Kaylee

I was poking around the notorious online auction website of North America and there is a 12" leg vise up for sale right now, in Rhode Island. It looks massive, that's for sure! I'd link the page but I'm not sure I'm comfortable, as it'd still be a link for a sale, and this isn't the tailgating section nor is it mine. I will say that he's listed it as: HUGE VINTAGE KAYES 12" JAW BLACKSMITH , WHITESMITH LEG VISE , NICE COND. ANVIL though I found it under a general search for leg vise. Current Price: US $1,975.00

The style of screw box, jaws, pivot, etc all look exactly like my Iron City post vise... which mine is a 35 and slightly smaller than your 4 1/8" one.

There are at a minimum two other ifi members in Bremerton, @Nik201. Myself, and a guy who's rather busy but I'll let him chime in himself if he gets around to seeing this. As I just got my anvil myself, I also recommend letting him make the purchase himself, but I do have an alternate solution. I do have my 200# Fisher (not for sale btw) that he'd be welcome to come see and work on etc. I'm still in the process of tooling up, but I swear once it starts, it goes pretty quick!

If the tool being magnetized is banged or tapped on while the field is on, it'll magnetize (or demagnetize) faster, stronger, and be more permanent. Of course this requires an assistant or an additional setup step for machinery to vibrate it.

I'm really glad you're fairly hesitant to attempt repairs. Also just because the guy you know is a good welder, that doesn't mean he knows how to handle welding on an anvil without trashing the rebound. I don't know how to do it properly, but I at least know that I don't know. With as much agreeing that repairs may be in order for this anvil from others, I'd still recommend waiting for a few more of the curmudgeons to chime in.

Yes it is, total should be ~89, again verified on a bathroom scale.

Welcome! Frosty or another member will be along shortly I'm sure to mention putting your location in your profile, so I'll not steal that from them. Aside from that, feel free to insert some writing too. We don't bite... well most of us don't, mostly the tools or glowing hot steel that'll bite you if you're not careful.

Name her Betsy? Really most of the people here will tell you that without pictures it's almost impossible to identify an anvil unless you can read the name of it yourself. Also, many people new to the craft ask about restoring an anvil, but I've only seen one where restoration was actually needed (and 3/4 of the steel facing had come off entirely and was missing). I'm glad you haven't asked that part yet, but there's little that needs to be done to these fine tools we call anvils, besides treat them well with hot iron/steel.

Charles, you've been nothing but helpful whenever you replied to my questions, and those times I've seen you respond to others. Thank you for this kindness and the welcome you have shown, it speaks volumes of your character. Prayers your way for you both.

Yeah, I was given a bunch of random pieces for free. Nice to know what I'm getting myself into, and I hadn't seen anything by searching the site. Thank you Steve and Thomas!

When I picked up my anvil, I was given a lot of scrap steel. Most of it I was told what it was from, and thus have been able to narrow down a range of what these pieces are actually made of. That said, I have 4 pieces I believe to be QT-100, also known as ASTM a514. I've found spec sheets for this, but as a514 comes in grades B, E, F, H, P, Q, and S, and I'm not sure which grade I have... I'm left to guesswork unless I can track down someone with a mass spectrometer. There may be one at my work, but I'm not sure I'd be able to get a chunk analyzed anyway... so why fret? My question though remains regarding the uses. Being that it's considered a high strength steel, with good impact-abrasion resistance, would it be a potential candidate for making tools, ranging from hardy tools to punches, hammers, or dies for texturing? If so, what are the things that you know of that I'd have to watch out for? I already know it's going to be very hard to move under the hammer. The spec sheet I found for a514: http://usa.arcelormittal.com/globalassets/arcelormittal-usa/what-we-do/steel/plate/plate-product-brochures/A514-AND-T-1.PDF The spec sheet I found for 4140: http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6769 I don't know enough about metallurgy to really understand these sheets without translation, so I come to those here who would be better equipped than I to answer.

I am indeed. I'll shoot you a message... probably would get very far off topic if we continue down this path! (It wouldn't be interactions with real people without tangents though)

To be clear, I wasn't looking for a handout.

Is that an offer in case I change my mind, Alan?

Oh my gosh. No I hadn't seen it, but it's so true to me! I love it, and I think I need a big poster of it printed out, and plastered on the garage door! (The one going to the garage from the house, not the one to outside) I will also be sending that around, like Frosty. Seriously, thank you so much for this! Also, how could I forget to mention I'm into video games fairly heavily? My only tattoo is a gaming related one!

I'm not sure if I want to drill into this vise for a zerk fitting, but that is indeed an elegant solution!

Ooh, that means the kerosene I have laying around in a 5 gallon jug with no other use would actually do good for this project. Sounds like it's time to get a bucket and soak some greasy parts, and I'll actually have a use for the stuff! If I crack the jug open and it's bad, I can also just siphon off some diesel from my furnace's tank (I love oil furnaces and their heat!) I think I'll go that route since it's something I already have instead of buying some oil. I have enough oil to lubricate it, but not enough for a soak. Again thank you Thomas and Alan! Your words of wisdom and ideas are very much appreciated!

I started out my foray in forging in my freshman year in high school. 2 years of metal shop brought me to love working metal, and gave me enough taste in a variety of things metalworking, from lathe and mill work to oxy/acetylene welding, brazing, stick and mig welding, plasma cutter (they're so cool to play with as a teenager), etc. I recently tracked down my shop teacher from back then and called him to tell him of the appreciation that he instilled in me for working metal. My favorite smell is burning steel, when you hit steel with the grinder and it's that really earthy smell, nothing like it... but paint or anything else on it makes it stink like crazy! Right out of high school, I joined the Navy, as a nuclear machinist mate. After 6 years, I went on to be trained as a radiological control technician, which is what I do still, but as a civilian. Total just over 8 years in, and I was out. I took 3 years off work to just enjoy life and not fret about work hours, at which point I got my '68 mustang. Now I work at a Navy shipyard, and I'm about ready to start doing something else, though I don't mind staying in the yard. Within the past year, I've started watching a lot of the blacksmithing YouTube videos, which has reignited my desire to swing a hammer again. My hobbies include working on my mustang, blacksmithing of course, gymnastics (leading into contortion), cooking, guns, puns, dad jokes, movies, anime, cosplay, and photography. I've dabbled a bit into woodworking, general home improvement, soap making, as well as other home-made cosmetics and cleansers (exfoliating scrubs for example). I like tinkering with things that are broken, and fixing them, even if it's easier to just replace it. I'll listen to most music, but my preference is more in Electronic Dance Music.

Awesome, thanks for the idea! Like motor oil or a light machine oil? I have a bit of light machine oil, but probably would have to get more to completely fill the screw box. Any cleaning up of the collar that you'd recommend beyond a wire brush or degreaser/rag?

It got like that because someone used a hack saw to cut the leg off short. The guy I got it from had it since '74 or '75, back in South Dakota. He said it looked exactly then like it does now, and it just sat inside, in his garage I think. After close inspection of the screw box, they definitely look machined (not forge brazed), and the letters I can make out are minimal on the top, just an "o", and "ittsbu" below it, probably Pittsburg. I'm guessing it's an Iron City vise based on that. The original weight 35 is fairly clear as well, but I don't see any other markings at this time. I'll definitely have to clean it up a bit more with a wire brush and "Elbow Grease" brand TLC. Being buried in concrete and cut off to be sold makes sense. The guy I got it from said it came from a ranch in South Dakota... he bought it because it looked a lot like the one his dad had way back at the farm, so he thought it was cool, but after it sitting around for 40 years doing nothing, he thought it was time to give it a new home... and he was extremely happy to be giving it a home where it'll be used and cared for, not just in someone's collection getting dusty and rusty. Said I was making him love it more and more as we talked. In a half hour talking with him, I got to learn a lot of history on this vise and his family, and he was very glad to have an interested ear.

Very true... though there are still some cheaper to be found, if you're patient. I got my 200# Fisher for $3.50/lb really recently... like within a month I believe.

Or lysdexia.

It's a 4" little guy... currently weighing in at 33 pounds, the spring, spacer/wedge, and the part of the leg that was cut off would be just about 2 pounds. The screw threads and screw box are pristine, and the jaws have the cross hatching in such good condition, I doubt that it got much use. The bottom of the leg was clearly cut off, I can see the hack saw marks easily. @Crazy Ivan I figured that forge welding the leg piece from real wrought iron would be period accurate, look the best, and be consistent strength with the rest of the vise. If I can't find any wrought iron, I will definitely let you know, @ThomasPowers, thank you. Oh, and I'll get pictures tomorrow in good light. Here are the pictures that were posted on Craigslist. Oh, and @littleblacksmith I figured those smaller pieces would be very easy to hammer out, and putting them to use on the vise will be very close to instant gratification. Thank you everyone for your input here. My gut told me that I could forge a new leg piece and the missing parts, it's very nice to have my suspicions confirmed. I'm guessing that forge welding the new piece would be best achieved with scarf welding? (It's cut off at a 90 degree angle, or very close to)

I found a leg vise on craigslist, and it looks to be in pretty good condition with some exceptions. Overall it looks like it could be cleaned up fairly well and have some good life, and the guy selling it says it operates smooth so I'm assuming the threads are in decent condition, but I'll have a close look at the screw box and threads when I go see it in person. It's missing the spacer and wedge for the mounting bracket, as well as the spring, and it looks like the leg was cut short (by about 13-14 inches). If I were to get this, would it be recommended to leave the leg alone, forge weld new steel, forge weld genuine wrought iron, grind a new spike at the end, or what else?

I'm one of the folks around here that has a Fisher. Mine's a 200 pound from 1941. There's a few around here, but I'd have to agree with EJRailRoadTrack, I haven't seen many. I see more Hay Budden and Peter Wright anvils, or at least see them get talked about more.