Not much to add beyond four suggestions.

#1 Put a leather washer in between the ball ends of your handle for quieter operation.

#2 Make a receptacle plate for the leg end to spread the forces so you don't hammer it through your deck!

#3 Make a set of shims with through-rods such that the rods allow the shim to hang between the jaws on one side.  That'll allow you to firmly hold long stock of equal size to the shim on the other side, bypassing the screw.  Bonus points if you make them so they're on the vice stand without getting in the way of other work.

#4 Find a way to securely hold a water vessel for ballast in that workmate.  A five gallon bucket full of water will add about 50lbs of ballast, which helps a lot when you're trying to hot-twist stock.  Make sure to find a metal cover for the bucket, as many high carbon steel projects have an insatiable desire to jump into slack tubs.  Water is handy ballast because you can cheaply add whatever you need for the job at hand, then dump it when you're done.

 

 

5 gal of water is a bit over 41lbs. I was a tech in the soils lab too long to let that go by. Sorry.

It's a good tip though. It's easier than keeping a couple guys around to stand on it when you need a less mobile vise.

Frosty The Lucky.

A pint's a pound the whole world 'round!

Workmate was just to hold it for the pic.  Where it's installed, it's attached to a stump, buried about 18" in the ground, and a steel plate under the leg to carry the impact forces.   I'm certian I'll come up with various mods for it as I go.   I've yet to use it, but it's ready for use.  And I may be able to get some forge time in on Mon. But this weekend is all booked up with the honey do list.

I’m not seeing a picture.

I used it to make the bottle opener laying on the anvil. It worked quite well.  But the next vise will have different style jaws.

 

Very good, very good indeed. With the experience you accumulated during this first built, now you can make another blacksmith vice more massive...with cheeks like a German vice

I gained a lot of experience on that project, and may well tackle another one this fall.

Blue Rooster, did you ever get around to making another vise?

No I didn't. But it's still in the back of my mind.  I burned a lot of coal upsetting the ends for the jaws.

And I haven't had much forge time since Jan. anyway. Had to rebuild the exhaust hood due to rust, then had to move a bunch of stuff around, to accommodate the side draft hood, which required me to re-mount the vise which i haven't done yet, because I want to replace the stump with a better one.  Then My tractor has a flat tire, (I need the tractor to move the new stump) I had to order new tires online, and just got them, but no tubes. So it will be next weekend before I can get the vise mounted again.

  I sure miss that little vise. I don't know how I got on without it.

looks good blue, I,personaly, ould bury the stump or log 3 ft in the ground and compact it 3 in. layers at a time for a non-mobile one, for stability

Aren't you brand new to the craft Alexander? There are members here who mount their anvils in a similar manner but they prefer to do things the way they were done in the 19th century and are a small minority.

Frosty The Lucky.

When I got my first main post vise, I mounted it on an oak stump buried several feet with a concrete slab poured around it.  That was over 30 years ago. Several times I thought about moving it but it's still solid and I now have two more that I can use if I need room to work longer stock. The stump has shrunk and I had to make several wedges to snug it up.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

yes i am but i know how to buld a barn

 

i like to make things over stable 

That looked like a really good project, I have thoughts on making a post vice as well some time soon

On 4/9/2024 at 4:39 AM, alexander gibson forge said:

yes i am but i know how to buld a barn

 

i like to make things over stable 

You know, most people make the walls and roof before building the stables. Sorry for farming this out for puns. Just horsing around and draft-ing your quote in an attempt to be neigh-borly.

No worries. The thread was stalled anyway. 

On 6/25/2021 at 4:37 AM, JHCC said:

A pint's a pound the whole world 'round!

"A pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter."

British pints are different to American pints, so 5 pommy gallons would in fact be 50 pounds. I imagine quite a few brits have ordered a pint in an american pub and been somewhat ticked off

First by the volume and then by the quality!

(Unless they go to my friend Sam’s brewpub, of course.)