LiquidMetal

At this point and time. I’m just doing light stuff, but ya, I see your point there. I’m going to make a few hinges and parts for my new fence and gates. Also plan on making some knives. Since I am a rookie at it all, I appreciate all the advice. I’m sure I will change everything once I learn more. I wish I had the space to make a dedicated shop.

Yes thanks, I thought about that, but the 4x4 is 3/8" wall and the plate is 3/4" on the bottom. ( read about that trick on here ) Its hard to even drag across the floor as it id though. I also already have a metal 1.5" hitch style mount bolted to the front middle of the floor of the garage, I use it to plug my winch into when I need to pull things up into my garage from the alley. I can weld a tube on to the base to plug into that if it gets moving too much, or when I get organized, ( like that will ever happen ) bolt it down.

Wow that would be nice. I’m not sure how fancy I should make a vise. I had though about apple cider vinegar first, then steel wool the high spots, then oil. But seems like tons of work for a vise. Once I’m done I will try and post a photo.

Thanks Thomas, I do like the patina look the best myself. I think I will paint the stand flat black and oil up the vise. Should look great and keep any rust at bay. I already wipe my axe handles down so its easy to do the vise as well.

Thanks for the reply Neil, I changed my location to be even more specific. Before I milled flat this track, I read up lots on google about it. Lots of people like yourself mentioned it was less than ideal, some liked it. I used my flat surface to clamp my vise top plate to when I drilled out the mounting holes, worked great, also my two young boys had fun taking turns in the forge and using that surface to work on. So when I get my fathers anvil I can make another stand for it. May I ask what finish you use on your vise?

Thanks for the reply. I will read all of that for sure. I do have a small anvil at my dads place. He is older and was going to be moving to the city this summer but with Covid I have been staying away. So I figured the RR track flat would be useful in that manner. The one thing I like with blo is no need to remove old paint down the road. Do you think it would be fine to warm up the vise slightly with a torch then apply the blo/wax?

Hi, I'm new here and I have a question. I am slowly getting into hobby blacksmithing and plan on making some knives etc. I have picked up a coal forge and coal, made a wood stand for my homemade railroad track anvil. Had a buddy machine it flat on top. I just finally found a nice leg vise. Took it home and luckily it turns out to be a Peter Wright 5". I found the stamping on it and the crest as well is very clear to read. Its in very good condition, appears factory as far as I can tell. This is the Canadian/ Australian version. ( I am in Canada ) I spent a few days making an iron stand for it, almost have it done, just need to get the coal forge going and make some hammer holder rings, then paint the stand. I wire wheeled the black spray paint off of it the best I could, and am wondering what color these came in when new? Raw steel? The only flaw my vise has, is that I can't unscrew the vise all the way to completely take it apart. It gets too tight for my liking and I don't want to strip anything as it works so well, jaws line up great etc. I was just going to give it a fresh black coat but wondered about using BLO maybe, I also have a BLO/beeswax mix I could use. Sorry for the long post, but if someone could steer me in the right direction I would appreciate it. Thanks.