Found cheap leg vise. Worth buying?

[HumanAfterAll]

Hey all!

I found this vise for about $80 (converting BRL to USD). It's a bit old, but looks fine, and the owner says it's "working perfectly". 

I still have to go over there and check it in person, but do you guys think this looks like a good opportunity? Also, if I buy it, what can I already do to make it look better and last longer?

Cheers!

[JHCC]

The screw is in good shape, which is the most important thing. It's clearly a replacement, but that shouldn't necessarily dissuade you from purchasing it.

[pnut]

Is that a comparable price to others in your area?  Just about six months ago 60-80 USD was about the going rate here. They jumped in price by double since then. Unless they usually are cheaper than that I don't see any obvious red flags. 

Pnut

[HumanAfterAll]

1 hour ago, JHCC said:

The screw is in good shape, which is the most important thing. It's clearly a replacement, but that shouldn't necessarily dissuade you from purchasing it.

I'd not know that the screw is a replacement. I still want a video of it working, though. Will share if I can get one.

1 hour ago, pnut said:

Is that a comparable price to others in your area?  Just about six months ago 60-80 USD was about the going rate here. They jumped in price by double since then. Unless they usually are cheaper than that I don't see any obvious red flags. 

Pnut

No, this is way cheaper, actually. One thing you've gotta watch is that Brazil has no serious blacksmithing tradition, so this kind of tool is quite rare over here. 

For instance, if I translate "post vise" or "leg vise" to pt-BR, I'd not find anything. I accidentally found this one and some other ones listed as "blacksmith vise" .

[ThomasPowers]

Even here I have to use all 3 terms when searching---as well as using the British spelling of "vice"!

It is clear that the screw is a replacement and way longer than necessary.  I would want to see how the fin/key to prevent rotation of the screwbox was handled; but even then it looks like an easy item to modify if necessary as they have the tube going through the yoke!

A working postvise is more important to smithing than a commercially made anvil in my opinion.  If that's cheap I'd grab it quick.  Here in the USA good deals on blacksmithing equipment have a lifespan of minutes to hours and by the time someone asks about it and gets an answer the original deal is gone!

[HumanAfterAll]

Oh, you've seen the other post I made on those anvils. I'm getting anxious right now... hahahah
The problem I'm facing is the hard one: money. Buying one of those anvils means a bit more than half my monthly payment.

[ThomasPowers]

I was extremely lucky to tool up in an area of the USA that was heavily settled in the 1800's and with a lot of industry, both light and heavy. So it was awash with smithing equipment cheap; so much so that I had to put a limit on how much I would own and sell off a piece if I upgraded to a better one.   Of course I then had to move it 1500 miles when I switched jobs. I also did this on an "allowance".  At that time I got US$20 a week to spend on all my "vices" like: vises, coal, tongs, beer, books, scrap metal, ...

If it was my choice; I would go with the postvise as the improvised anvil thread lists a LOT of ways to get forging without a commercial made anvil; but you may notice that there doesn't seem to be the same for "improvised postvises".  I would also trim that screw shorter so it would work for the maximum useful jaw opening and not more.

[caotropheus]

Olá human_afterall

O torno de ferreiro (sim, a tradução para Português de "Leg vise" ou "Post vise") parece estar em mais ou menos ok  condição. Não sei qual o preço destas ferramentas na America do Sul, mas para a Europa, o preço parece ser bastante razoavel. Sugiro que peça ao vendedor uma foto com o torno fechado para ver se as mandíbulas estão alinhadas. As roscas do parafuso estão em boas condições apesar deste não ser original. Se comprar este torno, sugiro que fabrique algum tipo de protecção para o parafuso.

Boa Sorte na aventura pelo mundo da Ferraria.

 

Translation

Hello human_afterall

The blacksmith vice (yes, Portuguese translation for leg vice or post vice) seems to be in good condition. I do not know the price for these tools in South America, but for Europe that price is very reasonable. I suggest you ask the seller a picture of the vice closed to check for jaw alignment. Eventhough the screw is not original, the threads look like they are in fairly good condition. If indeed you buy this vice, I suggest you fabricate/improvise some sort of protection for the screw. 

Good luck in your blacksmithing adventure. 

[HumanAfterAll]

22 minutes ago, caotropheus said:

Olá human_afterall

O torno de ferreiro (sim, a tradução para Português de "Leg vise" ou "Post vise") parece estar em mais ou menos ok  condição. Não sei qual o preço destas ferramentas na America do Sul, mas para a Europa, o preço parece ser bastante razoavel. Sugiro que peça ao vendedor uma foto com o torno fechado para ver se as mandíbulas estão alinhadas. As roscas do parafuso estão em boas condições apesar deste não ser original. Se comprar este torno, sugiro que fabrique algum tipo de protecção para o parafuso.

Boa Sorte na aventura pelo mundo da Ferraria.

 

Translation

Hello human_afterall

The blacksmith vice (yes, Portuguese translation for leg vice or post vice) seems to be in good condition. I do not know the price for these tools in South America, but for Europe that price is very reasonable. I suggest you ask the seller a picture of the vice closed to check for jaw alignment. Eventhough the screw is not original, the threads look like they are in fairly good condition. If indeed you buy this vice, I suggest you fabricate/improvise some sort of protection for the screw. 

Good luck in your blacksmithing adventure. 

Olá, amigo! Obrigado pelas dicas. Você é Português? 

Me manda PM!

Abraços!

 

Translation

Hello, buddy! Thank you for the tips. Are you Portuguese?

PM me!

Cheers!

[SLAG]

Mr. C. Tropheus,

I thought you are living in Israel.

(do you commute to Portugal?)

just kidding.

Mr. Human,

What size is 'your' vise? (I don't think I saw it mentioned above.)

Cheers fellows

SLAG

[HumanAfterAll]

1 hour ago, SLAG said:

What size is 'your' vise? (I don't think I saw it mentioned above.)

Well, if you mean the vise that I currently own, then this is it: 

It's a small. The jaw opens only 100mm wide. 

You see, I don't have an actual "shop" so I had to buy tools as I started needing them; and they could now be very big as space is a problem.

Now I'll probably be able to use another part of the house I live in, so this is why I'm already after better/bigger tools. 

 

[SLAG]

Thanks for the reply,

No.   I was curious about the one that you will be buying.

Regards,

SLAG.

[HumanAfterAll]

Yeah, well, I dont actually know. I do know that the jaws are 100mm wide and open 200mm away from each other. 

I'll try gather some more info.

[pnut]

Since you said it's substantially cheaper I hope you've already bought it. One thing I've learned the hard way is that good deals won't wait for you. I hope you get it if you haven't already done so. 

Pnut

[ThomasPowers]

So 4" wide jaws----Jaw width is how we usually rate the size of a postvise + whether it is a light vise or a heavy one, I use the term "gracile" and "robustus".   Gracile vises are a lot easier to travel with; robustus vise can withstand a lot more heavy pounding.  In my smithy I try to have both types---the 4" light vise is sure a lot faster and easier to close using my knee on the handle than the 6.5" vise!

[SLAG]

Mr. H.A.L,

Thomas is right about post vise jaw size.

200 millimeters equals 20 centimeters equals approximately four inches.

A post vice is one of the most useful tools in my shop.

Good luck with it.

Regards,

SLAG.

[ThomasPowers]

Jaw width is 100mm == 10 cm and at 2.54 cm/inch = 4" within blacksmithing tolerances.

200mm is the throw---how far it will open and so about 8".

[HumanAfterAll]

Hey, guys. New pics and a video. 

The jaws seem to align correctly, but are clearly used. Still a good choice, right?

Going over to get it tomorrow morning.

Cheers!

[ThomasPowers]

Well within tolerance, You can dress them when you own it, or make jaw covers, or just use them as they are. 

Note: since the moving leg describes and arc the jaws often only touch along the top when closed and will be parallel somewhere in the "using arc".  Don't dress them parallel when closed except if you will be working a lot of thin sheetmetal.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

1 hour ago, HumanAfterAll said:

Still a good choice, right?

Absolutely, just needs to be mounted and put to work.

[Frosty]

Looks well worth the money to  me.

If you want to pretty it up a wire brush and the finish of your choice. I painted mine my shop colors, green and gold but some folk wipe them with boiled linseed oil or similar. I've had good luck with Trewax a caruba paste wax ad apply it to steel about fresh cup of coffee hot. The Trewax is very fluid and penetrating when melted and when cool is very hard.

I bet you are familiar with carnuba, I believe it's mostly collected in or near the Amazon basin. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[HumanAfterAll]

3 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Well within tolerance,

 

3 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

Absolutely, just needs to be mounted and put to work.

Thanks for the inputs, guys! It will be here by tomorrow morning"

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

Looks well worth the money to  me.

I bet you are familiar with carnuba,

I have some carnaúba wax here at home!

How should I apply it? Would I need to heat the vice with a torch or should I just apply it cold?

I'll go and get a wire brush too. Do you remove the rust before brushing it?

[ThomasPowers]

Wire brush is used to remove rust.

[Frosty]

Yes, I use a wire cup brush in a small angle grinder, saves on my arms. You  have to be VERY careful with any powered wire brush, they are the MOST DANGEROUS power tool an a shop. Wear GOOD protective gear, eye protection AND a face shield is the absolute minimum, leather gloves, over the ears hearing protection and an apron are an excellent additions. A powered brush will THROW wire bristles and catches on almost anything. A brush that catches something WILL either throw the thing OR throw the right angle grinder the brush is mounted on. If one catches in your sleeve it WILL wind up the sleeve and remove skin. Thrown bristles will penetrate your skin like little arrows, through normal shop clothes. Your eyes have NO natural protection you won't be pulling one out of your eyeball like you can in your leg.

I heat steel or iron to apply Trewax hot enough to not want to hold but can still touch briefly. Sure you can use a torch just don't get crazy, you only want it good and warm.

Trewax is a carnuba furniture  / floor paste wax so it's a lot softer than pure carnuba and applies at lower temps. I keep a couple small pieces of rag that are saturated with Trewax in the can. I wipe it on the warm steel until completely wetted, then wipe as much off as possible. As you probably know carnuba is very brittle and any thick areas can chip but a thin coat is pretty bullet proof. Thee rag I wipe off excess going in the can with the waxy rag. 

It's taken close to 35 years for the carnuba on my anvil to start showing wear, a lot of that is weathering where water infiltrates under the wax from the bare steel face.

Frosty The Lucky.

[HumanAfterAll]

That's good advice. I almost always use protection glasses and gloves (maybe except when filing or using sandpaper. I do have an apron and gloves made from split leather (I think that's what it's called - here we call "couro de raspa", which is the inner most layer of the leather), but now I'll go after some face mask. 

5 hours ago, Frosty said:

I heat steel or iron to apply Trewax hot enough to not want to hold but can still touch briefly. Sure you can use a torch just don't get crazy, you only want it good and warm.

I took a look at that Trewax composition and it seems like usual carnaúba wax we find here at local stores. It's not pure carnaúba wax, 'cause, as you've mentioned it's very brittle and that's because that thing is HARD - it's diluted in some type of petroleum byproduct. I actually own a can of it, so that's good.

But I don't own a torch (yet).

I thought i could disassemble it and heat it over the oven, for instance. Probably wouldn't take long as I think 50ºC (about 147 F) should do it. What you think?

5 hours ago, Frosty said:

It's taken close to 35 years for the carnuba on my anvil to start showing wear, a lot of that is weathering where water infiltrates under the wax from the bare steel face.

I didn't know that carnaúba was so widely used (worldwide). That's nice! 
would you mind sharing a picture?

Also, she's here and is about 3 feet long. Do you think I might face too big of a challenge by disassembling it?