#PhotoOfTheDay is of my first farm-fresh post vise restoration job. I later replaced this vise with another slightly larger one, for which I also did a complete restoration. This one then went to a friend's son.
#photo #photography #blacksmith #HeatBeatRepeat #tool #restoration
@W6KME Demand and prices skyrocketed several years ago. I found both of mine in online listings that hadn't been widely seen yet and were pretty local to me... I still keep my eyes open for them but don't see many now that I'm not actively looking.
Anvils are/were even worse to find, especially in CA. The two best anvils I ever saw were both not listed online at all. I missed buying the first and the second is my anvil. :)
@croyle Anvils have become insane out here, selling for far mote than the scrap value even when they're trashed. And good quality anvils are worth as much as cars now. I've needed a new 6" bench vise for years too but it's just too expensive; I'll likely end up with a Doyle from HF eventually.
What I really should do is learn to properly braze, and repair my ancestral vise that has a crack.
@W6KME I don't know if there are accepted procedures for repairing vices like there are with anvils. I have a 5" benchtop engineering vise, Chinese made and bought from a local hardware chain, that has surprisingly stood up to my use and abuse for at least 20 years now. I see used good ones for sale often, but mostly $$$.
Anvils.... Yes. I paid what was "too damn much!" for mine but have felt lucky every day since. A solid anvil made before the Civil War is a pretty rare bird out west.
David Croyle
W6KME