then… well.. you’re going to end up a little bit dusty.
The saving grace comes in the fact that we’re not all doing fast-paced, tight-toleranced production work. Nor wanting to personalise pinecones. So, for the hobbyists reading this, a fractal vise is more than sufficient for all the one-offs and run-of-the-mill benchtop work you find yourself doing. You’ll have no trouble engraving, filing or using it to hold your favourite screwdriver.
Where to buy a fractal vise
This is the question on everyone’s lips. And we really wish we had a great answer to it. But antique fractal vises, like The Mantle Vise, are still very difficult to come by - which is why so many people are opting to 3D print their own.
Adam Savage was looking for one and then found one on Alibaba and there are a number on there now. There are also potential future opportunities to buy from Fractal Vise and Steve Lindsay. But at the time of writing the article, no cost has been shared yet.
Fractal flare f-everywhere
So, yes, fractal vises have lied somewhat dormant for a number of years. But they’re now making a resurgence in popularity. And because of their limited availability, people are getting creative with their own versions and giving them their own creative flare.
Some are making them out of wood! | Source
In fact, the principles behind the fractal vise are being applied to new items. And who better to show their potential than the Mantle Vise restorer himself, Hand Tool Rescue.
Let me introduce you to his introduction of the… fractal chair.
The fractal chair | Source
A perfect and seemingly first-of-its-kind example of how you can combine old drawings with shiny new modern techniques.
For more on the fractal chair, you can read about it here or watch Hand Tool Rescue’s video here.
A big bruised thumbs-up
Fractal vises certainly get the slap of approval from us. Many of us agree: it would be a thumb-pinching privilege to hold onto such an important and amazing piece of engineering and machining.
With the MetMo Driver and Pocket Driver, we tried our best to revitalise old techniques and, like newer fractal vises, give them a 21st-century facelift. If you’re interested, you can see some of the details behind the Drivers’ production here:
- Driving deep into the details (of the MetMo Driver)
- A cutting-edge blog post (with lots of videos about how we make the handles)
