Usually a metal plate with a hole for the spike. The foot of a leg vise needs a load distribution pad. This is mounted under the bench top and has a hole for at least one of the vise bolts to go through. Then I make a plate to anchor to the wall with a piece of angle iron extending from it. When I have a chance to mount a vise on a bench the bench is anchored to the wall and the floor first. But that is still a large number of sizes. Some probaly span a couple weights similar to jaw widths. Screws for these vises range from about 1' to 1-1/2' diameter in 1/16' increments or a dozen sizes. Multiply these differences by dozens of manufacturers and there could be thousands of variations. This makes replacement parts such as screws boxes (nuts) and springs very specific to a given vise. Note that everything is proportional except the overall height which is fixed at about 39'.īeing made in over 25 weight based sizes these tools had different sized parts for almost every size. The images above show some of the size range in Blacksmiths Leg vises. Pair of English Blacksmith Leg Vices from the Parlett Farm Museum sale. The height of most these vices from the top of the jaws to the flange on the leg is 39' (990 mm), +/- 1' (25mm). vise will both have the same length handle. The screws and handles step up in size every forth size increase so a 45 lb. The most noticeable is the length of the leg. Most of the vise is in direct proportion with a few adjustments. The diagram above shows the difference in proportions between a 30 pound and a 240 pound vise. I have one with the same jaw width and a 17' spring. Īs Jock pointed out, there are going to be variations, even by the same manufacturer.įor example, I saw in Scotland a Peter Wright vise that had a 6-7/8' jaw and a 20' long spring. In my 1894 catalog, the leg vise weight and jaw width are listed thusly (chart below), and I believe they are referring to the Peter Wrights. Import 8' vise only weighs 120 pounds compared to the 200 to 250 pounds of the old vises. Note that new manufacturers no longer follow these 'standard' proportions and a modern They were sold by the pound and are still best judged by the pound. Size is best defined by weight as there is some variation in jaw size from manufacturer to manufacturer. Very few were even marked with the maker's name. These tools were considered so standard a commodity that they were sold without reference to manufacturer. While this was a big change in manufacturing leg vises there was debate over the value of the patent as it mearly applied current machines and nut making technology to a specific product.Īround the turn of the 20th Century during the hey-day of the blacksmith shop in North America The Peter Wright patent of 1863 was for a solid (one piece) box, threaded using modern methods. The value of and demand for vises was so great that this primative method of making a nut (female thread) was used for three centuries or more. The 'box' is the threaded nut and flange.Įarly vises had built up boxes made by forge welding and brazing parts together including making the threads by brazing a coil inside a tube. The 'solid box' is a Peter Wright development. The jaws have little or very shallow serrations which are generally worn off. The bodies are forged wrought iron or mild steel and they have hard steel surfaces welded into the jaws.

The design of these vises right down to the last chamfer seems to have been perfected in the 1600's and remained more or less the same until the 20th century. Mousehole Forge and Peter Wright in England and Fisher-Norris and others in North America. and others were made in anvil manufacturing plants such as Some of these vises were made by specialists such as Atwood of Stourbridge England, Steel City and Columbian in the U.S. Most in use are one to two hundred years old. These things all combine into a tool that can take decades of heavy use and abuse. The last is the hinge, while not a perfect way to construct a vice the pin joint is durable and can take a considerable beating. The second is the leg which provides support to the floor or from a sunken post. One is that they are forgings, not cast iron or ductile iron. Three things make a blacksmith's vice special. These are the only vise that is designed to take this kind of use day in and day out.Ī small 30 pound blacksmith's vise can survive pounding that would wreck a much heavier cast iron bench vise. It firmly holds hot iron while it is hammered, chiseled or twisted. The blacksmith leg vise or 'solid box vise' is one of the most important tools in the blacksmiths shop.

Anvil stand with vise