Rusty Leg Vise Restoration

[Vice]

Hey everyone, while my drill press restoration is on pause, I have been working on my forge area and just recently set up my Leg Vise.

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I purchased the leg vise at a local flea market that happens once a month.

Its a pretty good size vise and and i bought it for about $85 It didnt have a handle or foot for it, so I had to forge those my self

The handle was just some bar stock that we had laying around my Local blacksmith shop. We then forged out some half round pieces just long enough to wrap around the handle its self, and after some forge welding we had the handle all fixed for it.

The foot, on the other hand, was a little trickier. The holes for the bolts were easy enough a couple of hits with the hammer and punched, and we were through. The hole for the foot of the vise its self is more than an inch in diameter, and we had to make a new drift to get the hole big enough for the vise to sit in it.

The vise is in pretty rough shape. It opens easy enough but for some reason the once the jaws open about a quarter of a inch they stop opening on their own. The handle still loosens and opens up the jaws just get stuck. I believe either the spring that is supposed to open the jaws has lost its strength or perhaps the inner threads need some grease.

As for cleaning it up I may or may not make a wire brush to it on a grinder to take the major rust off but getting it apart will not be easy, the main bolt that holds the outer jaw in place is rusted closed .

Has anybody ever done any similar restorations before and got any tips they would be much appreciated.

 

[_Ace_]

What kind of fastner is the bolt that is “rusted closed”

 

[_Ace_]

I would starting hitting the bolt with some pb blaster or something similar to try and loosen up that bolt, or you could take it apart as much as you can and soak in vinegar or evaporust to help free it up.

 

[leg17]

Might consider a 'floating' bottom mount to the post to allow solid support underneath the foot.

 

[gilbo]

Why not use electrolysis, and be done with it, in a couple hours.

 

[Vice]

Back with the leg vise and with some closer pictures. I am starting with the good news.

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The jaws of the Vise are in pretty good shape and close up parallel to each other.

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The threads of the vise are in excellent shape. I didn't see any chips or breaks in the threads except for the next picture which starts with the bad news.

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The end of the threads seems to have been broken off sometime in its past. However, this has not hindered it in any way as it still screws back in correctly.

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The only major problem with the vise is this is how far the jaws will open under its power. The jaws can be pulled further apart without to much trouble but knowing how a leg vise should act this is bothersome and needs to be fixed. It unscrews fine I have greased the threads since taking these pictures, and it opens even easier now but still has the same problem of the jaws not opening correctly.

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Here is one side of the bolt that holds the outer jaw in place.

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Here is the other side of the bolt with eh square nut that holds it in place. I sprayed some lubricant and penetrant oil to no avail.

I dont plan on doing too much to take the rust off of the main body just some treatments to keep it from further decaying, but I believe the main problem with it is the spring that would typically open the jaws has lost its tension and will only open the jaws so far now. What are your thoughts on what the problem may be?

 

[SweetD]

I'm not really familiar with how the typical leg vise operates in terms of moving the dynamic jaw. On a typical machinist's vise, there is usually some sort of retaining collar or pin that holds the lead screw to the dynamic jaw. It looks like your lead screw is moving without the jaw in tandem.

 

[Farmer J.]

I have had several leg vices, and passed some on to my blacksmith son. One of them behaves exactly like yours but i 'cured' it about 30 years ago and it's worked fine since. The spring had become weak so I wedged some flat metal against the spring between it and the leg of the vice to shim it out and it opened fine ever since. Had to bend over the edges of the flat scraps of sheet steel to stop them falling out sideways.
Lubricant on the pivot bolt helps, just pour some oil around it. Also lubricate the threads and collar for easy use. The threads on yours look in excellent condition.
With that nice mounting you have made you are all set to get some good use from that old vice, well done.

 

[Farmer J.]

I'm not really familiar with how the typical leg vise operates in terms of moving the dynamic jaw. On a typical machinist's vise, there is usually some sort of retaining collar or pin that holds the lead screw to the dynamic jaw. It looks like your lead screw is moving without the jaw in tandem.

On a leg vice like this the dynamic jaw is not held to the lead screw at all, it just 'floats' on it's pivot. The long piece of 'cart spring' above the pivot does the job of moving the jaws apart, but becomes weak with age.
Simple but effective, and works fine unless the spring goes weak or the pivot is stiff.
Because the dynamic jaw moves in an arc around it's pivot bolt the jaws don't close parallel which can annoy people who require precision, hence the advent of the machinists vice.
For blacksmithing they are great, and strong enough to hammer things on!
I've used one all my life, and if the jaws don't fit parallel i usually just crush some wood around the workpiece and swing on the handle until it's tight..
Hope this helps.

 

[Vice]

Vise update

So I got the vise opened it up and took it apart. I cleaned the inner pivot area and the out jaws pivot point. I then went to a hardware store and picked up a new nut, bolt and a few washers to replace the old one that I had taken out.

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Here is the new bolt in the pivot area of the Vise.

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And here it is after tightening the bolt as tight as it will go without it being to tight for the pivot to work the vise is back to working as it should be. I don't really plan on doing any surface cleaning or anything of that nature at this moment, but maybe in the future, I will run a wire brush over the whole thing, give it a good cleaning and maybe coat it in rust converter to give it some protection.

 

[Farmer J.]

Yea, well done, back in working order. Sure, that vice will serve you well for as long as you want.
BTW, that's a good replacement handle and neat ends you forge welded onto it.
No need to worry about surface rust if it doesn't bother you, that thing will never rust through! Quite a few people on this forum enjoy restoring an old vice for their collections, and they look truly lovely when they do so but surface finish is not compulsory..
May it give you many years of pleasure.