Hi, All. There is a shop here that has a post vise that seems to be in good shape: Screw box intact, even jaws, spring, mounting bracket, etc... I'm not sure of the weight. It has a patent # on it but is basically illegible. It's about 4.5" in the jaws and the total height is about 38". The guy is asking $145 and I may be able to get him closer to $100. Any idea if this is good? The thing is that it seems to be intact and while many people find these items for free, or close to, I'm not usually one of those. Thanks.~Eric

seems to much for me i bought 6 for less then that if you ever get down to the jersey shore i'll sell you a vice alot cheaper than that

My advice, keep looking or attempt to talk him lower. Unless you need it right now or rarely see one in your area. Timing and availability are everything. I see them often at some of the flea markets here in Florida. I passed over a few ranging from $100-200. When I went later in the day, I picked one up for $55. Seems he did not want to keep hauling it around. He started higher but quickly dropped it when I told him I would use it and was not a collector.

I would also say pass. I bought a Columbian on Craigslist for $50 that the owner had cleaned up-looked new. It still had the spring, and original mounting bracket. Even though anvils can be scarce, post vises seem to be all over the place. Most shops had at least a vise in use. I would explore all avenues available to you such as Craigslist, asking around, telling friends, flea markets, automotive swap meets (more than cars get drug out of the barns), etc.

I always use a rule of thumb of $10 per each inch of jaw width but will consider going to $15-$20 if the vise is pristine. Using that formula, your vise would sell for $45 to $90 - and a 4.5" jaw width will not likely weigh more than 70-80 lbs. I have 6 post vises right now and all are 5" widths - the most expensive one cost me $75 but it was a Champion make, complete and in very good shape. I have paid as little as $10 for a vise that only lacked a spring.

It's kind of interesting. Your location makes a big difference. I've seen a few similar on Craig's List going for $165 and up. The one's at the last hammer in that I was at in early Oct were about $125 and up. The flea markets in the area down tend to have them but we'll see. I'm not in a rush. We decided to buy a pick up truck for $450 instead. Test driving it on Tuesday.

450 for a truck here you can't find a clunker for a under thousand

I'm up near Rochester, I have 2 that are bigger and will sell for half that!! Maybe come up and make a NYSDBA meeting, and go home happy!!

I'm up near Rochester, I have 2 that are bigger and will sell for half that!! Maybe come up and make a NYSDBA meeting, and go home happy!!

Mike, when and where are the meetings? Rochester is a bit far at about 5 hours but could be fun. A little less to the Jersey Shore. Atlantic City comes in at 4:15. Ironically almost all of the money I would save would be eaten up in travel costs. 550 miles rt to Rochester gets me in at about $30 in gas. (Toyota Prius saves the day) Not sure about tolls. Once you add a hotel I would be paying for the privilege. Not that it wouldn't be fun.

As far as the pick up goes, we kind of lucked into it. Went to a moving sale at one of our neighbor's about 1 mile away. They are only weekenders and used the truck to go to the dump and other local errands. They sold their house and no longer need the truck. He was going to give it away but someone suggested trying to sell it. He was only asking $500. Mechanically it is supposedly well maintained. It needs tires and there is some rust but he has all of the service records. It's a 1990 Ford Ranger with only 86,000
miles. They bought it used in '94 with about 60 k on it and have only put 26 K on it in 15 years. We'll get a closer look at it tomorrow.

I'm up near Rochester, I have 2 that are bigger and will sell for half that!! Maybe come up and make a NYSDBA meeting, and go home happy!!

BTW, we're about an hour due south of Albany where NY, MA and CT all come together in the Taconics/ Berkshires.

$50.00 range is more like it.

RICH

Excuse me, if not in a theme. Help to find information. Perhaps it is on the forum, but I dont know much English and I cant find anything.
How did forged post vice? The most difficult thing in a post vice - thread, the question is: how forged thread? Screw, I understand, I can do twisting, but the internal thread?..

Blacksmith Vises : Solid Box, Post or Leg Vise (Vice)

Old vises were forge brazed screws and screw boxes. There was a small square metal bar wrapped double and cut to form the screw, and the piece that would form the screw box. These were then fluxed and brazed to the shaft and the tube, then the threads were cleaned up and fitted to each other.

Newer vises have cut threads on both sides.

Thank you for your reply! This is really interesting, but now I have a few questions about brazing (brazing screws only))):
1. Filler material. Now we have special alloys for steel (Cu-Zn or Ag-alloys etc.), but in the past used a pure copper?
2. Flux. Use the same flux as for forge welding (borax, salt, sand...) or more sophisticated?
&3. Brazed screw is strong enough?

For brazing "spelter bronze" is what I have read I am unsure of what bronze alloy that is. I think it was wire since that would stay in place on the screw, but I could be wrong there. Pure copper does not melt readily, it oxidizes instead.

No idea on flux actually used, but borax was readily available 200 years ago.

One piece screws are stronger than brazed screws, but brazed screws and boxes are quite strong as there are many over 200 years old in service.

Search on repairing post vises as there have been a few people who have done so and wrote about what they did.

In the US there are a large number of these vises available used. There are always a few on Ebay, but the price tends to be rather high and the shipping costs even worse. Through estate sales, flea markets, auto shows, and blacksmith events they can be had for much less, often as little as $20-$50 US for a 4 inch vise in good serviceable condition.

A new post vise is $650 US plus shipping
Blacksmiths Depot

When did they stop brazing them?

All of the vises I own have machined threads on the screw, and box. I have never seen a brazed one before.

I think that they started making one piece screws and screw boxes in the 1800's, but I am unsure of the actual date. According to the linked article, Peter Wright had a patent on the solid screw box.

Phil

Brazing a new screwbox is described as a method of fixing a stripped out one in the late 19th century blacksmithing manuals---casting Babbitt around the *smoked* screw is another method they mention.

Thank you, Phil.
In Ukraine, you can buy the old post vices for $50...200 and I already have a vise to work.
Indeed, brazing screw for the vise in the 21 century - is absurd. But I am interested in the authenticity of old technologies.
Maybe I'll try to make such a screw, using bronze and borax.
Alexander.

What is "Babbitt around the *smoked*"?

Pk: You want to see oxidizing, try using brass without flux. Copper works fine, heck, we used to use pennies.

Babbit is a bearing material, like most triphammers have in their bearings. It is easy to cast in blacksmith shop settings. You smoke the original screw so that the molten babbit won't stick to it and *HOPEFULLY* you can unscrew it from the new "nut" you have made.

Thomas, by smoking do you mean to put a layer of soot on the screw to act as a lubricant?

try the other side of the hudson (Kingston) I went through some used shops last year and there were some for sale about $75.00 to big to take on the plane or ship home for me

Edited December 10, 200916 yr by Francis Cole

Yes. (Character count police now happy?)