I was helping my aunt around her place this Saturday. She was my favorite uncles wife. He was my dad's brother. They both passed away a few years ago. Grandpa was a farmer, my uncle took over the operation to include the "Home place". She was telling me that she had no idea what to do with everything he left behind and no one in the family wanted any of it.

Long story short, She went with me to look through my Grandpa's shop. He had 2 4" Colombian post vises and a 60 lb Peter Wright anvil. I asked to buy them but she didn't want anything for it. She said that I'm the first to show any interest in any of it. Told me to come back and look through any of it. 

So now I have 3 anvils  at 250 lbs, 100 lbs, and 60 lbs. I only took one of the vises. since the garage is getting full.

This being my first vise( and a family heirloom at that), any suggestions on a semi mobile mount for Grandpa's vise?

15 hours ago, thumper_abn said:

only took one of the vises. since the garage is getting full.

This being my first vise( and a family heirloom at that), any suggestions on a semi mobile mount for Grandpa's vise

It Can pay to be nice. What will happen with the other vise? Any chance of finding another aspiring blacksmith in the area to give it to or sell it at a fair price? 

As far as a mobile mount there are some good ones on here if you search for it you can probably find some images. I havnt made a mobile post vise stand yet but if I was to, I would go with a vertical pipe around 4" dia. Or so welded at the floor to steel plate pad large enough to stand on while working so it won't move. The top would have a smaller steel plate welded on to mount the vise bracket to.  The bottom plate would have wheels at the back side sort of like a dolly so I could tilt it to roll it out of the way when not in use. 

Hope that made sense. 

Is your Aunt open to adopting an additional nephew, I've buried all my Aunts & Uncles.  I can be nice to old folks as I is one!

2 hours ago, notownkid said:

Is your Aunt open to adopting an additional nephew, I've buried all my Aunts & Uncles.  I can be nice to old folks as I is one!

About adopting a new nephew, tell her Frosty doesn't want to bury her, except in hugs!

Frosty The Lucky.

Me Too

And some of us have a front porch that looks above the cotton fields and pecan orchards and is nice and warm and dry---just right for a rocking chair and a cold glass of tea...

some of us have front porches that one can see fall foliage, a creek across the lawn to go catch you supper of trout out of and a good supply of Fresh made Maple Syrup.

Uh huh and you can watch fall colors from our front or back decks, see the tallest mountain on this continent, enjoy world class trout, salmon fishing, stream, river or lake within minutes of here. Watch cow and calf moose browse the yard while bald eagles soar overhead and Goshawks hunt the trees for those cute little song birdies, bunnies and unwary cats. We have fresh birch syrup down the road from us too tough I will admit I'll have to buy her maple.

I'll be pleased dumb struck to cook for her, I'll even get a good sourdough starter working.

I make one HECK of a nephew you know.

Frosty The Lucky.

Make her something nice, then tell her all these guys will be around shortly, to help out.  Heck you might even score a new uncle out of these guys, assuming their wives don't find out.

Make her something nice, russian roses are good, do one or a bunch and forge weld the stems together and leave three stems long for it to stand on. And pick up the other vise before it gets scraped.

You can never have too many vises. 

As to a mount, there are some good pictures on other threads related to vises, and mounts. I can't access the pic of mine-lost the SD card, but essentially it is a price of 2" thick plate that is 24" in diameter with an 8" diameter pipe welded to it that the vise attaches to. The mount weighs 188# and can have more weight added by filling the pipe. To move, just tilt and roll. That works good on hard surfaces, not so good on the gravel I have, so I just drug it with my Saturn wagon to get it close, then shuffled of into position.

Mobile works good for hammering ,and light bending, but can cause issues when bending large, or twisting due to the whole vise moving.

So I went back for a visit. She gave me a torch and cart for it to include 3/4 full tanks, a dewalt 18v drill with 2 batteries and charger, and a hand full of punches, old files and a 1.5# crosspien that just needs a new handle.

She's already asked me to come back as she didn't have any sons and doesn't want her daughters to have to deal with it.

The old shop has been there for nearly 100 yrs. It has farming tools going back about that far. At some point I'll get his stick welder, drill press and the other vise along with misc hand tools..

She really is a sweetheart. I tried to sneak $100 on her. She found it after I got home and read me the riot act and said she's giving it back since I'm family and I deserve my Grandpa's tools.

I feel extremely lucky

 

Wonderful story. 

Great Story.  Any chance of Pictures of the shop, love pic's of old farm shops and how they were set up.  Good Hunting, don't upset her with $ offers most likely it is worth more to her to  have it stay in the family would be to  me.

So cool! The feeling one gets from using ancestors tools is indescribable! Like others have said, snap up that other vise

So stamp his initials into his tools so the family will know; might stamp your own under his...

Make sure and give her a hug and kiss.  Then give her another set from us.  Great lady!