Post Vise: mounting and shop organization (picture intensive)

[Luke March]

Hi!
I actually have two related questions here.
I've been working on getting my shop together and recently acquired a post vise, which was missing some mounting pieces and the spring.

First of all, here's my shop.



And here's the post vise:


By the way, I couldn't get the picture "attachment" thing to work. It just said "upload failed due to failure writing temporary file."

[Luke March]

My first question is this. Where do you think is the most ideal location for mounting the vise? I have three possibilities in mind:

1. My original plan - mount it to the work bench.

My concern with this is that there might not be enough space around the vise if I put it there. Also there is the fact that I have seen very few post vises mounted to work benches in my searches on the subject - and when they are, it's usually at the corner with special reinforcement.

2. Make a stand, and mount it opposite the forge.

This seems to have the advantages that 1. most people seem to use stands, and I'm sure there must be a reason, and 2. if I don't like where it is, I could move it.
The big downside here is cost. Fabricating a nice, heavy-duty stand is not going to be too cheap, since I don't have any properly sized scrap, and the stumps it's propped up on would not work.

3. Mount it to the support beam.

The advantage here seems to be that there's plenty of room and it's right next to the forge.
The disadvantage seems to be mounting. I have no idea how to firmly mount this. Also I have never seen a vise mounted to a support taller than itself.

So I'm hoping that with your experience, you could let me know which one seems the most practical/easy to use to you.


My second related question is mounting. My vise is missing the mounting bracket and wedges. From what I do have, it seems like it was similar to
vises/parts_mx.jpg

I've looked in the gallery, but I'm wondering if anyone could put up better/more detailed pictures of mounting brackets specifically, so I could see how to forge one? Also I'm rather unsure of the bracket piece I do have:

I'm sure I could straiten it out, but the weld has me slightly worried.

Any help here would be great.

Thanks

[Wolf's Den Armoury]

Well, with me just starting blacksmithing a couple of months ago, I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert, but going on this pic,

The bracket the you *do* have would seem to be part of the mounting hardware, and also clamps down the top section of the spring.

If you can't find the missing portion of the mounting hardware, it might not be that difficult to fabricate. Even if you don't forge it, it could still be made cold with the right size steel and a cutting torch or bandsaw (go slow and use plenty of lube).

Might just be my inexperience talking. Anyone more experienced have any ideas?

David

[ThomasPowers]

I'd mount it to the support beam as immovable is *good* in a post vise.

We mounted the one I've loaned the College Fine Arts Metals program to a vertical I beam holding up the roof by bolting a piece of structural square tubing---4"? horizontally to the beam and using a square "U-bolt" to go around the spring and back shaft of the vise and into the square tubing---worked great for several years now.

Edited November 5, 2009 by ThomasPowers

[Bentiron1946]

I don't have a leaf spring on mine, I have a valve spring out of a 350 Chevy engine at the bottom. It works great. The rest of the mounting hardware you can make your self. The wedges for mine I cut out of plate and drive in from opposite sides to tighten it up. You can fab the whole thing up from scrap flat 1/4"-3/8" plate. Good chance to develop your ghetto rigging skills. Since this is the twenty first century it doesn't need to look like the nineteenth century make it look like you want it to but function like it should.

[crij]

The reason most people don't like stands with a vise is that the stand spins when you pull on your piece, the solution is to give the stand a base plate wide enough that you can stand on. The base plate only needs to go where your feet will be, so a plate that is 2-3 feet wide and sticks beyond the leg about 2-3 feet is enough, 3/16-1/4 thick.

The other option, which doesn't work too well with cement floors but works for me since I forge outside, is to nail a base plate to the bottom of the vise stump, which has 2 or 3 holes to drive spikes into the ground, or if your vise stand is metal, just give it some feet that have 3/4" holes in them. Drive the spikes in at an angle and you can pull hammer and do what ever you want and the vise is going nowhere and the spikes pull easily out of the ground usually. Worst case a few sideways strikes with your tooling hammer (as compared to your good smithing hammer) and they pull out.

Personally I would place it either on or next to the post to the left of the forge, you really don't want to have to walk with hot metal to get to a work station, just spin, step and you are there. If you mount it to the post, just make sure you leave enough room to get the clamp nut out of the back frame in case you need to do anything to it, easier then pulling the wedge and manhandle the vise while you work on it.

Have fun,

Rich C.

[Luke March]

Thanks a lot guys! I think I probably will end up mounting it to the left of the forge. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Luke

[Neal L]

You coulld make a simple bracket to mount the vise like the one on this new vise.

[Luke March]

Since I have a concrete floor, is it necessary to have a metal plate under the "foot" of the post vise?

[J W Bennett]

March,
I have post vises mounted to stands, mounted on heavy tables and a short one mounted to my swage block stand. I have a concrete floor in my shop and have 2"x2" steel blocks with a 1" hole drilled in them an then welded to the table/swage block stand leg for the foot of the vise to rest in. The one on the table has a very simple mounting plate made from 1/4" plate and I have beat the dickens out of that vise. I went out an took pictures I hope this helps. The ones on stands are based on the ones in Mark Aspery's first book if you want a how to on them.

John

Edited November 6, 2009 by JWBIRONWORKS

[J W Bennett]

My Favorite is the one fastened to the bench because it does not move. The table top is 1" thick and the table is very heavy. The ones on stands are "portable" and are good for demo's and such. The short one is a cut down vise I have wanted to make and mount for awhile now.
Don't forget no matter how you mount it you need to make at least one hammer loop right there with it so you always have a Ball peen handy so your less likely to forget and use a smithing hammer to hit struck tools and cold iron.

Once again hope this helps

John

Edited November 6, 2009 by JWBIRONWORKS

[Rick C]

I like mine on a stand so I can work 360 around my vice. If it is in my way I pick it up and move it. Base is 2 inch x 36 inch plate Post is a freight car axle. All free material

[JNewman]

Here is the best way I have found to make the vise end of the slotted bracket that mounts to the wall. Take a flat bar (at least 1/2" thick) hot cut almost all the way through about 3/4" from the end, bend this back on itself with the cut to the outside. Then fold the bar back again with the bump on the end of the bar to the inside forming a slot about the same length as the ones on your u shaped bracket that is on the vice. Square up the end of the bar by taking a short heat on the end of the bar and alternately hammering on the end of the fold and on top. Some of the time you should back up the short leg on the edge of the anvil and some of the time not, you are upsetting the bar to get square corners you do not want to move the bend. Once you have a nice square corner, forge weld the first fold to the bar making the slot complete. You are actually doing two welds at the same time here. This is probably a good first weld to do if you have not done any forge welds before because everything is held in place for you and heavier stock is easier to weld because it holds the heat. You could then cut the other end off to 6-8" split and spread it and then wrap it around your postputting heavy screws or lags into the post.

[Oak Hill Forge]

Rick C - why didn't you make your stand heavy duty ?:D

[Rick C]

Oak Hill Forge Cus it was just scrap that was in the corner of my shop. All fun aside it works great!

[Rick C]

Did not want to post

Edited November 23, 2009 by Rick C

[Glenn]

Use the go advanced > manage attachments > browse > and highlight the images on your hard drive, click open, repeat as needed for more photos. Then click the top upload button, and you must click submit to save both the text and the photos.

[Luke March]

Well, it's been mounted for quite a while now, but I finally got the chance to take some pictures.




I tried to mount it as far from the post as possible while still maintaining the support from it, so that I'd have plenty of room all around the top of the vise.

Luke

[ThomasPowers]

If it works for you then you done it right! If it doesn't then you didn't!

[divermike]

I was looking at your original pics, and the anvil looks suspiciously like one of the cast jobs from China, if I'm wrong, I apologize. If I'm right, be very very careful, I had a chunk fly off one of those and hurt me, if it had been my eye, it would have been much worse, I would much rather work on any old hunk of rr track than one of those. Best wishes!

[Luke March]

divermike - I have since gotten a real anvil.

[Larzz]

Just a quick thought. You might want to install the attachment bolts with the excess going down. Twisting a piece and catching the back of your hand on the exposed threads would ruin your whole day. I suspect though that you have already cut them off flush with the nuts.

[double_edge2]

I like mine on a stand so I can work 360 around my vice. If it is in my way I pick it up and move it. Base is 2 inch x 36 inch plate Post is a freight car axle. All free material

now thats a stand, mine is a bit lighter and similar with a 30mm disc as the base and a small 40mm-50mm thick, about 250mm dia. smackerometer plate at the top. the post on mine is boxed in c chan. best comprimise between dont want it to move, but can move it, on a workshop floor.

[Iron Falcon 72]

I like mine on a stand so I can work 360 around my vice. If it is in my way I pick it up and move it. Base is 2 inch x 36 inch plate Post is a freight car axle. All free material

I think you have more weight in that stand than I do in my three anvils and 4 post vises! Awesome! I'm going to go try to make friends at the railyard. Course I have no idea how to cut an axle that big!