This leg (post) vice once belonged to Goodall and Sons, who were blacksmiths in Terang. The leg vice is a common tool of the ‘smithies’ (blacksmiths). It is also an engineer's tool but in the early 1900s the smith was often the nearest approach to an engineer’s services for many miles around. The smith was called upon to do a variety of work. The leg vice is used to hold hot iron while the metal is pounded, heated and beaten again and again until it is the required shape. Henry Goodall (1870-1936) Henry Goodall was the proprietor of garages as H. Goodall & Sons Pty. Ltd., at both Terang (McKinnon and High Streets) and Mortlake (Dunlop Street). His business was in operation in at least in 1916 and perhaps well before, considering the date of the tyre bender and its use for wagons with wooden wheels. It was still in operation in 1953, chasing up debtors in Mount Gambier Court. Amongst the employees of H. Goodall & Sons Pty. Ltd. was Ernie Entwistle, a blacksmith (a soldier who died in 1916 ) and Alfred Hodgetts, radio expert (killed in a fatal accident in 1943, when he was in his early 30s ). Henry Goodall was involved in the community as a Justice of Peace, a deputy coroner, President of the Mortlake Hospital, trustee of the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall, and as a prominent Freemason. He and his wife had two sons (Charles and John) and one daughter (Mrs. Chas. Newton, of Skipton). The leg vice is locally significant as it was used by a local company in Terang and Mortlake in their blacksmith, wheelwright and garage business. It is an example of the tools of the blacksmiths’ trade in Victoria in the early to mid-1900s.Leg vice, also called a post vice. The large iron vice stands on a post on the floor and post brackets attach it firmly to a solid object such as a workbench. The sliding metal handle winds the screw spindle in and out to change the grip of the jaws that hold the workpiece. This leg vice once belonged to Harry Goodall & Sons, blacksmiths of Terang.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, h. goodall & sons of terang, terang blacksmith, h. goodall & sons pty ltd, mortlake, ernie entwistle blacksmith, alfred hodgetts radio expert, charles goodall, john goodall, mrs. chas. newton nee goodall, trade tools, blacksmith tools, leg vice, leg vise, pose vice, post vise, terang 1900s, warrnambool district 1900s

The blacksmith leg vise is also called the "solid box vise" and is one of the most important tools in the blacksmith's shop. It firmly holds hot iron while it is hammered, chiseled, or twisted. These are the only vises that are designed to take this kind of use day in and day out. A small 30-pound blacksmith's vise can survive pounding that would wreck a much heavier cast iron bench model. Three things make a blacksmith's vice special. One is that they are forgings, not cast iron or ductile iron. The second is the leg that provides support to the floor or from a sunken post. The last is the hinge, while not a perfect way to construct a vice the pin joint is durable and can take a considerable beating. If sheared it is easy to replace. These things all combine into a tool that can take decades of heavy use and abuse. Most in use is one to two hundred years old.Some of these vises were made by specialists such as Atwood of Stourbridge England, Steel City and Columbian in the U.S. and others were made in anvil manufacturing plants such as "Mousehole Forge" and "Peter Wright" in England and "Fisher-Norris" and others in North America. The design of these vises right down to the last chamfer seems to have been perfected in the 1600s and remained more or less the same until the 20th century. The bodies are forged wrought iron or mild steel and they have hard steel surfaces welded into the jaws. The jaws have little or very shallow serrations which are generally worn off.Around the turn of the 20th Century during the hey-day of the blacksmith shop in North America, these tools were considered so standard a commodity that they were sold without reference to the manufacturer. Very few were even marked with the maker's name. Size is best defined by weight as there is some variation in jaw size from manufacturer to manufacturer. They were sold by the pound and are still best judged by the pound.A vintage tool used in a Blacksmiths shop during the early 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Regarded as a significant into social history of the time.Leg Vice attached with screws to bench via a block of wood. Has large metal pole which practically reaches the floor. Also has a metal device to either tighten or slacken vice.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village

The Blacksmith could take this portable 'leg vice' and make repairs away from his forge.He could mend wheel bands, tools, farm equipment and also fine tune generic sized horseshoes on site. He would build a fire and secure his leg vice to a stable point thus allowing him to work on any heated metal as required. A Blacksmith was an essential person for the maintenance and making of farm and household equipment, and shoeing horses, in the pioneer settlements of Brighton, Moorabbin, Cheltenham c1900Blacksmith's 'leg' vice. Sturdy blacksmith leg, post (vice). 15cm jawsblacksmith, vise, moorabbin, bentleigh, brighton, market gardeners, forges, tools, early settlers, pioneers, ploughs, carts horse-drawn, anvils