A couple of flea market finds from this weekend

[TexasDeuce]

Woo hoo! I finally got a real vise. I had been wanting an old leg vise I could bang metal on and I finally found one this weekend. It is an Indian Chief brand and is about 40 inches long and has 5 1/2 jaws.

I plan to clean it up and put it to use.

I wonder how old it is or what era it is was made.

I also got a tractor seat to make a cool looking shop stool.
Both the vise and seat for $60.... pretty cool huh?

[john k]

I would say you did well.   The vise has the spring and the whole mounting plate, so it truly is complete.   Turn freely?   You know that is on the big side for post vises too.  But what is that length of chain there for, sort of limiting the jaw opening?  Now you have to make a shoe, for the foot of the post to sit in.   Piece of steel plate, with a hole for the post to drop down into, and in good contact with the floor, so it would not tear up your bench.   Old, it sure is, but with a name, my guess is from 1885-1920.  BTW, what is your bench top made of?   Can't identify it.   Tractor seats are comfy, way more than a round padded stool.     You certainly got a lot for the money. 

[keykeeper]

Cool finds. The leg vise works as it's intended when the leg contacts the floor, which allows the force of the hammer blows to disperse somewhere other than the parts of the vise. A plate or wooden block under it will make it that much better, and relieve stress on the bench, but the leg actually contacting the floor is best.

Nice tractor seat. Been looking for one like that myself to make a stool. Few and far between at a decent price.

You did good on your buys!!

[Neals]

Around here $60.00 for each would be better than average.

[TexasDeuce]

The vise turns freely but, needs a good cleaning. The grease in the turn screw is pretty thick and dingy. I'm not sure what the chain piece was welded on it for.

As for the the boot I was planning on starting a thread asking what other forum members have used to mount their leg vise.

Here is a pic I took from ebay that I thought was a good idea.

[mikeswrenches]

As keykeeper pointed out in a previous post, you want to make sure the post is on something real solid.  The part on the bench is going to keep things stable when you pull-push on it but when you start beating on something then the leg will take all that force.

The picture from ebay looks like the vise was just put there for the picture, as those few nails in the back aren't going to hold anything.  Plus the leg isn't on the ground.  That leg needs to be on a really solid surface to get maximum benefit.

My 2 cents worth.

Mike

[mikeswrenches]

Here is a great site on vises, anvils, and anything blacksmithing.  Also some pictures of leg vise mounts.

Good luck!!

http://www.anvilfire.com/FAQs/blacksmith-vise.php

Mike

[Branson]

I've always mounted leg vises on a sturdy work bench.  I've seen some mounted on a stand with a large truck wheel as a base.   I've two unusual ways to mount these vises as well.  The first is a design somebody found in an old tin-type from around the Civil War.  The second is a factory made set up.  I wish I could find one of these at the dump for $25 or so.

[1930]

Boy do I like that second one