Found a treasure a Columbian Leg Vise

[Chuckster]

New to the forum and wanted some tips.. My wife and moved to a mini 5 acre ranch. I found this old vise bolted to a workbench in the shed. I was like, what a piece of **** and whats with this long leg on it.. Took it off and was planning to buy a new vise to replace it.

While it was off I decided to do a bit of research as I assumed it was some antique and maybe dump it on ebay.

After finding out these are highly sought after I decided to restore it. Its a Columbian but I have no idea how old. Not bad shape at all except the handle is bent and mostly surface rust.

Its completely apart on my work bench now and I am wire brushing all the rust off. The main screw and the bottom bolt are in fantastic shape. No real pitting. I realized now that I still need a new vise to work on these parts

I plan to use a Rust converter on it afterwards to turn the finish black. Then wipe the whole thing down with some oil. I am going to build a portable stand for it like some I have seen on this site.

Any tips on the rust converter? I am hoping it more like gun blueing than a painted finish.

Also I need to straighten the handle. Thinking of rigging my HF Hydraulic log splitter to do that job.

 

[Farmer J.]

Welcome, Chuckster, and that's a nice vice you have there. I'm a great fan of leg vices.
Suggest a coating of Boiled Linseed oil thinned down with spirit after you have removed the rust. Rigging your log splitter to straighten the handle could be a neat trick, please restrain it with something so it doesn't ping off under load and hit you in the head! If you clean that vice and keep the thread oiled it should be good for years of use.
Please post progress pictures for us to see.

 

[crguy]

"Highly sought after" is a bit of an exaggeration with leg vises which are actually very common.

 

[homelessdespot]

I like evapo-rust. For big areas that you can't submerge, soak paper towels in the evapo-rust and wrap around, then layers of saran wrap or garbage bag so it doesn't evaporate.

 

[disston]

Nice vise. Usable size.

That handle does not need straightening.

 

[Adk Mike]

I have one in the shop about that size. Very handy for light hammering or bending something in shape. It’s just nice to have when you need it.

 

[SARG]

I have one just like that ...... Haven't found the right place to put it yet.

 

[Chuckster]

Welcome, Chuckster, and that's a nice vice you have there. I'm a great fan of leg vices.
Suggest a coating of Boiled Linseed oil thinned down with spirit after you have removed the rust. Rigging your log splitter to straighten the handle could be a neat trick, please restrain it with something so it doesn't ping off under load and hit you in the head! If you clean that vice and keep the thread oiled it should be good for years of use.
Please post progress pictures for us to see.

Thanks for all the replies. I did straighten the handle with the splitter. Worked perfectly. I was able to press out the kinks. The handle slides freely from side to side now. Everything is brushed and clean. I shot it with brake cleaner to degrease prior to the rust converter. Love the linseed oil idea. Will post a few shots when done.

 

[tym]

Nice vise! Don't ball up the linseed oil rags when done.

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

Nice! I have one just like it, but other than oiling it I haven’t done anything to it yet, on the back burner so to speak. With the popularity of the Forged in Fire history channel show there has been an uptick in prices for those. Likely dissipate in a few years...


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[Farmer J.]

Thanks for all the replies. I did straighten the handle with the splitter. Worked perfectly. I was able to press out the kinks. The handle slides freely from side to side now. Everything is brushed and clean. I shot it with brake cleaner to degrease prior to the rust converter. Love the linseed oil idea. Will post a few shots when done.

Well done with the log splitter, and those parts look great all cleaned and laid out on the bench. A couple of thinned down coats of Boiled Linseed Oil gives a lovely deep burnished look, it's very easy to use and not poisonous or expensive like synthetic finishes.
Seems like you are going to have a lot of pleasure with that vice, and with your attitude you can have a lot of fun on a 5 acre ranch!

 

[SilverDeck]

Thanks for all the replies. I did straighten the handle with the splitter. Worked perfectly. I was able to press out the kinks. The handle slides freely from side to side now. Everything is brushed and clean. I shot it with brake cleaner to degrease prior to the rust converter. Love the linseed oil idea. Will post a few shots when done.

Exactly what I would have done with it. Brush it up as clean as you can, wipe off all of the dust that you can and coat it well with boiled linseed oil. The oil will take a few days to thoroughly but when it is no longer sticky to the touch you are good to go. Good advice above about not balling up the linseed oil rags. The drying agents in the oil generate heat as they oxidize and linseed oil rags have a reputation for spontaneous combustion. Best to spread them out and let them dry completely before tossing in the trash.

 

[Chuckster]

Exactly what I would have done with it. Brush it up as clean as you can, wipe off all of the dust that you can and coat it well with boiled linseed oil. The oil will take a few days to thoroughly but when it is no longer sticky to the touch you are good to go. Good advice above about not balling up the linseed oil rags. The drying agents in the oil generate heat as they oxidize and linseed oil rags have a reputation for spontaneous combustion. Best to spread them out and let them dry completely before tossing in the trash.

So I just finished the coat of Ospho rust converter. Turning black and dark brown. Once it’s cured. On to the linseed oil.

 

[Chuckster]

Exactly what I would have done with it. Brush it up as clean as you can, wipe off all of the dust that you can and coat it well with boiled linseed oil. The oil will take a few days to thoroughly but when it is no longer sticky to the touch you are good to go. Good advice above about not balling up the linseed oil rags. The drying agents in the oil generate heat as they oxidize and linseed oil rags have a reputation for spontaneous combustion. Best to spread them out and let them dry completely before tossing in the trash.

So I finally finished it. Here it is with the cured linseed oil finish. Fresh grease and back together. Again. Thanks for the Linseed reminder of flammability. The last 2 pics show the used rag balled up under a piece of wood in the Firepit. The next pic is the next morning. Yikes!!!

 

[Farmer J.]

Wow, that vice looks good, a real work of art.
Those used Linseed Oil rags are great for starting the barberque!

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

Very Nice! Great job.


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[Chuckster]

Thanks all for the great advice and encouragement. It did sort of turn out like art. Very happy with the brown/black finish. Think I’ll find a home for it in my outdoor bar.

Picked up a Harbor Freight 6” today with a 25% coupon to replace it. Lol.

 

[tym]

That turned out great. Congratulations!

 

[Dibiase77]

Looks good.

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