Vise Handle Bumpers

This is a little safety device I’ve used so long it is almost invisible to me. My big Trenton-Fisher is at my main work station. This large vise has a handle which is massive enough that if it falls in the vertical orientation a serious pinch can result if the thumb-index web skin is caught by the terminal ball.

After such a close call I decided to create a bumper by wrapping a leather strip around the handle just below the ball. Later I added some silicone adhesive and even later used duct type tape. I use the vise every day and from time to time the bumper must be refurbished to remain effective.

There are five other post vises around the shop and none of them have handles heavy enough to present enough threat to require bumpers. One has a sinuous “S” curve bent in the handle which seems to have been added by a previous owner and is somewhat effective in preventing the potential free fall.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/

My Asymmetric Jaw Vise

About 10 years ago I bought this handy tool from a friend who was a longtime blacksmith and tool collector. He said he had only seen four of the vises with a pivoting rear jaw. I was looking for a heavy vise which I could mount lower than my post vise. It is mounted on a concrete filled barrel at my primary work station. It stands a few inches higher than the Peter Wright anvil and a bit lower than the Trenton-Fisher double screw vise.

Most of the time I use it with the jaws parallel but it does work well for gripping slightly asymmetric things. I really haven’t tried to determine the maximum angle of effective grip.

Of course any parallel jaw vise can be fitted with a jaw insert which will pivot to grip asymmetric items. I made one a long time ago when I was making some soft jaw inserts and inserts with a larger radius edge. I don’t recall ever using it though.

My vise was made by the Reed Manufacturing Company of Erie, PA. Patent dates of 1908, 1912 and 1914 are shown in the casting. The company is still in business making tools including many kinds of vises.

This vise has been most useful because the jaws can open to 8.5” with the slide fully engaged. The rectangular slide surrounds the main screw and not and keeps dirt and debris away from the threads.

I looked up some information about this unusual tool and was pleased to find the author of the article below felt the Reed vises were the best ever made.

Link to an excellent article about vises, their manufactures, restoring vises and more:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62716

More vise discussion (there were 131 pages so far):
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44782&page=109

Link to another swiveling rear jaw vise - scroll down a bit:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general-archive/vise-squad-pics-lets-see-yours-78814/index23.html

http://www.persimmonforge.com/

Making Concrete Bases

My local scrap yard is perhaps an anachronism. I have heard other blacksmith friends say their scrap yards don't permit wandering and picking because of liability concerns. I have enjoyed this privilege for years and even have an informal "wish list" which they pay attention to and they will lay aside things they know I want as they receive them.

From their perspective the profitable steel scrap is the dense items and flimsy things such as drums and tanks are a nuisance because they must be crushed or cut to compact the density for shipping. Those hollow items I can often pick up free. 30 gallon drums are my favorite and beer kegs are useful too.

In fact the first concrete base I made following the cone mandrel was a beer keg base for my first Peter Wright anvil. I decided how I wanted to attach the base to the feet of the anvil with bolts and incorporated that structure into the base as I filled it with concrete. This base worked nicely and I was encouraged to try it with other tools.

Now the asymmetric vise, small ring roller, and one post vise are mounted on concrete filled 30 gallon drums. A drum is about 18.25" in diameter and 27.5" tall and holds about 3.5 bags of Sakrete. So when the tools if mounted the whole piece will weigh in the neighborhood of 300 pounds.

It has recently occurred to me that it might be wise to incorporate a lifting hookup into the barrel when the concrete is poured. This would allow the chain hoist to lift from the base without pulling directly on the tool.

When I mounted the portable post vise I made sure it was the same height as the main one in the forge room so the two could be used in conjunction. This isn't a common occurrence but occasionally is handy when doing such things as symmetrical reverse twisting or keeping both ends of a bar oriented while doing something to the middle of it.

One final tip for the cost conscious person. When I go to the farm and ranch store where I buy most of my supplies, such as Sakrete, I ask if they have any damaged bags in the warehouse which they was to move. Once they had a pallet which had been bumped by a forklift and I was able to pick up my purchased bags and they threw in all the torn bags free.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/