So picked up a couple post vises in northern Idaho. I'm in Helena Montana. The one is clearly a Columbia vise, but the other has very little stamping. All I can find is FK and a II both on the solid box. Shown in the pictures. I haven't weighed it, Buti guess it to be 65#+. 4.5" jaws. Any ideas of what brand or age?

We won't remember your location once leaving this post, hence the suggestion to add it in your profile. The markings on the screw box usually won't help as they were considered as being consumable and were sold separately in many catalogs like Sears & Roebuck. Other than that it looks like a good vise if the screw & screw box are in good shape. It looks like someone has welded some reinforcement to the leg. The bevels on the legs is a clue but for the life of me I can't remember which manufactures used that (maybe Trenton). I'm sure someone will be along to help about that.

I have a couple Trenton’s but they don’t look quite like that, they’re screw boxes are different as well as they have the spade shape mounts, 

The screw box looks kinda like a Peter Wright to me, but the mount is wrong for a PW, they have the spade with the extra fourth hole in a round circle at the point, 

that all being said someone could have mixed and matched the screw box, mount and vise body over the years to, 

 

Definitely looks like it's been well used. Some support has been welded to the mounting bracket where it looks to have possibly begun cracking. The leg looks like it has a couple degree bend (hence the supports there). I know Peter Wright had forged bevels, but other than that and the shape of the screw box, I don't really see much else to indicate Peter Wright. Although they were known for making these & then shipping them out unbranded to other companies to sell as their own.

Here’s my big Trenton, the screw box an mount is different but it’s got the bevels 

also here’s a little iron city, it’s got the bevels but a way different screw box,

I have question, so i dotn open new topic.

What people do to vises so post rod is allways broken.

For example

 

How deos it brakes?

 

two different vises

 

I have seen several where the post was cast into the shop floor and was truncated when they moved it so they didn't mess up the floor.  Also some postvises had a forge weld in the shaft that can fail over time.

Still looking for a tree I can cut . . . mount my vise to a piece of it . . . put it near the forge . . . but that way it will be kinda sorta portable. 

Have to keep the center lane open so I can get my quad in and out . . . 

May God bless,

Dwight

1 hour ago, natkova said:

How deos it brakes?

 

1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said:

Also some postvises had a forge weld in the shaft that can fail over time.

Here’s another one of my vises, it has a welded on leg, to give you an example of what Thomas is talking about, 

So its probably weld that give away.

 

Is post vise usable with broken that leg i wonder it will loose balance.

It’s usable for light stuff as is, but if you really want to work hard with it then it’s gonna put some major stress on your mounting bracket

but don’t despair!!! There is a fix!….

Just make a new leg and weld it on where the original was broke off! 

then you can use it as hard as you like! 
 

I had a postvise with a greenstick fracture that we first rewelded the fracture and then forged out a strip of wrought iron and spirally wrapped it around the leg where the break had been and then forge welded that all together too.  High grade WI, you can't see the weld seam for most of the section welded.  Almost made me want to try a barrel!

I will probably be better buying it whole with all parts , then welding this thick piece of metal.

 

I know this is a two year old topic, but I also have an identical vise that I'm trying to ID. The only difference to mine is that mine has a IIII instead of the "II". Other than that it looks identical to the photos you've posted. I got my vise off a friend who found it in Western Tennessee. Hope this somehow adds some more clues to the collective brain trust to help figure it out!

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you'll have a better chance of meeting up with members living within visiting distance.

In the day there were so many people manufacturing leg vises and large manufacturers selling them to retailers to mark as their own it's almost impossible to determine who actually made what you have. I have one with an intact mounting plate with the Columbian C but there is no telling if the bracket is original to the vise. Then there are the parts I had to make for it most "distinctive" for identifying the maker being the bale that clamps the spring and mounting bracket to the static leg with wedges. Neither the bale, wedges nor spring are original to the vise. 

Leg vises were made to be easily repairable and as already said replacement parts were easily available in the day. 

It'd be pretty neat to know the maker and history of my vises but the reality is, there is just NO TELLING.

Frosty The Lucky.

And to make matters worse, there's a lot of Franken-vises out there put together from whatever bits and pieces still work. Got one with a broke leg, and another with a bad screw box? Sure you could fix both. Or you can take a bit here, and a bit there, and Walla. One patchwork vise. I've got a couple like that. Wish to God they still made spare screwboxes.