hawk18 Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Finally getting around to mounting my leg vise and have a question. Does the leg have to be tightly secured to a base, or does it just need to be held in the xy axis to keep it vertical? Hawk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 The end of the leg must be planted firmly on something solid. The stationary jaw and the entire leg, being a single piece, function as a post anvil. Virtually all of the engery from hammer blows is meant to be transferred straight down this leg and into some additional mass at ground level. Think of your post vise as an Anvil with a vise jaw. Robert Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 The end of the vise traditionally has an "acorn" on it slightly above the bottom nub. The idea was to drill a hole in the floor to take the nub and prevent x-y movement let the acorn spread the Z force on the floor. As I have a dirt floor in one of my shops I have a piece of plate metal with a hole in it that stands in for a solid floor---making it big enough that you can stand on it will keep it very stable---ever try lifting yourself by grabbing your belt?. My light duty travel vise has either a piece of plywood with a hole or for grassy areas a RR tie plate with a nut welded on for the nub to fit in and I have forged RR spikes as "tentstakes" for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawk18 Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 The mount sits on a base large enough to be standing on when torquing on a work piece in the vise jaws. Much like Thomas describes. That base is 1/4" steel and I have some black iron pipe I could cut and weld to the base to stabilize the acorn. Does that sound like it will work? I'll try to post a picture of it. Hawk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawk18 Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 Here's a couple of shots of the setup. What do you think? Will a ring around the acorn be enough? I planned this with the idea of it being portable, but, at 295 lbs, as it sits, I won't be moving it much. Hawk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 7 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: The end of the vise traditionally has an "acorn" on it slightly above the bottom nub.......... Thomas that is the terminology that I was at a loss to remember. Well said. Hawk 18, your add-on pipe socket should do the trick....... Robert Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawk18 Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 This was the final outcome. A 2" pipe nipple, slit, expanded and welded on. Then, hammered around the acorn to form a socket. Added the chain to keep the bigger pieces from falling off. Hawk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dick Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Hawk, Thanks for the pictures, it's always nice to see the object being talked about , so it's been a while since you posted them. I'm interested in how the design has worked in practice. I'm leaning toward making something similar. What is the radius of the base plate and do you find it large enough to stand on to stabilize the torque during heavy work? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 The chain is a nice touch, I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawk18 Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 The plate is around 28 to 30 inches across, 1/4" thick. In use, it works good, but, if I had it to do again, I would move the 3" pipe all the way to the rear. I think that would make it better. With the length of the handle and the overall weight, you can crank it down tight. However, I haven't had to bend anything long enough to test it. Hawk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dick Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Thanks Hawk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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