[TheForge] Fw: Benches

[David E. Smucker]

Graham,

It is not so much wood versus metal but a real question do you want to mount 
a vise to a bench.  By the way it is a vise, not a vice (blacksmiths have 
lots of those too, and I have misspelled it more time that I can count 
myself.)

For me one of the most important thing about a vise is the ability to work 
all the way around it.  Not just from the handle side.  Some folks even call 
a leg vise a post vise since many were mounted to a wood post set in the 
ground.  The John C. Campbell Folk School had all of their vises set this 
way for many years.  In the new shop they are all on a metal post.

I have both a leg vise for blacksmith / hot metal work and a machinist or 
engineer's vise for file work.  The file vise is higher but also set on a 
steel stand so I can work all around it without resetting the adjustable 
base.  I used this vise a lot in the days I was building bicycle frames.

My leg vise is set on a metal stand that also holds my large swage block. 
Works well most of the time but some times the block get in the way a little 
when I want to work from the "back side".  I did a blacksmith newsletter 
article on this stand --  Graham, let me know if you want a copy and I can 
send it to you.

Dave Smucker
Brasstown, NC



--------------------------------------------------
From: "Graham Whaley" <graham.whaley at gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 4:56 AM
To: "Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: [TheForge] Benches

> I need to build a bench to mount the leg vices on, and probably an 
> engineers
> vice as well. Question is, do I make it out of wood or metal? What do you
> folks prefer?
> Making a bench out of wood for beating hot metal near doesn't immediately
> seem like the best idea :-)
>
>  Graham
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