Making A Small Parts Vise To Construct The Antikythera Mechanism - Experimental Archaeology

3-Second Blueprint (English)

1. Ancient Greek craftsmen needed simple, locally repairable workholding with minimal moving parts to file tiny Antikythera bronze gears.
2. A stitching-pony style wooden jaw pair spaced by a shallow wedge clamps parts tightly when a cast bronze ring slides up its outer taper.
3. Interference fits, dowel pins, leather jaw pads, and heat-softened shellac or pine pitch secure delicate metalwork without modern screws.