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8 3/8" Iron City Vise

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Finished restoring this big vise, took a long time to find one this size. Jaws are 8 3/8" and it weighs in at about 210lbs.

IMG_0054.JPG

   Heck,  thats a monster. What did you use for a finish. Looks great. 

     N.N.F.                     Beautiful, Manchester, Michigan. USA 

  • Author

I finished with a wire wheel and coated in a beeswax/linseed/turp mixture, the screw is 1 3/4" and 3 tpi.

That's an absolutely horrible vise. No-one should be burdened with such a monstrosity.

I'll be happy to dispose of that for you.

  • 1 month later...

Gorgeous.  I'd love to have a fine vise like that.  I've been thinking about cutting the leg on my vise so I can lower it down closer to the ground like yours is.  

17 minutes ago, VaughnT said:

Gorgeous.  I'd love to have a fine vise like that.  I've been thinking about cutting the leg on my vise so I can lower it down closer to the ground like yours is.  

Before you run off and cut the leg off shorter.. Keep in mind some of the leg vises had a shorter leg.. This moves the joint away and is part of a mechanical advantage. (long arm vs short arm)..   

A lot of the taller vises were sunk into the ground if the person wanted it to be lower vs the leg/foot cutoff.. 

 

The thing is to measure from the center of the screw to the pivot bolt of the jaw.. This would make a standard.. I'd be curious myself.. I'd happily measure the 6 I have to make a comparison.. 

In my experience the heavier the vise the shorter it tends to be as they were intended for heavier work and so "lowered" to allow for better striking with heavier hammers.  just like you would mount a heavy anvil used for striking lower for "hammer room".

Full of envy here. I've been looking for a large vice and have only found one 8" Columbian but $1500.00 is more than I'm willing to spend. There are so many more tools, at this point, that would be more useful to me. Congrats, beautiful vise.

Scott

  • Author

For the record this vise stands at the same height as my other leg vises, around 38"or 40" I believe. The other 8" vises I have seen only had stubs for legs on them as well, the "leg" on this one is only about 3 1/2" long. 

Love that vise! Shes a beauty!!! Great job on the restore as well!! 

  • 3 weeks later...

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