got very lucky with a craigslist ad about a half hour from home. Cast iron forge with a newer Centaur fire pot, Tiger (never seen this brand before) forge blower on a stand, and a smaller cast Columbian vise.

Grand total $50. Couldn't be happier. Some major rearranging of the patio smithy is in order.

Great find. TPAAAT really works. (grin)

Looks like a real score. What makes you think the vise is cast?

SWEET deal!

Nice score! Those parting lines on the vise are more likely from a closed die forging process instead of casting. That forge should carry you a very long time.

Phil

GREAT find. I agree with Phil on the vice. I don't think that it's cast, and that equipment should last you a life time and then some. :)

Nice score- You are lucky that you found it before me, I search daily, it must have been the day I went fishing. That is a smoking hot deal!

Nice score- You are lucky that you found it before me, I search daily, it must have been the day I went fishing. That is a smoking hot deal!

I hope the fishing was good!

Phil

Columbian did make some ductile iron vises that were cast.

I hope the fishing was good Clinton, I saw the ad on CL on a thursday, and was a little surprised the stuff was still there on Saturday. Lousy pics might have had something to do with it.

the parting lines and the upraised columbian mark on the vise made me think it was cast. I don't recall ever seeing a marked post vise, but my experience bank is small on that front. Someone did a decent job replacing the bracket and spring.

Everything was painted with a thick coat of motor oil, spent a couple of hours cleaning it all off. Forge table is HEAVY, have to figure the best location for it and move it once! I've been burning charcoal in a brake drum forge, but I may have to switch to coal now, but I'll probably start a charcoal test fire just to see how a real firepot with the clinker breaker works.

I'd say it was a drop forging, but you might be right too.

I dig the pipe jaws on pivots. Those can be handy some days.

Phil

About 2 weeks ago I bought a Columbian post vise in Albuquerque NM for US$30, on the backside of the stationary jaw it had Columbian Co Cleve in fine RAISED letters and 35 (weight) on the front of the moving jaw.

I'm callin the sheriff because you robbed the guy! Great find!! Enjoy.

I had a Tiger blower exactly like yours on my portable rig - I believe they were made by Champion for Sears Roebuck back when Sears sold that sort of thng.

I put ATF in the gear box and used it for many years...I would estimate they put out 250-300 cfm.

Put a liner in that cast iron forge before you fire it up it WILL crack! Use sand and portland cement 3 parts sand to 1 part cement mix moist and make a 2" layer over it leaving a bowl shaped fire pot. Frank Turley reccomended that mix way back in 1994, I have had it in my rivet forge since it don't burn up or crack. You scored a once in a lifetime find!

I have a blower like the one pictured, and it has the word 'TIGER" on the stand.. These blowers look very much like the old Cannedy-Otto blowers, but are not so marked on the fan case. A mystery. Another company might be doing knockoffs, or Cannedy-Otto wasn't casting with their name at that particular time of their history.

An old store in Santa Fe, Fritz Surplus, got a number of that style of vise in stock in the 1970's. We think that they were the last "model' leg vise made by Columbian, probably WW II vintage, and made possibly for ship tenders and military use. I bought one at a good price. They are drop forged, and not wonderfully classic looking, but nevertheless, a good workable vise. All of Fritz's vises had the leaf spring folded back on itself, as shown. This is a mistake, the Columbian designers at that time not realizing that the slightly curved leaf spring pushing from the bottom has less throw than one bent in half.

Yes the fishing was good, we took a party boat out of Moss Landing. 2 1/2 hrs in rough sea down to Point Sur. 22 fisherman with limits or near limit (10 fish) I saw at least 2 Ling Cod the others were a variety of rock fish. I had 17 pounds of fillets, some of the guys had up to 25 maybe 30 lbs (bigger fish)

The one I got had a leg hold trap spring installed as the spring. I put in a standard spring as I gussied it up for resale.