Bench Vise Vs Blacksmith (leg) Vise?

[Curtis565]

What are the benefits of getting a Leg vise over a Bench vise? The Only difference I'm seeing is price so far, as local prices for a bench vise are around 60-100 dollars vs $300+ for Leg vise!

[teenylittlemetalguy]

Bench vises are perfectly fine for what they do. if you are only twisting or filing they are very useful.
the design of the leg vise allows you to hammer on items (within reason) while in the jaws and not damage the screw.
plus the leg helps transfer the hammering forces down to the ground.
That being said, for some people a cheap bench vise may be worthwile to abuse and throw away, as long as you know that is what you are doing. it is tool abuse and the screw will get damaged. Many people actually abuse leg vises as well, they are not bullet proof.

[pnavarro]

What are the benefits of getting a Leg vise over a Bench vise? The Only difference I'm seeing is price so far, as local prices for a bench vise are around 60-100 dollars vs $300+ for Leg vise!

From what I've studied on the forum, is that the heavy duty leg vises are made to withstand hard blows from your hammer. The everyday bench vise is not built for that, unless you get one of the heavy duty Wilton's brand vises. The leg vises also have a spring which looks like it would be helpful when trying to get hot metal out of the vise in a hurry

[bigfootnampa]

I have both and the bench vise is a very heavy duty one. My post vise is a smaller one... but the bench vise is very rarely used now that I have the post vise. I find the post vise a far better tool! $300 is a lot though as many here have bought theirs for $35 to $75 (including me). I did have to make a spring for mine and some wedges... it was easy though.

[John B]

Most bench vises here in the Uk are made of cast iron and will not stand abuse, used as intended, they are excellent tools, and they should be mounted at the correct height for the user, this is not necessarily the height for a leg/post vise.

It is not unknown that if the jaws on a bench vise are left closed overnight, and there is a severe temperature drop, then the jaw casting can crack, so always leave the jaws slightly ajar.

[fciron]

The leg is actually the least important feature of the leg vise. The important features are they are made of a wrought material, steel or iron (as John B. stated) and they have a floating screw that is not rigidly attached to the jaws. Cast iron is brittle and can break suddenly, wrought will bend rather than break and I have even straightened out a few leg vises. The screw and box on a leg vise pass loosely through holes in the legs; this means that they will not be strained or bent as the vise flexes in use and are much less likely to break or bind as a result of heavy hammering or twisting.

Obviously, the floating screw and long distance to the pivot means that leg vise don't mount on top of the bench. This necessitates the leg. If you can get a good deal on a legless leg vise (It happens1) simply make a bracket to secure the lower end to a post or the corner of a workbench and you're back in business.

[ThomasPowers]

This is going to sound a bit off; but I would suggest finding a leg vise that has had the leg removed down in the lower states and having it shipped to you up in Alaska. Gotta be cheaper than the price you mentioned even with shipping and putting a leg on is not a terrible task for a weldor. (legless one should ship much cheaper. If I had one like that I'd ship it to you at my cost; but I traded away my "parts" vise on a 400# anvil...

Last Quad-State I noticed that the bottom price for a post vise had risen from around 35 to 40 US$ a couple of years ago (I counted a dozen for that price the last day of Q-S) to around $75. Now these are for decent usable vises, though most of them did require making a mounting bracket and spring---but the screw/screwbox were in good condition. So I decided I'd better vise up before the prices started getting ridiculous and bought 2 a 6" one for $50 and a 3" one for $20---I think the 3 inch one would have made it in a USPS flat rate box if the leg had been truncated!)

I think a good leg vise is more important to a smith than a fancy London Pattern Anvil. You can do great smithing using a hunk of scrap steel as an anvil but there isn't really any good replacement for a post vise in the blacksmith shop.

Down in the lower US *good* bench vises are often more expensive than a post vise. (HF vises are not for *real* use---I've known about a dozen people to buy them and then break them in a month!)

[silkhopesmith]

What are the benefits of getting a Leg vise over a Bench vise? The Only difference I'm seeing is price so far, as local prices for a bench vise are around 60-100 dollars vs $300+ for Leg vise!

Leg vises can be a very good choice for a forging shop, though it's important to remember that not all leg vises are strong enough for heavy hammering. Leg vises were made for all trades, not just blacksmiths, and the smaller ones were used for filing, assembly, saw sharpening, etc etc. The design is especially well suited to filing as the spring opens the jaws instantly, making re-positioning the work very quick. The leg keeps the vise from wobbling better than if it was only fastened to the bench top (which can be somewhat flexible). My experience is that the leg, set in a block in the floor, makes the vise more solid than any other mounting method.
If you want a vise to work hot metal in, I would hold out for jaws larger than 4 1/2 inches wide. The smaller vises will get hot instantly, drawing the hardness from the jaws. Also, I have seem many smaller vises deformed, bent, and damaged screws due to overuse. Save the smaller vises for cold work, and find a heavy one for hot work. You'll have less frustration in the long run.

[Frank Turley]

I shipped a leg vise to Costa Rica. I heated the leg immediately below the pivot beam and bent a fairly tight U, so that the leg was parallel to its upper portion. I knew that the recipient, Johan Cubillos, had a forge. He was able to reheat and straighten the leg again.

Re cast iron, a fellow named Cracked Anvil once told me that cast iron was an amalgam of molasses, sawdust, and baby caca.

http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

[Rhrocker]

Re cast iron, a fellow named Cracked Anvil once told me that cast iron was an amalgam of molasses, sawdust, and baby caca.

:D

[K. Bryan Morgan]

My leg vise I found in a antique store in Wichita Ks. I was there helping my mom when she was sick. After, I came to Alaska. I paid $40 for the post vise, it has 4" jaws. Plenty big enough for me. I mailed it to myself USPS. That was about $35. So, for a total of about $75 I have a very good post vise here in North Pole. The only other one I saw was a ridiculously priced one for $600 on Craigs List. Blacksmithing tools in Alaska are like gold. Or at least people think they are. I've been lucky and found some very very good deals. But it hasn't been easy.

I would find one in the lower 48 then have it shipped up. Do not use UPS. It will cost more than the tool is worth to ship it up. There are some very good shipping companies locally that well give you a much better deal. Everything has to be flown up or come by barge out of Seattle. That makes it challenging getting things from down south.

[pkrankow]

Check ebay for vises that list "local pickup" in the listing and "email about shipping" in the description. Those tend to go cheap. Tell the seller to strap it to plywood and wrap in cardboard to keep weight down.

Good luck

Phil

[Old N Rusty]

i got a Reed machinist vise with 5" jaws opens to 12" plus used it and abused it severely till i got a post vise that is very large 5" jaws and heavy duty. trouble is it wont open as much as the Reed, them old big machinist vises are usefull as a holdfast for twisting duty and can take a lot of beating. anyone that breaks one was trying to.those littlebitty red things at harbor freight are only useful as holders for an Arkansas stone for sharpening my knife. My opinion only.

[teenylittlemetalguy]

Just noticed you were in Anchorage. Are you a member of the AK blacksmiths group? they are planning to bring a teacher up for a class this summer.
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/search?query=akblacksmith

[John McPherson]

Forget the cheap-o import vises for real work. They are fit only to hold a lawnmower blade while you sharpen it with your side grinder.

Go look at Wilton or Columbian vises in a catalog that sells industrial tools to professional metalworkers, and that $300 leg vise will seem dirt cheap. It would cost much more than that to make in the west today, just like everything else that blacksmiths use. Try pricing new anvils, or tongs. As long as there is a supply of used anything available relatively cheaply, it limits the market for new items.

[ThomasPowers]

There are some OLD "chipping vises" out there that are *HUGE* and were used to hold stuff while it was being chiseled to shape---old school! They will take abuse but will often weigh in over 100 pounds.

[tagkver]

I use both in my shop but 300 seems high to me

[macbruce]

Parker heavy chipping vise. 250#, 8'' jaws. Great tool, when I really want to put the crunch on, this is the baby I like......

It's mounted 32'' high on a 1'' steel plate, for moving around the shop, kinda


I brought the bar up between my legs once..........once............mb

[Cretedog]

8" Yost No. 99 / 208 About 285 lbs.

[Tim McCoy]

Cretedog
Great design for your stand/set up. Nice of you to show the innards of your stand!!
Tim

[macbruce]

Your libation is in place I see, is your lunch about ready to be served on it? Man, that baby is clean enough to eat off of ......:D

[Frank Turley]

Parker heavy chipping vise. 250#, 8'' jaws. Great tool, when I really want to put the crunch on, this is the baby I like......

It's mounted 32'' high on a 1'' steel plate, for moving around the shop, kinda


I brought the bar up between my legs once..........once............mb

I've got its twin.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I brought the bar up between my legs once..........once............mb