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The VISES of Garage Journal

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colmal

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
454
Location
Australia
colmal: Reed classified their #90 as a Kit vise. It was meant to be carried to a jobsite and clamped to whatever was handy.

1928 REED Kit vise.jpg

REED also marketed something they called a Strap Vise. It really stretched the definition of "vise". It had no jaws. The user tightened the "linen webbing" strap by advancing the screw.

REED Strap vise.jpg

Can a proper vise really have parts made of linen? lol​
2026-07-05_17-52.png

While having a look around also noticed the Lock Tools (Australia) pipe vice I have pictured above (yet to put it back together, have just scrubbed it down and removed the crappy paint job, left some original paint on it) is a near identical copy of a Reed No 0 pipe vice, the front claw is the bending mechanism I'm presuming,not sure I'll ever use that, but still curious how it works.2026-07-05_18-42.png2026-07-05_18-33.png2026-07-05_18-35.png
 

neophyte

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
9,746
Location
Pennsylvannia
2026-07-05_17-52.png

While having a look around also noticed the Lock Tools (Australia) pipe vice I have pictured above (yet to put it back together, have just scrubbed it down and removed the crappy paint job, left some original paint on it) is a near identical copy of a Reed No 0 pipe vice, the front claw is the bending mechanism I'm presuming,not sure I'll ever use that, but still curious how it works.2026-07-05_18-42.png2026-07-05_18-33.png2026-07-05_18-35.png
I think some “strap vises” may still be made for use with softer materials, or materials one might not like to mar, like plastic tubing, or highly polished tubing.
The straps are likely made from a higher strength fiber like nylon or kevlar nowadays, and possibly coated with rubber, or another grippy substance.
 

colmal

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
454
Location
Australia
So, how common are the Goodell Pratt/Millers Falls Vise/drills ?

I've been keeping an eye out ever since I got a Goodell-Pratt clamp on, haven't seen any even in US, a few clamp on Drills is all.

Does every vise aficionado on here have one ? is it even a bucket list item ?

2026-07-07_17-06.png
 

gamescastspencer

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 4, 2016
Messages
163
Location
Saint Peters, MO
Picked up a Prentiss No.21 and Reed 404½ from a friend's father a few weeks back.
PXL_20260617_220000520.jpg

About $50 each is what I gave for them (sort of a package deal with other stuff). He had saved them years ago from Curtis-Toledo where he had worked. They were going to end up in the scrap bin along with some other Reeds that my friend kept for himself.
 
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zanyad

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Apr 26, 2018
Messages
2,814
Location
NE Ohio
Picked up a Prentiss No.21 and Reed 404½ from a friend's father a few weeks back.
...
About $50 each is what I gave for them
Yep, you ****! I've wanted a swivel jaw since I first found out about them!
They were going to end up in the scrap bin along with some other Reeds that my friend kept for himself.
Wow, lucky him!
 

micahd1997

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 27, 2022
Messages
257
These are a couple vises I was thrilled to receive recently:

Prentiss № 31 (Nickel-Plated): 1 ¾” jaws, 1 ½ lbs

Prentiss № 32 (Pin-Striped): 2” jaws, 3 ½ lbs

The № 31 came from a friend of mine who is a watchmaker-in-training. The № 32 came directly from the jeweler’s bench to which it was originally attached.
 

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gamescastspencer

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 4, 2016
Messages
163
Location
Saint Peters, MO
Thanks guys! I was quite pleased to get them. They need a little cleanup and love, but that’s easy enough.

I’ll add in my Humpty Dumpty sad ******* ‘Reedsman’ project I have been slowly working on as time allows.

It was a $5 buy from a friend (I shrewdly got him down from the $10 sticker price).
IMG_3117.jpeg

This poor thing had been abused bad, surprisingly, the nut and screw were in fine shape and the tail of the dynamic while showing signs of being used like an anvil, wasn’t too mushroomed and not cracked. Take a look at what was left of the jaws.
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New handle, bronze bushing for the handle, bronze bushing n the screw thrust surface, made up and brazed in new pieces For what was broken and missing.
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And machined out the remains of the cast in jaws, making insert jaws.
IMG_3116.jpeg
 
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