Barry Myers

I like these little vises, but not the cast ones. I have about a dozen forged vises. I have noted that many of them have center punch marks on one side of the jaws, usually 3 punch marks. Any idea about why? Are they maker marks? Maker's shop marks?

Did you guys see that History Channel show on making the Viking Sword? That showed that they got Wootz steel from India.

Your idea of making the blocks with the divot so the starting point is centered, but you do have to make the cherry first - to the correct ball size that fits the rifle. It is made from hardenable steel, annealed. then the cherry has to be filed (as shown in the picture above) to be able to cut the soft iron or aluminum mold blocks. It is not an easy task, and if your cherry is off, your ball will wobble. Good luck.

I have finally had the time and a good reason to check it out. Thanks Russ for posting this for us. I am going to take the vise over to Mike tomorrow. For you who are making tools, don't forget to put your mark on them. Barry