Bridging the Vice

I crossed the metal tool tray toward the heavy steel bench vice. The cast-iron sliding jaw was left slightly open, leaving a two-inch chasm across the oily steel track. Running the knobby front tire straight into the void would have jammed the fork against the lead screw. I cut speed, dropped both boots down onto the tray rim, and evaluated the depth. A discarded plastic rawlplug lay near an oily cotter pin. I wedged the ribbed plastic plug sideways into the screw thread, then bridged the gap with a flat steel feeler gauge from an open tin. Stepped on the throttle. Rubber gripped steel, cleared the chasm, and rolled clean onto the iron anvil top.