The VISES of Garage Journal

[KMScott]

That slide was not docked. The slide ends have a ribbing cast and in the pic you can clearly see the ribbing. Normally around 3/8 to a 1/2” must have had a replacement screw at one time. Vise is in pretty good shape Tom.

 

[Tom Graham]

That slide was not docked… must have had a replacement screw at one time.

Thanks for the correction, Kevin. I’m still new enough with vises and with this as my first Reed, I was uncertain.

 

[Outlawmws]

That slide was not docked. The slide ends have a ribbing cast and in the pic you can clearly see the ribbing. Normally around 3/8 to a 1/2” must have had a replacement screw at one time. Vise is in pretty good shape Tom.

Part of the 1/2" may be the method it was measured?

Close the vise and measure the sickout on top of the slide; that's the part that gets pressure when clamped down.

 

[Tom Graham]

…Close the vise and measure the sickout on top of the slide; that's the part that gets pressure when clamped down.

I’ll let those of you with the most experience, help explain this. I’ll just take photos and sit quietly.

 

[Outlawmws]

I’ll let those of you with the most experience, help explain this. I’ll just take photos and sit quietly.

OK, I agree - 5-1/2"

 

[SquirrelsTools]

The most forgiving vise I've ever owned. I do everything wrong to it. Beat on it, put forge hot metal in the jaws, use handle extensions, use it to bend tubing, you name it, ive done it. Hell, I leash my dog to it when we hang out with the shop door open.

If you're wondering, The stand is from a pneumatic cylinder punch, the wood is just for shock absorbing, those bolts go through a steel plate held in by a countersunk 12.9 reverse thread bolt (lets me crank sideways without it spinning away from me, but also remove the vise to service it)

 

[geomagno]

Got these 2 from a barn sale today. One on the right is a Craftsman. Not sure about the little one yet. I will post pics when I get them cleaned up and painted. Got the old bayonet thrown in.

 

[1Bad55Chevy]

Got these 2 from a barn sale today. One on the right is a Craftsman. Not sure about the little one yet. I will post pics when I get them cleaned up and painted. Got the old bayonet thrown in.

The bayonet is an early model for a M1 Garand. Idk the year they switched from the really long one to the shorter one but it happened.

 

[Beerhippie]

Looks like an M1917 bayonet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1917_bayonet

Not specific to any particular gun.

 

[TheRealZeus]

Nice knobs!!

.. no rusted save left behind.

 

[1Bad55Chevy]

Looks like an M1917 bayonet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1917_bayonet

Not specific to any particular gun.

It might be a M1905 bayonet. That M1917 said it was for a Enfield where the 1905 was for a 1903 Springfield and the M1 Garand. I would think that M1917 would be rare since the US military had more 1903 Springfields in its arsenal then the Enfield.


EDIT:
Final answer... its a M1905 in the picture below the M1905 is mounted on the top rifle and the M1917 is on the bottom. You can see the differences in the grip.

 

[Beerhippie]

It might be a M1905 bayonet. That M1917 said it was for a Enfield where the 1905 was for a 1903 Springfield and the M1 Garand. I would think that M1917 would be rare since the US military had more 1903 Springfields in its arsenal then the Enfield.


EDIT:
Final answer... its a M1905 in the picture below the M1905 is mounted on the top rifle and the M1917 is on the bottom. You can see the differences in the grip.

I had the pictures backwards in my mind. The difference in the pommel is obvious.

 

[silentgt]

Picked up this oddball. Does anyone know what this is by its markings? I think Yankee had similar looking vises based on the spreadsheet but there wasn't a 63 listed. This one just has stamped numbers.

 

[PeterPeter]

Heres a first. Going to pick up this 88 1/2 tomorrow. Seems these are always missing pipe jaws. This is missing the 4 3/4” jaw pads. Anyone have a spare set? Or will I be selling pipe jaws?

peter, peter a guy so nice his mom names him twice.

 

[ChefRex]

BTL: This is from a 1993 Columbian Vise (Warren Tool Group) catalog.

I have this vise at work, at least I think, I'll check tomorrow if I remember, not like my old iron, doesn't clamp evenly, today I had to clamp down harder than i wanted to get a solid grip.
I've known it since new and never overly abused.
Right side clamps before the left looking at it.
The extra span is nice sometimes.

 

[ChefRex]

I can see that you remove the dynamic jaw and insert it from the backside for the wide opening, but how is the nut anchored to give equal strength in both directions?

Again if I remember, I'll look if I don't need to remove it from the bench.

 

[413dan]

looks to be China made, but for $20 bucks I figured it was still a decent buy. Any ideas on history, age, maker etc.

 

[TheRealZeus]

Laizhou Hongyuan Bench Vice Manufacture Co., Ltd. Predominantly manufactured Laizhou City, Yantai, of the Shandong Province in China.

 

[TheRealZeus]

During a corporate buy up they took another company, therefore claim experience making vises for 50-60 years, but the actual company was founded in 1998, so it would be a fair guesstimate to measure your vise, is at the most 27 years old.

In the interest of optimism, for 20 bucks, you can be drubbing on it, and not feel bad.

 

[Tom Graham]

What is the purpose of the marked hole in the end of some “meatball” nose screws on a Reed vise? Unlike the Charles Parker vises, this hole does not appear to be threaded. Given the Reed R‘s oil holes, that would seem to be the most likely explanation (even if a superfluous location.)

 

[TheRealZeus]

“Earl”
oilin’ access port.

 

[TheRealZeus]

Oh on the meatball! My bad… that screw retains a spring & detent ball for the handle brake.. edit; ..was not right.

 

[Tom Graham]

While that is true for a Charles Parker vise, this hole does not appear to be threaded on this old, pre-R Reed 104 vise. And if for oil, it would be easier to wipe the handle or just as close to squirt a drop on either side of the nose where the handle slides.

 

[TheRealZeus]

Is it possible that hole was bored to put in a lathe for a thread repair, or remnants of the same from production, but never filled?

 

[Tom Graham]

Is it possible that hole was bored …

Possible, but I still think unlikely as I’ve seen it on at least a couple of other old Reeds …but not on most of those with meatball nose screws.

My same question has been asked before, but I didn’t see it answered and now I can’t even find it.

 

[TheRealZeus]

This is outta my 203..

 

[KMScott]

The meatball ends have a center drill bit used so you can have it on lathe with a live center. When I work on spindles I always add these center mark so I can sand, clean and polish the handle ends. Reed, Prentiss and Rock Island on the right. I’ll add a center on the Prentiss.

 

[Tom Graham]

So you were right! Thanks for jumping in @KMScott.

…that hole was bored to put in a lathe for a thread …from production, but never filled…

I guess that hole was center bore hole from production was repaired on some Reed meatball noses…and not others.

 

[TheRealZeus]

So, purpose is for center when fixing to mill tables and stuff?

 

[TheRealZeus]

 

[TheRealZeus]

 

[682bear]

Like this...

-Bear

 

[TheRealZeus]

Exactly!

 

[Tom Graham]

And once a center point has been machined into the nose of a screw, why wouldn’t you always go ahead and create a slide brake like on Charles Parker vises — rather than ever taking the time to refill the center drill? (I’ve seen that recommended before.) I guess that it’s just a personal preference thing?

 

[micahd1997]

The meatball ends have a center drill bit used so you can have it on lathe with a live center. When I work on spindles I always add these center mark so I can sand, clean and polish the handle ends. Reed, Prentiss and Rock Island on the right. I’ll add a center on the Prentiss.

Question for you, Kevin. In all the Prentiss vises you’ve touched, have you ever seen one with a center drill bit hole on the end of the spindle that was drilled into a set screw?

I purchased this very early Prentiss last year, and it prompted an (admittedly) small but exciting theory. Initially when I received the vise, I noticed the handle didn’t slide smoothly through the spindle. At first I suspected gunk or rust inside the meatball, but as it turns out there’s a small spring inside the meatball, compressing the handle so that it can be slid to any position and conveniently kept in place. I imagine with use, this spring inevitably would’ve worn down or fallen out (which, given the use that most Prentiss vises have gotten over the years, would explain why I’ve never seen another Prentiss vise that has a spring like this one). However, it boggles my mind a little bit to wonder what the order of operations would’ve been to get a spring set inside the meatball. Thoughts? I wish I could get good enough pictures for this group to be able to see the spring, but the handle has so little play that you can’t even really see it. That said, you can feel the springiness of the handle when you pull on either side

All that to say…I don’t know the order of operations for how Prentiss would’ve gone about it, but this vise made me wonder whether Prentiss was making all of their vises at one time with springs in the center of the meatball in order to hold the handle in place. Again, over time, I imagine the springiness would’ve decayed and fallen out with use. My only way to test this theory is to find a Prentiss vise from the same time period, drill a small hole, and use a screw extractor to see if a set screw is actually hidden in the center of the meatball

 

[KMScott]

Question for you, Kevin. In all the Prentiss vises you’ve touched, have you ever seen one with a center drill bit hole on the end of the spindle that was drilled into a set screw?

Only one, a Prentiss #20. Also it looks like I did not add a center drill on most of my other Prentiss restorations. I did have access to a large lathe in Colorado.

It's not hard to add a 1/4" ball backed up by a spring and a 5/16 set screw to add a friction break for the handle, tap drill sie for a 5/16:18 thread is .257 diameter.

I worked on a Prentiss that had a flat spring in the meatball that acted like a break. I looked for pics while going thru my Prentiss restorations but could not find one. They machined a pocket in side the meatball where a flat spring was set and bent like a banana. If that makes sense.

 

[Soleinmyhead]

Picked up this Wilder All-Shapes vise at the flea market last weekend. Had no idea what it was at the time, but I've never seen a double swivel dynamic jaw before this one.

 

[Shiftless]

Picked up this Wilder All-Shapes vise at the flea market last weekend. Had no idea what it was at the time, but I've never seen a double swivel dynamic jaw before this one.

Nice find!
Looks like the coarse version of a fractal vise.
If you don’t want to keep it, I bet you’d find lots of guys who want it. You’re familiar with the Garage Journal classified section, right?

 

[Tom Graham]

Last weekend, I picked up an older Reed 104 4” vise (pre-R version.) It has two sets of (mmyy date) stamped “628” (June 1928) on the non-logo’d/ non-named side of each jaw.

It has the 3-hole fixed base, a (center drilled) round, “meatball”-style nose on the spindle and It uses the older collar inside the slide rather than the split nut retainer.

As opposed to being too short (as some others have seen,) the spindle length was a generous 1-1/4” too long for the dynamic jaw slide. Surely it wasn’t initially sold this way. We’ve assumed the original spindle with handle was replaced with this longer (too long) spindle early in the vise’s life (still before the transitionary period to R’s). I used a small cut-off saw to trim the spindle to the appropriate length. The spindle is long enough to still extend beyond the nut when the slide is fully opened.

As some others had found, the retainer pin for the main nut screw was missing. The main nut screw was marked Reed on one side and 2306-4-4 1/2 on the other.

For the paint color, this is my first experiment with a matte black that I had seen used on a pair of Holland vises (16H and 13H) that I had seen on FB. It is Kimball Midwest Rustmaster Plus Black.

 

[Patrickm82]

Very nice @Tom Graham