TomN Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I recently aquired a big beast of a leg vice from ebay and I need to design a stand for it, so I can get a local company to knock it up for me. Does anyone have any experience, or advice for this? The stand itself weighs around 30-35kg (at a guess from carrying it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRobb Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I am sure someone here can help. Will the vise be permanently mounted or does it need to be mobile? Also, some pictures might help, if you can post those. You can search this site. There have been many posts on this subject. Good luck. please show us what you end up with. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 You want to impregnate your vise? I recently aquired a big beast of a leg vice from ebay and I need to design a stand for it, so I can get a local company to knock it up for me. Does anyone have any experience, or advice for this? The stand itself weighs around 30-35kg (at a guess from carrying it). You want them to impregnate your vise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Seelye Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 You want to impregnate your vise? You want them to impregnate your vise? I thought the same thing. It is amazing what local slang does on this site. I have noticed many different terms from here, across the pond and down under. Back to the real question, If we are talking around a 150mm vice, I put a hole in the dirt and put a pipe in, concreted it in place, and put a flat plate on top to bolt to and a clip for the peg at the bottom of the pipe at concrete level to set in. That way i had the least amount of obstruction all the way around. If you want it portable, make sure you have a lot of weight and diameter at the base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I need a mobile vise stand, and was looking at the striking vise design Brian Brazeal and LDW put together. http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/16074-vice-and-stand/ I want a full height stand vise, and I usually work on a gravel driveway. I have a small stack of short (under 2 ft) 3 x 1 1/2 x 1/4 inch channel, so my plan is currently to build a bottom sorta like the blueprint from the channel with the opening down, but take it to a vertical pipe or box section of some type (don't have it yet) The vise will bear on where the channel meet, and the leg will be set back off center. I have to take my Dad's welder back in a few weeks so I am on a time limit...unless my wife lets me buy my own sooner than I am saving for. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Seelye Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Phil & Tom, would it work for portability, to include some wheels on the side? That way, it could be tipped on to the wheels and moved easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knots Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 To achieve the full potential of it's holding power the vice must be bolted to a bench or post that will not move under the largest force that you will apply to it. Sounds like you are planning to use a bench. If the bench is not heavy enough to maintain stability when working there are two choices. Bolt it down or ballast the bench to keep it from moving. My shop is much to small for all of the stuff that I have so I built my bench with a grillage low in the base where I stack concrete pavers and buckets of steel scrap to act as ballast. That allows me to move the bench without having to deal with bolt studs in the floor.. Your bench can be bolted to the floor or to a wall to provide stability. If portability is needed ballast is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Phil & Tom, would it work for portability, to include some wheels on the side? That way, it could be tipped on to the wheels and moved easier. I have 2 large pneumatic caster tires I plan to find a means to attach. They are on the near useless wooden workbench my post vise is currently attached to. Knots, I thought of that, I will have spike holes in the ends of the legs to make sure I can resist rotation. The feet will also be big enough to sandbag. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 i just made a stand for my new step vice and i did what i tend to do with mobile stuff is that i made it stick out enough in the front that i can stand on the base while using the vice so that this way i am countering my own twisting force this is nice for moving things around on a slab floor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 If you have a sturdy baseplate as part of the legvise stand that you can stand on you generally won't be able to shift the vise in use. For my larger vise I have it fastened to a utility pole (large creosoted wooden pole) Buried 5' into the earth and cemented that forms one of the uprights for my shop roof. Very sturdy; but working on it does drive the sheet steel shop walls and roof so a bit loud at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 A good solid and mobile base can be made by cutting a large circle of plate and welding a post to mount the vise to to the plate. If you have plate thick enough you can just torch or drill a hole for the vise's leg to socket into. Otherwise a little creative thinking will be needed to fit it. To move it all you need to do is tip it up on edge and roll it. To use it stand on the base plate, a thin smear of silicone calking on the bottom will keep it from sliding at all. I do NOT mean glue it to the floor! My folding portable vise stand isn't solid enough but is okay for now so I won't post the pics again. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Frosty - That sounds like the kind of thing! I was hoping to keep mine soild, but still moveable, so I could take it to shows in the future (got my first one in a few weekends time - only helping mind you). At the moment I need to store my kit in a locked container, as I don't live where my workshop is. Here is a picture of the vice: Needs a bit of a cleanup, but is sound and tight! Knock it up = make it, in British talk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 These are a couple we made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Best portable rig I ever made was by fastening a vise to a 55 gal drum then filling the drum with water (which adds over 450 lbs). Never scooted around and was easy to tote once the water was drained. I used this for my traveling forge rig for a number of years and it took all sorts of abuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Seems I am going in a different direction, a little. I like my Dad's Hobart 135, I am running .030 flux core wire, and for a 110V welder this thing is a treat! I cut for 18 inch spread from the center, cut the inside at 30 degrees (or 60?) so the channel overlap each other for what is hopefully some strength. I should have cleaned better, grinding the outside welds show some porosity, then the rain came. I will grind out the welds some then put another bead over top from the outside. I had to stop because of rain. I am thinking of a single upright by welding the channel together to form a box. I need the welding practice anyways. I cut up the adjustable mount for an old style satellite dish to get all the channel, and if I use most of it I can make a tall enough box post. It is 3 x 1 1/2 channel. The very center is not welded because I am going to put the leg there, and need to cut away some material. I have a rather sizable washer to weld on when I get to that point. Phil Pics won't attach... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNJC Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Hello Tom, That's a big vice to take to a show, I'll email you a pic'of my small 'leg vice style' vice that attaches like a heavy duty G-clamp. For home / forge use a stand attached to the ground or a strong post is ideal. That said, if you can really load the stand with heavy weights - to minimise movement - you could be on to a good thing. ('Knock it up' also means impregnate to me and I'm only a county away from you, 'knock it together' is what we say in Hertfordshire when we mean fabricate / construct.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 OK, 400x300 images posted. yea. The post laid out on my forge table. It is nearly 4 ft long like this, and I only need about 32 inches. I need to grind the lip off the bottom brake drum so the assembly hangs from the lip on the top drum. The top of the base after grinding. There is some porosity, probably because I did not grind back far enough to clean the metal. I will run another bead to cap when I get a chance...I started getting rained on. The underside, not planning to grind. The base sits flat and stable on concrete, so I think I am in good shape so far. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Pieces! Ran out of daylight. I have some 1 inch pipe from a garage door spring. I am considering using a piece of that in the front so I can stand on it, and I can hook it easily with a hand truck instead of trying to figure out how to attach wheels. If the post seems to flex some on the stand I can use some of the same pipe to put angle braces on. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I almost have it done. The vise stands nice and stable, and the stand is very stable on the gravel. I need to weld on a pipe across the front to hook the hand truck onto. I am quite amazed by how much the weld warped the channel the soap and holder is under the end. I made up a stop-gap of a leg leveler. My 1/2 inch drill bit is wiped out, so I need to get to the store and pick up another so I can mount the vise. The plate is too big for my drill press to reach so I didn't look for a bit yesterday. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 looks good Phil man i miss having photos that were a smidgen bigger than the thumbnails that can be uploaded now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 The steel fabricators are making me up an anvil stand at the moment, and will make me up a leg vice stand when that is done. Just got to take it into them and tell them what I want! Such a handy thing to have this steel place, no more than 3 minutes drive from my workshop. They have 2 lovely anvils in there and a load of great hammers as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Wow, such a treat having a fab shop readily available and helpful. I think I am finished, although I did not re-address the leveler. The finished stand is slightly more bouncy in a side/side manner than I wanted, but it is 100x more portable and much more stable than on my old wooden workbench. The bar is to stand on or hook with a hand truck. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Good idea on the bar for hooking on to move the stand. Yes I am lucky to have such a useful place near by. The guy who's garden I have my workshop in, used to go to school with the steel fabricators owner. He used to be a blacksmith! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 And here I was thinking "good idea to have a bar to stand on when using the vise" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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