The VISES of Garage Journal

[zoomieport]

Possibly a 1892 pat. Lewis Tool Post Mount Swivel DYNAMIC JAW and Swivel Base.

The only markings on it that I can see at this point are "pat may 31 1892", but I believe this to be an error... I thinks it is actually supposed to read "Jan. 5 1892" referring to a Patent by M.G.Lewis, New York, New York. This Patent refers to the locking mechanism that holds/releases the SWIVELING DYNAMIC JAW, however the patenet drawing demonstrates it on the rear jaw, the mechanism is at issue, not the position, imo. This is a "post mount" bench style vise which also has a swivel base with a some what odd spring loaded pull-knob at the release/lock. The jaws are 4" wide and it weighs 56#'s...

All of the above is a guess and I would welcome any and all info, corections, statments and or B.S.!!! Thank you in advance, I love this site!

 

[demoman]

Great score on that vise. I called the gal about it but the shipping was just too much. I have never seen another in my travels. A friend of mine (bl00) sent me this Parker ad that looks similar. I know your vise is not a parker but it is close. The pull knob makes me think of an old prentiss. If there is an ad out there someone will locate it.
Brad

 

[dayid]

Allright folks, I think I've scrubbed a good most of the data in this thread into my wiki. That said, there were some posts that stuck out along the way, that albeit they are old (some a year or more ago), I didn't notice an answer so I figured I'd chime in now. My apologies if these have already been answered, as re-reading this 19x page thread took a lot of time/effort.

Someone pointed me to this Web site and thread ...

Here's my old Craftsman vise that's been in my storage since 1979... it belonged to my bother in law that passed away at the age of 24. He was a machinist and had just got out of the Air Force and a month later died of an aneurism.

After searching around it appears this was manufactured by Reed or Rock Island...

I would appreciate any info you may have, i.e. year made, original color, parts availablity, etc.

Also, is there a place that restores old tools like this in Southern California?


Thanks

.

a990dna That Craftsman 5162 was manufactured at least from 1937 through 1942. Yours could be earlier or later, but that's the time period I've found it in catalogs for. It is a 4" jaw, 6" open, 51lb swivel-vise with replaceable faces. In 1937 it sold for $11.90, up to $12.75 in 1942.

Picked this up last night for $75. Not a "you ****" score I don't think, but these bigger Columbians are scarce around here. This one is a 504 1/2, has 4.5" jaws and weighs about 60 lbs (guessing on that one). (~$190 today)

Rickenbackerman That 504 1/2 *could* be as old as 1926 (that's the only catalog listing I have of a 504 1/2). That catalog had it as 44lbs, 4.5" jaw, 7" open, with replaceable faces - sold for $15.50 in 1926. (~$195 today)

I have just inherited (sort of) a Parker 435. [...] What do I have? Is it rare? How heavy are these? I'm between Chicago and Detroit in Kalamazoo.

Sheila

piccolopower I'm presuming you've long ago parted ways with this Parker you were trying to sell, but since I didn't notice a response: It could have been from 1939-1946 (perhaps a little earlier or later, that's just the catalogs I have indexed with a 435 in them). It was $38 in 1939 (~$615 today). With 5" jaws, 6" open, 116lbs, and a swivel base.

I love that blue color on your Morgan. What brand of paint is that, or is it a custom color?

Here is todays newest score. A 3 1/4" jaw Littleton Hardware & Foundry Vise. I've got a few more of these laying around and i have a plan for this one and hopefully do some good with it.

The funny thing i noticed is that the handle has aluminum balls on the ends, not forged steel. It could be an addition by the previous owner but it looks to factory-like for a garage build. Anybody ever seen anything like this before?

bigcaddy I've no idea as to the source of the knobs, but it seems that perhaps the Littlestown's were prone to losing their knobs, as the nut on the end of emeraldcoupe's Littlestown 112 shows:

 

[Low Friction]

Found this Parker 240 on Craigslist. The jaws are 7.5" wide, has a swivel rear jaw, and a through the bench large mounting bolt. You can see the swivel base plate resting on the floor. The Parker wrench is in the picture for tightening the main fixing nut. It weighs 200+ lbs. This is the largest swivel jaw vise I've seen. It's on my to-do list to get cleaned up.

 

[Recoil Rob]

I have Parker 288-1/2 that I thought was a fixed base but it looks like yours. Where is the swivel lock lever or does it only swivel by loosening and tightening the nut on the main bolt through the bench top?

 

[Low Friction]

The swivel rear jaw has a taper pin. It's in place in the picture. I haven't removed the pin yet or moved the rear jaw. Still working mousemilk into it.

Everything is swivel on this thing so not sure which you mean.

Base: Loosen the big nut with the wrench to rotate the whole vise on the base plate. Not sure how these work. Might mount the base plate and use a pin to locate or hold the vice in place. Don't think the single nut on the bottom will keep the whole vise from moving when under big rotational force.

Rear Jaw: There is no lever to lock the rear jaw just to taper pin to keep it parallel when inserted or self-adjust when removed.

 

[ElectroLight]

Ok Vise gurus, please help me find some info on this beauty...
It is a Columbian 162X, it's marked 162 x 32 on the lock. The other side of the vise says Cleveland Ohio U.S.A. This thing looks old, just not sure how old? I've Googled it and came up with nothing??

 

[Kirkski]

Safety Green Wilton

 

[djkeev]

I just picked up a Kustermann hand vise. I know nothing about it's origins. I searched but nothing comes up. Any ideas?

Here is the link to more photos of the unit....

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141751

Dave

 

[bigcaddy]

I just picked up a Kustermann hand vise. I know nothing about it's origins. I searched but nothing comes up. Any ideas?

Here is the link to more photos of the unit....

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141751

Dave

Those little hand held vises are referred to as a Jewelers or watchmakers vise. They are great for holding a small items tightly but not bolted to a bench. They can be controlled by the users hand in close proximity to their eyes for intricate work.

 

[djkeev]

Thanks!

That's why I was excited to find it. I've got a large Wilton C1 vise that is great for a LOT of things, but nothing very intricate. With this I can clamp the item in and then clamp the hand vise in the vise if need be to work on a smaller item. The bottom pivot shows many vise jaw marks from just such a use!

You can see the jaw marks in the photo if you look closely.

Dave

 

[Outlawmws]

Ok Vise gurus, please help me find some info on this beauty...
It is a Columbian 162X, it's marked 162 x 32 on the lock. The other side of the vise says Cleveland Ohio U.S.A. This thing looks old, just not sure how old? I've Googled it and came up with nothing??

I'm assuming you know that is a pipe vies; at a guess, I'd say around 50 years old or older. I don't have anything specific like a catalog though.

 

[zoomieport]

I'm assuming you know that is a pipe vies; at a guess, I'd say around 50 years old or older. I don't have anything specific like a catalog though.

Agreed... they are tough to date... not "too many" design/patent changes that I'm aware of to help dating... The bigger the better on those, IMO... 6" capacity = $$$! It looks really nice though!!!

 

[gmailer26]

Palmgren 3" Drill Press Vise

My Best Garage Sale Find EVER (so I will make it my first post)

Picked it up for $1.00. Was a little rusty, but cleaned up nice. Just needs some Turquoise paint.

 

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

Palmgren 3" Drill Press Vise

My Best Garage Sale Find EVER (so I will make it my first post)

Picked it up for $1.00. Was a little rusty, but cleaned up nice. Just needs some Turquoise paint.

I have several of those and they're very handy. None of mine have the hex on the screw though.

 

[Amitygravel]

gmailer26
Your first post , a Palmgren you scored for a buck.


You **** !



Welcome to the Garage Journal too !

 

[Outlawmws]

Palmgren 3" Drill Press Vise

My Best Garage Sale Find EVER (so I will make it my first post)

Picked it up for $1.00. Was a little rusty, but cleaned up nice. Just needs some Turquoise paint.

First post, first you ****, it's all down hill from here!

Now you have a rep to maintain!

Great find, and it looks to have cleaned up beautifully! I'd have been all over that for a buck. After toy paint it, it you really have patience, use a small artists brush and fill the recessed background in the logo area with black paint. (I cheated and had my artist student daughter do two of mine) It really makes it stand out

 

[jusridin]

Just got to say ya'all got another one! I got on this site a lil over a month ago just to figure out my plomb stuff, that was it, no more!
Then came the snap on, then P&C, Bonney, S-K ect. I am not a collector!
I am tryin to thin out my tools!
Now I have over 20 ratchets and lots of old craftsman!
I cant stop reading post, in the mornin before work, break, lunch after work all freakin evening!
And now here I am posting in the Vise collum? ya'all ****!
Anyway I go into work this mornin and tell the boss "Hey boss guy I need some more stuff to do at home instead of just drinkin beer" he looked at me questioningly so I continued "we have these Vises that are old and in need of repair" he smiled "so I was thinkin I could take them off your hands and restore them and then put them to good use at home?" He smiled and told me to take them....
So now I am on beer 3 thinkin how cool these will be when I get around to restoring them.
Columbian 505, 5 inch
Wilton 656 6inch and she swivels
Athol 624 n and she swivels
I think I got a good deal, kinda curious wich one is better or is goin to be the problem child to restore?

 

[ElectroLight]

I'm assuming you know that is a pipe vies; at a guess, I'd say around 50 years old or older. I don't have anything specific like a catalog though.

Agreed... they are tough to date... not "too many" design/patent changes that I'm aware of to help dating... The bigger the better on those, IMO... 6" capacity = $$$! It looks really nice though!!!

Thanks for the reply guys. Well, I wasn't in the market for a large pipe vise but... I stumbled across this one at the thrift shop and had to bring it home. It does look old and it's in nice shape; the jaws are sharp and it doesn't appear to have spent any time outdoors. I kind of expected Acme thread but this vise has what looks like NF thread. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this thing, I guess I'll have the mother of all paperweights on my desk for a while.

 

[Outlawmws]

Thanks for the reply guys. Well, I wasn't in the market for a large pipe vise but... I stumbled across this one at the thrift shop and had to bring it home. It does look old and it's in nice shape; the jaws are sharp and it doesn't appear to have spent any time outdoors. I kind of expected Acme thread but this vise has what looks like NF thread. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this thing, I guess I'll have the mother of all paperweights on my desk for a while.

I think standard threads are more common on that style of pipe vise, as the finer treads give more pressure for the relatively short handles they have. Also, it's more likely that a particular size pipe would be used repetitively so less reason to need a faster thread like the Acme.

Keep in mind you can also make up a specialized set of jaws if you have some particular setup that needs regular clamping. These things are dead simple, and there is nothing hard about the jaw insert design.

 

[jusridin]

I was soooo confident to get a you **** from todays haul, that was on my mind all day, go home, post pics and wait for my "you ****"
On a serious note though wich one should I tackle first? wich one has the most value and does any one know about them? are they common? old? worth restoring?

 

[mitusa]

I was soooo confident to get a you **** from todays haul, that was on my mind all day, go home, post pics and wait for my "you ****"
On a serious note though wich one should I tackle first? wich one has the most value and does any one know about them? are they common? old? worth restoring?

Hey, you know you ****....especially if boss man doesn't expect them back cleaned up ready for work.....

I like the Athol....any way to put new jaws in it? They all look like they need a good cleaning and something to keep the rust off....clear or paint.

Good luck....and yousuck!

 

[jusridin]

Awww.... my first you **** (grinning ear to ear) thank you!
Not sure about the jaws yet, I need to give them a good cleaning and I should know more. At first glance I would say no, I don't see bolts holding them together although under all the paint may be pins?
And they are not expected to be returned to work

 

[gatewaysysop]

I was soooo confident to get a you **** from todays haul, that was on my mind all day, go home, post pics and wait for my "you ****"
On a serious note though wich one should I tackle first? wich one has the most value and does any one know about them? are they common? old? worth restoring?

No worries, you definitely ****, that's a very nice haul.

I say do the Athol first, but I may be biased, owning three of them now. Definitely some of the stoutest units out there and you can hold the others against them when you pull them apart for restoration later.

re: the jaws on the Athol, most likely forged in place and not replaceable. They should still clean up pretty good though, you can smooth em out and polish 'em up pretty easily and they contrast well against most paints when you do that, so it'll look great.

 

[jusridin]

I was kinda leaning towards the Athol, it seems to fully function even though it seems to be the most used, it has a broken lever for the swivel and without a doubt the most paint lol. I am looking forward to it. Still though... are they worth restoring?

 

[mitusa]

I was kinda leaning towards the Athol, it seems to fully function even though it seems to be the most used, it has a broken lever for the swivel and without a doubt the most paint lol. I am looking forward to it. Still though... are they worth restoring?

Nah.....just send them to me.....I'll pay the freight.

 

[gatewaysysop]

I was kinda leaning towards the Athol, it seems to fully function even though it seems to be the most used, it has a broken lever for the swivel and without a doubt the most paint lol. I am looking forward to it. Still though... are they worth restoring?

The Athol and the Columbian are both very nice pieces and definitely worthy of a restoration. Wilton too, but I'd do the others first. Again, I'm surely biased.

 

[dayid]

@jusridin: While the Athol (to me) is the best of the bunch most likely, the Wilton would make it on my bench just for having the mini-anvil and pipe-clamp area for the most versatility. The Columbian is still definitely worth restoring also though, and all three are guaranteed to be better than just about anything you can buy new today.

The only one I have any years/info on is the Columbian 505. I've seen it for sale in ads as far back as 1926, so it could be pretty darned old. I don't have any records for that particular Athol or Wilton though, so I can't speak to their age.

 

[jusridin]

ummm no !

 

[jusridin]

Great info, so the general opinion would ba Anthol it appears, I read somewhere here date codes are on the inside, is that true of most vises? I am curious of there age, my plant was built in 1926

 

[jusridin]

ummm no !

Sorry that was meant eloquently to dusa

 

[sret43]

I hope this counts. ECLIPSE No. 10 Made in Sheffield, England

It took my 157 lb Ridgid vise to hold it up.

 

[Outlawmws]

I hope this counts. ECLIPSE No. 10 Made in Sheffield, England

It took my 157 lb Ridgid vise to hold it up.

That's almost as small as using an Exacto knife handle for a vise!

 

[zoomieport]

Just got to say ya'all got another one! I got on this site a lil over a month ago just to figure out my plomb stuff, that was it, no more!
Then came the snap on, then P&C, Bonney, S-K ect. I am not a collector!
I am tryin to thin out my tools!
Now I have over 20 ratchets and lots of old craftsman!
I cant stop reading post, in the mornin before work, break, lunch after work all freakin evening!
And now here I am posting in the Vise collum? ya'all ****!
Anyway I go into work this mornin and tell the boss "Hey boss guy I need some more stuff to do at home instead of just drinkin beer" he looked at me questioningly so I continued "we have these Vises that are old and in need of repair" he smiled "so I was thinkin I could take them off your hands and restore them and then put them to good use at home?" He smiled and told me to take them....
So now I am on beer 3 thinkin how cool these will be when I get around to restoring them.
Columbian 505, 5 inch
Wilton 656 6inch and she swivels
Athol 624 n and she swivels
I think I got a good deal, kinda curious wich one is better or is goin to be the problem child to restore?

It doesn't look like there is much interest in that 505... I have a spot on my "Vise Beam" all picked out for the apparent stepchild of the group, should you decide to just discard that boat anchor!!!BTW, you sure do ****!

 

[Kevin54]

Just got to say ya'all got another one! I got on this site a lil over a month ago just to figure out my plomb stuff, that was it, no more!
Then came the snap on, then P&C, Bonney, S-K ect. I am not a collector!
I am tryin to thin out my tools!
Now I have over 20 ratchets and lots of old craftsman!
I cant stop reading post, in the mornin before work, break, lunch after work all freakin evening!
And now here I am posting in the Vise collum? ya'all ****!
Anyway I go into work this mornin and tell the boss "Hey boss guy I need some more stuff to do at home instead of just drinkin beer" he looked at me questioningly so I continued "we have these Vises that are old and in need of repair" he smiled "so I was thinkin I could take them off your hands and restore them and then put them to good use at home?" He smiled and told me to take them....
So now I am on beer 3 thinkin how cool these will be when I get around to restoring them.
Columbian 505, 5 inch
Wilton 656 6inch and she swivels
Athol 624 n and she swivels
I think I got a good deal, kinda curious wich one is better or is goin to be the problem child to restore?

Just like the lyrics from "Hotel California":

"You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave! "

 

[jusridin]

Just like the lyrics from "Hotel California":

"You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave! "

So it seems, I wont complain I just didn't expect it.
Not a bad way to spend my time

 

[DannyD]

Just got this Record SQ6. It is supposed to be a quick release model. The quick release was not working so I took it apart. Not sure what I am missing and what the previous owners repair was for.

Couldn't find much info on this particular vise.

 

[Outlawmws]

I suspect the clip was the PO's way of eliminating the QR mechanism...

 

[mitusa]

Just got this Record SQ6. It is supposed to be a quick release model. The quick release was not working so I took it apart. Not sure what I am missing and what the previous owners repair was for.

Couldn't find much info on this particular vise.

Maybe it only looks like it's broke and the hose clamp was to hold the two parts together....Hoping that's all it is.

 

[mitusa]

Just got this Record SQ6. It is supposed to be a quick release model. The quick release was not working so I took it apart. Not sure what I am missing and what the previous owners repair was for.

Couldn't find much info on this particular vise.

Maybe it only looks like it's broke and the hose clamp was to hold the two parts together....Hoping that's all it is. Maybe it's just cracked. I'm talking about the bottom picture.