The VISES of Garage Journal

[bggrnchvy]

Finally got a REED 4C, been looking for a while....

Here it is with a "smaller Prentiss" set on the "slide" for reference (haha)!!!
Thanks,

Mike

PS... No the nut is not engaged, I took it apart to carry to the basement (185lbs...).

Awesome score! I'm continually on the lookout for a 5-6" jaw combination vise myself, glad to see others finding what they want.

 

[Joe B.]

Hello Vise Friends,

I just won this Wilton vise (see picture) at an estate auction for $5.00. It's scheduled for a clean up. I have some questions for the Wilton experts:

1. I've seen that this vise was called a "gunsmiths vise" or a "swivel / pivot vise". Whats the proper name for the vise? What is it best used for?

2. I've only seen this Wilton model twice. Both times it looked like the jaws were missing. Were there jaws for the vise? If so, what were they made from?
If there are to be jaws added, what material was used? I was thinking of making a set out of aluminum or UHMW nylon. Opinions?

Thanks

1) Wilton called it a "Flip Grip". There were two versions of it. I believe you have the earlier version with the flip hinge to the side. I have what I believe is the later version that has the hinge directly below the vise. The following thread has an old ad for one of the later models.
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86615&highlight=wilton+flip+grip&showall=1

2) Yes. (See link above.) I don't have them for mine either.

 

[C.BRAXMAIER]

How could I find the original color of a vise such as a colombian 404 or a yost 6 inch vise...

 

[ssffnomad]

Picked up at Yard Sale this weekend .

 

[zoomieport]

Awesome score! I'm continually on the lookout for a 5-6" jaw combination vise myself, glad to see others finding what they want.

I just couldn't believe how much more massive it is that the Wilton C2...

 

[Lump]

Lump let "the big 'un" get away!!!

At my swap meet this past weekend, I mentioned to a vendor I know that I am looking for a REALLY BIG bench vise, USA or European made, with no damage, etc. He replied, "Well, hell, there is one right by your main entrance gate, in the very first vendor booth."

Huh???

So I went charging right over there, trying to ignore the constant calls for me on the walkie-talkie on my hip.


I got there and found a neat, huge old machinists' vise, made by Athol Mfg. Lying on the ground beside it was a sheet of paper with the word, "SOLD" on it. RATS!!

Following is a photo:

The photo doesn't do it justice; it was HUGE! Worse yet, it was sold. But not just sold once! The vendor whose booth I found it in, had bought it there at my show for $100, taken it back to his own booth and sold it again for $150!!

And the new owner was not interested in selling!

 

[hughfree]

My two Craigslist finds:

1. Wilton Machinist 400S - $90.00

Wilton 8400 (circa 1967) - $80.00

May not be a steal but I am pretty proud of my first two bullets!

 

[Low Friction]

Looks like a great deal to me...nice job! A little cleanup and they'll be like new.

 

[bigcaddy]

Here is a older Craftsman that i posted on here some time ago. It belongs to my dad and was on his list of things to refinish. He finally go around to it last week and i just snapped these pictures of it today. I think it looks pretty good.

 

[bigcaddy]

I almost forgot to include my new project Prentiss i picked up last week. I've seen them in the print ads on ebay but never in person. Its a No. 65 Gipsy

I really would like to find one of the Anchor Line vises. There was one on ebay a few months ago but it went way to high for me.

 

[Catalyze]

Hey Bigcaddy!
Grats on saving an old Prentiss. This is a Gypsy 67 hiding under my work benches.
View media item 9161The design is so nifty that a person just can't resist snagging one of the chance comes up.

Grats on the Bullets Hugh! You got them at a nice price considering what the going rate seems to be lately.

Zoomie- very nice find on the 4C, there is a lot of metal in a Reed anyway and that one is a big Reed indeed!
Craig

 

[ssffnomad]

Versa Vise. Can someone give me a little info and approximate year please ?

 

[columbus_east]

Here is a Morgan 140 vise that was given to me, it was in a barn. Cleaned up with a abrasive nylon wire wheel, needed new jaws and some other parts. It seemed like it was originally gray, when I called Morgan they thought it might have come from a military auction.

 

[gregthor]

Dear Friends at Garage Journal,
I am sure somewhere in the 220 pages of “The Vises of Garage Journal” we already have a Chas Parker 954 shown but just in case we don’t here is one. A friend of mine who lets me do government projects in his machine shop asked me the other day if I knew where he could get a good vise for his new maintenance bench in his shop. I said; yes let me check. He wanted a rigid mount sturdy vise. I went home and checked the “future projects pile” and found this Chas Parker 954. I thought this would be perfect for his new bench and I wanted to do something nice for him. I cleaned it up, re lubed it, added a few new shims to take slack out, repainted it and it is ready to go. I didn’t re letter it because it will be in service and the laser dust will make the white letters look bad soon. The original handle has some nicks but straight as an arrow so I just polished it a little. The jaws also had a lot of little battle scars but fit up and alignment was perfect so I just did a little dust off with the 4 ½ angle grinder and now this vise is ready for service.
Greg

 

[Shop101]

There sure are a lot of vises on here. I just picked this one up. It has 4" jaws and opens to about 8". One side says "Chas Parker........ the only other marking I can find are stamped numbers. It looks like 974 and something else I can't make out. Is this an old vise or just an old looking vise? Does anyone have any history on it? All the other vises on here have cast numbers, so the stamped numbers seem odd. Anyways, it's a solid vise and I have already put it to good use. I've been reading the posts to learn how to freshen it up.Thank you for any information you can pass on.

 

[zekers59]

Bigcaddy,

Very nice looking CMan vise! Great casting design...thanks for showing.

 

[allinon72]

Here's my small Kmart Wilton

 

[Laker]

Thanks to everyone for sharing their vises, here is my first and second restoration, my grand-uncle's Erie 44, and a Parker 973. - next up is a Reed #106

 

[rogerstools]

I recently bought this vise to use, but when I got it home I noticed it was welded together not a cast vise. The only marking I found are Columbian and Pat Pending. My neighbor suggested that I not strip it and repaint till I could find out more. It does not seem to have had much use.

 

[rogerstools]

I did not get the attachment an the last post. Here are the pictures of the vise. Any information would be appreciated.

 

[Outlawmws]

There sure are a lot of vises on here. I just picked this one up. It has 4" jaws and opens to about 8". One side says "Chas Parker........ the only other marking I can find are stamped numbers. It looks like 974 and something else I can't make out. Is this an old vise or just an old looking vise? Does anyone have any history on it? All the other vises on here have cast numbers, so the stamped numbers seem odd. Anyways, it's a solid vise and I have already put it to good use. I've been reading the posts to learn how to freshen it up.Thank you for any information you can pass on.

Those markings aren't stamped in, they are cast in, just in an inset panel. Yes its old, at least 50-60 years, probably more, it could be 70-80 years old or so. I think the patents on the 974 was 1930 IIR?

 

[relic7680]

Here's my Wilton 645 that I picked up at a junkyard a couple years ago. It's the model that had the Wilton sticker on it instead of the name cast in. I scrapped the broken swivel base, cleaned and lubed the guts, and have worked it ever since.

 

[Catalyze]

Shop 101 - what I think that you have there is one of the last of the Charles Parker vises when it was made by Union. The vise posted just above you by Gregthor is the "classic" shape of a stationary Parker from early 1900's up until Union took them over. Your lettering is cast in an inset where most early Parkers were cast on the surface of the vise body. A 974 should indicate a swivel base Parker whereas a 954 was the code for a stationary base. The jaw faces are the later model shape of the Union faces. I still have one that I tried to put on an earlier Parker and they won't fit at all. The very last of the Union Parkers had a sheet metal collar at the front and yours is still the classic cast metal item. I can't tell you why your numbering seems to indicate swivel but the base (with 3 holes) indicates stationary. It's a Parker and it probably won't care what I think....it will just keep working for another 60 years.
Craig

 

[Shop101]

Catalyze,
Thank you for the information. It's nice to know a little history of it. I've been searching the net looking for information on this vise. All my searches bring me right back to GJ.

 

[RivennHewn]

Any ideas on this vise?

Seems to have no ID marks.

 

[emeraldcoupe]

added this one to the collection this morning.chas parker 954. $50 off cl.

 

[drb007]

So many great vises on this thread. I am new to the vise world...just picked this one up today for $75. The story alone to me was worth it. This vise came out of the Blatz Brewery in Milwaukee, WI. It was used in the shop where they made wagons and wagon wheels. Blatz was open from 1851 to 1959. The only marking on the vise is the number 127 under the removable jaw. Any ideas on age or what it was used for specifically?

 

[drb007]

Here is my little vise, a Luther V20. It had a few layers of paint on it, so I didn't mind blasting it (not done yet). I will paint it up black and paint the letters gold to match the nice brass foot on the clamp unless anyone has any history on what it looked like originally...
Any idea on age on this one?

 

[Catalyze]

Rivenn - could it be shop made as a project? I have no clue or idea. Usually the shop made ones are solid steel and don't have cast parts.....just no idea.

emerald - grats on the nice Parker! That one is the perfect one to put in the dictionary under Parker Vise. Late model cylindrical nose for a WWII or later date.

drb - the type of vise is called a Sheet Metal or Woodworker vise. The wide/smooth jaw surface is so that it won't "imprint" what you are clamping and to allow you to bend sheet metal without kinking it (I think....but not often). The number that you found might have a mate if you take the moveable jaw off and look under it. All my Prentiss swivel jaw vises have matching numbers on jaw and body. I sort of believe that parts were stamped so that they could be "matched" and later assembled. Or it could a work station number.....who knows? If you take it apart...on the main nut you might see a maker's mark. Other than that....it was probably a vise that was made by a big company like Prentiss etc....and sold to other small companies to market as their own under different names. Grats on the nice vise with some history! Age.....late 30's or earlier most likely and kudos for having the original pin.
Craig

 

[whelenfan]

Here is my Parker 24 X, finally media blasted and painted. All that i need to do now is clear off some room for it on the bench!

By the way, I just put it on the scale and it comes in at apx 90lbs!

 

[zoomieport]

Dear Friends at Garage Journal,
I am sure somewhere in the 220 pages of “The Vises of Garage Journal” we already have a Chas Parker 954 shown but just in case we don’t here is one. A friend of mine who lets me do government projects in his machine shop asked me the other day if I knew where he could get a good vise for his new maintenance bench in his shop. I said; yes let me check. He wanted a rigid mount sturdy vise. I went home and checked the “future projects pile” and found this Chas Parker 954. I thought this would be perfect for his new bench and I wanted to do something nice for him. I cleaned it up, re lubed it, added a few new shims to take slack out, repainted it and it is ready to go. I didn’t re letter it because it will be in service and the laser dust will make the white letters look bad soon. The original handle has some nicks but straight as an arrow so I just polished it a little. The jaws also had a lot of little battle scars but fit up and alignment was perfect so I just did a little dust off with the 4 ½ angle grinder and now this vise is ready for service.
Greg

Well done Greg, looks great!

 

[softailgarage]

This is a Columbian I picked up at an estate sale couple of weeks ago.

 

[WWIIjeep]

It was used in the shop where they made wagons and wagon wheels. Blatz was open from 1851 to 1959. The only marking on the vise is the number 127 under the removable jaw. Any ideas on age or what it was used for specifically?

drb - the type of vise is called a Sheet Metal or Woodworker vise. The wide/smooth jaw surface is so that it won't "imprint" what you are clamping and to allow you to bend sheet metal without kinking it (I think....but not often). The number that you found might have a mate if you take the moveable jaw off and look under it. All my Prentiss swivel jaw vises have matching numbers on jaw and body. I sort of believe that parts were stamped so that they could be "matched" and later assembled. Or it could a work station number.....who knows? If you take it apart...on the main nut you might see a maker's mark. Other than that....it was probably a vise that was made by a big company like Prentiss etc....and sold to other small companies to market as their own under different names. Grats on the nice vise with some history! Age.....late 30's or earlier most likely and kudos for having the original pin.

That style was also known as a "coachmaker's vise," which would certainly fit with its use in a wagon shop.

Agreed that it looks like a Prentiss.

Nice find with interesting history attached.

 

[zoomieport]

I'm looking for 3 Morgan vises... #130, #135 and #140... I would like to make a trade, if anyone is interested. I am willing to "over-trade" a little to get these. I have about 80 vises, so tell me what you are looking for and maybe we can work something out. Thanks!
Mike

 

[Mark in Indiana]

1) Wilton called it a "Flip Grip". There were two versions of it. I believe you have the earlier version with the flip hinge to the side. I have what I believe is the later version that has the hinge directly below the vise. The following thread has an old ad for one of the later models.
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86615&highlight=wilton+flip+grip&showall=1

2) Yes. (See link above.) I don't have them for mine either.

Joe B,

Thanks a million for the information.

After a few google searches, I found a NOS flip grip featured at www.tennesseequipment.com. The picture featured the steel jaw sets that came with it. They look easy enough to make.

I also found a copy of a hardware store ad from 1974 that featured this vise for $20.00.

I think the nice thing about this vise is that it's good for delicate work that you could damage in a larger one. The 2 axis position feature is cool.

 

[bczygan]

So I gave my wife my newest Parker (A 973 1/2 complete with wrench) so she could use the little anvil space for her jewelry making. Here's what she did with it:

 

[amaes]

Picked this up off CL for $50 its a Starrett Athol No. 614. Going to restore it and give it to my dad as a fathers day gift. He saw my Fuller I did for myself and really liked it so I've been hunting for another vise to redo for him.

 

[murphyrobert]

My first post, and first time I have found this website. Lots of cool stuff here.

I just bought an old Craftsman 506-51800, now realize I may have overspent a bit, but oh well, I don't have a small work vise for home use. I was able to remove the jaws and clean them up, but I cannot remove the base screw??? Maybe I need a bigger screwdriver, or some kind of offset screwdriver so I can get more torque on it??? Any suggestions? Previous owner had some paint boo-boos that I would like to remove.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[alan camby]

My first post, and first time I have found this website. Lots of cool stuff here.

I just bought an old Craftsman 506-51800, now realize I may have overspent a bit, but oh well, I don't have a small work vise for home use. I was able to remove the jaws and clean them up, but I cannot remove the base screw??? Maybe I need a bigger screwdriver, or some kind of offset screwdriver so I can get more torque on it??? Any suggestions? Previous owner had some paint boo-boos that I would like to remove.

Thanks,
Robert

Welcome to the forum

I would try a hand impact driver to remove that screw. If that did not work I would try a little heat.

 

[Outlawmws]

My first post, and first time I have found this website. Lots of cool stuff here.

I just bought an old Craftsman 506-51800, now realize I may have overspent a bit, but oh well, I don't have a small work vise for home use. I was able to remove the jaws and clean them up, but I cannot remove the base screw??? Maybe I need a bigger screwdriver, or some kind of offset screwdriver so I can get more torque on it??? Any suggestions? Previous owner had some paint boo-boos that I would like to remove.

Thanks,
Robert

Welcome to the forum

I would try a hand impact driver to remove that screw. If that did not work I would try a little heat.

Ditto on the Hammer impact, I had one that was really rusted in, and it took a hammer impact and a 3/8 drive Drag link "Socket (over sized screwdriver blade on the tip of the "socket") and several turns before it was loose enough to get with a wrench. (I also had one that came off literally by hand alone, but that had to have been a major exception...)