The VISES of Garage Journal

[RTM]

Andy F. commented about the surprisingly light weight of my recently acquired 9" Mystery Vise.
We exchanged thoughts and ideas and compared verbally a 'typical' 8" bench vise that weighs around 300#
And the Mystery Vise is about 175#.

Here is one I found at a flea market south of me. About 9.5” jaws, but I would be amazed if it tipped 100#. Looks like my 5 & 5.5” Craftsman’s, tipping in at ~40 # each.

Edit: identified as a potential Yost import by Neophyte in another thread.

 

[FullRaceMerc]

For most heavy stuff I use a 2 wheel hand truck & a harbor fright ramp to get it loaded into the pickup. Rated at 1,200 lbs it handles anything that I can with my dolly.

 

[Smitty]

For lifting stuff, I used the heck out of a manual Hoyer patient lift. 400 lb capacity, light weight, leg spacing is lever adjustable, and very easy to maneuver. It also greats down into two pieces for storage or easy fitting in the pickup truck bed. I like the original version with the straight lifting arm as they seem to lift higher. Can be cheap on the used market. Electric versions are also available but they weigh/cost more. I sold my engine hoist after getting the Hoyer lift. The Hoyer took up a lost less space and was high enough to lift stuff out of a truck bed

Very interesting, I’ll keep that in mind.

 

[Smitty]

Consider a fold away bumper crane. Hides in the bumper when not in use.

https://westernmule.com/bumper_cranes.html

I definitely like that idea.

 

[master Zoda]

Yeah

I definitely like that idea.

Yeah that is very cool how much do they go for?

 

[bastel]

I pick up this little guy today it seems very well made everything is super tight no play at all. I have never had a vise this small with removable jaws 2". The machined dove tails are very precise. It doesn't apear to be real old the only markings I can find are HS 00 on the side of the fixed jaw and again on the bottom of the dynamic jaw. Who can tell me what it is?

That looks like a modern style LES HS00 watchmakers vise. The old style from the pre WW2 days had fake ribs where the bigger models have their bolts to hold the steel bars in (only HS000 - HS 1/2 use a dove tail, all models bigger use steel bars and inverted lead screws). The modern style is straight.
Pictured is a comparison of the 4" vises. I have seen modern style HS0, so I figure HS00 also exist. HS00 are very rare. The M&W HS0/HS00 have the M&W logo stamped in right in the midde in front of the jaw insert on the static jaw. I doubt LES did that, maybe you can find letters on the left side like on the big ones, it looks to me like there is something there.

 

[master Zoda]

That looks like a modern style LES HS00 watchmakers vise. The old style from the pre WW2 days had fake ribs where the bigger models have their bolts to hold the steel bars in (only HS000 - HS 1/2 use a dove tail, all models bigger use steel bars and inverted lead screws). The modern style is straight.
Pictured is a comparison of the 4" vises. I have seen modern style HS0, so I figure HS00 also exist. HS00 are very rare. The M&W HS0/HS00 have the M&W logo stamped in right in the midde in front of the jaw insert on the static jaw. I doubt LES did that, maybe you can find letters on the left side like on the big ones, it looks to me like there is something there.

Thank you for the information I am ignorant to what LES refers to. I have been able to find some similar styled vises that have the 2 shallow holes in the sides of the jaw inserts but no exact matches. I will post some pictures bellow of it all cleaned up. Unfortunately I removed all of the original paint it started to dissolve within minutes of being in simplegreen.

There is an impressive amount of machining that went into this little thing even the screws look to have been turned on a lathe.

And no I don't see anything stamped in the vise or the inserts.

 

[master Zoda]

Information incoming! Better late than never

This is a Meier & Weichelt Zeus vise (you can see the M and W in the logo). This is a design from around 1900. Meier & Weichelt was founded around 1874 in Leipzig and was a very big company that made all kinds of things out of iron and steel. For example vises. They didn't use a triangular dovetail but machined 90° angles and steel plates to keep the dynamic jaw in. After WW2, in 1947 they were made a state owned company (boo) and called LES (Leipziger Eisen und Stahlwerke), kept the patterns, just changed the logo. They are now forgotten, even though they could rival Leinen, Boley and the others. Kind of sad.

Most information about this company is stored in some archives, so you won't find much (flyers and declassified CIA documents about them making tank treads for the T-34 for the russians, wikimedia has many photos of them, though).

The V in VS probably stands for Vorn (front) and the S for Schraubstock (vise), the back dynamic ones are called HS (H as in Hinten as in back).

Their back dynamic vises look like your standard back dynamic vise (Leinen or Boley) and work just fine and precise. Best thing about these is that the handle rotates the nut and the screw is fixed in the back, so it is always protected. Especially the LES variant is abundant over here and not that expensive. The M&W labeled ones are offered for $$$ but nobody taking them.

About the value. HS: not so much in germany, maybe more elsewhere if the collector knows his stuff, but as I said, they look kind of generic. The VS model you have? They were common a hundred years ago but time and the wars made them rare. Rare as in a pristine VS6 6" model is offered for 350 Euro right now, a VS4 for 170 or 200, a VS3 just was sold in some rural town and I got this cracked anvil plate VS6 (51 kg) for 100 Euro + driving 100 miles each way and I am happy about that (because I just fell in love with the design - I like the curves it has).

You will find a single video on youtube and a lonely instagram post from asia.

So paying only 5 bucks for this.. Wanna part with it for 10?

bastel

ps: not allowed to post links and attach stuff yet, so no pictures of my fresh buy, but googling Meier Weichelt Zeus gives some results for pictures and the video.

Your resent post led me here so far you seem to be the leading expert on these vises. I am also very impressed with this design. I hope I will be lucky enough to come by another. I am partial to smaller vises as a collectable. I only realy need 1 large vise to use.

 

[Outlawmws]

Very interesting, I’ll keep that in mind.

I definitely like that idea.

On the Fold away, I just saw in a search a fold away that tuck into the space behind the wheel well in a truck bed below the top of the bed, swivels out, and can extend to pick something up past the tailgate, and then swivel back into the bed.

The bad news is it was on the HF site so almost certainly MIC.

 

[Bessy]

Quick little clean up job of this little 3-1/2" for my Future-Maybe-Someday-Brother-in-Law to attach to the bench I built for him for housewarming.

 

[Draftpick1]

Picked up this Emmert 18 inch turtleback type 5 missing the cover otherwise complete vise in working order always wanted one but they are expensive thought $200 was reasonable just needs a good cleaning

 

[PierceA]

I finished the cleaning and fluff-up on the Reed 103.5 A vise.
I applied a single coat of black tinted BLO. Watco's 'Black Walnut' Danish oil as an experiment. I do like the appearance.
The handle was bent, I straightened it in my press. Then polished it with a de-burring wheel on a bench grinder.
I also found the date on the vise, in one place only: on the side of slide in a machined spot. NO other numbers anywhere on the vise.

This is a really nice usable vise. I can see why so many 3.5", 4", and 4.5" vises were sold.

PierceA

 

[Outlawmws]

Picked up this Zyliss Vise yesterday: Almost all aluminum, not for beating on. but these are great for light work like wood working:

Clamp on, 4-1/4" wide jaws (4-1/2 with the caps), opens to 6" only 7-1/2 lbs.




Mocked up on my Old Samurai's rock rail:

 

[454ragtop]

Picked up this brand new drill press vise a couple days ago. 6 in. jaws, have another just like it with3" jaws. Can anyone decipher the manufacturers logo? Seems European maybe? Showing logo of both vises.

 

[Fierljeppen]

Mystery vise, from an auction I really wanted to win, hopefully it went to a good home. I couldn't find anything definitive, but my vise gut tells me it's a really early and rare vise with some hidden historical treasures just waiting to be discovered. The photos are from the auction.

Mystery Quick Release Vise

jaw width...3"
weight........39 lbs. 9 oz.

 

[PierceA]

Fierljeppen: That is a very interesting vise!! I wonder how the nut and screw were lifted up to disengage the bottom of the nut from the notched rail?
I can take a guess at why it wasn't a success in the marketplace: That notched lower rail would get dirty very easily and often. Then the cleaning process might not be very quick or easy.
The rear cover over the slide and rear of the vise may have been added to keep the mechanism cleaner. ?

Since it sold to someone else, can you tell how much the winning bidder paid for it? Was this auction in the midwest?


PierceA.

 

[RTM]

. Can anyone decipher the manufacturers logo? Seems European maybe? Showing logo of both vises.

vicro kuei

They have a US trademark on the name.

Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

books.google.com

Might still be alive.

http://www.jacobvicro.com/ebook2/01/pages/ebook.pdf

Taiwan

Drill Press Vise Manufacturer and Supplier - Jacob Iron Works

 

[Fierljeppen]

Fierljeppen: That is a very interesting vise!! I wonder how the nut and screw were lifted up to disengage the bottom of the nut from the notched rail?
I can take a guess at why it wasn't a success in the marketplace: That notched lower rail would get dirty very easily and often. Then the cleaning process might not be very quick or easy.
The rear cover over the slide and rear of the vise may have been added to keep the mechanism cleaner. ?

Since it sold to someone else, can you tell how much the winning bidder paid for it? Was this auction in the midwest?


PierceA.

Whoops! I meant to post this one for @KMScott's "Vise Info Thread" and the "Vise Spreadsheet".

I really enjoy seeing the many hundreds of different vise designs by the early Americans. There were so many unique and creative inventors back then. The auction was on eBay, with a small number of watchers. I put in an early bid with the intent of being part of the snipe hunt at the end, but I couldn't get free to make it happen and ultimately got outbid at around $340.

It's good to see the vise community continuing to grow and I'm amazed at the amount of vise knowledge the average collector has these days. I just wonder if the interest will continue with the younger generations.

 

[neophyte]

Mystery vise, from an auction I really wanted to win, hopefully it went to a good home. I couldn't find anything definitive, but my vise gut tells me it's a really early and rare vise with some hidden historical treasures just waiting to be discovered. The photos are from the auction.

Mystery Quick Release Vise

jaw width...3"
weight........39 lbs. 9 oz.

That looks like the “quick” mechanism used on some early Massey “Lightening Grip” vises, although it might be a variation on the design.
Basically, when the handle is turned to one side, the dynamic jaw slides freely.
When you start turning the handle, the spindle lowers a piece that locks into the serrated plate, and then the jaw can tighten a certain distance.
The Massey vises might have worked slightly differently.
I believe there were some other vises from other manufacturers at the time that were somewhat similar.

 

[PghJKB]

Look at patent #73152 by Linus Yale Jr of Yale lock fame.

Hope this helps

JKB

 

[CRSINMICH]

JKB: Thanks for the patent number. Here's Mr. Yale's 1868 patent drawing.

 

[PierceA]

I looked closely at the patent drawings. While the Linus Yale design is close, the ebay auction vise does
not have the ramps at the end of the dynamic's slide for the nut to ride up on to clear the serrated rail.
There is a ramp on the bottom of the dynamic shown in the last image from the auction, Maybe the nut
had a matching ramp on it's front lower edge that matched this ramp?
Hard to say without having the vise in hand and watching it operate.

PierceA.

 

[CRSINMICH]

Pierce: Here's the printed patent information. I started to read it and suddenly felt very sleepy. See what you can make of it.

 

[GQSnake]

I picked up this nice Prentiss 19 1/2 this weekend. I wish it had the fancy Prentiss writing, but it still looks fantastic . It will need a little work to loosen the pin and swivel base. It looks to be in great shape otherwise.

 

[master Zoda]

I picked up this nice Prentiss 19 1/2 this weekend. I wish it had the fancy Prentiss writing, but it still looks fantastic . It will need a little work to loosen the pin and swivel base. It looks to be in great shape otherwise.

It dose look to be in great shape very nice vise. It looks like the jaws don't quite match each other. I wounder if they were all like that.

 

[PghJKB]

Not seeing what you are saying.

Perhaps you could modify the patent drawing to show what you are proposing?

JKB

 

[akasrick]

File from a 1896 catalog

Gosnake wrote:​

I picked up this nice Prentiss 19 1/2 this weekend. I wish it had the fancy Prentiss writing, but it still looks fantastic . It will need a little work to loosen the pin and swivel base. It looks to be in great shape otherwise.

master Zoda wrote:

It dose look to be in great shape very nice vise. It looks like the jaws don't quite match each other. I wounder if they were all like that.

akasrick

 

[tool_scrounge]

File from a 1896 catalog

Gosnake wrote:​

I picked up this nice Prentiss 19 1/2 this weekend. I wish it had the fancy Prentiss writing, but it still looks fantastic . It will need a little work to loosen the pin and swivel base. It looks to be in great shape otherwise.

master Zoda wrote:

It dose look to be in great shape very nice vise. It looks like the jaws don't quite match each other. I wounder if they were all like that.

akasrick

Not on the ones I have owned. I wonder if they replaced a broken sliding jaw with a different one?

 

[GQSnake]

File from a 1896 catalog

Gosnake wrote:​

I picked up this nice Prentiss 19 1/2 this weekend. I wish it had the fancy Prentiss writing, but it still looks fantastic . It will need a little work to loosen the pin and swivel base. It looks to be in great shape otherwise.

master Zoda wrote:

It dose look to be in great shape very nice vise. It looks like the jaws don't quite match each other. I wounder if they were all like that.

It dose look to be in great shape very nice vise. It looks like the jaws don't quite match each other. I wounder if they were all like that.

I noticed that as well and don’t know the answer. I don’t recall seeing any photos with the jaws mismatched. Interesting.

 

[GQSnake]

File from a 1896 catalog

Thank you for this image! Much appreciated!

 

[GQSnake]

Congrats on Reed 108 Smitty! She’s a beauty!

 

[akasrick]

I noticed that as well and don’t know the answer. I don’t recall seeing any photos with the jaws mismatched. Interesting.

What is the width of the jaws?

akasrick

 

[master Zoda]

Just a random tought I am 40 years old now. I hope I am alive long enough to find a Fireball vise at an auction or estate sale.

I think it's possible if sales are high enough so everyone please buy now.

 

[454ragtop]

I noticed that as well and don’t know the answer. I don’t recall seeing any photos with the jaws mismatched. Interesting.

I too think the dynamic jaw was replaced. Have a bunch of those Prentiss swivel jaws with the markings behind the swivel jaw, none have any markings on the dynamic like that one.

 

[ldg397]

I just saw a vise for sale looks like an older REED marked national defense school on one side. Anyone ever heard of this?? They advertise it as a Wilton but don’t show the other side.

 

[Shiftless]

I just saw a vise for sale looks like an older REED marked national defense school on one side. Anyone ever heard of this?? They advertise it as a Wilton but don’t show the other side.

Did you take a picture?
If you’re not worried about competition, go ahead and post the pic here. I bet that somebody will respond quickly about whether it’s a Reed or Wilton.

 

[ldg397]

Pic

 

[PierceA]

Not a Reed to my eye: No reinforcing bulge of iron where the dynamic jaw support protrudes from the static base.
And no rounded 'moustache' over the mainscrew handle-hub. And the jaw towers are a bit too square and tall.
Looks more like a Columbian or maybe an American Scale?
PierceA

 

[Shiftless]

In my humble opinion, it is neither a Reed, Wilton, Columbian or American Scale. I think it is shop made by some skilled craftsmen. The way the lettering is cast in place makes me think that at one time there was a “National Defense School” probably during wartime WWII.
I‘m an old guy but not old enough to have lived through wartime rationing. I heard that there were scrap metal drives to support the war effort. Gasoline, tires, lots of stuff was rationed. Even sugar. So it made sense to learn to make cast iron tools of production to replace worn out or broken ones. The quick mobilization of industry in the early ‘40s was amazing.
(I have a big Columbian vise that helped build Liberty ships in the Kaiser shop yards in Richmond CA)

 

[ldg397]

The vise itself did not interest me as much as the cast in writing. Just very curious about its origins. I didn’t understand the bv1 and bv2 unless they are just part numbers??