Wyatt Kindler Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 What a great scrapyard find for 40 bucks! The vise is in pretty good condition but is missing the mounting bracket and wedge. The jaws are 5.5 inches wide. The vise stands at 40 inches tall and weighs 105 pounds as is. The lead screw and screwbox are in remarkable conditon for a scrapyard find. The only markings I could find are "R444R" on the bottom of the screwbox. I believe it's a Peter Wright, but does anyone know more about it? Thanks for any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foundryman Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Good save on the vise, and at a good price too! It looks as though you have the cousin to my vise posted here: Your vise has the heavy chamfer on the legs referred to by Frank Turley on the thread regarding my (English) vise, it's interesting to see the American version posted, thanks for posting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Kindler Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 Thanks for the info, I'm in love with the vise. I cant wait to make a new bracket and get it mounted. Any clue about when these vises were made? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foundryman Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 I don't know but mine says "Patent Solid Box" so I would assume it would be possible to research when that patent was filed and then you would know your vise was manufactured at some point after that date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Kindler Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 I'll try to do some research. Mine might have said "patent solid box" but it was probably obliterated by rust and stray marks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammerfall Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 That is real purty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 And it even has the spring too!! A lot of these that turn up here have the spring missing. Very nice pick-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Kindler Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 It truly is a thing of beauty. For mounting the vise, should I try to use the original U bracket and try to make my own wedging system? Or should I go simpler with a u bolt and some heavy angle iron as the mounting bracket? Not sure what to do yet because I believe the wegding system might be difficult to duplicate. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Here are photos of my three Peter Wright vises which I have garnered over the years. The first 3 pics show my go-to beautiful vise which I got from evilbay (haha) a few years ago. Its jaws measured 6 7/8" and it had no spring or mounting devices of any kind, but I saw its possibilities and sent for it; I have a little over $200.00 in it. The original PW's had a "manta ray" appearing bracket. I made mine using the old fashioned split-and-splay method which was very common on the old shop made vises. I like to mount my vises each with a tool tray. The fourth picture shows my 5 1/2" vise, and the last picture shows my 5 3/4" vise which is usually kept at an outdoor work station. For the big vise, besides the split bracket, I made the spring, the U shackle with its slots, the gib key, and the wedge. Peter Wright's patent date is 1863 when they went to the solid box. Prior to that, the boxes were composed of forge brazed rings of iron which were later, lathe turned. The female threads consisted of a coil brazed inside of the forge welded portion of the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Kindler Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 That vise in the top 3 photos is awesome, looks like all original parts, great job. Pretty much finished with the mounting bracket, all I have to do is drill some holes for the bolts. I went for the simplest design I could think of. Its a simple u-bolt I bent and threaded out of 5/8 round bar, and a big piece of angle iron (that i might shape with a grinder so it's a bit more pleasing to the eye). Seems like It will be pretty solid. I got the design from my 4" Colombian leg vise in the bottom photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foundryman Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 That'll do the job nicely! I'd just mount it up and put the vise to use and leave the bracket as it is for now. If it bothers you as it is, manufacturing more authentic one would make a fun future project! Great vises Frank, thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerald Cooper Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 i have just found an old peter wright post leg vise "solid Box"today in s old farm clean up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stash Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Show us pix, or it never happened! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Welcome aboard Gerald, have you read this yet? READ THIS FIRST Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love metal Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Hi guys, I am new to this forum as I am only just getting into collecting blacksmith leg vices. As I am from Australia, I am having a lot of difficulty finding much information about how to identify vices. I have found this site to be one of the best to gather information. One of the vices I have seems to have a coat of arms on it, you can just make out a horse head on the right and a crown in the middle and some sort of face on the left (Lion?) It also has what looks like patent stamped on it and some small letters underneath but very faint and hard to read. Would anyone on here have any ideas about the maker of this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 What is the configuration of the vise---german pattern, english, later american, etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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