More post vise?

I'd say that applying heat is a good thing; at least enough to make it glow a little before straightening. If you have a coal or gas forge, that would be a better way to get it hot. Or use up a favor if you know anyone who has a forge.

With an O/A torch, It will take a lot of heat if it is anything but a small (4" wide jaws or less) leg vise. Might need a rosebud or at least the cutting tip at high heat, withOUT, of course, hitting the oxygen lever.

Pete Stanaitis

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theChas. wrote:

I'd second this wholeheartedly. I have absolutely no idea what the average post vise is made from, but there are plenty of steels that will crack easily when you try to work them cold, including mild steel in some conditions. It's better to be a little inconvienienced by having to track down a way to heat the vise leg than it is to break the sucker off!

I have several of these:

That I use to preheat large items such as engine blocks prior to welding, and to heat smaller items hot enough for forging. Noisy but nice torches that I bet would make good burners for gas forges. This type of torch is better than O/A for this type of heating because there's no chance of burning or blistering the metal.

John