Restored my great-great-grandfather's vise

[Jobtiel1]

It's been some time, but I finally found the time (and need) to finally repair the vise completely.

I used Glenn's suggestion to remove the part of the old bolt that got stuck in the pivot hole:

with the old bolt completely gone, I didn't have the right size new bolt, but I did have the right size stock, and as JLP suggested, I tried forging a bolt. I do not have thread cutting tools, and thus tried the approach Thomas mention he saw used on old vises, and punched a slit and forged a key to wedge the bolt tight. I do need to re-forge the key so that it fits better and doesn't come loose easily.

And finally, I reinforced the wooden stand so that the vise is now actually usable so I think the restoration is now finally done! I do still need to find some letter punches ;).

P.S. for now I won't straighten the handle, if I feel it gets in the way I might, but I kind of like that I'm going to use the vise in roughly the same state it was last used.

[ThomasPowers]

Forge the key longer and tap the bottom sideways to lock it in place.  Sort of like a cotter pin.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

You could also eliminate the washer, I would think, never saw a washer there.

[Jobtiel1]

Irondragon, the key hole is not in completely the right place, and the bolt would wiggle without the washer. But now critically looking at the bolt I'm forging a new one, should be better now that I know what to look out for when forging bolts.

I'll update after I have some forging time again.

[Jobtiel1]

I just found this thread back looking for some info on good vise stands. Fun fact, I still haven't forged a new bolt for the thing. I heard people say there is nothing more permanent than a temporary solution.

~Jobtiel