The VISES of Garage Journal

[cretedog]

Some vocational school vises for the spreadsheet....

La Crosse Vocational and Adult Schools. Seems like there may have been lots of good vocational/ technical education in Wisconsin in the first half of the 1900s...

4" replaceable jaws, opens 4-1/2", stationary, fixed, 33lbs

 

[TheRealZeus]

I'm hoping for help identifying the maker of this vise, sold by Eaton's (big Canadian department store) in 1956. Doesn't look like anything by the Canadian makers I know. Eaton's had buyers all over the world, so any thoughts on where it's from?
Notice the crown-like decal on the front, and the unusual way the slide fits the static jaw.

Courtesy of skmbabon of GJzzz
Post in thread 'Vise Info Thread'
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/vise-info-thread.355753/post-9681415

 

[mingiunate]

Hey everyone, I'm new here but wanted to share a recent find. I managed to grab a Parker 59 (not 59X), attaching photos below.
It looks to be in ok shape: opens and closes very smoothly, jaws are pretty well defined and aligned. The bad: the back of the slide has a crack, the collar not is not original, and theres a pretty heavy layer of paint on it (and I'd guess rust under it).

Was curious if anyone had guesses as to the date of this vise. The one odd thing is the fixed jaw casting doesn't seem to have the patent date on it - so not sure if that makes it earlier or much later than 1906.
My plan to start cleaning it would be to dunk it in a bath for electrolytic rust removal and then scrub from there, but happy to hear any other thoughts, thanks!

Attempting to attach photos

 

[mingiunate]

Hey everyone, I'm new here but wanted to share a recent find. I managed to grab a Parker 59 (not 59X), attaching photos below.
It looks to be in ok shape: opens and closes very smoothly, jaws are pretty well defined and aligned. The bad: the back of the slide has a crack, the collar not is not original, and theres a pretty heavy layer of paint on it (and I'd guess rust under it).

Was curious if anyone had guesses as to the date of this vise. The one odd thing is the fixed jaw casting doesn't seem to have the patent date on it - so not sure if that makes it earlier or much later than 1906.
My plan to start cleaning it would be to dunk it in a bath for electrolytic rust removal and then scrub from there, but happy to hear any other thoughts, thanks!

6th time's the charm....
Attaching photos. In the 1st shot from above, you can see a tinge of green, which might be the original color maybe?
Does anyone know where I might find an original collar? feel free to PM

 

[Dave600]

6th time's the charm....
Attaching photos. In the 1st shot from above, you can see a tinge of green, which might be the original color maybe?
Does anyone know where I might find an original collar? feel free to PM

The CP 29, 39 -- 79 series starts in 1906 with the introduction of the solid steel strengthening bar in the top of the rail (Patent of Jan 2, 1906). Patents typically continue on the castings for 17 years during that time frame. The 29X, 39X --- 79X series starts in 1920 taking over the older series. So all 59's should have the patent on them. However, they started marking "Semi-Steel Solid Bar" on the casting as well, basically describing the patent (maybe they dropped the patent info on the casting). Here is a copy from 1919 catalog and it still shows the patent number (the picture of the vise is identical to the picture from 1912). If you look at your photo where the crack is on the rail, you can actually see the bar (from the patent) in the casting. I also included an image from their 1912 catalog showing the solid steel bar.

 

[budget76]

I have no need for anything bigger than my 4" Wilton, but MAN am I tempted to grab this on the way home from work.

 

[germanwrenchguy]

Picked this C3 up for 80 bucks today

two years later and I finally started to make it nice again. will post the completed vice on Sunday.

 

[jonshonda]

I have no need for anything bigger than my 4" Wilton, but MAN am I tempted to grab this on the way home from work.

haha "need"...get a load of this guy! rookie

 

[four.cycle]

since when did "need" have anything to do with the acquisition of tools on this website?

 

[budget76]

OK OK, I sent him an offer of $200 and said I could stop on the way home. No response

I GUESS I could sell my 3.5" Parker to offset the cost

 

[Patrickm82]

Just keep em all! Never know when you will need a 3 1/2” vise.

 

[jonshonda]

OK OK, I sent him an offer of $200 and said I could stop on the way home. No response

I GUESS I could sell my 3.5" Parker to offset the cost

More rookie mistakes. Never offer via messenger when you can easily stop by and wave cash in the sellers face.

 

[budget76]

More rookie mistakes. Never offer via messenger when you can easily stop by and wave cash in the sellers face.

meh, I've bought dozens and dozens of things of marketplace. I don't have the time to drive to a guy saying I'll pay $250, then show up with $200. If someone did that to me I'd tell them to pound sand for wasting my time

 

[Maui]

I just got this Charles Parker 69F home last night. You can see it sitting on the dolly I used to wheel it into the garage. I went to look at some electric motors at a commercial fabrication shop yesterday, and saw this vise sitting on its side on the floor beneath a set of shelves. The owner was hesitant to part with it, so I just let it slide and evaluated the motors. When it came time to come up with a number he threw it in as a package deal. And he told me I'd better get it out of there before he changed his mind. I paid him immediately, and it was loaded into my car. Sometimes it helps to just let things sit and allow folks to think about them.



Maui

 

[jonshonda]

meh, I've bought dozens and dozens of things of marketplace. I don't have the time to drive to a guy saying I'll pay $250, then show up with $200. If someone did that to me I'd tell them to pound sand for wasting my time

What? Never mention asking price, just tell the seller you are interested and want to come see it.

 

[Ignacio]

Never mention asking price, just tell the seller you are interested and want to come see it.

Getting a feel for what offers might be accepted is a much better use of time, in my opinion. Saves me a lot of time and trouble for sure. The only time waving cash has ever worked for me is if the seller is more desperate to get rid of things, but in those cases the seller verbalized their need to sell, too.

 

[jonshonda]

Getting a feel for what offers might be accepted is a much better use of time, in my opinion. Saves me a lot of time and trouble for sure. The only time waving cash has ever worked for me is if the seller is more desperate to get rid of things, but in those cases the seller verbalized their need to sell, too.

So what happens when the item isn't in the condition you thought, or there might be other things there that you didn't know you wanted to buy? You guys do what works for you, I'll do what has worked for me for the last 20 years well before people we messaging offers.

 

[Shiftless]

Maui:
Nice score on that monster Parker.

 

[designer485]

Here are a few photos of my most recent restoration. Desmond Stephan 33s. New paint as well as custom jaws and handles.

Before and After:

 

[Maui]

Maui:
Nice score on that monster Parker.

Thank you Shiftless! When I picked it up I was honestly surprised at the weight. From the looks of it I thought it would be heavier.

 

[Fretters]

I have no need....

If you like/want it, get it.

What's the point of working to earn money to live & enjoy life, if you're not going to get the enjoyment.

 

[Shiftless]

When I picked it up I was honestly surprised at the weight. From the looks of it I thought it would be heavier.

A 6 inch vise that weighs 124 pounds sounds pretty stout to me. If you just reached down and casually picked up 124 pounds, you’re a much stronger guy that I am.

 

[Maui]

A 6 inch vise that weighs 124 pounds sounds pretty stout to me. If you just reached down and casually picked up 124 pounds, you’re a much stronger guy that I am.

Yes, I did.

 

[fishwatcher]

Here are a few photos of my most recent restoration. Desmond Stephan 33s. New paint as well as custom jaws and handles.

Before and After:

Great work! That wrinkle paint looks really good and unique. Impressive job with the new jaws and handle. Can you get the finish on the jaws to match the handles? That and silver lettering is what I’d want to do if it were mine, but you’ve already well exceeded my restore skills.

 

[designer485]

Great work! That wrinkle paint looks really good and unique. Impressive job with the new jaws and handle. Can you get the finish on the jaws to match the handles? That and silver lettering is what I’d want to do if it were mine, but you’ve already well exceeded my restore skills.

Thanks!

The color on the jaws is coming from the heat treat on the A2 tool steel. The handles are 17-4 PH stainless steel so they would not have the same finish. I like your thought though.

 

[KMScott]

Thanks!

The color on the jaws is coming from the heat treat on the A2 tool steel. The handles are 17-4 PH stainless steel so they would not have the same finish. I like your thought though.

Did you make those jaws? They look familiar. Nice looking vise.

 

[beatcad]

I've owned probably 10 old vises. Pretty sure I've shown my restored(and now beat on) Columbian and my 2 restored Wilton bullets.
This little guy I may never use but it's neat. It's just clamped to a shelf by my workbench for fun & looks..for now.
The old safety glasses gives you an idea how big it is.

 

[designer485]

Did you make those jaws? They look familiar. Nice looking vise.

The jaws were made by Logan Kendrick of Kendrick Machine Shop (antiquevises.com). I sent him over a CAD file of what I was looking for and he turned around a very nice set of jaws for me.

 

[master Zoda]

I've owned probably 10 old vises. Pretty sure I've shown my restored(and now beat on) Columbian and my 2 restored Wilton bullets.
This little guy I may never use but it's neat. It's just clamped to a shelf by my workbench for fun & looks..for now.
The old safety glasses gives you an idea how big it is.

That's a nice one looks like it could be a Goodell and Pratt. What if anything dose it say on the raised part on the side.

 

[budget76]

So what happens when the item isn't in the condition you thought, or there might be other things there that you didn't know you wanted to buy? You guys do what works for you, I'll do what has worked for me for the last 20 years well before people we messaging offers.

you clearly have more free time than we do, and don't seem to care about wasting others time showing up with lowball offers. I am not going to spend an hour to drive to someones house, planning on lowballing them, hoping they take my offer. I make my offer, say I can be there by x time and can send a deposit via PayPal or Venmo if they have it, or pay in full even depending on the item and cost.

 

[abailcb]

I've been skimming a lot of knowledge here lately and figured I'd go ahead and post what I'm getting ready to work on. This Prentiss 940 was bought used by my dad in the late 60's. It's been mounted in the farm shop since. The shop is falling down around it (waiting for me to build a new one) so I pulled the old vise to clean up.

If anyone is familiar with these you might recognize something here that's not quite right.

Updating from a couple years back. Finally found someone with the right screw for dad's old vise. Nice fella in Rhode Island shipped it to me. When dad got the used vise, the lead screw had been "repaired" as seen in the before pic. The thing has a big, sloppy weld securing the replacement "meatball" to what appeared to be the original screw. A whole lot of cleaning and prep and four coats of Rustoleum Hammered matte black later and it looks pretty good. Before I tore it down, the base had been froze. As a kid, I don't ever remember it being free. Works perfectly, smooth as could be.

 

[WhiteLightning]

Hey all. Long time since I have posted. I recently purchased a Wilton 3-1/2" combination vise, date code 83 on it. I plan to disassemble it soon for restoration. The vise is in great shape with the exception of the combination jaw bolts. From what I have seen they are threaded in. It appears the heads of my bolts are sheared off.

1. Should they in fact be bolts with heads? Or are they pins? I did not want to start trying to punch something out without finding out first.
2. If they are bolts, where can I find two replacements? Or what are the specs on the bolt - length, thread, pitch?

I tried searching the web and on here with no luck. Thanks in advance for any info.

Merry Christmas!

 

[TheRealZeus]

Hey all. Long time since I have posted. I recently purchased a Wilton 3-1/2" combination vise, date code 83 on it. I plan to disassemble it soon for restoration. The vise is in great shape with the exception of the combination jaw bolts. From what I have seen they are threaded in. It appears the heads of my bolts are sheared off.

1. Should they in fact be bolts with heads? Or are they pins? I did not want to start trying to punch something out without finding out first.
2. If they are bolts, where can I find two replacements? Or what are the specs on the bolt - length, thread, pitch?

I tried searching the web and on here with no luck. Thanks in advance for any info.

Merry Christmas!

Here is ref to Scott, who covers a lot about this topic, plenty of info, to get you started on your quest. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/wilton-vise-101167-pipe-jaws.462045/

 

[WhiteLightning]

Here is ref to Scott, who covers a lot about this topic, plenty of info, to get you started on your quest. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/wilton-vise-101167-pipe-jaws.462045/

Any idea why my vise does not have the C0 marked on it?

 

[TheRealZeus]

Any idea why my vise does not have the C0 marked on it?

Excellent question! That is literally mentioned, without resolve, in the thread I linked.
No clue.. I am a novice. not an expert.

She is pretty! Had I not said.

 

[germanwrenchguy]

Got it basically finsihed yesterday

 

[TheRealZeus]

That ‘Sea Foam Green?’

 

[germanwrenchguy]

That ‘Sea Foam Green?’

It’s a RAL Color

 

[TheRealZeus]

Ah! Cement gray. “Zementgrau”

 

[mikeswrenches]

Here’s a neat little vise that fits in with my collection of small vises. Jaws are 1 1/8 in. wide and it is 4 7/8 in. long. If you look closely you can see that it has a rear dovetailed dynamic slide. For what I assume was a vise used as a “give away”, it is surprisingly well made. It appears to be a die casting, probably zinc. A first for me. I’ve never seen a dicast vise.
A design patent was issued to one Walter Bihler and assigned to the “Special Machine and Engineering Company of Hazel Park, Michigan.