GunsmithnMaker Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I found this 4 inch vise on Craig's List for New Hampshire. Am I right in that there should be a spring that is missing? It looks like a good deal otherwise. What should I know about this vise. I'm not going to buy it because it's out of my area, so if it suits your needs maybe you will see one in Vermont that you can alert me to in the future. Here's the listing: http://nh.craigslist.org/tls/2164118130.html I want to know what I'm looking at as far as what would need to be done to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric sprado Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Google "post vices" and you'll find a zillon pictures. That one looks a bit beat up for the price.If you're in Oregon soon I'll sell you a nice clean 4" post vice with spring for $50!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 The two big things to look at on these beasts is the general wear and the thread condition. You can unscrew the shaft far enough to open the jaws as wide as they`ll go and wipe any old grease off the threads.Look at the condition of the threads on the very start of the shaft and compare them to those going into the thread box(the thing the shaft threads into).If the threads are badly worn and starting to round then that effects the price as it means the vise is near the end of it`s useful life unless a repair is made. Now that you have the vise open see how much slop there is at the pivot point of the movable jaw,both back and forth and up and down.A ton of slop means it`s time to look elsewhere unless the price is very right.Repairs are in order to make it right. There are other things to look for too like do the jaws mate up evenly and has the leg been sawed off but those are things that can be fixed by a competent smith.Mounting brackets and jaw springs fall into this category too. A high dollar vise should be tight,have good threads,jaws that line up and have all the parts like brackets and springs in place and working and have a minimum of rust(no heavy pitting).The price declines as the condition these things fall off. Hope this has been of some help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 A four inch vise, though it does have some uses, is a bit small for general work. Look for a 5 inch or even 4 1/2" for all around work. If you come across a six inch or bigger, grab it, if you can at all afford it, as they are very uncommon around here, and well worth repairing. Many vices are to be found without springs, not a major issue. As Bob said above, the critical issue is the screw and screw box. These can be a major challenge to repair, depending upon your skills and equipment. As I said earlier though, grab any vice six inch or larger, regardless of defects, as they will be worth the effort. Here in the north east, $55 is a good price for a half decent vice. If you don't think so, price out a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 All I can do is agree with above comments. Screw and screw box. I just bought a 6" vise that was missing the spring and mounts. The jaws were also out of line but because of this i got a great deal..Within an hour I had the spring and mount forged..Luckily I have a coal forge big enough to heat sections of a big vise and a anvil big enough to forge it on. Two different heats in the right spot, a flatter and a few well place taps and the vise is perfect I cant agree more about the size..We used a 4" for years and you always found yourself wanting a bigger vise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunsmithnMaker Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Well, it didn't take long for that vise to find a new home. That seems to be the problem with anything like that in New England. I know of one at an indoor flea market that the seller is asking $139.00 for, but I'm not sure it's worth it. There's two problems here. The first is finding a decent vise, and the second is paying too much because vises are hard to find. I have bench vises, but I can see the advantages of leg and post vises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Repairing an old vise can be a efficient way to go; if you have the proper tools to do so! I don't find a sloppy pivot to be a problem as they are fairly easily forged back "into line" and we do have forges, anvils and hammers, right? I have even riveted in a plug for an out of vertical jaw alignment and re drilled the pivot point without much fuss and bother. Where I draw the line is a bad screw or bad screw repair---though it the vise is cheap enough and good enough I may get it and then start looking for one in rough shape with a decent screw---had one once that looked like it was run over by a bull dozer but the screw and screwbox were pristine. Making a mounting bracket and spring is trivial and you can go either "industrial" or "artistic" depending on your personal feelings. I have a number of large vises and they are a joy to use, except when they are not---like for small work where a fast small 4" vise excels and can be easily warmed up not to clamp quench small high carbon material! I would suggest having one of each for your forging area and then another large one somewhere else in the shop for cold projects. (in my "dirty shop extension" I plan to have one per utility pole supporting the roof, 4, plus one in a receiver concreted in the floor so I can have one with 360 deg access---and may put another receiver out in the yard so I can move one out there when I need to swing a 20' piece of stock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 You may have heard this befor but a good vise is the cornerstone of a shop.. Build a good stand, have the leg properly supported on the floor and perhaps most importantly have it at the right height About elbow height is right for a working vise. Too high or too low and kills your arms to file on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Sorry KYBOY, but height depends on what KIND of work you are doing on it. If it's proper filing height---but you don't use it for filing then you may be killing your arm doing what you do do on it! So there is *NO* "one height to rule them all; one height to find them; one height to bring them all and in the smithy bind them!" If you only have 1 vise set it up for what you do the most of and then start looking for more! My filing vise mounts on the crank table for my large drillpress so I can move it up and down to even change it for filing---drawfiling a blade is a different height than filing out the tang hole in a guard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Ive just always found my vise height to be the most important thing for me..Im 6'8" tall so the height is paramount when Im using it..My arms can go pretty far in either direction Elbow height seems to be the magical spot for me, I heard Peter Ross mention the elbow height thing once and when I changed mine (it was too high) and my arm fatigue went away when using the vise..99% of what I do can be comfortably done in that position..My height and arm reach may have something to do with that too..So it may not work that easy for everytone.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One thing to keep in mind.Too tall can be fixed with a simple platform to raise the person doing the work.Too short and you have to dig a hole. Hard to do in a concrete floored shop with lots of traffic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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