The VISES of Garage Journal

[Catalyze]

DHomb- very nice refresh on that Wilton! That will be a great vise for longer than I will be around this planet. I like the color a lot...sort of a soothing color for when you want to start throwing hammers.

Arachnotron - great looking Reed, I like the way Reed puts 4 holes to mount even their smaller vises, they knew that folks were likely to need them sometime, I also like the way the swivel models have 4 offset hole spacing, good vises those Reeds!

autopts and bl00 - you folks know too much, when the aliens come to capture our leaders I am turning you two in
Craig

 

[A_Pmech]

The guts of the Hydraulic Columbian...

Thanks for the photos.

You've given me a very evil idea...

 

[Catalyze]

/popcorn.....LOL
Craig

 

[bluebolt]

You guys have given me a real addiction.

Picked up a Columbian a few weeks ago. Handle missing and the swivel base is off of a later chinese Columbian.

Picked up 4 vises today out doing the yard sales. Columbian USA wood vise, older Craftsman USA, small vise just marked "Made in USA" and Stanley USA corner vise.

 

[Steven67fr]

Uh OH, Bluebolt has the sickness... there's no cure for this one...

 

[mjozefow]

As promised, pictures of my hydraulic Columbian 608.

View media item 9959
View media item 9960
View media item 9961

Cool vise spire! Mount it back a ways though. That cast iron base is only strong if it is fully mounted. I worry about those ears.

 

[bluebolt]

I believe he only mounted it that for a quick test, to actually mount it he will have to drill a hole to clear the hydraulic line.

 

[bluebolt]

Uh OH, Bluebolt has the sickness... there's no cure for this one...

I was already a pack rat, now with this vise addiction I'm infected for life.

 

[Spire]

I believe he only mounted it that for a quick test, to actually mount it he will have to drill a hole to clear the hydraulic line.

This is a fact. I am breaking ground for a 50 x 60 shop and until then I only put this vise back together to take pictures for this site. I have a 10' x 4' One inch thick steel table being stored for mounting the vise in the future.

 

[RivennHewn]

Ya'll got one of these?

 

[Gary Indiana]

Picked up a Columbian. Handle missing ....

I found a 3/8 socket extension bar to be good material for a vise handle. The extension bars differ slightly in diameter.

 

[Steven67fr]

I was already a pack rat, now with this vise addiction I'm infected for life.

Well, since you can't help it, enjoy it!

 

[Dog]

I snapped this photo the other day while aboard a U.S. diesel submarine that was built in 1959.

 

[Catalyze]

Dog - great photo! As much as I like vises, I wouldn't want to have a duty assignment on a diesel submarine just to touch it.

Rivenhewn - very unique little fella there, I really like the knobs on the handle....sort of gothic looking

Craig

 

[Catalyze]

I am old and getting more stupid daily. It finally dawned on me where I had seen another Columbian Hydraulic Vise. Here is the page from my 1968 Columbian Vise Catalog:
View media item 10012
It is only a 4" vise but it is a liquid powered one.
Craig

 

[jsokoly]

Greetings all,

I have enjoyed the thread immensely and have really gotten into the vise vice. I'm still watching for deals. Being so far south, it's tough to find some of the deals you guys get up north. Seems like vises sell for double down here what some of you guys are paying.

Case in point. I picked this up for way cheap last fall. It's obviously a product from a land far away, but it's heavy and useable. I put it in the electro bath, rattle canned it with black hammered rustoleum and sold it today for $60:


Yesterday I picked up a Wilton 1760. It wasn't in especially bad condition, but someone had painted it an ugly forest green--and not a good paint job. I spent the afternoon stripping it down and repainting it. It's almost pristine. I know my choice of color will cause the Wilton purists to cringe, but I had the can of black hammered rustoleum still sitting here so...



Thanks for the thread and letting me participate!

Jeff

 

[outlander800]

Saw this monster at a local flea market. 8 inch jaw columbian. The guy wanted $500 for it so I passed it up.

 

[jsokoly]

Back in November I posted pics of a Parker 985 that I acquired. I finally got around to taking a couple of pictures of the finished product. For comparison, the "before" pics are in post 1171 of this thread. Here are the "after":



Jeff

 

[Catalyze]

Jeff - Holy Moly man! Great work on those vises. I went back and looked at the original photos of your 985 and you did very nice work. I like to think of the mechanics vises as Parkers with a Tail. Your Prentiss is also a good vise to refresh. It looks like it took a hit on the slide portion. These old vises went through some battles in their history. As to the color of your Wilton....don't fret, I painted my Wilton 450S Rustoleum Hammered Copper...LOL

Outlander - that photo breaks my heart....8" Columbian....a Parker in the back....and a very nice looking Ridge Tool vise next to it..../heavy sigh

Jeff was right...out here it is all Dust but no Rust.....and no vises
Craig

 

[outlander800]

The guy had a bunch more vises than that, but he was out to lunch on his pricing. That columbian was tempting but I was able to stop my impulsing.

 

[Dog]

Those are real nice Jeff.

 

[SweetD]

I'll add my latest for the official record:

Guy was moving to the Left Coast, and didn't want to bring it with him. Real lucky c-list grab.

It's a Reed vise, made for Craftsman, circa mid-1940's, Model # 5187. 4.5" vise, about 70lbs, beefy and in great shape. Needs a restoration / paint. Pics:

Next to the ole' Prentiss:

The vise vice continues...

Dave

 

[Catalyze]

Looks great Dave! 2 old warhorses just waiting for a project.
Craig

 

[Catalyze]

4 Days and no one has a vise to post? Folks are buying Records.....Dunlaps...Columbians...and no photos here? That is a lot of folks not getting any pie tonight.
Craig

 

[ZRX61]

I didn't buy any this weekend..

 

[RivennHewn]

Here's my latest, with a fresh coat of paint.

Any help with ID would be great!

 

[Catalyze]

Greetings again! The vise came out very nice! I would still guess it to be a Record vise. I have looked all over and can't find anything that quite matches yours. With the ball on the handle that usually is an older vise. And the mystery continues.......
Craig

 

[ZRX61]

It's definitely Record of some sort, but whats with that 2 piece base deal?

 

[-Brent-]

Here are my two babies. The Prentiss I got from a member here and a Wilton 9300 I got for $5 at a swap.

This is a Cole I'm going to list here if no one local pics it up.

 

[A_Pmech]

I didn't buy any this weekend..

Twelve step program?

 

[ZRX61]

Twelve step program?

I've actually sold two of mine, so I no longer have a problem

 

[RivennHewn]

It's definitely Record of some sort, but whats with that 2 piece base deal?

I've never seen anything else like it either.

I break it down again, and take a few picts.

Well, maybe tomorrow........

 

[Freeborn John]

Here's my latest, with a fresh coat of paint.

Any help with ID would be great!

One of the very last vices from Records Sheffield factory would be my guess, I can't think of any other reason to leave the name off other than a company in receivership knocking a last few out. Perhaps the rights to the name had already been sold off abroad.
IIRC the 3B mechanics vice is still produced today, though presumably in the Far East, which does suggest a transition period vice.
It certainly looks very smart in grey, a change from the usual blue.

 

[Kevin54]

I guess I showed a couple of my home vises but I never showed any that I made for work. These were all made and not bought, A couple are around 25-30 years old and see daily use. BTW...the first image is a new Sine bar that I just finished up yesterday, I needed a wider one so I thoiught I'd whip this one out.

This is my 1" square vise and it comes in handy for grinding small parts or for forming small parts

THis is probably one of my older vises and is probably 25 years old. I use it mainly for precision grinding of various parts in the grinder

Lastly, this is one I made up a few years back. It is a different style as it has a moveable pin so shorten the cranking that needs to be done t tighten it. And with this style, when you tighten down the screw it pulls the part down tight to the bottom.

I probably have a few more plus I have snapped some pics of my toolbox at work, it's just that it wil take a little time to download from my canera phone to my computer. When I do, I willpost up pics in the toolbox section. Most of the precision tools that I use have been homemade vs. boughten. I have many and have probably given away just as many or more over the years to ones starting out in tool & die making. At times I wish I had kept them all, but then again, it also helped others to get started.

 

[Gary Indiana]

Here's my latest, with a fresh coat of paint.

Any help with ID would be great!

One of the vises (vices?) on UK's ebay listed as a "Record No3 vice" has markings like yours: RD followed by six digits. It looks like the RD stands for Record.

Record made vises with both cylindrical and spherical fitting for the handle. The balls are definitely vintage.

 

[Catalyze]

Kevin - show me a sine bar in action if you get a chance....I have no clue what they do.
Nice machining on all the items that you made!
Craig

 

[Catalyze]

Record made vises with both cylindrical and spherical fitting for the handle. The balls are definitely vintage.

So are mine......but mine have no record.
Craig

 

[RivennHewn]

So are mine......but mine have no record.
Craig

TMI thank you

 

[Gary Indiana]

Kevin - show me a sine bar in action

Good pictures of sine bars and vises at work in here

 

[Catalyze]

Gary....All I can say is Wowzers! I had no clue the math involved or the precision that is achievable with those vises. Thanks man!
Craig