Havi Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 Picked up my first leg vise last Sunday. Got around to taking it apart and cleaning it up today. I don't know much about these but the threads looked ok and the handle was only slightly bent. I wire wheeled as much of the rust off as I could, greased the screw box and threads and its working great. Rubbed it down in some WD40 so it doesn't rust up on me right away. I can kind of see what looks like a manufacturer name but most of its worn off, had an EN in it. 2 dates from what I can see. July 1866 and I think June 1867. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3F Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 Looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Brouwers Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 Pretty cool! Leg vises are so useful, for more than just blacksmithing. Any idea how and to what you will mount it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havi Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 (edited) I have a table next to my anvil I was probably going to mount it to for now until I made it a stand that can be moved around easier. Edited March 25, 2023 by Mod30 Remove excessive quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 Havi, welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. Vises, in general but particularly leg vices, need to be mounted to something pretty solid because you will be bending things in it and you want the vise and the mounting to resist the bending motion. Yes, you will be pounding vertically and exerting torque on the jaws when twisting but it is likely that you will also be putting long pieces in it and pulling or pushing on one end to bent the piece. I have mine mounted on a post made up of 3 or 4 2" x 6" ers and then lag bolted to the studs of the shop wall. Keep in mind that it will work best when mounted to something heavy and/or solid. Also, make sure you have something under the foot of the vise to carry the force of blows down to the ground. Because I am fairly tall (6'2"+) my vise is mounted high enough that the post does not readh the ground. So, I have a piece of 4x4 under the foot. One thing tht you will notice, particularly if you are used to using a bench/machinist's vise is how fast the screw is and how quickly the jaws open and close. That is a very nice vise you have gotten there. How wide are the jaws? And, if you don't mind saying, how much did you have to give for it? "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havi Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 (edited) Unfortunately my "shop" right now is just a harbor freight portable garage in the back yard, I am very new to blacksmithing and am just glad to have a place to work out of the rain, so bolting it to a wall isn't an option right now. I will probably just bolt it to the table and put a block in the ground under the leg for now and hopefully that works. I didn't measure the jaws but I would guess 5 or 6 inches, probably 5. I actually got a great deal from one of the guys that taught me blacksmithing at a local historical society, sold it to me for what he paid years ago at $65. He knew he could get way more and I am very grateful. Edited March 25, 2023 by Mod30 Remove excessive quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 Many post vises are about 4" across the jaws. That was the size that Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Wards sold by catalog with blacksmithing kits. Post vises seem to come in two varieties, "Gracile" (thin and graceful) and "Robustus" (more blocky and heavy). 4" is OK but around 6" is better. I have seen some that were probably for heavy shop use that are 8" and 10" and they were beasts. The 4" variety are OK to move by yourself but 6" or anything larger is more of a project requiring someone with a lot of strength or more than one person. GNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havi Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 (edited) Then it's probably 4" because I can carry it around with one hand haha, although I'm not a weak guy. Either way it should be fine for the sort of small stuff I know how to do. Edited March 25, 2023 by Mod30 Remove excessive quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 Actually I like having both a large one, 6"+, and a small one, 4", to hand; often one mounted at each end of a work bench. Much easier to close a 4" vise using your knee to manipulate the handle while both hands are holding the workpiece(s). I also have my largest vise fastened to the telephone pole that holds the shops roof truss---I use it for heavy pounding even though it "drives" the metal wall of the shop and lets my neighbors know I am "busy" in it... So my shop currently has 5 postvises in current use and two travel ones and one "historic" one. (3.5", very gracile and Frank Turley thought it dated pre 1800!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 Welcome from the Ozark mountains. Good job of cleaning up your post vise. I made a mistake when mounting one of our vises, by placing it too close to the outside wall. Should have left about 5 feet to the wall so we could walk around the vise while bending longer stock. Oh well moving it isn't an option as it's mounted to a RR Tie sunk about 3 feet into the ground and set in concrete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 I was planning to mount one out in my driveway using nesting sq tubing so I could remove it and store it in the shop; or drop it in the cemented receiver when needed and walk a 20' stick around it. I have the nice robustus vice for it already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 SWEET SCORE Havi, it's even complete! The screw looks good, the jaws aren't warped but a smidge, the moving arm isn't bent, the handle is even straight Mounting it so it moves around more easily is sort of like casting the wheels of your airplane in concrete so it can't move. You want it mounted as solidly as reasonably possible it's not a bench vise it's designed to take serious physical abuse. Put your HF portable garage next to a tree and carefully mount it to the tree. Hmmm? Then again a easily moved vise in a portable shop isn't out of the question around here. What kind of metal working tools do you have, welder, cut off saw, oxy acet torch, etc.? If so there are portable vise stands that work well for not too much hassle to build. Heck, drive a couple heavy stakes in the ground and bolt it on. Welcome aboard, glad to have you. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havi Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 (edited) I don't have much for metal cutting tools yet, an angle grinder with grinding and cutting wheels, a hacksaw, and just picked up a flux core welder. Edited March 25, 2023 by Mod30 Remove excessive quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 A good portable mount for a leg vise is a round steel plate with a receiver for or steel post welded directly to it to for the foot of the vise mount. Cut the plate round and you can tip it up and roll it on reasonably smooth ground/floor. Cut it square and a hand truck and a ratchet strap or good work makes it mobile. If there is a company close by that makes tanks (fuel, etc. NOT military!) they often have large discs in the "scrap" bin. It doesn't need to be 1/2" though that's a nice weight, 10 ga will do. You keep it from moving in use by standing on the foot. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 I used an auto flywheel for the base of our portable vise. If it is used on soil or gravel a couple of spikes driven into the ground stabilizes it, if on hard surface an extension (old barrel top is bolted on to stand on. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. ~ Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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