Making a Screwless Vise

I probably won't, but I have been thinking about it.
I am sure of some of you (particularly old school employed machinists) made on during your apprenticeship.  I have been playing with the idea making 4-6 of them specifically for my smaller machines to maximize their productivity.  I've realized that some of the molds I make on those machines (because they have fast spindles for small cutter) could be cut two piece at a time if I had two matching vises on their tables.
The thing is making things takes time.  Steel is slow.  I do have a bunch of 4140HT 1x6 (over) bar stock laying out back left over from a press die job.  I expected to make more mistakes than I did and I expected to get more repeat business.  Sadly my dies have held up better than either they or I expected.  Previously they had been getting unknown steel dies from China, and then war broke out in Ukraine forcing that company to change their manufacturing focus.
Anyway, I have (probably not ideal) steel available.  The big killer is time.  You might say, "Well just buy some."  Screwless vises are not as cheap as they used to be, and the size I would most want is an odd in between size, and I would still have to modify them to suit my needs.
I do have one or two ideas that would make a screwless vise better, not the least of which is gettng rid of that cludgey cast pin, with cross pin used in the cross slots to pull down that moving jaw.  Replacing it with a one piece part would eliminate one of the problems with the formerly cheap import vises.
I'm not sure I have a specific question.  I'm mostly thinking out loud with nobody in the shop to bounce it off of.
Well, I have to head outside and bring the tractor around to fork lift unload a delivery shortly.  The CostCo shelving is arriving in...
As I was typing the driver rang my shop intercom.
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Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff
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