The VISES of Garage Journal

[PugetDude]

That's not necessarily true... If you check out viseparts.com they have some of the newer parts off the columbian line. It might take a little filing or shimming to get to fit, but if the threads are the same and the height of the threaded hole is the same, then it might not be too difficult to fix.

http://www.viseparts.com/504_4_MACHINED_SPINDLE_NUT_p/ba-10103s04.htm

Thanks for the link, Jason. Will check it out.

 

[ClassicCannons]

Hello
I thought this would be a neat addition to the Vise thread. I have tis on another forum thread also from a few yeas back and here some of the info that had been gathered on it.

Thanks for taking the time to checking it out

This little vise i had aquried at a yard sale here in Kansas a few years back.For $10 bucks



Its a well made unit and i think its some type of Jig also.

The size is overall with the small oak board 10" long by 3 1/2" wide by 3 1/2" high.

It has a tight throat and the jaws are hardened and the jaws are just shy under 2". the wood screws look hand cut and the # 82 is stamped under it and some of the gold pin strip is still present and their apairs to be red laquar on it still.

 

[bigcaddy]

That is a great looking little Prentiss jewelers vise you have there. It looks to be in great shape for its age but then again, they didn't see the abuse that rail yard vises saw.

If you take the 2 halves apart, you will find another 82 on the stationary side as well as underneath the swiveling jaw. They were part/casting numbers to aid with assembly and to tell if your vise was a Frankenvise made of spare parts. Pop out that pin and the whole rear jaw should rotate about 90 degrees before you can slide it out of place.

You might even look closely at the front of the dynamic jaw, about an 1-2" down from the jaw insert. They were usually marked P.V.Co if the didn't have raised lettering on the sides.

 

[ZRX61]

Happened to swing by a local CalTrans yard today to enquire about an old trailer they have on the premises. They have a huge Prentiss #58 in the shop, will have to go back & get a pic

 

[bigcaddy]

Any of you vise guys know what it would take to fix this?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/tls/3875096107.html

I see your concern for buying a broken vise but that isn't too bad a price for what you are getting, if you are willing to spend the money to fix it or wait for another donor vise to come along

You can still contact Reed/Columbian and buy that part from them. It might take some fitting like EOC Jason mentioned but it will get it going again.

You could also make one from some bar stock and a few acme nuts welded together, if you have the tools and know-how to make it happen. Reed was one of the few manufacturers that made vises with cast metal rear nuts and ones made of forged steel. The forged steel ones are nearly indestructible so a home made one would be a step up from the stock cast unit.

 

[bigcaddy]

Happened to swing by a local CalTrans yard today to enquire about an old trailer they have on the premises. They have a huge Prentiss #58 in the shop, will have to go back & get a pic

Screw the picture!! Bring a wrench and unbolt that thing

 

[ClassicCannons]

That is a great looking little Prentiss jewelers vise you have there. It looks to be in great shape for its age but then again, they didn't see the abuse that rail yard vises saw.

If you take the 2 halves apart, you will find another 82 on the stationary side as well as underneath the swiveling jaw. They were part/casting numbers to aid with assembly and to tell if your vise was a Frankenvise made of spare parts. Pop out that pin and the whole rear jaw should rotate about 90 degrees before you can slide it out of place.

You might even look closely at the front of the dynamic jaw, about an 1-2" down from the jaw insert. They were usually marked P.V.Co if the didn't have raised lettering on the sides.

Hi Their
I had taken it apart and it does have the 82 on both the top and bottom parts. I'll add some pictures later like in that ad above. It was quit easy to take apart considering it had sat so long.

I'll leave it as it is and buy one ove the ads they have and the patent from but the 1868 one looks cool.

There are several patents for Prentiss vises, mostly assigned by other inventors after Prentiss became a big name in vises.
Prentiss' 1868 swivel jaw patent: http://www.google.com/patents?id=Tag...age&q=&f=false

Cook & Hall's 1878 improvement of Prentiss' swivel jaw, which is more like the vise you have:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=kmp...20vise&f=false

Harwood's 1871 patent, also mentioned by Cook & Hall:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=-cB...age&q=&f=false


Thanks Again Austin

 

[PugetDude]

I see your concern for buying a broken vise but that isn't too bad a price for what you are getting, if you are willing to spend the money to fix it or wait for another donor vise to come along

You can still contact Reed/Columbian and buy that part from them. It might take some fitting like EOC Jason mentioned but it will get it going again.

You could also make one from some bar stock and a few acme nuts welded together, if you have the tools and know-how to make it happen. Reed was one of the few manufacturers that made vises with cast metal rear nuts and ones made of forged steel. The forged steel ones are nearly indestructible so a home made one would be a step up from the stock cast unit.

Thanks, I bought it this PM, the seller is going to ship it to me; cheaper than driving over to Seattle, I was thinking the same thing, maybe duplicate the broken part as a weldment- will decide when it arrives and I can look it over.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Behold..... A Rigid 80SN... 8" of pure vise goodness... Only thing is the swivel lock-downs are futzed up...

Included a Reed 4" for comparison...

Amazingly I found this on Craigslist AND it was local! The story goes that the guy got it from an oil rig (I can only assume off-shore oil rig because of the rust inside and on the bottom).

Me so happy...

 

[J HAV]

Behold..... A Rigid 80SN... 8" of pure vise goodness... Only thing is the swivel lock-downs are futzed up...

Included a Reed 4" for comparison...

Amazingly I found this on Craigslist AND it was local! The story goes that the guy got it from an oil rig (I can only assume off-shore oil rig because of the rust inside and on the bottom).

Me so happy...

I seen that last night! What did you end up getting it for?

 

[rusty65]

That rigid is way to cool Jason nice find!

 

[Bret888]

Great find! Did you weigh it? I have never seen an 8" Ridgid, even in a picture until now.

 

[gatewaysysop]

That rigid is way to cool Jason nice find!

Outstanding find, although you may be getting points off for using a forklift.

Nice job!

 

[bigcaddy]

No pictures yet but i just picked up a Prentiss Bull Dog today. Unfortunately i have to go on vacation for a few weeks and hang out by the beach, miles away from any dirty/dusty garage that i can play in

Once i get back, ill post some pictures on my new toy.

Good luck on the vise hunting everybody!! Maybe with this little break in hunting, other members will be able to find something good in Socal since ill be on the opposite side of the country.

 

[wrenchguy]

No pictures yet but i just picked up a Prentiss Bull Dog today. Unfortunately i have to go on vacation for a few weeks and hang out by the beach, miles away from any dirty/dusty garage that i can play in

Once i get back, ill post some pictures on my new toy.

Good luck on the vise hunting everybody!! Maybe with this little break in hunting, other members will be able to find something good in Socal since ill be on the opposite side of the country.

r u on the cape? 2 crowded there 4 me.. i spend alot time in plymouth restoring a daughters house. good hunting, have a good time.

 

[Kevin54]

Here are a couple of cool vise ideas that doesn't look like they would be hard to machine up. I was on youtube checking out a couple of videos and happened to run across this of a German Vise. On lets the vise raise and lower, and the other lets the vise pivot and drop down under the bench. Anyways, thought I'd share. It doesn't really show much more than the vise until 1:50, then it shows the components.

 

[bigcaddy]

r u on the cape? 2 crowded there 4 me.. i spend alot time in plymouth restoring a daughters house. good hunting, have a good time.

Yup, the Cape it is. There is some good stuff out there, you just really have to look for it. Thankfully i did find an estate sale in Chatham tomorrow so i can swing by there and see what they have.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Haven't weighed it yet. Will try to get it on a scale today, I'm curious myself. I'm thinking somewhere around 175lbs... It's a Columbian design.

Great find! Did you weigh it? I have never seen an 8" Ridgid, even in a picture until now.

Yeah, I couldn't find anyone to help me since it was late in the day and I needed to get it off quick because I had to leave for a prior engagement. I almost didn't have enough time to take pics and post yesterday...

Outstanding find, although you may be getting points off for using a forklift.

 

[wrenchguy]

Yup, the Cape it is. There is some good stuff out there, you just really have to look for it. Thankfully i did find an estate sale in Chatham tomorrow so i can swing by there and see what they have.

i didn't know what a official estate sale was till i got to the east coast. i thought it was a auction, they don't have estate sales around here in the midwest i know of. kinda weird having someone just set a price on the stuff like retail or garage sale. good luck.

 

[Outlawmws]

Yup, the Cape it is. There is some good stuff out there, you just really have to look for it. Thankfully i did find an estate sale in Chatham tomorrow so i can swing by there and see what they have.

See, don't let him conn you he will STILL find a dirty filthy garage to dig though... Even Beach towns have 'em!

 

[nine4gmc]

No exactly a vice but it is made by Palmgren, 6x10" table

 

[jpickar]

NICE!!! I wish it were mine.

John

 

[KMScott]

No exactly a vice but it is made by Palmgren, 6x10" table

Mount a rotary table underneath that and you can cut about any shape you want. Built many a mold using a rotary and a cross slide. It will test your back lash skills.

Tomorrow my CNC machine will be back together. This is my rotary table and cross slide now. Busted my machine cutting serrations on some jaws. I will try my luck on a set of large Chas Parker jaws once back in business.

Bought an old 600s from WY last week, it is frozen, I do not have a forklift like was used in previous posts but I feel confident I can get it apart.

 

[Kevin54]

Mount a rotary table underneath that and you can cut about any shape you want. Built many a mold using a rotary and a cross slide. It will test your back lash skills.

Tomorrow my CNC machine will be back together. This is my rotary table and cross slide now. Busted my machine cutting serrations on some jaws. I will try my luck on a set of large Chas Parker jaws once back in business.

Bought an old 600s from WY last week, it is frozen, I do not have a forklift like was used in previous posts but I feel confident I can get it apart.

What brand of CNC is that? It sort of looks like a TREE.

 

[KMScott]

Milltronics Partner 04. Pretty heavy duty and very accurate. I just love it. Got rid of my two Bridgeport's after getting this one.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Getting close to finishing my Reed 1C... Two of the pins holding the pipe jaws came out rather easy. One gave a good fight... The last one I wasn't sure what was going to break... I just kept getting a bigger sledge and beat the **** out of it till it came out. I had to re-straighten my punch several times as it kept bending. I even tried briefly in a friend's hydraulic press, but it kept bending even short little pieces of steel... In the end... I came, I saw, I conquered!

Dynamic jaw just got painted this morning. I need to blast the pipe jaws, not sure if I'm going to buff them or maybe paint black...

 

[PghJKB]

Mark
Here is a vise with V14 on the dynamic and V15 on the static. The bottom of the swivel is V3-4. The word ECLIPSE is on the static jaw.

The vises in the image (front to rear) are the ECLIPSE, ROCK ISLAND 823 (623?), Craftsman 5215. Notice the resemblance of the dynamic jaws of my ECLIPSE, Rock Island and Craftsman.

Both the Craftsman and Rock Island have that funky swivel stop, similar static and dynamic jaws, so my assumption is the Craftsman is a Rock Island product. (we know Rock Island manufactured vises for Sears from the 1930s through the 1950s, with Reed having made some Craftsman in the 1940s.

Check out page 438, post 8755. The image of the Craftsman JR. vise also has V14-1 on the dynamic jaw and V15-1 on the static jaw. Note the shape of the dynamic jaw. Another Rock Island product.

This leads me to believe that my ECLIPSE is a Rock Island product. Your unnamed vise in the 8641 post also looks to be a Rock Island product. Looks like these V vises are all made by Rock Island.

Hey Outlaw, how about your Lake Side, does it look like a Rock Island product?

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Thanks for the follow up. I agree that your Eclipse looks a lot like my unknown v14/v15. I guess there were a lot of similar brands. Example:several craftsman vises were made by columbian. Now, I see that they look a lot like HF vises.

 

[cclfn]

Yup, the Cape it is. There is some good stuff out there, you just really have to look for it. Thankfully i did find an estate sale in Chatham tomorrow so i can swing by there and see what they have.

bigcaddy
Are you going to fish for striper's while you are there. I stayed at Chatham last time I went fishing out there. That fishery is amazing now if you have kids take them out in the harbor (Barnstable?) with a guide and they can catch 10-15# schoolies like crazy. My friends have been going out for 12 years straight now but always say to be out of there before the July 4th tourist season
Have fun and I have been waiting for you to leave so I can head south where the good stuff is.
Wes

 

[ClassicCannons]

Here a vice i bought when i was in California Visiting my EX it was on ebay for 0.99 cents and i knew why after i won. I had drove to the sellers shop and boy was this heavy. It was a hell of a job taking it on the train back to Kansas. I knew if i checked it as luggage i would be charged so i used a rolling suitcase. But still it was a hell of a job not letting the conductor know because of there so called weight limit with carry on also.

This thing had to weigh over 100 lbs. Long sroty short the handle broke going up the steps carry it with one hand.

Well it was worth it fits great on my Bridgeport.

Has little to no gap nor does it allow lifting when tighten. Had to remove the swivel. Really don't use it Got a poland indexer.

Size is 8" wide by 2.250 deep and opens to 6"

Also does any one know where i can get a handle i lost the one it had back in Cally

Thanks Austin

 

[cclfn]

Here are a couple of cool vise ideas that doesn't look like they would be hard to machine up. I was on youtube checking out a couple of videos and happened to run across this of a German Vise. On lets the vise raise and lower, and the other lets the vise pivot and drop down under the bench. Anyways, thought I'd share. It doesn't really show much more than the vise until 1:50, then it shows the components.

Pretty cool stuff and they have it all for sale on flebay.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=heuer+vise

 

[autopts]

Getting close to finishing my Reed 1C... Two of the pins holding the pipe jaws came out rather easy. One gave a good fight... The last one I wasn't sure what was going to break... I just kept getting a bigger sledge and beat the **** out of it till it came out. I had to re-straighten my punch several times as it kept bending. I even tried briefly in a friend's hydraulic press, but it kept bending even short little pieces of steel... In the end... I came, I saw, I conquered!

Dynamic jaw just got painted this morning. I need to blast the pipe jaws, not sure if I'm going to buff them or maybe paint black...

Jason, your Reeds are beauties. One is lucky to find two as nice as your two C's, Here's a Reed 3C and as you can see, it won't make a collection or be used with care or looked at and dusted off. This big guy will make it into a shop and its user can beat on it as soon as its bolted down. Call it a Classic user vise.

 

[cclfn]

Austin,

("Also does any one know where i can get a handle i lost the one it had back in Cally")

Love the story - nice haul. Looks like its supposed to be 19mm hex so a Kurt vise handle might work. My Kurt 6 inch is a 3/4" hex and that should be 19.049 MM I believe. Those are pretty easy to find.
Wes

 

[ClassicCannons]

Austin,

("Also does any one know where i can get a handle i lost the one it had back in Cally")

Love the story - nice haul. Looks like its supposed to be 19mm hex so a Kurt vise handle might work. My Kurt 6 inch is a 3/4" hex and that should be 19.049 MM I believe. Those are pretty easy to find.
Wes

Hi Wes
Thanks but the 7/8 fits it great and the flats are .856 but i'd like to find an original handle the one it had was nice it had a bearing on the handle part. could make one from wax and cast it from the cast iron bath tub i ad to break apart to get it out
Thanks again Austin

 

[BFBOB]

Here's my $100,000 vise:
(well, it did come with house and garage)
Not too impressive for GJ folks - a 4" I can lift with one hand. Still, it is a Simplex. And get a load of that workbench! Solid oak, one piece 12' long. It appears to have been a lintel from a timber framed barn.

 

[va.grouseman]

Can any of the vise Gurus tell me what these three have in common? Cause I got to admit, before I got to fooling with them I didn't know they shared a common denominator.




















Had to make a pin for the Rock Island the old timey way. Don't have a lathe so I twirled a piece of bar steel on the grinder, must have checked the taper with the vise 500 times. But you can't get in a rush. Once down to size, sawed it off the bar, put the small end in a 1/2 inch drill and clamped the drill in a vise. Drill had to be one that would run continuously own it's own, that was my lathe. Flat file to smooth up, round file for the groove. It's a little too tall in proportion but it fits tight as a tick.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Finally got a chance to size up the sticker I made for my Parker 974-1/2B. I got a couple sheets printed, one in Gloss and one in Matte. After staring at both stickers for a while I decided to use a matte since it better matched the paint.

If anyone is interested, I have several extra stickers (in gloss or matte) for:

974B
974-1/2B
975B

They aren't anything fancy, but if you are missing yours, it really adds a nice touch. PM me if you need one.

 

[zoomieport]

Well done Jason, it looks brand new! Now get to work on that Ridgid!

 

[KMScott]

EOC_Jason
I have a question on your 975B Parker. Does the jaw width measure 5" or does it measure 4-3/4 wide. I have a jaw from autopts off of a Chas Parker and it measures 4-3/4 wide. I am cutting stock as I type to build a couple sets. But would like a verification on this size. Is it possible the Parker's changed the widths in later years. I did not get what model jaws I am using as a example.

Thanks Kevin

OH almost forgot, Great job on your restoration, very professional job.

 

[bl00]

Can any of the vise Gurus tell me what these three have in common? Cause I got to admit, before I got to fooling with them I didn't know they shared a common denominator.

They're all in the back of your truck, of course. What do I win?



They're also all autolocking. When you clamp down on something they lock in place.