454ragtop
Well-known member
Picked up a Reed 106 today, good shape, but it's missing the handle. Anybody want to measure their handle? Appears to be 7/8" diameter, just like to verify and get an idea on length.
Thank you, Jim
Thank you, Jim
Picked up a Reed 106 today, good shape, but it's missing the handle. Anybody want to measure their handle? Appears to be 7/8" diameter, just like to verify and get an idea on length.
Thank you, Jim

I'll continue where I left off with the British vice manufacturers.
Note that many of them are steel instead of cast iron and have the quick release mechanism.
Again, NONE of these are mine and are just pictures I've hoovered up off the net while looking for some myself.
.
Picked this one up at a garage sale for five bucks last week... It will have to do until I get out of the townhouse and into a real shop. It's a Lakeside, I believe made by Wards?
Scott,
I'm seriously space-constrained as it is in my workshop, so doubling-up on tools is frowned upon.
-G
Mark - very nice find!! A combo Athol is not the most common vise around. Yours is pre WWII and I would guess maybe late 30's. Good luck and have fun with that old beast.
Craig
G
Check out how space constrained I am, I have a 900 sqft shop that has half of it a woodworking shop and the other 1/2 a machine shop. Just about every machine is on wheels including my surface grinder.
Kevin
PM me. The PDF is too big to post. I can email it to you.ps: Any chance of getting that page in a hi res scanner?

I was taking apart my Morgan Chicago 150 and found what looks like to be a brass fitting that has threads inside for the screw. This is the first time I've ever seen a vise with a brass fitting like this...... Is this common in large vises????.......whats the reason for using brass?????........
Check out how space constrained I am, I have a 900 sqft shop that has half of it a woodworking shop and the other 1/2 a machine shop. Just about every machine is on wheels including my surface grinder.
Kevin
Here is a very cool Williamson Mfg 5" vise I picked up last fall. Made in Bradford PA. I have never seen another like it in that one handle locks the bottom swivel and top swivel at the same time.

Finally found a Baby Wilton for a good price.
Then I did a minor restoration.
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I believe my dad had that same vise. I passed it on to a good friend; he and his wife helped me get his house ready for sale (it was in the middle of a DIY kitchen remodeling job).Hello again Vise Friends,
Here are the before & after pictures of a Columbian #504 that I reassembled last night. I bought it from a neighbor for $30.00. He let me go through his garage and attic as an American Picker. BTW, Thanks to all who gave me some history information a while back.
The only "downside" to it is the angled part on the bottom where the work table or bench would need to be clearanced to allow that angled part to fit so the flange would sit flush with the end of the table/bench. Other than that, it's a nice solid (and rather heavy for the size) vise.
Hi ho,
As some of you may recall, I picked up a mystery 4" vise back in December, described in this post. After some time in the electrolysis tub (and the holidays, and the flu...), I've finally gotten the thing cleaned up and painted.
I still have no idea who made it. The only clues are the little cast ogee at the back of the static jaw, which seems to be the way Chas. Parker and Howard Iron Works did things. After dis-assembly, cleaning and re-assembly, the only other things I've noticed are that both removable jaws are stamped in the back with the number 68 (circled in the second image below). I also found the broken screw that held the handle retainer in place was a 5/16"-16 thread, rather than the typical 5/16"-18 thread, which was a little strange.
Anyway, it's all purdy now. Here's a before image, the dis-assembled thing, and the finished unit ready for mounting.
Enjoy!
-JeffK.