An odd mounting

[Rainbows]

Walked into the first traction rally of the year and first stall I found had a post vice. The asking price was £40 which I took down to £25. Might have still been a bit much but the nearest vice on ebay is 55 miles away so the difference was the cost of petrol.

Now I am not a expert on vices but the thing I noticed was that there isn't the usual foot for mounting to to a post. Instead on the screw there is a nut with two flanges for bolting to the post. Below it you can see another mounting point with a U shape with threaded ends. I was just putting it here cause I was wondering if this is a particularly rare set up. 

 

 

Edit: Those pictures were the right way round till I put them on here! I hope everyone can tilt their heads suitably.

 

 

Edited May 25, 2015 by Rainbows

[ThomasPowers]

Looks odd to me.  One brand of such vises here in America used a ubolt type bracket that was fastened around the back shaft of the vise and through a "angle iron sort of fixture that got bolted to the table.  (I've made several of these as it's a fast and simple method)  I note that the screw is a replacement as is the spring so perhaps this is just another  crude repair to get it back in business.

I would suggest making a proper mounting bracket for it. It's already a marriage so there is not good reason to try to preserve the previous kludge.  As soon as I get a weekend off I need to make a mounting bracket to clamp around a telephone pole at my new house and hold a vise for my setup at my rental hovel.

[Rainbows]

The problem there is that the flanged bolt has to be held or bolted onto something to make the screw work. Don't know if that is original or if the original screw box ( might be horribly buchering terminology there) broke and the owner forged a new one but either way I don't really have the ability to make a new screw thread for it. A more traditional mounting bracket would get in the way of the post that has to reach the screw height.

[ThomasPowers]

I could build one that would work with little effort. I don't see the problem of making one that would work in that case.

[Charles R. Stevens]

You certainly can mount it the way it is (can you sorce the right treaded nut? Or a more traditinal braket, mounted a bit father down (maybe a traditinal spring as well) with a simple braket fom the. Bench to catch the tab. As it has a hole a shackle might be best as to alow some play. 

Edited May 25, 2015 by Charles R. Stevens

[ThomasPowers]

Neither the screw or the "nut" is original to the vise.  You could weld or braze the flange to the mount.

Build a mount that had a tab that was pierced to let the flange fit inside it to hold it, lots of ways to skin the cat.  

To me this looks rather like a scaffold leveling foot was used for the repair parts.  As blacksmithing involves figuring out ways to accomplish what you need to happen with a piece of steel this should just be considered a run of the mill issue.  

If the flange piece is loose, why not rotate it till it's vertical and then trap it in a slot in the mounting bracket?  

Or place it horizontal and make a square U piece that will hold the projections and then arc weld that to your mounting bracket. Have to make it bent open and then heat and bend it so it holds the projections  \__/  =>  |__|

[Jim Coke]

Greetings Rainbows,

I think you will find that the screw fits through a hole in the face of the work bench.  The flange than is bolted to the face with the additional bracket.  The engineering is so Thai the screw is under the top of the bench and not exposed.  Just my take..

Forge in and make beautiful things

Jim