# Vise Stand



## Todd3138 (Jun 4, 2022)

So I've had this Wilton bench vise sitting in my shop for a couple of years now waiting for a home.  Today I decided to build the stand I've been planning in my head for awhile using an old skidsteer wheel as the base.  I burned the round base and square mounting plate on my plasma table a couple nights ago and today cut my pipe to length.  After drilling my mounting holes in both the base and plate, I welded all those together and hit everything with primer.  Tomorrow I'll add my favorite Rustoleum color, sunburst yellow, and that'll finish the project.

The vise has a cool story behind it, too.  My brother in law works in a coal mine and saw the vise in a dumpster.  Knowing I like restoring tools, he dumpster dove and got it out for me.  The handle was bent in several directions, the rotating base was welded into a fixed position, and the dynamic jaw was seized.  A nice bath in Evaporust (that stuff is amazing!) got everything freed up and cleaned enough that I could get it apart and work through the weld on the swivel base.  After that, cleanup, another Evaporust bath, a little work with a wire wheel and flap disc, and straightening the handle in a press, and it was ready for paint and reassembly,  I did have to buy two new lock bolts and nuts as those couldn't be freed up and had to be cut off.  I love how it came together and the fact that it now has a brand new start on a second life is just a really cool thing to me.

Anyway, that was today's shop project.


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## Tony111 (Jun 4, 2022)

Nice job !! I like seeing things reused and not end up scraped. Waiting to see the finished paint job.


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## Todd3138 (Jun 4, 2022)

Tony111 said:


> Nice job !! I like seeing things reused and not end up scraped. Waiting to see the finished paint job.


Thanks, Tony.  I'm with you - if theres a way to repurpose something, I will always explore that option first. Plus, I think you get a cool story behind things that have had an interesting prior life before coming to us for life 2.0! I'll post an update when I get the paint done.


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## Todd3138 (Jun 6, 2022)

Just for fun, here is the vise prior to getting it rehabbed.  What still surprises me the most is how good of a condition the jaws were still in despite the rest of it being so beat up.


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## Manual Mac (Jun 6, 2022)

Well done! 
i can’t believe that vise was scrapped. Sheesh, what some people will throw away.
i built this vise stand/welding table in the early 80s when I was the welder & machinist at a Caterpillar dealer.
I’d tighten the vise jaws on the hook of the bridge crane & move it around the shop wherever I was working.
i used a 966 Cat loader brake drum for the base of my 8” grinder stand.
I will now have to clean the vise up & paint it again, after seeing yours.


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## Todd3138 (Jun 6, 2022)

Manual Mac said:


> Well done!
> i can’t believe that vise was scrapped. Sheesh, what some people will throw away.
> i built this vise stand/welding table in the early 80s when I was the welder & machinist at a Caterpillar dealer.
> I’d tighten the vise jaws on the hook of the bridge crane & move it around the shop wherever I was working.
> ...


Wow!  That stand is a beast!  I love that you moved it around with the bridge crane - that's too funny even though I'm sure it was entirely necessary given the size of your setup! 

Yeah, the mine seems to have enough money to trash stuff that could be rehabbed, but I guess there's no money in paying a guy to do that work when they can just buy new when it's needed.  I love how this one came back to life and appreciate the comments!

Nice looking anvil, by the way.  Those edges are super clean.  What is the make?  I first thought it was a Mousehole, but there is that extra little rib between the feet that is not on Mouseholes.


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## Manual Mac (Jun 7, 2022)

Todd, I made the Anvil.
A customer needed more counter-weight on his Cat 980 wheel loader so we ordered a 4” thick piece of plate steel, enough to cut out 2 or 3 plates to stack, then bolt on top of the existing counter-weight.
A very nasty job, I used a #5 cutting tip I believe.
Had a scrap left over that resembled an anvil & went from there.
I used a 1/2” piece of T1 for the face, V’d & plug welded on.
The horn is an old loader pin, shaped, V’d & welded on.
I V‘d & mig welded everything with .045 mig wire so it is almost solid.
I have used it a lot, it’s held up very well, & it “rings” nicely.
it weighs 90 lbs. I stamped 5-18-85 on it when finished.
BTW, that’s a very nice & sturdy vise stand you made. Love the base.


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## Todd3138 (Jun 7, 2022)

Manual Mac said:


> Todd, I made the Anvil.
> A customer needed more counter-weight on his Cat 980 wheel loader so we ordered a 4” thick piece of plate steel, enough to cut out 2 or 3 plates to stack, then bolt on top of the existing counter-weight.


Wow, that's really cool!  It looks fantastic - I wouldn't have guessed it was homemade.  That's got to be one of the nicest homemade anvils I've ever seen and there are some real train wrecks out there in that category!  Beautiful work!  I'd love to see some more pics from different angles when you have time.  And, with this close up picture I can now see the "rib" I thought was present was simply a spike you drove to keep it from walking.  Really, that is the nicest homebuilt anvil I've ever seen!

I began my fascination with metal work with blacksmithing and have gradually expanded my mediocre-at-best skills to now include welding, general fabrication, machining, and have just added a cnc plasma table to the mix.  I still probably love most the challenge and skill of taking raw steel, heating it, and hammering it into what I want it to be - or at least a close approximation of what I want it to be! - but these other facets of working with metal are a lifetime of wishing finally coming to be for me.

Here's a picture of my primary shop anvil - it's a 200 pound Arm & Hammer that is likely a mid-1800s model.  I bought it from my smithing mentor who used it as his primary anvil for around 10 years before he picked up a 500 pound A&H and relegated this one to a secondary role.  A local friend who owns a mining machinery fabrication business had one of his guys help me put the stand together.  4" plate base with a 14" section of 1/2" wall pipe that was filled with round burnouts from their fabrication process and packed with used media from their blasting room, then capped with a 1" top plate.  The stand alone weight approximately 800 pounds!  I have it set to the floor with pure silicone which is the same way my big power hammer is set.  The anvil itself is tacked to the stand with a short bead on each side and that provided a very solid connection that also helped dampen the ring so I don't have to wear earpro while working!  Love that ring but, man, it wears on you after a full day of forging!


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## Arcstar* (Jun 7, 2022)

Tony111 said:


> Nice job !! I like seeing things reused and not end up scraped. Waiting to see the finished paint job.


indeed!


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## Manual Mac (Jun 8, 2022)

Thanks for the compliment on my anvil.
At the time I owned a 100lb Peter Wright, & copied that shape, a London pattern I believe.
That is some anvil & base you have there. Whoa……
i’ve never seen a 500#, a place I worked had a 250# Peter Wright, what a brute.
I know What you mean about the *RING*, I try to work on the middle of the face, anywhere near the heel is earplug territory.
I see that you (like me and many others on this forum) are a True Believer when it comes to working with steel.
my career was with huge logging, construction & mining equipment & machines.
since retirement I now mostly build small steam engines on my smaller lathe & mill, although I still build implements & repair on mine & neighbors tractors.
And I’m learning a lot since I started on small engine casting kits, helps to give those ”Little grey Cells” a workout.
I’ll PM you more photos of the anvil when I can lift things again.
Unfortunatetly I had mishap a couple months ago with a barn roof, a ladder & some very poor judgement. So it goes….
it maybe a while.
Cheers


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## Todd3138 (Jun 8, 2022)

Manual Mac said:


> Thanks for the compliment on my anvil.
> At the time I owned a 100lb Peter Wright, & copied that shape, a London pattern I believe.
> That is some anvil & base you have there. Whoa……
> i’ve never seen a 500#, a place I worked had a 250# Peter Wright, what a brute.
> ...


Sorry to hear about the mishap.  I hope your rehab continues on course!  Yes, that's a London pattern and you did an amazing job of recreating it!  I have practiced law for 29 years and have never had time to get into this hobby till about 4-5 years ago, but blacksmithing captivated me in elementary school and never left me.  Once I got introduced to my mentor, all of this other stuff just took off for me and now I feel like a kid in a candy store but the candy is crazy expensive!  I've been fortunate to find some fantastic deals on equipment and not great deals on other new stuff, but I absolutely love it and am looking to turn the hobby into a semi-retirement from my day job sooner rather than later.  Of course, with one kid in college and one still in high school, I don't know that retirement is coming any time soon but I can sure as heck get better positioned for it!


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## Todd3138 (Jun 8, 2022)

Here is the (mostly) finished stand.  We have a couple of rain days that have prevented me from doing any more painting, but with Rustoleum you definitely need to wait at least 24-72 hours (in my experience) from the initial painting to add touch up coats.  Otherwise, you end up with bubbled paint as it seems to take a bit longer to harden than Krylon or others.  I love the eventual finish of rustoleum, though, and am willing to put up with the time delays in getting it finished right.  I will likely hit this in a few areas with another coat in a day or two, but I think it looks pretty good and will fit in my theme of yellow on everything I build or restore (mostly, anyway!) to go along with the various shop carts, tool chests, and my Emax compressor (which started the whole yellow theme because it looked so good in my gray metal shop when I first brought it in!


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## Tony111 (Jun 8, 2022)

Sweet looking vise and stand. I like the yellow paint. Again nice work and thanks for posting.


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## Todd3138 (Jun 8, 2022)

Tony111 said:


> Sweet looking vise and stand. I like the yellow paint. Again nice work and thanks for posting.


Thanks, Tony!  Yeah, the yellow has kinda become my thing!


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