Before we dive right into examining blacksmithing classes in Texas, I should say a little something about how I chose which classes to showcase. I have tried to select classes from people who make good art themselves, or are exceptional in some other capacity. I did this by examining the galleries and portfolios of the […]Read More
Washington is a state known for its arts and crafts and its willingness to buy from local businesses and craftsmen. This has made it a hot spot of blacksmiths and bladesmiths, many of whom have gone on to great fame through social media and various TV shows. If you are looking to take classes in […]Read More
A woodworking vise is a mechanical device used to clamp wood in place while it is worked on. I suppose that’s not a very interesting answer is it? A more illuminating questions might be: how is a woodworking vise different from other vises (sometimes spelled vices)? To answer that, we must first describe a woodworking […]Read More
These numbers represent the weight of the anvil. Anvils made in more modern times are marked in lbs or kg. Not too exciting right? Well, it gets more interesting when you start looking at older anvils, particularly in America. For a good portion of American history, we imported our wrought iron anvils from England. These […]Read More
The vise jaws on most metalworking vises (sometimes spelled vices) is made of hardened serrated steel. This increases it’s durability and allows it to handle most metals with ease. Despite this, vise jaws wear out over time, especially if you are working with materials harder than the materials of your vise jaws (hard scratches soft). […]Read More
Selecting your shop table The first step to mounting a metalworking vise (sometimes spelled vice) is to pick the right table to mount it on. A good mid range vise will weigh up to 50 or 60 pounds, with more expensive models weighing even more. You will want a heavy table with a wide sturdy […]Read More
It’s very simple to use a table vise (sometimes spelled vice). I will go through the steps below: Clamp the vise to the Table Most models of table vise will have a c clamp on the underside of the vise. Turn the clamp screw counter clockwise until the clamp opening is slightly larger than the […]Read More
Compared to an engineer’s vise, a table vise (sometimes spelled vice) tends to be smaller. but how much smaller? It can vary quite a lot! I will try and go over the different table vise sizes in this article. Weight Table vises are small tools, they must be in order to be portable. It’s not […]Read More
As with all articles of this type, I must start by stressing that vise names do not have enforced standards. Retailers and resellers will slap whatever name they want on a vise; usually this is a name that they think will sell well. There is also a tremendous variation in what people call certain vises […]Read More
Before I begin, I should stress that I’m not aware of any standards when it comes to vise (sometimes spelled vice) names. Manufacturers build the vise to spec, and then retailers and resellers give a name to the vise that they think will sell. This means you will find many different vise models under the […]Read More