Big vise mounting

Hi all!
I bought Yesterday an old vise, pretty heavy and big.
My iron table is 3mm thick plate, do you think I should add a steel square as a further basis?

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Cool old vise! I had a vise close to that size that I mounted on a plate on top of 4" pipe welded to a 18 wheeler truck rim for a base. That was the most useful but heavy piece of equipment I had. It was semi portable but very stable, so I could move it around. Being able to work all the way around the vise and not having it be hampered by being bolted to a bench was a boon for welding and doing heavy work. Unfortunately I needed the space more and don't do that much of that kind of work so hauled it off to my brother. It is the perfect companion to an anvil. That's why you see that kind of setup in so many blacksmith shops.

Hi rendoman
That’s a nice heavy duty vice but I think that your asking the question if 3mm plate is enough support means you probably know the answer (no is isn’t).
A sub base would need to span the depth of your worktop to be effective, for my money I would weld supports front to back with angle or square tube under the worktop and bolt through that, I know its a pain but its worth it and would keep your workspace clear.

Hi all!

Thanks! Yes, you're right! I have many doubts about my table, for sure it's not a fast and easy job, but I've noticed that the Surface is not planar and it bends with weight at the center. I was thinking about placing a large steel square (10mm thick) on the Surface, 4 times larger than the base of the vise. Working under the top plate of table is hard, more there are the drawers and the legs. i have to check if I have enough space to put square tube or angle, your advise is good!

Pedestal or bench mounted, be sure stationary jaw is on a vertical plane to the edge of the clamping surface. Otherwise you restrict the vise capacity of length and trying to work the end of a bar or other stock. Below is link to other conditions of mounting vises.
Thread: Obliged to post; Mounting of bench vises.

Some reason link is inoperative, so...
Copy and paste
Thread: Obliged to post; Mounting of bench vises.

But Wow! THAT is a vise. I give up any one of my vices for a vise like that, Lol. The horn supporting moving jaw looks very serious.
I know you'll tear it down and renovate it some. Best trick I know is to count how much backlash there is between screw and jaw movement. Turn a spacer of equivalent thickness and add a coil spring; not too heavy, just enough to make the handle park at whatever angle you place it. It will hold it open when two hands are required to load the workpiece.

If you have the space pedestal mount it. I have a 6" swivel vise mounted on heavy pipe Dynabolted to the floor 30" from wall and end of bench by door and the top is 4" above the bench top. Rock solid and allows full use of the bench. The only bench vise I like now on a bench is a woodworking vise as being flush to the top they don't get in the way when you desperately need 'that' corner of the bench and are fine mounted away from a corner.

Hi all!
I just finished, the position is pretty good for my purpose, I added a welded plate on the table, fast and clean. I Put some molykote inside the screw of the vise and now it's ready!
I'm thinking about your advice to make a floor stand, but for the blacksmith vise, I want to free the middle space of the table

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Great job Stefano. That vise still astounds me, especially design that supports moving jaw from underneath. That's no Asian knockoff, for sure. I'd wager the housing has a fit bored to diameter of screw enclosure too.
What a find.

Awesome vise! That opening width looks to be far superior than most. I'd mount it on a pedestal in the middle of workshop so everyone who came in had to walk around it and admire it.

Thank you very much!
The housing hole is pretty tight, it's bored to match the shield of screw. Everything is massive, in steel, not cast iron, and imho very well made.
Unluckily i'm not able (like the anvil) to find the name of builder, it can be an italian product, but internet lacks of info about old equipment

I'm thinking about the floor support for the blacksmith vise, I have a round hollow large disck ( about 16" ) that can be a good base, but i'm not sure about size, type of locking vise

I don't know how rare that vice would have been 50 to 60 years ago But I'll wager that today it is a rare duck indeed
from the extra long movable jaw support to the 4 bolt mounting to the precision bore and housing that vice screams heavy duty high quality.
If it were to be mounted on a pedestal to get full advantage of its strength and durability the base would need to be at least a 22.5 tubeless budd truck rim with an 8 or 10 inch heavy pipe welded to it and a 3/4" thick top mounting plate then the whole thing should be filled with concrete or have a plate welded to the bottom of the rim then oil soaked fine sand and pea gravel packed inside. A vice like that is worthy of a 500 + lb mounting pedestal.
I don't know nor is it any of my business what you paid for it, but I thought I had cut a fat hog yesterday at an auction when I bought a 42 inch wide format HP designjet 500 printer for lees than a steak dinner would cost. No matter what you paid for it you not only cut the hog but processed it into bacon, chops, sausage, and smoked the hams at once.
If it functions well as it is I wouldn't restore it, keep it as is except for possibly tightening up the screw if need be. it'll be worth tons more money 10 20 or 30 years from now

Thank you for the advice!
You're lucky to find a nice printer! It can be pretty useful, above all at this price! I paid 25 euro for the vise, it should be about 50\60 kg.
I think you're right, pedestal mount should be really heavy, I'm so undecided where to put the old vise, I have few free space in the tiny shop, I should need to free the table from the vise. Maybe I should think to attach in some way the vise to the anvil unit...
That's the old vise

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First thing done with the new vise!
I have to say that that vise is so good! Perfect height from ground, large, with some air inside the clamps.
I tried to repair a candelabrum hat for a bellydancer friend, made with very thin brass, I used castolin. Someone else has tried to use pond in the past, after a short heating I lost 3 arms, I hope this time it will last

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