The VISES of Garage Journal

[Outlawmws]

How do you tell the Age of vises? Is it stamped some where on them? I have two that I have no idea the age. I have a Starrett Athol 614 and a Morgan Chicago #30.

Mostly you have to realy on a combination of Model mumbers, old catalogs, place of manufacture (some companies moved at times...) and in the case of Morgans, if there is any original paint, that can give a clue as to era.

It can be tough. (see just above and the effort that went into my little clamp on vise... first ID'ing the mfg/seller, then the date range)

Wilton did date a lot of their vises, if not all of them.

 

[Outlawmws]

The oldest catalog page I have that mentions a 765 is 1953; not to say it's older/newer than that, that's just the only one I've found/collected.

The "Stanley Victor Clamp Base Vises" go back at least to 1926 and at least forward to 1953, but only go up to 746 on that page.

The 761/763/765/766 are the "removable steel jaw" versions of the fixed/iron-jawed 741/743/745/746.

My Stanley info is very sparse however.

That has to have been a moving target over the years: My 765 does NOT have the removable jaws, and the newer probable 765 my daughter got refurbished doesn't either. That one matches in image to three recent 765's sold on Eprey (which DO have the removable jaw caps)...

 

[dayid]

That has to have been a moving target over the years: My 765 does NOT have the removable jaws, and the newer probable 765 my daughter got refurbished doesn't either. That one matches in image to three recent 765's sold on Eprey (which DO have the removable jaw caps)...

Are they diamond checkered or smooth?

I try to only go by what I find that Stanley published, and I don't know why they would sell a 765 and a 745 as two separate models if the 765's are exactly the same as the 745's.

That catalog page says, "No 76[x] vises are equipped with removable, diamond checked face steel jaws. No 74[x] vises have solid, smooth face iron jaws"

 

[Outlawmws]

Are they diamond checkered or smooth?

I try to only go by what I find that Stanley published, and I don't know why they would sell a 765 and a 745 as two separate models if the 765's are exactly the same as the 745's.

That catalog page says, "No 76[x] vises are equipped with removable, diamond checked face steel jaws. No 74[x] vises have solid, smooth face iron jaws"

Both are smooth face solid. I got my hands on my daughters vise again, and (now knowing where to look), verified it is in fact a 745, not a 746, so that does tie in, however the older (1920-34) black and orange is a 765, so probably made before that became the "standard"

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Just picked up this beauty today (Charles Parker No. 975). $60 got me the vise and the table. The table looks puny next to the vise. It's about 21" long and 12"+ high. The weight is probably close to 100#'s. The condition is excellent for its age.

Does anyone know ifthis is the original color? The guy I got it from said it was his father's who passed away several years ago. This guy was in his 60's so I'm sure his oldman was up there in age as well. He said it was always that color as far as he can remember.

 

[dayid]

Just picked up this beauty today (Charles Parker No. 975). $60 got me the vise and the table. The table looks puny next to the vise. It's about 21" long and 12"+ high. The weight is probably close to 100#'s. The condition is excellent for its age.

Does anyone know ifthis is the original color? The guy I got it from said it was his father's who passed away several years ago. This guy was in his 60's so I'm sure his oldman was up there in age as well. He said it was always that color as far as he can remember.

From a 1946 catalog page, that Parker "Eclipse" Machinists' Vise 975 should weight in @ 104lbs with 5" jaws, 8" opening, and replaceable jaws. Back then sold for $30.

I'd say that's not original paint just because of where it covers, that it is scalloped and such; however, I have seen some Parkers with original red, so perhaps it's original or just has been touched up at some point.

 

[bigcaddy]

From what i've seen, most Parkers were black. I usually do any old vise in black or dark grey that i have mixed up at the paint shop. I've never seen a Parker vise with original paint so your guess is as good as mine.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Just picked up this beauty today (Charles Parker No. 975). $60 got me the vise and the table. The table looks puny next to the vise. It's about 21" long and 12"+ high. The weight is probably close to 100#'s. The condition is excellent for its age.

Does anyone know ifthis is the original color? The guy I got it from said it was his father's who passed away several years ago. This guy was in his 60's so I'm sure his oldman was up there in age as well. He said it was always that color as far as he can remember.

I want to say black but I did mine in red with black lettering for contrast.

 

[drb007]

I really like the clean metal look. For my taste, it's nicer than paint. How do I get that finish on my vise?

 

[drb007]

Here is one my dad has...a big Hollands 129 from Erie PA. Any ideas on age would be appreciated...

 

[drb007]

And here is his Athol 614 4-6. Again, any info would be appreciated!

 

[C.BRAXMAIER]

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

Like this ZOOM does some great work....

 

[drb007]

And finally, my real challenge of the day:
This is an old woodworking vise that was in the shop when my dad used to teach. He was able to get the vise from the school, and it sat in his basement of his old farmhouse for a couple of decades. After a few floodings, the thing was pretty nasty. He tossed it in the scrap pile one day as he was in a bad mood
His neighbor salvaged it and painted it orange, but it is still pretty rough and the dog is stuck hard. When he saw it cleaned up and was in a better mood, dad asked the neighbor if he could buy it from him as it did have sentimental value. Being a good guy, the neighbor gave it to him.

As Father's Day is around the corner, and my dad is finally retired and getting to build his own wood shop, I thought it would be nice if I could blast the orange off and get everything working again. I would like to do the clean metal finish like the one posted 3 above, but need suggestions on how to do that.
There are no markings on the vise except for 10B. Likely just a casting mark. If anyone has ANY idea on what this is, age, brand, original color, etc, I would REALLY appreciate the help!

 

[flashman]

Would this Wilton be worth the asking price? He says it was restored but doesnt appear that way. Also it doesnt have the swivel base which seems to help the price from what I have seen mentioned here. Just curious because I feel it is a little steep.

http://wichita.craigslist.org/tls/3062602178.html

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[toolfanatic]

Here is rather sad, neglected and much abused Record No 4 which I picked up recently. The moveable jaw in particular has some deep cuts from an angle grinder I presume along with weld spatter in parts. I want to get this vise looking as good as I can with minimal spend. I am thinking of filling in the many deeps cuts and scars with some body filler- something like Isopon, before draw filing to smooth out the dings etc. Another idea was to use one of those two part "metal" putties which can be filed etc once they set. Anyone here try this?

 

[Outlawmws]

Would this Wilton be worth the asking price? He says it was restored but doesnt appear that way. Also it doesnt have the swivel base which seems to help the price from what I have seen mentioned here. Just curious because I feel it is a little steep.

[email protected]

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

You posted the CL Email addy, not a link to the posting...

 

[Outlawmws]

Here is rather sad, neglected and much abused Record No 4 which I picked up recently. The moveable jaw in particular has some deep cuts from an angle grinder I presume along with weld spatter in parts. I want to get this vise looking as good as I can with minimal spend. I am thinking of filling in the many deeps cuts and scars with some body filler- something like Isopon, before draw filing to smooth out the dings etc. Another idea was to use one of those two part "metal" putties which can be filed etc once they set. Anyone here try this?

That dynamic jaw looks like it's been broken and welded?

 

[SuDZ]

This vice came with my garage. Any idea any info on it? I was curious about when it may have been made etc.

Thanks

 

[Outlawmws]

This vice came with my garage. Any idea any info on it? I was curious about when it may have been made etc.

Thanks

Take the dynamic jaw out and look for a date.

 

[flashman]

You posted the CL Email addy, not a link to the posting...

You are absolutely correct. Here is the link.

http://wichita.craigslist.org/tls/3062602178.html

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[pfbz]

This vice came with my garage. Any idea any info on it? I was curious about when it may have been made etc.

It is a Wilton machinist vise with swivel base (can't tell the jaw width from the picture). The machinist series went through a few different model numbers Can't remember what the earliest model numbering was, then 9450, and now the modern equivalent is Wilton 350S or 450S (one of the few Wilton series still made in the US). It's a nice vise, worth some $ and definitely worth using as is or refurbing for another 50 years or so of service.

Since it is cast with "Chicago" instead of "Schiller Park", I believe it was cast before 1958. But evidently they continued to sell "new old-stock" of the Chicago castings for many years after that, with the date of sale (instead of the date of manufacture) stamped on the dynamic jaw, but I don't think that many of the 4.5" machinists fell into that category.

Here is one of mine. A similar vise in 4.5". Same design, but now stamped Schiller Park with some new part numbers as well as old part numbers, stamped as a 1970 production.

Here is the older 9450 compared to the newer 450. A big part of the apparent size difference is the lack of the swivel base on the 450. They came with and without the swivel...

All of this has been posted before, but it is so long now it is virtually impossible to go through the entire thread!


(by the way, credit to Autopts, whom I've learned much of what I know about Wilton's from!)

 

[SuDZ]

Thanks a lot for the info. I repainted it a year or so ago since it was pretty rough looking and plan to keep it forever. It's pretty beefy and seems like it will keep serving me well.

Thanks for all the info. It's really interesting.

 

[pfbz]

Would this Wilton be worth the asking price? He says it was restored but doesnt appear that way. Also it doesnt have the swivel base which seems to help the price from what I have seen mentioned here. Just curious because I feel it is a little steep.

good old wilton vise $250 obo
​

Looks like a Wilton 450N (non-swivel). Definitely a nice vise, despite the sloppy paint job. It drives me nuts when people can't be bothered to do things like mask off the handle when painting, but easy enough to fix. Prices on these Wiltons has gone up quite a bit, but if you look at the completed auctions for a Wilton 450 on eBay, $250 is a pretty decent price. If it is a Wilton 350 (3.5" jaws instead of 4.5" jaws), maybe just a bit steep on price.

 

[zoomieport]

And finally, my real challenge of the day:
This is an old woodworking vise that was in the shop when my dad used to teach. He was able to get the vise from the school, and it sat in his basement of his old farmhouse for a couple of decades. After a few floodings, the thing was pretty nasty. He tossed it in the scrap pile one day as he was in a bad mood
His neighbor salvaged it and painted it orange, but it is still pretty rough and the dog is stuck hard. When he saw it cleaned up and was in a better mood, dad asked the neighbor if he could buy it from him as it did have sentimental value. Being a good guy, the neighbor gave it to him.

As Father's Day is around the corner, and my dad is finally retired and getting to build his own wood shop, I thought it would be nice if I could blast the orange off and get everything working again. I would like to do the clean metal finish like the one posted 3 above, but need suggestions on how to do that.
There are no markings on the vise except for 10B. Likely just a casting mark. If anyone has ANY idea on what this is, age, brand, original color, etc, I would REALLY appreciate the help!

I believe that to be a little later (circa 1900) E.H. Sheldon & Co. vise, made in Chicago Il.. E.H. Sheldon was from Muskegon Mi., he held several patents, one for a similar style, but I believe it was ratcheting, thus no ACME thread, as there is on yours. Original colr, Black. Wire wheel or soft media blast, then lube with oil for natural look.

I have one also, they are cool.

Please correct me if I am wrong on this one guys...

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

Looks like a Wilton 450N (non-swivel). Definitely a nice vise, despite the sloppy paint job. It drives me nuts when people can't be bothered to do things like mask off the handle when painting, but easy enough to fix. Prices on these Wiltons has gone up quite a bit, but if you look at the completed auctions for a Wilton 450 on eBay, $250 is a pretty decent price. If it is a Wilton 350 (3.5" jaws instead of 4.5" jaws), maybe just a bit steep on price.

igot mine for $150 but the guy was asking 185 for it.

 

[toolfanatic]

That dynamic jaw looks like it's been broken and welded?

No,breaks or weld repairs on this vice, although it does look like someone used it to practice both their angle grinder and welding technique!

 

[kas_rustndust]

Been awhile and several new/old vises. This one is a little different. Made in Minnesota, which fits my collecting. Called the ALLSTEEL VISE by a company now with a slightly different name and new location. Milhoff Steel Products, Bloomington, MN. I have seen 2: the first was at an online auction over in Wisconsin. I didn't bid high enough or fast enough. I bid too many $$$ on this one, telling myself that I was not going to lose. Even though the weight is comparable to an average 4 1/2 in vise, this one substitutes high tensile steel for cast iron (45 lbs.) Unlike many 4.5s, this one rotates and swivels. A lot of machining to keep this one spinning smooth like a banana cream pie.

 

[Outlawmws]

Can you post a pic of it upright without anything in the jaws? Cool pics of a cool vise, but you can't see the main body in any of them...

 

[BMcC]

Here's an Oxwall vise that my mother-in-law gave me, which her dad had given her. I can't seem to find any information about Oxwall vises on the interweb.

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[WWIIjeep]

Here's an Oxwall vise that my mother-in-law gave me, which her dad had given her. I can't seem to find any information about Oxwall vises on the interweb.

Oxwall was a brand of low-priced tools in the 50s/60s/70s, usually sold by mail-order. Spiegel used to sell them back in the day, when they were a general mechandise mail-order company, instead of just clothing now.

 

[autopts]

Would this Wilton be worth the asking price? He says it was restored but doesnt appear that way. Also it doesnt have the swivel base which seems to help the price from what I have seen mentioned here. Just curious because I feel it is a little steep.

http://wichita.craigslist.org/tls/3062602178.html

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

If its this green one, it looks ok to me. The price is a little steep considering its a stationary. I would wait on it until he re adjusts his asking price.
http://wichita.craigslist.org/tls/3062602178.html

 

[zoomieport]

Finally found a Morgan #140, picked it up this afternoon... I took a family photo of him in line with his big brothers #180, #160, #150 and #145...

If you have a #135 or #130 and want to TRADE UP or have one for sale at a reasonable price, PM me... I hate to see a broken home... don't you? HAHA!!

P.S. This one goes out to AUTOPTS, welcome to the JUNGLE... (part one) More to follow...

 

[Catalyze]

Grats Zoomie!
Now you have one of each size for when the Zombies attack. Good effort.
Craig

 

[zoomieport]

Damn Zombies...

 

[Outlawmws]

Here's an Oxwall vise that my mother-in-law gave me, which her dad had given her. I can't seem to find any information about Oxwall vises on the interweb.

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Oxwall was a brand of low-priced tools in the 50s/60s/70s, usually sold by mail-order. Spiegel used to sell them back in the day, when they were a general mechandise mail-order company, instead of just clothing now.

They also predated the move to outsourcing and did so to post war Germany and Japan (Presumably for the cheap labor), and were not known for the quality of their tools I have three stamped steel ignition wrenches I got in a pile of tools or a box, and they look like the cheap stuff they are. Sort of nostalgic as I can remember seeing these all the time when I was a kid, it seemed lit most homeowners that did car work had them. These are marked "USA" and they did have a plant here in the US, but it was abandoned and burned down a few years ago.

I'd guess your vise was an import from Japan, it had that 50's look to it.

 

[zoomieport]

This vs. this...
What is your prefence and why?

 

[alan camby]

This vs. this...
What is your prefence and why?

Your pictures are very small. maybe someone smart can resize them.

 

[alan camby]

I am a little confused on how to identify the model number of the older Wiltons. Lets say the Machinist series. The new models would be called 400n (non swivel) or 400s (swivel base). Before this model came out with a "400" cast on the side, how do we identify them. Are the models before the 400 called a 9400. Is this just identified by the 4" wide jaw, or is this number somewhere on the vise?

Do some of the older C series vises have the model missing, or were they called something else. Sometimes i see a vise that looks like a C1 (for example) but it is missing the casting number on the side.

Do the stmped numbers on the main body and the movable casting help in identifying. for example: My newer 1755 has a 111813 and 111814 stamped in the casting sides

 

[bigcaddy]

I am a little confused on how to identify the model number of the older Wiltons. Lets say the Machinist series. The new models would be called 400n (non swivel) or 400s (swivel base). Before this model came out with a "400" cast on the side, how do we identify them. Are the models before the 400 called a 9400. Is this just identified by the 4" wide jaw, or is this number somewhere on the vise?

Do some of the older C series vises have the model missing, or were they called something else. Sometimes i see a vise that looks like a C1 (for example) but it is missing the casting number on the side.

Do the stmped numbers on the main body and the movable casting help in identifying. for example: My newer 1755 has a 111813 and 111814 stamped in the casting sides

The longer 6 digit numbers can help in identifying vises since they were Wiltons factory casting numbers. When different versions of vises were created, such as the 9400 or 400, they had different casting numbers since the castings varied from model to model. Some had actual model numbers, others didn't. There was a method to the madness but unless you are looking at them all day, it still can be a bit confusing at times.

My C1 has a 6 digit number on both halves but no C1 stamp. Older gens had the actual year date with C1 or C1 but no part number. The best way to get an accurate date is to see what city it was made in or on the underside of the jaw keyway.

 

[zoomieport]

The longer 6 digit numbers can help in identifying vises since they were Wiltons factory casting numbers. When different versions of vises were created, such as the 9400 or 400, they had different casting numbers since the castings varied from model to model. Some had actual model numbers, others didn't. There was a method to the madness but unless you are looking at them all day, it still can be a bit confusing at times.

My C1 has a 6 digit number on both halves but no C1 stamp. Older gens had the actual year date with C1 or C1 but no part number. The best way to get an accurate date is to see what city it was made in or on the underside of the jaw keyway.

I just got a 4-1/2" with no numbers anywhere, not even on the key... haha!