New Vise

[john k]

Having been known to cruelly deform steel objects, thought I needed a heavier vise.  This is a Blacksmiths post vise, with six inch jaws.  There are a few 8 inchers out there, but six inches is considered hefty.  They are measured across the width of the face, not the max opening.   Got this for a song sort of, but when I went to toss it in the truck, found she tips the scales at 112 lbs.  My last one only weighed 76lbs.  Should hold my bench up, yeah? 

[leg17]

Nice.
These larger ones generally run north of $200

[johnsironsanctuary]

Great vice! I like the high jaws. Should clean up nice. Let's see photos after you mount it.

John

[Branson]

Yep, my 6 " is substantially heavier than my 4" post vise.  The prices seems to have been just right!  Good find!

[64longstep/Brian]

Nice...
I am now kicking my self in the back side for passing on one that had a couple of bad threads on the screw. They only wanted $42 for it...
Any one want to shoot me to put me out of my misery?

[scottg]

Sweet!
 Its even got the spring and staple to attach it to the bench, often missing.
 you suck Johnny!
 yours Scott

[john k]

Of course its complete, when one can pick and choose why not get a whole one, heh,heh.  BTW, that is a 16in. JohnDeere implement wheel it is leaning against to give you an idea of some size.   This was still oily when I found it, just unbolted from the bench somewhere.    Nice when they haven't been laying the dirt for 30 years. 

[BuckHenry]

Cool old vise. Anyone care to educate a poor ignorant schmuck about this type of vise? What is its advantage over a bench vise? I used to think it was just the fact that a bench was not needed, but I see that this one was intended to be mounted to a bench. Why did blacksmiths need this type of vise?

Thanks in advance for any information you can share.

[anglesmith]

All the old leg vises were wrought iron  plus the leg supported on the floor, will take some pretty heavy hammering. Most bench vise are cast iron and don't take to kindly to hammering.
Graeme.

[BuckHenry]

Thanks anglesmith. I did not know that. Now I want one too.

[Nolatoolguy]

Not bad, pretty nice vise.   

Are you gonna clean her up at all or just use as is?

[Stoney]

They were mostly mounted on a post instead of a bench ergo post vise.  That way you could work all the way around the vise.  Also you could stand on one side holding the hot iron while your apprentice (that poor smuck with the 30 lb sledge) stood on the other side.  You couldn't do that if it was mounted to a bench.  I have a friend that has a nice 6 inch for sale in Alabama. 

[john k]

I have defnite plans to use this.  At present I am cleaning out a former chicken house in my back yard to have a hot shop/blacksmith shop.  I live on a farm place, and have a 20x40 tin building for a shop, but get nervous when I light the torch in the same building with tires, oil cans, wood shavings and want to move all the hot items, welder, torch, grinders to their own building.   And since I am about 3 years away from retiring, want to make this heatable for year around tinkering.   The building is 13x22, wood framed, concrete floor and foundation, sort of the new building here on the place, built in the 1920s.   Need to run 220 to it, water, already have the roof recovered, rot removed from the framing, am dealing with rotten siding and odd windows now.   Have plans to line it with insulating sheeting, with plywood over that for the walls to hang stuff on.   What is good for a blacksmith shop, is the main part of the ceiling will be to the peak, 14 foot allowing for smoke and vapor to rise above the breathing level.     Am planning on a porch along the south wall,  and have toyed with the idea of adding a false front,  as in a 19th century shop.  My woodwork shop has been moved to the basement, possible because I work with hand tools, and don't have any cast iron wonders spewing super fine sawdust into the house.   My present shop will be my auto repair facility,  where I hope to finish a few projects, when I  move my big toolbox home from work.   Figure I got the room, so use it.  The photo is of the blacksmith shop, the day I moved the little giant hammer inside, about 700 lbs. without any assistance.  Just gotta work safe.

[Papaw]

Sure looks like you have your work planned out. I find it encouraging that folks will go to the effort to restore an old building rather than just tear it down and build new.

[john k]

Tear down you say?   Build new, but that costs money, and the taxes would go up.   Assessor was here this summer and assessed the valuation of it at $200.   No extra cash in the pipeline to replace it, barely enough to make the necessary repairs.  Do what I can with what I got.  Thanks for asking.