The VISES of Garage Journal

[Filson]

Filson: i'm guessing you are having huge Reed 208 withdrawals from having it in storage these past few months because you changed your mug shot so you can see it on every post now. by the way have you picked a color for the 209 once you find it sitting in a room at Grand Coulee Dam?

LOL, oh I don't know. The kids were the main influence for the John Deere theme with the 208. And yes, I miss ALL of my tools lol. We're staying in a short-term apartment and I'm totally going nuts haha.

We made an offer on one place a couple weeks ago but the seller is having a hard time committing to selling (just inherited the place after this mom passed away, and he grew up there, so there's some sentimental issues which I understand completely.)

We're making an offer on another place today that I like even more. 60 acres (half timbered, half field for beef steers), Has three shops - an old 1-bay stand alone shop with a fireplace and concrete floor, a roughly 12x20 foot shop with no bays and a (size isn't listed, so just guessing) 30x30 metal shop built 2012 with two bays (one large RV style door) and a lean-to for parking a tractor.

If we get it - I'll probably convert the 1-bay shop into a strict work-shop with all my tools and that'll be the home for the vises. The large shop has no heat source. I could add a fireplace or something, but the smaller one is ready to go... we'll just have to see what happens

 

[navymech]

Just picked up an Athol 613 1/2. Lots of rust, but the only damage I can see is a little chipping under the static jaw. Overall pretty darn good shape. Even better, it has a set of jaw protectors, and looks like they were regularly used, so the jaws themselves are in fantastic shape!

Cleaning and painting to come, but for now, here's some pics:

 

[wrenchguy]

Just an FYI. the steel support beam behind the bench didn't come standard on any home I ever sold so maybe he has a crane attached to it. usually with that kind of beam there are other interesting items in his basement that he might be selling to make your friend's trip worthwhile if he hasn't already sold them. just saying.

did I mention it yet that that is a nice table and I don't even weld (yet).

good luck

might b a jib or in wall lolly holding up a i or h beam. what u see in pic looks tobe too new 4 a worthwile basement. still waiting.

 

[wrenchguy]

If we get it - I'll probably convert the 1-bay shop into a strict work-shop with all my tools and that'll be the home for the vises. The large shop has no heat source. I could add a fireplace or something, but the smaller one is ready to go... we'll just have to see what happens

good luck to u.

 

[Filson]

good luck to u.

Thank you! It's been quite a process I can tell you that lol. Have driven almost 3000 miles sense Christmas looking at 60-70 houses so far throughout two states. =P I can't wait to settle down soon haha

 

[drivesitfar]

gas costs alone could have bought you that 209. shopping for a spot to put your hat and your tools is tough especially when you are changing areas so wish you the best. also swing by the dam and see if they will let you gaze at their old tool room.

it was built in the 30's and they had almost every big tool in the US there along with all the guys that knew how to use them. or maybe some old guy grabbed one and put it in his barn or shop. good luck with that search too.

 

[Jon Bon]

Picked these two English made Record vices on eBay the other day, the larger blue one is a number 25 and the silver one is a number 23. The 25 is almost completely brand new, I can't see much signs of use at all. I'm in the process of cleaning the 23 up a bit and replacing the jaws. Paid £35 for both

 

[Jon Bon]

Having to post pics up one by one

 

[Filson]

gas costs alone could have bought you that 209. shopping for a spot to put your hat and your tools is tough especially when you are changing areas so wish you the best. also swing by the dam and see if they will let you gaze at their old tool room.

it was built in the 30's and they had almost every big tool in the US there along with all the guys that knew how to use them. or maybe some old guy grabbed one and put it in his barn or shop. good luck with that search too.

Never mind the cost - finding one to even make an offer on is the hard part.

The dam? Never knew they had a 'tool room'! Definitely something to check out someday!

 

[bigcaddy]

Saturdays are normally my day to be lazy and sit around the house doing what i want but today i had plans that involved me passing though an area that had a really promising looking sale. Since today was the last day, everything was 50% off.


Here is one i didn't buy. Ill let you guys figure out why and it wasn't due to the condition of the vise


That wasn't the only example they had there. I also saw half of a Yost 4" combo vise, 100.00, medium duty Columbian D45, 100.00 and a parted out Wilton 9400, bare bones shell of a Stationary base and the outer ring of the swivel base, BOTH being individually priced at 125.00

That means they were asking 250.00 for less then half of a 4" wilton bullet. i just posted a 9300 i picked up a few days ago in near mint condition for 80.00

 

[bigcaddy]

Here is one vise i did buy when i was there. It was the only one that was complete and somewhat worth the price they were asking.


Craftsman 5170 with the raised lettering and not the inset window for a badge. Its not in the best condition so it makes a great candidate for a repaint. The op handle is seized so its gonna spend a few days in the shock tank. Hopefully that does most of the hard work.

I kept my eyes open for your vise, Oldie. I did't see one but i'm still looking.

 

[KMScott]

Big Caddy
Sears is going to give you a call one day to see your museum of Craftsman vises. You must have 2 dozen by now. I love the tear drop handle ends. Goes with the bullet spindle. Sure you do not have oldies vise somewhere.. Really nice vise.

 

[wrenchguy]

what did the morgan measure? i can't make out the model.

Saturdays are normally my day to be lazy and sit around the house doing what i want but today i had plans that involved me passing though an area that had a really promising looking sale. Since today was the last day, everything was 50% off.


Here is one i didn't buy. Ill let you guys figure out why and it wasn't due to the condition of the vise


That wasn't the only example they had there. I also saw half of a Yost 4" combo vise, 100.00, medium duty Columbian D45, 100.00 and a parted out Wilton 9400, bare bones shell of a Stationary base and the outer ring of the swivel base, BOTH being individually priced at 125.00

That means they were asking 250.00 for less then half of a 4" wilton bullet. i just posted a 9300 i picked up a few days ago in near mint condition for 80.00

 

[cclfn]

Here is one i didn't buy. Ill let you guys figure out why and it wasn't due to the condition of the vise

They probably wanted $400 and marked it up for the 50% sale
nice pic though.
Wes

 

[bigcaddy]

Big Caddy
Sears is going to give you a call one day to see your museum of Craftsman vises. You must have 2 dozen by now. I love the tear drop handle ends. Goes with the bullet spindle. Sure you do not have oldies vise somewhere.. Really nice vise.

Thanks, Kev. If i ever get a call from Craftsman about that vise museum, ill make sure to ask the CEO to hand over his mansion on Jupiter Island, in Florida to house the collection and ill be the permanant caretaker.

As far as Oldie vise goes, i don't have the particular size he wants. I wish i did, just like i want a Prentiss 58 or another handful of giants on my list of desired trophys

 

[bigcaddy]

They probably wanted $400 and marked it up for the 50% sale
nice pic though.
Wes

Nope, it sold of Friday for 600.00 I didn't get the sold tag in the pictures

 

[cclfn]

Nope, it sold of Friday for 600.00 I didn't get the sold tag in the pictures

You could of said "I am here for the Morgan vise" they might have helped you load it

 

[oldldh]

Thanks for keeping the old eyes peeled...

 

[bigcaddy]

what did the morgan measure? i can't make out the model.

The morgan was a 6" jaw combo with missing pipe jaws.

It was in great shape but 600.00 is way too much for that thing


I think the model was a 289 1/2

 

[Roadbuster]

You guys have corrupted me. After looking at this thread, I have been patient and finally found this Columbian 605 at an estate sale. Now I just need a decent bench to mount it on!

Jon

 

[wrenchguy]

nice.

 

[drivesitfar]

You guys have corrupted me. After looking at this thread, I have been patient and finally found this Columbian 605 at an estate sale. Now I just need a decent bench to mount it on!

Jon

I really like those jaw covers that appear to be screwed in to the sides of the jaws. nice find and make a stand for it if you don't have a bench. not sure where you live, but PM me if you are close to Seattle and I have a stand with a wheel on it that I took a Reed vise off of that is yours if you want it this week.

 

[CoopVA]

Here's my Wilton 9400. Dated 1-51

[/IMG]

 

[drivesitfar]

sweet Wilton holding down that little bench with the other awesome tools on it.

 

[CoopVA]

sweet Wilton holding down that little bench with the other awesome tools on it.

Thanks! That bench is the biggest I could get from Craftsman. the top is 72"x30"x2" They don't offer them anymore from what I can see...

 

[Outlawmws]

You guys have corrupted me. After looking at this thread, I have been patient and finally found this Columbian 605 at an estate sale. Now I just need a decent bench to mount it on!

Jon

You say that like this is a bad thing!

 

[oldldh]

The members of this board are not corruptors, we merely point people in the right direction, and provide much needed adult supervision...

 

[gatewaysysop]

I think you are correct on it being an Athol. The only problem i see with the ad is he lists it as an 8" vise, not 8" wide jaws. I bet it only opens to 8" and has 6" jaws

I'm tempted to second this. Maybe an optical illusion, but that slide does not look nearly as substantial as you'd expect. Would be awesome to be wrong!

Gateway and BC, I'm inclined to agree, probably not an 8", at least a 6" I'm sure, might be a 7" (after eyeballing the bench legs against the 2X4's, to the jaws, nothing lines up, and the vise is off to the side...

Are the legs 4X4 or 5X5?

Agreed 100%. Look at the electrical outlet on the wall. They're about the same size as a coke can. Picture that next to the vise. Looks pretty confidently like a 6" to me. Still a cool vise and table though!

Just to update fellow junkies, I got an email back from the seller. Vise is sold, but he was kind enough to confirm that it was indeed 6" jaw width, not 8". Good to know we still have the eye for these things.

 

[oldldh]

Calibrated eyeballs are required to be a vise junkie...

Very rare those...

 

[wrenchguy]

Calibrated eyeballs are required to be a vise junkie...

Very rare those...

thats what cheaters r 4....

 

[Filson]

Just to update fellow junkies, I got an email back from the seller. Vise is sold, but he was kind enough to confirm that it was indeed 6" jaw width, not 8". Good to know we still have the eye for these things.

 

[Filson]

You guys have corrupted me. After looking at this thread, I have been patient and finally found this Columbian 605 at an estate sale. Now I just need a decent bench to mount it on!

Jon

Nice addition to the shop! Looks like it was cared for over the years. Be sure to come back and post 'after' pics when your done doing what you plan with it!

 

[EOC_Jason]

Quick electrolysis tank question...

I don't want to leave it plugged in overnight. Is is better to pull the item out and dry it off, or is it okay to just let it sit in the mix till I plug it back in in the morning?

 

[wrenchguy]

You guys have corrupted me. After looking at this thread, I have been patient and finally found this Columbian 605 at an estate sale. Now I just need a decent bench to mount it on!

Jon

i wonder if those protectors were commercially offered? don't we see a few vise jaws here with holes in them like this?

 

[EOC_Jason]

i wonder if those protectors were commercially offered? don't we see a few vise jaws here with holes in them like this?

Don't know if they were commercial, but it seems like the easiest / cheapest method if you have just a bar of copper, you bend the ends, and screw them in place. The screw holes don't seem to be even on each side. Not as fancy as the wilton copper jaws but I'm sure they get the job done.

I wonder if you could also flip them up to use the regular jaws without having to remove the copper covers?

 

[KMScott]

Even if you have scraps of copper around you can piece together those type of jaw caps. Copper welds pretty easy with TIG. I used to do the same thing at a company I used to work at. Not as thick as the ones shown but thick is OK too. Just kind of messes up a good vise when you tap holes in the sides.

Starrett offered a set of Brass caps that had the set screws on the side, they were a casting. Pretty easy to remove quickly. Look how nice the jaws are after many years of use on this Starrett 925.

 

[Evan(CA)]

Possible deal on a big vice for someone. Yuba City, CA

It's too far for me and the ad doesn't provide much info but it looks like it might be a a decent vise. Usually the make an offer price means it's going to either be a great deal or extremely overpriced but hopefully someone lucks out.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/tls/4301199844.html

 

[Outlawmws]

Quick electrolysis tank question...

I don't want to leave it plugged in overnight. Is is better to pull the item out and dry it off, or is it okay to just let it sit in the mix till I plug it back in in the morning?

Why not over night? I do that all the time. when there is no more rust, things stop anyway.

 

[bigcaddy]

i wonder if those protectors were commercially offered? don't we see a few vise jaws here with holes in them like this?

The Athol 615 i picked up a few days ago had a set of home made brass jaw protecters made in the same fashion. Not one hole was aligned with another but they did their job wonderfully.

Those protecters are not cheap and for a few bucks in material and simple know-how, guys made them in their shops.

The Wilton i got a few days later had some factory made soft jaw covers. Both had locating tabs on the sides, arms to hold on the back and a well marked "3" to indicate the jaw width they fit on.

 

[Outlawmws]

Possible deal on a big vice for someone. Yuba City, CA

It's too far for me and the ad doesn't provide much info but it looks like it might be a a decent vise. Usually the make an offer price means it's going to either be a great deal or extremely overpriced but hopefully someone lucks out.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/tls/4301199844.html

Best I could do with the **** pic in the ad. Why do people think they can sell anything with unreadable pictures?

And No, I can't tell what it is...