Someone near me is selling a vise.  I had hoped it was a large woodworkin vise, but the picture shows what I think is a post vise.  I might still pick it up because it is not very expensive, but I have never used one and I don't know how useful they are.

 

I have seen vises like this in a few shops, but I have never thought to ask what the owner's did with them, what their strengths and weaknesses were, and if they were indispensably handy or were only good for making corn cob holders.

 

Any opinions?

 

The beast in question-

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Andy

I don't know, but my grandpa had one in his shop on the farm he cleared in the early 20 th century.

I have never seen nor used a vise such as that, but if you can think of any uses for your self and it is a really decent price, why not.

 

I really don't know of any wood projects that I might use it on. I can't really make out in the photo why it is called a post vise.

I just went to Google and looked up post vise.Check that out.  It is designed and made for Blacksmiths. Can hold and be beat upon severely as a blacksmith is known to do to hot steel.

I don't see much use for it in just a wood shop.

IMHO

It should have a plate that mounts on the top of your bench and the bottom of the post should be braced onto the floor. They are more for metal work then wood. You would need to make some soft jaws to place over the serrated metal  jaws. They are handy for clamping, just not a regular wood vise. I have seen these go for up to 150$ for a almost new one, down to zero for broken ones. They do tend to be abused. Good luck with whatever you do. bob

 

---

Bob Kloes
www.bobkloes.com

Bob has it right. This is a blacksmith vise. It's made to take heavy pounding. I use one for blacksmithing projects on a regular basis doing things like twists for ornamental hardware. Because they are designed to take a lot of abuse, the old ones you find tend to be pretty abused. You won't find pristene jaws, and if you try to use it for woodworking, you'll mar the workpiece unless you use leather cawls or soft jaws. But if you've got to pound or twist red-hot metal, a post vise is a great thing.

I had one once, in my old shop. It seemed like a good idea at the time, looked good  but it got very little use.  As bob and will say great for heavy metal work. I think they were popular with woodworkers in the 18th century, before modern vices.