Kevin Olson Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Found this on cl. He posted it as a bench vise. 50 bucks brought it home. 5 1/4 jaws. Indian chief. Heres my 4 inch indian chief holding a 5 1/4 chief. The difference in mass is amazing. Just have to polish her it up and get er working. I am happy with my find. Wow 2 indian chiefs. Wheres my third. LoL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Post vises seem to come in "gracile" and "robustus" forms depending on what they were originally planned to be used for. (I've even seen a "gracile" 8" vise that I believe was for saw filing!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Yep some were designed for whitesmithing not blacksmithing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I've seen one that was for jewelry making I believe, tiny thing but a real post vise with leg all the way to the floor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 My smallest (3" jaw) mounts in a hardy hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 My smallest real leg vise also is about 3" jaw and Frank looked it over and said he estimated that it dated to pre 1800, cost me US$20 at Quad-State one year, the same year I picked up a 6.5" vise for $50---good year for vices for me. I still use the old one every now and then; I figure it would feel left out if it didn't get a chance to grab some metal every once in a while but I DON'T let students use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Looks to be in fine shape - is that white lettering detail original? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 9 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: I still use the old one every now and then; I figure it would feel left out if it didn't get a chance to grab some metal every once in a while but I DON'T let students use it. There was a superstition amongst old English carpenters (18th and 19th centuries). If a tool was left unused for a year, after that year the first time it was used it would seek blood. Tools like to be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Olson Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 I just high lighted the letters with caulk to show its a real Indian Chief. Gonna shine it up tomorrow and im sure it will draw some blood because this thing is heavy and im sure it'll pinch me. Im ok with that sacrifice to the blacksmith gods to bring a tool back to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Olson Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 Here she is after an electrolysis bath overnight and polished up. She look awesome! And yes, Judson she pinched me and drew some blood. The blacksmith gods are happy now:-) We see some smiths falling into good deals and wish that would happen to us. I guess I'm one of those now. Wow, it feels good. Also a pic of the part time petite shop cat. Its a nice 77 degrees in Minneapolis. Life is good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Olson Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 Here she is all mounted up to a table made of 1 inch T-1 steel. The 2 pieces of the table are 15 inches by 4 foot each. Together they weigh 400 pounds. The engine hoist came in handy. I squared the heads of half inch bolts and brass brushed them. They look awesome. I dont know what they used to write "T-1" on it but its like its etched right into it. I kleaned the steel up (couldn't get through rust scale) with a 24 grit disk on my angle grinder and it didn't even touch the writing. So i guess everone will know what steel this is forever. My brother got this stuff when he was a mechanic at Hoover construction in northern minnesota in the early 80s. The boss wanted to use these as wear plates on front end loader buckets. He told the guys to weld one edge onto the bottom of the bucket then just bend it to fit the contour of the bucket and weld it up. They reminded him it was t-1 and anint gonna bend. So my bro got them and added some angle to hold them togethet and we've been using then for weight in the back of pickups for winters ever since. The holes in the middle are torched in and thats where he had the hold down bolts go through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Nice vise, I have an 8" Indian Chief myself, excellent vise it seems to like having a sledge taken to it. Nice table, great place to hang the vise and well mounted on the corner so you can work long pieces without the stand interfering. Sweet setup, she's beautiful, good job sprucing her up. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Olson Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 Thanks Frosty. Many hours into this project. Everyone should try driilin 1 inch T-1. Im an expert at sharping drill bits now :-) Brought an old girl back to life. It feels good. You have an 8 inch wow I have vise envy :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 I've drilled T-1 you have to use the magic word to get it to cooperate. The magic word is . . . Cobalt. I had to go back and look, I did say 8" didn't I. <sigh> It's actually 6". Have I told you the story about the dents in my head and what they did to my memory? That brings an old question to mind. Why is it the fairer sex can't estimate length? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthibeau Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 because Frosty, size don't matter to them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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