The VISES of Garage Journal

[fishwatcher]

I thought I was all set on vises.

I just restored a Wilton 9300, made a decision that my 4.5” Cadet would get Rustoleum Safety Blue to match my Park Tools and bike stand, and I simply didn’t need another vise.

FB marketplace kept calling though. I stopped short of getting a $60 Wilton Super Junior that was 30 minutes away. But then I saw a new 6” Capri Tools forged vise that was pretty tempting. I read what I could find online and watched videos of it and similar forged steel vises on YouTube. It sure seemed like it would be a quality vise and a beefy one at that. (Not like the biggest ones on GJ obviously).

I’m going to pass I thought, because I don’t want to spend $100 (a great deal) on a vise I don’t need and 40 minutes is too far for me to drive for that.

Well the seller said she worked close to my work and could meet me steps from my office. She also accepted my offer of $50 since she needed to clear her garage and didn’t need this clutter (it was her ex-husband’s… I guess I lucked out).

So.. now I have it. It’s solid and it’s big (to me it’s big). It was new in box. There was a little factory dried up goop of some sort on one of the swivel screws that I scraped off and a drippy stain along the side of the vise (I’ll try to get it off), but overall it’s very nice. It looks like it’s a quality tool, but does not have a premium finish. Fit is pretty darn high with tight tolerances and near perfect alignment.

My 35 year and 50 year old Wilton’s are as smooth or smoother, with just a smidge more play than this brand new vise.

I think I will keep it, because, why not? But a bench grinder/buffer would probably be a more useful addition to my man cave. I’ve been looking and looking for a vintage Craftsman or equivalent, but they are hard to come by.

 

[F-22]

I thought I was all set on vises.

I just restored a Wilton 9300, made a decision that my 4.5” Cadet would get Rustoleum Safety Blue to match my Park Tools and bike stand, and I simply didn’t need another vise.

FB marketplace kept calling though. I stopped short of getting a $60 Wilton Super Junior that was 30 minutes away. But then I saw a new 6” Capri Tools forged vise that was pretty tempting. I read what I could find online and watched videos of it and similar forged steel vises on YouTube. It sure seemed like it would be a quality vise and a beefy one at that. (Not like the biggest ones on GJ obviously).

I’m going to pass I thought, because I don’t want to spend $100 (a great deal) on a vise I don’t need and 40 minutes is too far for me to drive for that.

Well the seller said she worked close to my work and could meet me steps from my office. She also accepted my offer of $50 since she needed to clear her garage and didn’t need this clutter (it was her ex-husband’s… I guess I lucked out).

So.. now I have it. It’s solid and it’s big (to me it’s big). It was new in box. There was a little factory dried up goop of some sort on one of the swivel screws that I scraped off and a drippy stain along the side of the vise (I’ll try to get it off), but overall it’s very nice. It looks like it’s a quality tool, but does not have a premium finish. Fit is pretty darn high with tight tolerances and near perfect alignment.

My 35 year and 50 year old Wilton’s are as smooth or smoother, with just a smidge more play than this brand new vise.

I think I will keep it, because, why not? But a bench grinder/buffer would probably be a more useful addition to my man cave. I’ve been looking and looking for a vintage Craftsman or equivalent, but they are hard to come by.

Well it's steel, so you don't need to worry as much about damaging those nice Wiltons. Probably quite impossible to make a vise like that snap. The slide is also adjustable.

 

[Firstram]

I thought I was all set on vises.

I just restored a Wilton 9300, made a decision that my 4.5” Cadet would get Rustoleum Safety Blue to match my Park Tools and bike stand, and I simply didn’t need another vise.

FB marketplace kept calling though. I stopped short of getting a $60 Wilton Super Junior that was 30 minutes away. But then I saw a new 6” Capri Tools forged vise that was pretty tempting. I read what I could find online and watched videos of it and similar forged steel vises on YouTube. It sure seemed like it would be a quality vise and a beefy one at that. (Not like the biggest ones on GJ obviously).

I’m going to pass I thought, because I don’t want to spend $100 (a great deal) on a vise I don’t need and 40 minutes is too far for me to drive for that.

Well the seller said she worked close to my work and could meet me steps from my office. She also accepted my offer of $50 since she needed to clear her garage and didn’t need this clutter (it was her ex-husband’s… I guess I lucked out).

So.. now I have it. It’s solid and it’s big (to me it’s big). It was new in box. There was a little factory dried up goop of some sort on one of the swivel screws that I scraped off and a drippy stain along the side of the vise (I’ll try to get it off), but overall it’s very nice. It looks like it’s a quality tool, but does not have a premium finish. Fit is pretty darn high with tight tolerances and near perfect alignment.

My 35 year and 50 year old Wilton’s are as smooth or smoother, with just a smidge more play than this brand new vise.

I think I will keep it, because, why not? But a bench grinder/buffer would probably be a more useful addition to my man cave. I’ve been looking and looking for a vintage Craftsman or equivalent, but they are hard to come by.

I like how open that vise is, it looks like clamping odd shapes would be easier, the traditional old iron can be very crowded.

 

[Shiftless]

Let me be the first to say “you ****” for getting a brand new 6 inch Capri for only 50 bucks.

I’m not the only guy who would trade an old Craftsman block grinder for that vise.

Except for my very first vise (Craftsman 391 series) that I got as a gift from my FIL when we bought our first house, I have never had a brand new vise.

 

[F-22]

Except for my very first vise (Craftsman 391 series) that I got as a gift from my FIL when we bought our first house, I have never had a brand new vise.

I know we, the people on this forum, are a bit different , but this is such a cool statement haha

I bought my 7th vise a couple days ago. Contemplated about getting a new 120mm Heuer but then I found an old as hell 150mm for less and I couldn't resist. Still has to come over from Germany, but it'll probably be here next week.

 

[fishwatcher]

Let me be the first to say “you ****” for getting a brand new 6 inch Capri for only 50 bucks.

Thanks!

Another first for me here.

 

[four.cycle]

RLY? $50 bucks?!?!? that's crazy. that's a rather odd construction method for a vise, isn't it? welded like that?

 

[fishwatcher]

RLY? $50 bucks?!?!? that's crazy. that's a rather odd construction method for a vise, isn't it? welded like that?

There are Yost, Ridgid, and Fireball models that all look like this. All are forged steel and I assume that gives it the possibility to be built different than traditional designs. I’d love to know more about why/how this design came about, and if it is modeled after other more traditional designs.

I was surprised by the $100 asking price and happily shocked that the seller accepted my offer. I low-balled because I really didn’t need it.

If only there was a FB notification feature for people selling their ex’es stuff.

 

[RivennHewn]

This vise came from a manufacturing facility that burnt completely down.

Subjected to some extreme temperatures.

Any thoughts on it?

 

[Dave600]

This vise came from a manufacturing facility that burnt completely down.

Subjected to some extreme temperatures.

Any thoughts on it?

It's got the Oswego Tool marking on the right side of the moving jaw. Sawyer Tool Co took over Oswego at some point. Oswego, NY. Model looks like 26 perhaps. Maybe a 25 or 28.

 

[neophyte]

Double-head vise on stand. No details, and no idea what it was for...

Wire Rope Vise ?

 

[Outlawmws]

This vise came from a manufacturing facility that burnt completely down.

Subjected to some extreme temperatures.

Any signs of warpage? It was red hot as poured, so if not warped I'd guess its now stress relived at a minimum?

Wire Rope Vise ?

I was thinking fixture vise setup for welding.

 

[Shiftless]

K

This vise came from a manufacturing facility that burnt completely down.

Subjected to some extreme temperatures.

Any thoughts on it?

I wouldn’t worry about anything besides cosmetic damage. If it’s a good price, BUY IT!

 

[Shiftless]

I think I got the color match to original just about right and highlighted the lettering with the first coat tonight. One more coat on the lettering tomorrow and I can assemble the vise and take portraits. There seem to be more casting flaws on this vise than other Reed vises I have worked on.

Here is a teaser pic.

 

[fishwatcher]

I think I got the color match to original just about right and highlighted the lettering with the first coat tonight. One more coat on the lettering tomorrow and I can assemble the vise and take portraits. Here is a teaser pic.

Nice.

What color is this? I’m thinking Rustoleum safety blue to match the Park Tools on my bench vise. Your blue looks a shade darker than the blue Park Tools uses.

 

[Shiftless]

Nice.

What color is this? I’m thinking Rustoleum safety blue to match the Park Tools on my bench vise. Your blue looks a shaded darker than the blue Park Tools uses.

Thanks

The original color was a purplish dark blue. More purple than safety blue or the English blue that Record vises are painted. Some might call it indigo.

I used Benjamin Moore CC-968. “Basic Blue”

There was enough original paint under the black paint a previous owner applied in order to get a color match.

 

[Shiftless]

Here it is. I’ll include a pic of what it looked like when I picked it up 2 months ago. Even the handle and the cast in serrated jaw faces were painted black with the white speckles. Uggh.

 

[skmbabon]

Here it is. I’ll include a pic of what it looked like when I picked it up 2 months ago. Even the handle and the cast in serrated jaw faces were painted black with the white speckles. Uggh.

Very nice, and the jaw serrations are impressive. Did you only need to clean them, or was more work required?

 

[Shiftless]

Thanks
The jaw serrations were covered in a thick layer of black paint. I soaked the entire vise in hot Simple green for lots of hours before that paint would let go. I then pressure washed all the parts and used a wire brush to finish cleaning the serrations. Then primer and 2 coats of paint.

 

[skmbabon]

Must not have had much hard use. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice save Shift! That came out great!

 

[Andy FitzGibbon]

This steamfitter-style vise is at the W. A. Young foundry & machine shop in Rice's Landing, PA. Anyone recognize it? Roughly 8" jaws (didn't have a tape handy). Young made a lot of their own equipment, so it's possible this was manufactured in house.

 

[TheRealZeus]

That is gorgeous.. Sort of an ‘Art deco, train-Tank Vise.’

 

[GQSnake]

I picked up my next vise project to work on concurrently with my Parker 995 1/2A restore. It is a Yost 204 1/2 with rotating base. It looks like was painted all over to cover up all the rust. It looks in great shape other than the main screw. It is welded together. I’ve been searching for a Reed to restore for a friend. Is this a Reed made Yost? This will be a good one for that purpose. I’ll keep my eye out for a new screw drive, but it may be fine as is. He won’t be using it for any heavy duty work so it won’t seeing any hard use. I’m still keeping my eyes peeled for any Reed vises in my area. Would like to have a big Reed on my bench.
View attachment 1865314

 

[Outlawmws]

Picked this up today: 31S Simplex by Desmond Stephens this afternoon. 3-1/4" wide jaws, and 26-7 lbs. One chipped jaw plate, and the tail of the slide has a bunch of tiny and shallow drill divots? but otherwise pretty decent shape.:

 

[ViceRoy2030]

That’s just what I was thinking.
Similar to a Columbian 804
(Picture from the interweb…not my vise)

That 804 looks amazing!!!

 

[TheRealZeus]

This popped up over on Pinterest and I had a share it… practical, impractical, whatever.. I thought it looks cool as heck!

 

[RTM]

This popped up over on Pinterest and I had a share it… practical, impractical, whatever.. I thought it looks cool as heck!

If you are gonna make it a visible piece of art, at least polish the welds to look pretty.

 

[Chris Christiansen]

ATORN 100 Vise, 100 mm (4")
Found this little German made fella mixed in with some machinist stuff. Thought it was cool, for $75. It was frozen tight when I got it home, but with a little KROIL, it loosened right up. But it cleaned up nicely in a few hours time. The serrated jaws have this stamped on them: "Schlegel EMF". Looks almost identical to this: WODEX Vise.

Anyone ever seen an Atorn vise before?

 

[skmbabon]

If you are gonna make it a visible piece of art, at least polish the welds to look pretty.

Pretty probably wasn't the goal - thinking steampunk~dystopian~Mad Maxish was, and it suits that.
... Or maybe polishing all those welds in corners was too challenging

 

[mikeinri]

This popped up over on Pinterest and I had a share it… practical, impractical, whatever.. I thought it looks cool as heck!

Steampunk?

If you are gonna make it a visible piece of art, at least polish the welds to look pretty.

Why? Wouldn't that take away the "authenticity?" LOL...

Mike

 

[RTM]

Pretty probably wasn't the goal - thinking steampunk~dystopian~Mad Maxish was, and it suits that.
... Or maybe polishing all those welds in corners was too challenging

or hack job? maybe Half Fast (apologies to Eddie)

I've got a buddy who does welded art sometimes, other times he calls them motorcycles and rides them. Quality is always there.

 

[c7z06]

I'm building a stand for my 5 1/2" Rock Island vise, and came up with an idea for adding weight to the base.

In my older years, I no longer need a stack of 25 lb. barbell plates that have been gathering dust. I decided to incorporate them into the base of the stand as shown in the pictures.

There is room inside my 8 1/2" deep truck rim for 100 lbs. of 25 lb. plates, or 150 lbs. of 50 lb. plates. I'll post pictures of the finished stand once I have the vise mounted.

 

[Patrickm82]

I'm building a stand for my 5 1/2" Rock Island vise, and came up with an idea for adding weight to the base.

In my older years, I no longer need a stack of 25 lb. barbell plates that have been gathering dust. I decided to incorporate them into the base of the stand as shown in the pictures.

There is room inside my 8 1/2" deep truck rim for 100 lbs. of 25 lb. plates, or 150 lbs. of 50 lb. plates. I'll post pictures of the finished stand once I have the vise mounted.

Good thinking, I like that idea!

 

[skmbabon]

Paramo All-steel. No specs, but comments indicated production between around 1950s - 1980s.

 

[emeraldcoupe]

picked up a nice little Athol after work today. have wanted one for a long time, i grew up not far from Athol Ma

any idea on the age of this one?

 

[fishwatcher]

Paramo All-steel. No specs, but comments indicated production between around 1950s - 1980s.

Very nice! Given it's age, are the current pack of forged steel offerings that look like this (i.e. from Heuer, Bessey, Yost, Gedore, Capri Tools and Fireball ) all "influenced" by Paramo? Or are there other designs of similar or earlier vintage that these vises have based their designs from?

 

[skmbabon]

Very nice! Given it's age, are the current pack of forged steel offerings that look like this (i.e. from Heuer, Bessey, Yost, Gedore, Capri Tools and Fireball ) all "influenced" by Paramo? Or are there other designs of similar or earlier vintage that these vises have based their designs from?

Good question. I couldn't find anything searching the web. Maybe the model is in a catalog image file that isn't text searchable- I didn't check for those.

 

[ChefRex]

picked up a nice little Athol after work today. have wanted one for a long time, i grew up not far from Athol Ma

any idea on the age of this one?

Nice clean looking vice but are you sure you want to put that much weight on that tailgate? LOL.

 

[TheRealZeus]

This popped up over on Pinterest and I had a share it… practical, impractical, whatever.. I thought it looks cool as heck!

Running around… credit/Reference link;
(Bottom right corner) Pinterest;
Collection by
Damián gutierrez