Why do blacksmiths use a post vise?
What is exactly the why/use/purpose of a post vise? Good question! A blacksmith’s post vise or “leg vise” is designed to be hammered on, unlike most bench-mounted machinist vises. The long leg transmits the energy from hammer blows all the way from the massive fixed jaw to the floor.
What is the advantage of a post vise?
A post vise is made of steel or wrought iron with a leg that reaches all the way to the floor. The leg helps to channel heavy blows to the ground and prevent them from damaging the workbench the vise is mounted to.
What is a blacksmith swage block?
A swage block (or swager block) is a large, heavy block of cast iron or steel used in smithing, with variously-sized holes in its face and usually with forms on the sides.
What is a sliding Deadman?
The deadman helps support the end of longer workpieces held in the leg vise and that comes in especially useful when hand planing the edges of long boards. It’s fairly easy to build and can be made from a 4′ long 2″ x 8″ board and a short 3/4″ piece of dowel.
What is leg vise?
The leg vise can be visualized as a giant wooden hand screw clamp placed vertically . This form of vise probably evolved from the blacksmith’s iron post vise. Leg vises typically use the left front leg of the bench as the rear jaw of the vise.
What is a hot chisel?
Definition of hot chisel : a chisel used in cutting hot metal.
Why do anvils have a point?
Why do anvils have a point? Anvils have a point on the a part called the horn. This section is used for straightening or curling the metal being forged. The curve of the horn allows for different sizes of bends to be put into the workpiece.
What is a leg vise for?
It uses two arms that are pinned to the jaw and leg at the top and connected to each other with a pin at the mid-point of the arms. The bottom of each arm rides against metal plates inset into the jaw and leg. This mechanism allows the jaws to be held parallel regardless of how wide the vise is opened.
How thick should a woodworking bench top be?
The thickness of your bench top needs to be about 75mm. That’s 3” in imperial. I would say that the bench top needs to be a minimum of 63mm or 2 ½” thick if you have stock already or that’s a size you can find.
Where do you mount your post vise?
When I set up my post vise I was faced with two potentially incompatible issues. The jaws of the vise are supposed to be at the height of your elbow to permit easy filing (forearm horizontal) and the post is supposed to be mounted to the floor to carry the force of the blows to an immovable object (the earth).
How do you anchor a vise to the ground?
The bottom of the post should be firmly anchored so that vertical forces from hammering on something held in the jaws will be carried down through the post to the ground/floor. The mounting plate between the jaws and the pivot point is holding the vise against lateral forces and twisting forces from the jaws.
How to tighten a leg vise?
Only the original post forging vise handle should be used when tightening the leg vise. Using pipes and similar bars to get greater leverage is strongly discouraged The movable jaw is deliberately made at a slight angle. The blacksmith vice loses more and more the parallelism of the jaws while being unscrewed.
Can I use concrete to secure the post vise in the ground?
Don’t use concrete or cement to secure the post vise in the ground. You will regret it when you have to dig the post out.