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The VISES of Garage Journal

gilbo

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Feb 1, 2010
Messages
716
Happy Belated 3rd Birthday, to the The VISES of Garage Journal thread
I just happened to notice that this thread was started 3yr ago on 5th of October, 2009

almost 684,000 views, over 6,100 post, WOW !!!!!
 
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CRTDI

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Jan 11, 2010
Messages
1,533
This is the Swivel Release Nut on the Rock Island 577. Mine was missing the handle so I had to make one.
IMG_01521.jpg

Thanks for posting this. You did a nice job on making that handle. I have yet to see a Rock Island 577 vise with what appears to be an original handle. I can't see how all of them would be missing. I wonder now if the 577 ever came with one....:dunno:
 

EOC_Jason

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Joined
Jun 25, 2012
Messages
11,388
Location
Bentonville, AR
Finally got the 5" Trojan 706 cleaned up and painted. On the back of the dynamic jaw there was a lot of gashes so after I blasted it I filled it in with some JB Weld. After that set I sanded it down. Problem is, I was so excited to get this done I forgot to do the same with the front dynamic jaw, so it has all that nice texture and banging on it while the back is much smoother! LOL... oh well...

Also had to mill the front face, all the decades of use it wore itself kind of like a chamfer in (that was uneven of course). Also had to mill the face of the handle knob. While I was at it I made a nice brass washer.

From what it was, to what it turned in to, I'm exceptionally happy...

Not sure if I'm going to sell it or not... Probably... Have to make room for the next project! If anyone is interested, shoot me a PM... Weight is somewhere around 70-80lbs...
 

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Rusty Musket

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Apr 5, 2012
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434
Location
Pacific Northwest
My first restoration

Thanks for all the info and inspiration everyone! I just finished up my first resto of this Athol 614 1/2. I have a Desmond Simplex in progress and I just picked up a smooth jaw Morgan last night for $30. The Wilton tilt vise below came missing its jaw inserts but only cost $5. I am not sure if it is US made or not. Anyone have a source for new inserts?
 

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Dustin Echoes

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Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Messages
311
Location
Gagetown , NB Canada
Finally got the 5" Trojan 706 cleaned up and painted. On the back of the dynamic jaw there was a lot of gashes so after I blasted it I filled it in with some JB Weld. After that set I sanded it down. Problem is, I was so excited to get this done I forgot to do the same with the front dynamic jaw, so it has all that nice texture and banging on it while the back is much smoother! LOL... oh well...

Also had to mill the front face, all the decades of use it wore itself kind of like a chamfer in (that was uneven of course). Also had to mill the face of the handle knob. While I was at it I made a nice brass washer.

From what it was, to what it turned in to, I'm exceptionally happy...

Not sure if I'm going to sell it or not... Probably... Have to make room for the next project! If anyone is interested, shoot me a PM... Weight is somewhere around 70-80lbs...



Nice job on the trojan! I've done a 703, but it was cracked and brazed.
 

Mark in Indiana

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Joined
Aug 11, 2010
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Location
Southern Indiana
Re: My first restoration

Thanks for all the info and inspiration everyone! I just finished up my first resto of this Athol 614 1/2. I have a Desmond Simplex in progress and I just picked up a smooth jaw Morgan last night for $30. The Wilton tilt vise below came missing its jaw inserts but only cost $5. I am not sure if it is US made or not. Anyone have a source for new inserts?



The tilt vise is a Wilton Flip Grip. The were made around 1970. They had pipe jaw set and a steel jaw set. It looks like a great light duty / hobby vise. I don't know if you can get them. However, they look easy to make. I'm in the middle of a restoration of one. Part of my restoration is to make wood, aluminum and steel jaw sets.
 

zoomieport

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Nov 21, 2011
Messages
1,803
Location
The Mall City
Here's one from the "Things you don't see everyday" file...
If anyone has any catalog info on it, please let me know.
 

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Rusty Musket

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Apr 5, 2012
Messages
434
Location
Pacific Northwest
Re: My first restoration

The tilt vise is a Wilton Flip Grip. The were made around 1970. They had pipe jaw set and a steel jaw set. It looks like a great light duty / hobby vise. I don't know if you can get them. However, they look easy to make. I'm in the middle of a restoration of one. Part of my restoration is to make wood, aluminum and steel jaw sets.

Thanks Mark. I was thinking about some plastic or wood jaws as well. I would love to see your solutions!
 

rut3556

Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2012
Messages
17
Location
NH, USA
Today's find......

Hello all,

I picked up this giaboni of a Czech built York 6" vise at a local consignment store today, and it's one lump of metal! (~62 lbs.) It appears to be in very good shape, with a smooth slide action and no apparent hangups. While much of the original paint is in tact, I intend to strip and paint it up real purdy like. I'm aware of the "similarities" to the venerable Wilton vise, and wonder if it disassembles in a similar fashion. However, there appears to be a lateral pin in the front that'll need driving out to separate the screw mechanism from the dynamic jaw etc. If anyone's familiar with the inner workings of this thing please feel free to comment.

Thanks much..........
 

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Amitygravel

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Joined
Mar 26, 2010
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1,188
Location
Claremont Illinois
Here's one in the opposite direction , a little Millers Falls.
Would seem it had a swivel base at one point in its life.
Needs a good cleaning of the screw. I swear , the older I get the the worse my powers of observation become. Didn't even notice the giant chunk missing from the base til I really looked it over once I got it home. No biggy , its going to get used for smal parts ,paid a buck for it
 

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Mark in Indiana

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Location
Southern Indiana
Re: My first restoration

Thanks Mark. I was thinking about some plastic or wood jaws as well. I would love to see your solutions!

The wood jaw faces will be the easiest to make. Just cut some 1/4" solid wood pieces and use magnetic sheet to hold them in place. The aluminum and steel jaw faces can be held in place with the proper size dowel pins. I plan to mill some grooves in the metal faces to hold round work pieces.

I just clear coated mine tonight. Pictures in a few days.
 

Outlawmws

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Aug 9, 2011
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39,269
Location
The Badlands
Here's one in the opposite direction , a little Millers Falls.
Would seem it had a swivel base at one point in its life.
Needs a good cleaning of the screw. I swear , the older I get the the worse my powers of observation become. Didn't even notice the giant chunk missing from the base til I really looked it over once I got it home. No biggy , its going to get used for smal parts ,paid a buck for it

That MF vise sits on a plate with a bench clamp originally, and that has a fairly large pin (considering the size of the vise) with groove in it for the setscrew you still have to fit into and lock the rotation, so I don't think the missing chunk is too significant. That size vise is good one for small parts.
 

Kaervak

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Joined
May 12, 2010
Messages
826
Location
Cleveland, OH
So after I run my 29X through my electrolysis setup what should I use to keep it from rusting? I'm not going to be painting it as I rather like the unfinished metal look.
 

autopts

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Joined
Jul 4, 2009
Messages
2,268
So after I run my 29X through my electrolysis setup what should I use to keep it from rusting? I'm not going to be painting it as I rather like the unfinished metal look.

20 different menbers will give you 20 different answers. Any rust preventive and a trowel down.
 

tenlug

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Joined
Aug 21, 2005
Messages
46
Location
USA
Here's a pic of some of my toys.

L-R: Yost 5" Machinist, Wilton C-2, Yost 33C (built in Muskegon in 1979), Columbian 205 M-3. Steve
 

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AZpilot

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Sep 29, 2012
Messages
413
Location
Mesa, AZ
I refinshed the Record even though it didn't really need it. Went with Rustoleum Metallic Cobalt Blue.... Close to original, but sparkly :)

5-15-11004.jpg



5-15-11006.jpg



Here's the before:

5-9-11007.jpg

Love the Record. I bought one just like it at Sam's Club in the 90's.
 

Bret888

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Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Messages
94
Location
W. PA
Here's a pic of some of my toys.

L-R: Yost 5" Machinist, Wilton C-2, Yost 33C (built in Muskegon in 1979), Columbian 205 M-3. Steve

Those are nice! I have gotten to like the tall combination vises, and I don't have a Yost of any configuration ....YET!
 

Glacial_Speed

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Joined
Sep 15, 2012
Messages
7,054
Location
Massachusetts
Finally got the 5" Trojan 706 cleaned up and painted. On the back of the dynamic jaw there was a lot of gashes so after I blasted it I filled it in with some JB Weld. After that set I sanded it down. Problem is, I was so excited to get this done I forgot to do the same with the front dynamic jaw, so it has all that nice texture and banging on it while the back is much smoother! LOL... oh well...

Also had to mill the front face, all the decades of use it wore itself kind of like a chamfer in (that was uneven of course). Also had to mill the face of the handle knob. While I was at it I made a nice brass washer.

From what it was, to what it turned in to, I'm exceptionally happy...

Not sure if I'm going to sell it or not... Probably... Have to make room for the next project! If anyone is interested, shoot me a PM... Weight is somewhere around 70-80lbs...

Great job on the trojan :beer:

Nice color, looks good with the brass washer. If I had the cash.......but I don't.

So your vise doesn't have the parker name on the other side like the trojan 706 back on page 135. Interesting, some years they have the parker name, some years not...hmmmm

Has anyone ever seen a catalog with trojan vises in it? They seem kind of rare, very few pictures of any trojan vises and as you noted most of them point back to garagejournal.
Oh well at least we know that the mystery parker back on page 174 is most likely a trojan 726, figuring the swivel base adds about 15~20 pounds.

The trojan line does seem to be different in 3 major ways from other parker vises. 1) They don't have the dovetailed jaws and 2) no traditional parker collar and 3) they are lower in height looking somewhat more like a reed, kind of squashed, like an early parker 49. Oh and the lead screw handle holder looks like a file handle instead of a cylinder or a ball.

The jaws look like they are set in like an early reed or athol, is that true?

I've been looking at the numbers and jaw sizes, it looks like the trojan 700 line is the fixed base version and the 720 line is the swivel base (much like the 800/820 superior line). Your 706 has 5 inch jaws, and I read on worthpoint the 722 has 3 inch jaws, so filling in the blanks the 703 would be 3.5 inches, 704 would be 4 inches, 705 would be 4.5 inches. I'm guessing they didn't name anything with 1/2 numbers.

Does anyone know if they made any 708 trojan vises? :headscrat
 

EOC_Jason

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Location
Bentonville, AR
Glacial,

Yes, the hardened jaw inserts are much like the early Reed / Athol / generic Prentiss in that they are permanent. The inserts are extremely thick though (as you can kind of tell from my pictures, I kind of painted over them a hair on the dynamic jaw, it's thicker than it looks).

All the little features that make a traditional parker are not present on the Trojan. It's just a huge hunk of beefy solid metal... Every part is extra-thick, you can tell it was meant to take some serious abuse. Mine, from the way the handle wore into the face of the dynamic jaw (and all the gashes and dents) you can tell it got many decades of hard work. Even the holes to mount it are big... I usually use a 9/16... These can easily fit a 5/8 or maybe larger... I'm going to find some bolts today so I'll update when I figure out what fits. UPDATE: It will fit 3/4" bolts! LOL... I think I'll just stick with 5/8 though otherwise you are making some huge holes in your bench!

The end of the handle is kind of like a wrecking-ball shape. It's got a little curve to it but it stays very thick throughout.

My guess is they either started out with the Parker name on them, but didn't sell well so they took their name off to make it more generic? Or maybe vise versa... Maybe started out with just the Trojan name but maybe didn't sell well so they added the Parker name to maybe try and boost sales? That's just a guess, who knows the real reason. I think people probably liked the "traditional" parker style with those deep jaws, and when people wanted something different they would stick with the other well-known brands. Or maybe the Trojan's were just commissioned by some company to make a small production run, or maybe even these were just a short lived prototypes but a full production run never happened?

They are most definitely not as common as others from my findings... I haven't been able to find any literature, and the few that you find on Google searches keep pointing back to the same handful.

Making the brass washers I think adds a nice touch, not only for aesthetics (that little color just makes it pop), but also to help prevent wear on the vise itself. My buddy has a machine shop and they have tons of little scrap pieces of brass ends so it's just a little lathe work to make a useable washer.
 
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bigcaddy

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Jan 17, 2012
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Location
Orange County/ San Fernando Valley
I stood in line for 30 minutes to finally get my hands on this almost unused Columbian D45 this morning. It needs some new paint and polishing but should look brand new when finished.
 

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Bret888

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Jul 11, 2012
Messages
94
Location
W. PA
Here is a 1902 ad for the Parker Vulcan vises. I do not know if they were ever marked Vulcan, and don't look quite as fancy. The reason I am adding this to the conversation, is that the Parker "V Grade" with Vulcan steel bbls, was the second cheapest grade in the Parker shotgun lineup, with the Trojan with Trojan steel bbls. being the cheapest. The Trojan wasn't brought out until about 10 years after this Vulcan vise add, or it may have been listed.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1902-Parker...661?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c0fa6a4ad

If you haven't read this, it is some interesting history on the foundries they sourced castings from.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5346

Great job on the trojan :beer:

Nice color, looks good with the brass washer. If I had the cash.......but I don't.

So your vise doesn't have the parker name on the other side like the trojan 706 back on page 135. Interesting, some years they have the parker name, some years not...hmmmm

Has anyone ever seen a catalog with trojan vises in it? They seem kind of rare, very few pictures of any trojan vises and as you noted most of them point back to garagejournal.
Oh well at least we know that the mystery parker back on page 174 is most likely a trojan 726, figuring the swivel base adds about 15~20 pounds.

The trojan line does seem to be different in 3 major ways from other parker vises. 1) They don't have the dovetailed jaws and 2) no traditional parker collar and 3) they are lower in height looking somewhat more like a reed, kind of squashed, like an early parker 49. Oh and the lead screw handle holder looks like a file handle instead of a cylinder or a ball.

The jaws look like they are set in like an early reed or athol, is that true?

I've been looking at the numbers and jaw sizes, it looks like the trojan 700 line is the fixed base version and the 720 line is the swivel base (much like the 800/820 superior line). Your 706 has 5 inch jaws, and I read on worthpoint the 722 has 3 inch jaws, so filling in the blanks the 703 would be 3.5 inches, 704 would be 4 inches, 705 would be 4.5 inches. I'm guessing they didn't name anything with 1/2 numbers.

Does anyone know if they made any 708 trojan vises? :headscrat
 

BJ42LX

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Dec 29, 2010
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Location
WNY
I saw this 6" Reed No 34 go at auction today for $180 (plus 10% and tax). The under bidder was a mennonite guy who bought a lot of chains, shackles, clevis rings, etc. The vise had a swivel base but I couldn't figure out how it worked/locked/unlocked.

Big and heavy but smooth as butter.
 
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phy6

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Nov 18, 2007
Messages
275
Location
Maryland, It's a Wet Heat.
I saw this 6" Reed No 34 go at auction today for $180 (plus 10% and tax). The under bidder was a mennonite guy who bought a lot of chains, shackles, clevis rings, etc. The vise had a swivel base but I couldn't figure out how it worked/locked/unlocked.

Big and heavy but smooth as butter.

Congrats! Sounds like the other guy was setting up a torture chamber.:rolleyes:
 

BJ42LX

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Congrats! Sounds like the other guy was setting up a torture chamber.:rolleyes:

Woops. Nope, I didn't buy it. I was just an on-looker, though I was very impressed with it's mass, size and quality. I'm a Wilton guy...
 

Glacial_Speed

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Sep 15, 2012
Messages
7,054
Location
Massachusetts
Hello Brett888

I did see a picture of a trojan 722 swivel base vise that looks just like the 1902 vulcan line ad, with that under bench D handle. This (early?) 722 did not have the parker name on the other side. Here's the link

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-trojan-vise-blacksmith-tinsmith-nice

It has the "wrecking ball shape" handle end found on all trojan vises, ( I like that description EOC ).

I noticed by the 1906 ads they had evolved to the more common bolts on the side swivel base setup.

The point? Well I'm guessing the trojan line is older than 1906........:dunno: I need to find some ads from 1903, 04, 05, to know what year that change happened.
 
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Bret888

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Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Messages
94
Location
W. PA
Parker must have named the guns after the vises, instead of vice versa. It looks like the vises got those names first.
Hello Brett888

I did see a picture of a trojan 722 swivel base vise that looks just like the 1902 vulcan line ad, with that under bench D handle. This (early?) 722 did not have the parker name on the other side. Here's the link

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-trojan-vise-blacksmith-tinsmith-nice

It has the "wrecking ball shape" handle end found on all trojan vises, ( I like that description EOC ).

I noticed by the 1906 ads they had evolved to the more common bolts on the side swivel base setup.

The point? Well I'm guessing the trojan line is older than 1906........:dunno: I need to find some ads from 1903, 04, 05, to know what year that change happened.
 

Rogue86

Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2012
Messages
5
Location
Iowa
Long time forum reader, first time poster! Here's my Reed 104 I recently restored. It is in amazing condition for its age, especially the jaws.

(It's also for sale in the classified section, asking $100)

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http://sphotos-a.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/456157_606444743494_1775438987_o.jpg
 

BJ42LX

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Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
2,811
Location
WNY
I just finished repainting an older Wilton vise with Rust-Oleum 7219830 Hammered Verde Green.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UE7MTW/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I thought you might like to see how that color compares to a new Wilton 1745. Well, I bought it new in 2009. So technically it's 3 years old. But it's seen light use in my basement, so no grease/oil stains - not even any sun fading.

The Rustoleum is on the left and the factory Wilton part is on the right.

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BJ42LX

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Location
WNY
Give The Gift of Vise

Give The Gift of Vise.

This spring my brother finally bought a house with a respectable garage. Three bays with plenty of additional space for a workbench and general diy type stuff. He called asking for vise advice. I told him to skip the big box stores and work Craigslist for a machinist's vise. He's been very busy setting up house and getting the family settled - spring turned into summer and fall with no vise (or workbench!) in the garage yet (though he did get the walls painted and layed down a double coat of Rustoleum floor epoxy).

In the mean time I found this Wilton 9300 local to me for a decent price. Very little use. I freshened it up with a full bead blast, paint and lube. As good - maybe better! - than when it was new in January 1971.

I'll be boxing it up and sending it off this week as sort of a housewarming present for him.

Now I have to come up with something for SIL and the kids or else I'll be in hot water! :bounce:

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Joined
Sep 12, 2012
Messages
8
Location
Virginia
Re: My first restoration

The tilt vise is a Wilton Flip Grip. The were made around 1970. They had pipe jaw set and a steel jaw set. It looks like a great light duty / hobby vise. I don't know if you can get them. However, they look easy to make. I'm in the middle of a restoration of one. Part of my restoration is to make wood, aluminum and steel jaw sets.

Keep us posted !

I also picked one up without jaw inserts. Looking to fab something up (or pick up your extra's :) )
 
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