mpc Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 The title says it all. I need to clamp hot things and then bang on them with a hammer. I can’t seem to get my hands on a leg/post vise for a reasonable price. What would y’all recommend as 2nd best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 1/4 inch material would require a different set up from 1-1/4 or larger material. What size material do you want to clamp? Do you want to purchase the vise or make one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpc Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 21 minutes ago, Glenn said: Do you want to purchase the vise or make one? I’d need to clamp larger stuff. I have a little bench vise that I can use on thin/small stuff. I have not considered making something but that interests me. I’ve never seen DYI options If I was going to buy something, I don’t know what to look for. I’ve looked at old Wilton vises and stuff but they can be as much or more than a leg vise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 Any bench vise heavy enough to pound on will cost as much, so why not just bite the bullet and get a leg vise? Where have you been looking for one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 A leg or post vise is designed to take a beating. (pun intended) As Irondragon says, by the time you get a bench vise heavy enough to take a beating you could just buy a leg or post vise. TPAAAT works for post and leg vises. Give it some time and have the money handy when one shows up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 What's your budget? Post vice are plentiful and go for relatively cheap. Sure a new 6" PV goes for $480 and the older ones are not far behind, but a quick check on your ebay ( not the best place to buy mind you) tells me you have post vice for $100 and $200, Craigslist has a long list of post (leg) vices. On our Gumtree I see them going for $50 ... keep on looking, not worth doing it yourself unless you need a really large one like 8" or 10" wide Jaws, then yes, you are better off making one then forking out a few thousands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpc Posted March 1, 2020 Author Share Posted March 1, 2020 4 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: Where have you been looking for one? I’m in S. Idaho and have family in Utah (SLC). I’m on Craigslist, Facebook, and local classified ads. I hit auctions, flea markets, estate sales, you name it. In the last 2 years I’ve only seen 3 or 4 for sale anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 With family in Utah, I would check with these folks and if one shows up, impose on them to pick it up for you. I know they have clubs in and around Salt Lake & north of there. https://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/131-great-basin-blacksmith-guild-bfc-utah/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 What are your delivery fees in the US? Something like a vice around here would be cheap to ship anywhere. I just bought a diesel generator 350 Kg and shipped it from Perth to sydney for $280. Just under 4000 km. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 Good Morning mpc, There is at least one Blacksmith Association in your area. Check out the listing here at the bottom of the home page. If you don't find it here, you will find all the associations on ABANA web-site. Artist Blacksmith Association of North America. It is easier to check with the Wants and For Sales, on the different associations web-site. I would look at all the yard/garage sales in your area, especially if there is a 'Farm Sale' or an Antique Equipment Garage Sale. Sometimes you have to travel to where a Blacksmith Association is having a get-together or a Conference. They usually have an area for surplus tools/equipment sales, Tail Gate Sales. Sometimes for specific tools/equipment you need to look further afield than the local market. Sometimes if you stop looking and pay attention, one will pop up. It is not a life or death situation, you can use any Vise that you have. The difference is, a Post-Vice is made to hammer on, a cast vice may fracture from the blows, but is a good substitute with a risk. Good Luck, Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Well you could use an old chipping vise---one that weighs close to 200 pounds; of course they are rarer than post vise and go for several times more. Or you could use a ductile cast iron vice, Like Wilton, of course they cost more than a postvise. If I were you I might search for a postvise with a truncated leg as that should be cheaper and easier to ship and then rebuild the leg when you get it. If you get to central NM in the near future I have 2-3 postvises I am selling off for US$100 a piece; but not shipping them at that price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 You should have no problem finding a post vice. You will prolly find a few if you just spend a day hitting up a half dozen antique stores. There is no real second best vice to replace a post vice to beat hot iron on because any other type will shortly break the screw. Beyond that, use your anvil and hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caotropheus Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 mpc You may use a Heuer made in Germany bench vice (forged steel) but most probably will cost much more then a leg vice, so take into consideration the suggestions previously offered. One guy on Youtube made really nasty testes to several bench vices and the Heuer Front 120 (one of the little ones) was the second best. The best vice was one that he built him-self, several times bigger. If you want to build your own vice, go to Youtube and type "homemade diy vise", or "homemade diy blacksmith vise". You will have hundreds of videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpc Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 I found one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caotropheus Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Nice vice. You just need to forge a spring. If possible, show us more detailed pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpc Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 4 minutes ago, caotropheus said: show us more detailed pictures. I will. I just got it home. The prior owner had it welded to a piece of RR track that he sunk into the ground. I had to cut that away and then I’ll start cleaning it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Didn't seem to take that long to find. How did you go about finding one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpc Posted March 6, 2020 Author Share Posted March 6, 2020 I’ve been looking for months. I was actually giving up on finding something local and was coming to terms with having to pay to ship. But, before I started making offers on stuff out of state I thought I’d call these guys one more time. I had been watching this for about 5 months but they were just asking WAY too much ($300). I had offered them $100 a few months ago and they said no. I called and asked if they were ready to come down and they said yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 Sometimes patience pays off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BartW Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 About the original question; get the biggest heuer front Vise (the forged steel versions) you can find; I've banged hot steel on it for years, and it's still kicking well. But legvises are better for shock absorption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Funny thing; here in America a lot of the steel or even better malleable iron vises cost more than buying a new post vise from a blacksmith supply company! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BartW Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 I don't get that either. Maybe it's location based. Here there's no shortage of anvils nor post vises, new as well as on the second hand market. Postvises, anvils ... I don't get it. Give me 400€, and I'll get you a post vise & an anvil in a couple days. Just for facts, I checked the local Belgium based second hand website. 3 post vises today, 5 anvils. And one anvil that got abused to an insane degree. The Square horn broken off halfway into the face, welded back with a strut, and half of the foot broken off, with a bracket as replacement ... the sorriest anvil I'v ever seen ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Did the price match the condition? I bought an anvil missing the heel; but the face was in good shape and the horn usable and it cost about 1/3 the going price back then. About 120# for US$40. It's the anvil I suggest for college students who "hammer like lightening". (Never striking the same place twice---which is a misconception, lightening is much more likely to strike the same place twice than a lot of them are!) I also own a few remains of anvils that suffered horrible abuse, traumatic amputation being one of the *lesser* things that happened to them. Decapitation, edges damaged so much they meet in the middle and the face plate missing where they meet, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BartW Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 Well; only a picture will do. The anvil is broken in half, about 10 inches behind the pritchel hole; it's welded back together by a stickwelder; and reinforced by welding a plate over the seam, and a strut under the square horn. Both feet under the round horn are also broken off; and replaced with a square-iron bracket. anvil horror :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 Not a horror; a proud veteran of many years of heavy toil and still ready to put in a long day's work. I lift a toast to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.