The VISES of Garage Journal

[gatewaysysop]

Re: Craftsman... Dont know what it is

Picked this up today, It was attached to the end of an I-beam and on the other end was a Columbian pipe vise. This Craftsman looks like it was barely ever used! There are virtually no marks anywhere on it, It was just kind of greasy and has some rust on it.
It opens and closes really smooth and the handle is straight as an arrow. I started to tear it down tonight to clean it up and found some markings on it: underneath is 604 1/2-3, inside the slide and stationary part are NO 391 5197 M-002 and NO 391 5197 M-003.

Anyone have an idea of age of this thing? Sorry for the crappy cell pic's I dont have a camera.

Looks like something that might have been made by Columbian, just going off the #s anyway (the 604 1/2 part). Looks like a nice find!

 

[road]

I got a killer deal on a no name 6" vise $20 of kijiji.

then today I passed up on a #63 columbian today at a garage sale for only $10..
it was in nice condition too,

worst thing is my wife said "go ahead... buy it .. " why not have 2 vises....

I'm really kickin myself for this now

 

[Outlawmws]

hey guys, I have a question on how to repaint an old vise? The finish is still thick in some places... How or what strips it the best and that do I use to paint it up?

I've been doing mine with Electrolysis. Most of the time it takes both paint and rust off, especially where someone had done a trash job of re-painting...

 

[GrimJeeper]

Hello all. Long time lurker, first time poster here. After drooling over everyone's vises for some time now, I decided to take a shot at restoring my first vise. It's a Morgan Milwaukee 288 1/2 that I found on CL and had been used at a gold mine outside of Reno. Needless to say it had been rode hard and put up wet. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration. Here are a few shots of the finished product.

 

[Conor]

I can finally join this thread!!! I dont even have a workbench built yet but....

My wife scored this vise today for me for free from a neighbor!!

anyone got an idea of how old this thing is???

Before and After I hit it with a wire wheel. I'm debating on painting it a hammertone bronze or just hitting it with some oil and leaving it as is....

the base doesnt swivel, any tips on how to get it apart and moving again?

 

[Outlawmws]

SNIP

the base doesnt swivel, any tips on how to get it apart and moving again?

There should be a big center screw under it, and one that and the locking screw are out, you can separate the swivel from the static jaw part pretty easily.

I'd give that a further bath in an electrolysis tank to really get all the rust off.

 

[USMCdodge]

I can finally join this thread!!! I dont even have a workbench built yet but....

My wife scored this vise today for me for free from a neighbor!!

anyone got an idea of how old this thing is???

Before and After I hit it with a wire wheel. I'm debating on painting it a hammertone bronze or just hitting it with some oil and leaving it as is....

the rounded knob on the crank would indicate pre ww2... wow cant believe i beat you to that one outlaw.

 

[USMCdodge]

I have a cman vice the same as this one except mine doesn't have a swivel base. unscrew it all the way and that will expose a pin that holds the anchor nut type thing in. just tap it out with a punch and the rest is easy

 

[mitusa]

I can finally join this thread!!! I dont even have a workbench built yet but....

My wife scored this vise today for me for free from a neighbor!!

anyone got an idea of how old this thing is???

Before and After I hit it with a wire wheel. I'm debating on painting it a hammertone bronze or just hitting it with some oil and leaving it as is....

the base doesnt swivel, any tips on how to get it apart and moving again?

Picture of wife????

She did great!!!

 

[gatewaysysop]

Hello all. Long time lurker, first time poster here. After drooling over everyone's vises for some time now, I decided to take a shot at restoring my first vise. It's a Morgan Milwaukee 288 1/2 that I found on CL and had been used at a gold mine outside of Reno. Needless to say it had been rode hard and put up wet. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration. Here are a few shots of the finished product.

Beautiful!

 

[Outlawmws]

the rounded knob on the crank would indicate pre ww2... wow cant believe i beat you to that one outlaw.

I just got my first Reed (403-1/2R) on Sat, so don't really know what indicates what dates for reeds... But I had got mine apart enough to say how the base might work. Mine has a flattened screw knob.

 

[fortyfour]

Love my Wilton Bullet. Looking for a second...

 

[bl00]

I can finally join this thread!!! I dont even have a workbench built yet but....
My wife scored this vise today for me for free from a neighbor!!
anyone got an idea of how old this thing is???

That's going to be from 1938 to early 1942. You have the newer style vise with the older style knob, handle, screw.

 

[bggrnchvy]

the base doesnt swivel, any tips on how to get it apart and moving again?

As mentioned, there is a large shoulder screw in the base. Hopefully yours isn't in there quite as solidly as mine was. I had to resort to hot metal gluing a socket onto mine to get it free.

 

[Outlawmws]

As mentioned, there is a large shoulder screw in the base. Hopefully yours isn't in there quite as solidly as mine was. I had to resort to hot metal gluing a socket onto mine to get it free.

Wow, mine came out by hand...

 

[Outlawmws]

Does anyone have a Reed 403-1/2 swivel jaw, with the tapered pin intact? I'm looking for the taper they used for that, and some idea of the "Head" configuration.

Or if someone has already drawn the thing, or even has one I can borrow to copy...

 

[bggrnchvy]

Wow, mine came out be hand...

I tried every method of manipulating that slot I could come up with and it never budged. That included grinding a cheap chisel down so it fit nicely, putting a socket on the end of it and driving it with an impact.

Even after welding the socket to it I couldn't get it to break free without grabbing the impact again. I was rather irritated considering the lack of oxidation or thread damage.

 

[heavychevy1]

This is the Columbian pipe vise that was on the other end of the I-beam that the big Craftsman/Columbian was on. I've never actually seen one before so I think it's pretty cool. I haven't taken it off the beam yet so I don't know if it has any other markings on the underside.

 

[Outlawmws]

I have a couple of those old school Pipe vises. An Erie tool works, and an Armstrong Bridgeport. Pretty cool old vises! I would not expect there to be any more markings on the bottom.

What capacity is yours?

 

[malihoochie]

I have lurked around this site for some time & have followed this thread with alot of interest. Wow are there some cool vises in your hands!

I had picked up a couple older vises about 1.5 years ago and tried to give them away to some friends. Thankfully I was turned down.
I dug them out of where I had tucked them in the garage and checked them against others on this site. I am happy to say that I have a Rock Island #94 and a Simplex with a swivel base.

In the course of helping a friend clear some stuff out of a property, I found what I thought was an unusual vise. Please help me identify it.

Thanks

 

[Lump]

Wow, Hoochie. That thing is COOL! Nice find.

 

[malihoochie]

Thanks, Lump!

I assume that the straight gear on top of the shaft is for some manner of quick release?
This vise is not turning/moving yet, so I gave it some shots of penetrating oil. Might have to build one of those electrolisis tanks.

I like the sideways anvil on it.

 

[Outlawmws]

I'm going to be very interested in what that gear does and how it does it! I think definitely a way to quickly open/close the vise, but how? Is a crank handle missing? Can we get more pics?

Definitely recommend the E tank!

 

[heavychevy1]

Outlaw- By capacity do you mean the jaw opening? If so I'm not sure, I will have to do some measuring tomorrow I reckon

 

[malihoochie]

Outlawmws - There is a lever on the far side (in the full side shot) that seems like it would release/engage the upper gear. There seems to be a cam that gets worked by that lever. I'll take more pics later. Thanks for the interest.

 

[zoomieport]

I hope this isn't against any rules...

Let me know if you are interested, we can negotiate a price...

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=147552

 

[Outlawmws]

Outlaw- By capacity do you mean the jaw opening? If so I'm not sure, I will have to do some measuring tomorrow I reckon

Usually these have a range of pipe sizes stamped or cast in the frame, say 1/4" to 2" pipe..

 

[coolreed]

My Reed's all restored and lined up. Yep OCD fer sure.

 

[PCO6]

My Reed's all restored and lined up. Yep OCD fer sure.

coolreed - We have a similar OCD problem. You with Reeds and me with Records. I'm still working on restoring mine. I'm now 2 down with 3 to go ... and 2 wood vices in waiting.

 

[bl00]

My Reed's all restored and lined up. Yep OCD fer sure.

Nice herd of Reeds. I haven't seen one of the utility vises in person. How does the contruction/materials of it compare to the others?

 

[zekers59]

Nice families CoolReed and PC06!!

 

[PCO6]

zekers59 - Speaking of families, the above 5 vices plus my 2 Record wood vices weigh about as much as my 2 kids!

 

[heavychevy1]

OK my Columbian pipe vise only has 161X30 stamped on it, not sure maybe metric.. idk. I measured the jaws and the inner most point on the teeth (top of the V) is 2 5/8" and the body is 3" wide.

 

[heavychevy1]

This is the Craftsman/ Columbian that's posted a page or 2 back. I've been working on it here and there with brake cleaner and a wire wheel on my grinder, It's coming along pretty well. Also a shot of one of the jaws just to show how nice they are, the grease that was caked in them had me thinking they were damn near smooth!

 

[zekers59]

Upgraded from the 9300 Wilton to a 9400......Warranty Exp. 12-31-62

I'm very pleased with the beef of this vise. I wasn't expecting it to be much different than the 9300 -- but it's got some toughness.

 

[Nightshift]

Upgraded from the 9300 Wilton to a 9400......Warranty Exp. 12-31-62

I'm very pleased with the beef of this vise. I wasn't expecting it to be much different than the 9300 -- but it's got some toughness.

You don't need a Willy that big ... and it's too rusty for you. So I'll buy it so you don't have to deal with it. Cheers, Bill

 

[Maexle]

"Leinen" vise

 

[bigcaddy]

Here's a little No. 5244 3 1/2" Dunlap that i picked up over the weekend. It cleaned up nicely with just a little polishing and fresh coat of red paint.

Anybody here familiar with Dunlap vises? They are alien to me and have no idea when this little guy was made.

 

[R410]

If it isn't broken or damaged then it's a casting defect. Either way it's worth less than a perfect example. Prentiss would have probably sold it as a blemish at a reduced price if it came out of their shop that way.

It's not broken, damaged or even a casting defect. For whatever reason the previous owner beat on it on that spot. It's a awesome vise and I'm glad to have it.

 

[Outlawmws]

Here's a little No. 5244 3 1/2" Dunlap that i picked up over the weekend. It cleaned up nicely with just a little polishing and fresh coat of red paint.

Anybody here familiar with Dunlap vises? They are alien to me and have no idea when this little guy was made.

Dunlap is a Sears trademark similar to craftsman, but a lower price point and limited or no warranty.

Dunlap ran from 41-59 and by that model No, I suspect later in the game.