The VISES of Garage Journal

[va.grouseman]

bl00[/B];3723111]You'll never find me that way. I can use a compass in my own garage and it will still point south to va.grousemans house. My garage floor is even starting to slope that way.

I'm ashamed to say that I still haven't mounted the Reed to anything. Someday I'll make up a mobile stand for it, but for now all tasks that require a massive piece of finger crunching iron are handled by this Prentiss 58 [note-old pic - it's been mounted properly since].

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b100. You have the biggest swivel jaw Prentiss I've ever seen in my life. I have the next size down.



I also have very big hands. I knew you would ask.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Bl00 How LONG is that handle on the Prentiss 58? It just seems so long you could snap the shaft with that much available torque.

 

[wrenchguy]

Can someone help me how to navigate dayids vise data base? i don't know why there seems 3 links about the same subject on the page. r you suppose to go left to right or down the columns? thanks 4 any help.

http://dayid.org/mediawiki/index.php/Special:AllPages

 

[bl00]

It works better if you start here:
http://dayid.org/mediawiki/index.php/Category:Vise

This page has A-E. For the rest click the link "next 200" just above where is says subcategories.

 

[bl00]

Bl00 How LONG is that handle on the Prentiss 58? It just seems so long you could snap the shaft with that much available torque.

24 inches. The picture makes the vise look bigger than it is.

 

[bl00]

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b100.

[/URL]

Is that one of the nickel plated ones? If you're not sure just toss it in a flat rate box and send it up. I'll check it for you.

 

[wrenchguy]

It works better if you start here:
http://dayid.org/mediawiki/index.php/Category:Vise

This page has A-E. For the rest click the link "next 200" just above where is says subcategories.

thanks, thats alot better.

 

[va.grouseman]

Originally posted by b100.
Is that one of the nickel plated ones? If you're not sure just toss it in a flat rate box and send it up. I'll check it for you
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It's supposed to be. Most is gone.

 

[autopts]

24 inches. The picture makes the vise look bigger than it is.

Actually Fred, I found humor in your post. A bigger then big vise is even was made to look even larger in the photo. hahaha My friend, Damm ..that is one of the biggest vises I ever saw!

 

[autopts]

Somebody here keeps mailing me these little Wiltons for some reason.

This one was done in John Deere Green, it's in nice shape.

.

Give me 100 different vise restorations and I have a good chance of picking yours out. That one, like all of yours is stunning and has your signature all over it!

 

[J HAV]

They're rare...they weren't cheap, $ 54.00 plus freight in 1954 was a lot of money, for a vise..

The 5198 is a 5" swivel base vise that weighs 107 lbs...

These are the best photos I have...the two on the right are of the 77 lb 5197...I can't find a photo of a 5198...It's a lot like ol' Don Quixote's windmill tilting...

Outlaw's Craftsman Vise thread is my main source for information...his ads are the Mother Lode of vise data...

The middle pic is mine.

The red 5197 was sold for "north of $ 300.00" by GJ member, who shall remain nameless, who wishes he still had it...it was properly restored...

This pristine 5196/4" sold on Ebay for $265.00 plus freight...it was in unrestored almost perfect shape, I dropped out at $150.00, because I wanted the two bigger vises, and the price was going up too fast, to suit me...I should have bought it, but if I'd kept bidding, I have no idea how high it would have gone...I wouldn't have gone beyond $300.00, but the opposition might have...

I lucked up and got my 5197 for $125 from a local carpenter. I'm waiting to build my little dream workshop to mount it in

I'd have to think about eating or a vise...

And then there's my wife...

Oh the conundrums in life....

I'd really like to have both a 5197 and 5198, but there is a point where reality rears its ugly head...

I might go $ 500.00 for a pair if they were in the same shape as the 5196 pictured up in my last post...but I am retired and I've got 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren to buy toys for, my toys take a rear seat...

The 5198 is rarer than an honest politician...

And your 5198? $500?

I think I'm dumb enough to pay $500 if I found a 5198 hahaha.... It makes my friends think I'm crazy on how much I've spent on the vises on my coffee table... Then again they might think I have problems for just having 7 small vises as coffee table arrangements

 

[drivesitfar]

glad to hear you have one of the old Craftsman vises we have been searching for. any chance you can make a post with pictures of yours from all side? I'm sure Oldie will save them to his computer and PMing you to maybe double your investment or offer a trade.

 

[taumac]

I have a 5181 how does that compare?



Have a good one, Gerard

The 5 Stitches Garage part 1 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142100

The 5 Stitches Garage part2 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899

 

[Toofast28]

Saw this on eBay, Reed NIB with a 1912 stamp. This isn't mine, but if it's 100 years old and NIB, that's pretty incredible. Anyone have any insight as to whether this is old or newer? http://bit.ly/1fMDiUc

 

[jakemac]

That 4 1/2" Reed isn't 100yo. It's from the revised casting period, with the new(ish) style button nose. Someone else would know better, but I'm thinking mid 60's or newer. More likely sometime in the 70's.

It's a nice vise, I need that 4 footed base. I've drooled over it periodically for some time now, it's been listed for a while. But I couldn't bring myself to spend $500 on it plus almost $45 for shipping (to my house), but that's just me.

 

[Outlawmws]

For those that do not want to risk the short link in Toofast's post (I didn't; I searched...)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-REED-MACHINIST-VISE-204-1-2-R-BRAND-NEW-IN-BOX-/271391418801?pt=BI_Tool_Work_Holding&hash=item3f303069b1

And yep, no way its anywhere near 100 years old, nor sis the Eprey seller make such a claim...

 

[oldldh]

The middle pic is mine.

Behold a Craftsman 5197, a 77lb hunk of mighty fine clampdom...

I remember your post...something about beer drinking time...as I recall...

I appreciate the photo, pictures of the 5197 are rare, and pictures of the 5198 are non-existent...

As to what i would pay for a 5198, that is a difficult question...it would, more than anything else, depend on its condition...jaws, body, any missing chunks, etc...

I'm still looking...

I'm building, as soon as the Shingles get out of my right eye, a new 8' workbench, and I want a 5197 on one end, and a 5198 on the other...at the moment I have a Starrett 925, as a 5198 substitute...satisfactory, but it ain't a 5198...

My "wanted" thread has over 3,300 views, and, kind of like my luck at fishing, one nibble, and no bites...

I shall be victorious, however, I'm in my eighth decade ('40s to the teens), so I hope the search bears fruit sooner, rather than later...

I really appreciate all the help on my "Quest"...

Thanks again for your 5197 photo...

 

[Outlawmws]

I have a 5181 how does that compare?



Have a good one, Gerard

The 5 Stitches Garage part 1 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142100

The 5 Stitches Garage part2 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899

It's a completely different vise; Got pics? They made so many different models and styles...

 

[Outlawmws]

oldldh, Hope the shingles get better soon!

So which goes on which end? You right or left handed? I keep mounting my vises on the right corner. I'm right handed. I never really thought about it (Before GJ...), it just happens that way.

Jeeze, Now If I found one, and knowing you are in your eighth decade, I'd feel guilty if I didn't at least offer it to you...

Maybe a clause in the sale that it's in your will to go back to me...

Of course that assume's I outlive you...


Maybe that's the answer! If I find one, I will it to you, and if you do, you will it to me!

 

[oldldh]

You're On, Bubba!!!

 

[taumac]

Have a good one, Gerard

The 5 Stitches Garage part 1 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142100

The 5 Stitches Garage part2 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899

 

[wrenchguy]

Maybe that's the answer! If I find one, I will it to you, and if you do, you will it to me!

i'm doing this with "only 1 known to exist" vintage marine engine i have with a friend that has a different "only 1 known to exist" vintage marine engine he has. hope he's careful, real careful.....

 

[EOC_Jason]

That 4 1/2" Reed isn't 100yo. It's from the revised casting period, with the new(ish) style button nose. Someone else would know better, but I'm thinking mid 60's or newer. More likely sometime in the 70's.

I would concur with that statement. Also if you look carefully on the side of the box there is a stamp saying "Mar 197X" the last number being kind of a blob.

Maybe 1970? Because by the end of the 70's they had a different logo on the casting and had the replaceable "T" jaws.

 

[autopts]

Behold a Craftsman 5197, a 77lb hunk of mighty fine clampdom...

I remember your post...something about beer drinking time...as I recall...

I appreciate the photo, pictures of the 5197 are rare, and pictures of the 5198 are non-existent...

As to what i would pay for a 5198, that is a difficult question...it would, more than anything else, depend on its condition...jaws, body, any missing chunks, etc...

I'm still looking...

I'm building, as soon as the Shingles get out of my right eye, a new 8' workbench, and I want a 5197 on one end, and a 5198 on the other...at the moment I have a Starrett 925, as a 5198 substitute...satisfactory, but it ain't a 5198...

My "wanted" thread has over 3,300 views, and, kind of like my luck at fishing, one nibble, and no bites...

I shall be victorious, however, I'm in my eighth decade ('40s to the teens), so I hope the search bears fruit sooner, rather than later...

I really appreciate all the help on my "Quest"...

Thanks again for your 5197 photo...

Larry? Do Shingles cause brain damage?

 

[BFBOB]

Originally posted by b100.
Is that one of the nickel plated ones? If you're not sure just toss it in a flat rate box and send it up. I'll check it for you
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It's supposed to be. Most is gone.

Want a nickel-plated anvil to keep it company? I've got a 3-incher.

 

[lakeside53]

It lives...

Remember this post, way back? Nice bench, broken vise of import Wilton origin, Mechanic's 745 to be precise.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2234157&postcount=3984


Well... zip forward a couple of years. I picked up a very rusty, broken and totally locked up vise for free from a garage sale. Had a little time on my hands so I built the new front retainer from 80KSI ductile iron, The handle retainer parts, a pair of new jaws from 4142ph, then machined the base (I HATE wobbly castings) and anvil surfaces (looked like it was finished with a belt sander.

Searching for "what is my vise", I stumbled upon the old thread.

Well.. heck.. it was MY exact vise. Not "looks like" , but the actual vise way more rusted after being outside a for 2 years. lol... It sure looks a little better now. In comparison to my other vises, it's still a mediocre design, but it will be fine for someone's bench.

Yep... the fixed jaw bolt location looks vertically offset - it is... but that's how the casting was drilled by the idiot that made it; I matched the offsets so the new jaws would seat perfectly to the bottom.

Oh.. I hated the "tommy bolts" so I made new clamp bolts from stainless hex bar.

I should probably make some pipe jaws to finish it off.



New custom jaws:


New front retainer piece:





New handle retainer (4140) and thrust washer (before grinding).



Machining the base flat (top side done first as a reference). Stops twisting for the base when bolted to a hard surface.



The old broken casting:

 

[great white tj]

?? I am looking at a Prentiss #93 Bulldog for $80.00 everything moves with ease, and has good 4 1/2" Jaws and no cracks. For the price of a vise at a box store or HF. I think $80.00 is a good price. Your input would help ......yes, no, hell no.

 

[oldldh]

Larry? Do Shingles cause brain damage?

My brain has been damaged ever since I tried to understand "Velocity Modulation" in a Klystron...

Free electron beams in a vacuum will do that to you...

Finding a 5197/5198 should be a piece of cake after that, but it ain't working out that way...

Is Chicagoland still frozen???

 

[oldldh]

Lakeside53---

Ya Dun Gud, Bubba!!!

 

[GETRIDAONE]

Very nice work !!! It must have become a challenge " I can fix that "

 

[drivesitfar]

?? I am looking at a Prentiss #98 Bulldog for $80.00 everything moves with ease, and has good 4 1/2" Jaws and no cracks. For the price of a vise at a box store or HF. I think $80.00 is a good price. Your input would help ......yes, no, hell no.

Pics would help, but almost any prentiss vise without any cracks or welds should be a great buy under $100. 4.5 inch jaws is a nice size for any bench.

Good luck

Lakeside: nice work on that vise

 

[Filson]

Re: It lives...

In comparison to my other vises, it's still a mediocre design, but it will be fine for someone's bench.

Do share, bud! Show us some pics of what ya got!

And nice work on the vise! Welcome to GJ.

 

[Filson]

?? I am looking at a Prentiss #98 Bulldog for $80.00 everything moves with ease, and has good 4 1/2" Jaws and no cracks. For the price of a vise at a box store or HF. I think $80.00 is a good price. Your input would help ......yes, no, hell no.

So long as it does indeed contain no breaks/repairs, I'd hop on it like a ***** teenager on prom night.

 

[balane]

Here's an older USA Craftsman 5" that's in solid shape. Burgundy gloss on the lower, satin nickel up top. 40 pounds and can open to 7" in a pinch.

.

 

[metalmagpie]

Lakeside, I'm forced to utter these words from a typical American childhood:

CHUMLEY, YOU'VE DONE IT AGAIN!!

Now sell it quick and forget all about it. And quit wasting time on dumb projects like that when you could be HELPING ME WITH MINE!

metalmagpie

 

[oldldh]

Another entrant for Pebble Beach!!!

WOW!!!

Ya Dun Gud, Bubba!!!

 

[90zcar]

Picked up some vise pads at lowes. Not bad for 7 bux




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lakeside53]

Re: It lives...

Do share, bud! Show us some pics of what ya got!

And nice work on the vise! Welcome to GJ.

My nice Wilton 450:





Don't be mislead by the perfectly clean bench! That was a photo-op right after the bench was finished; pretty much the last time I saw it in entirety.


Current favorite : Columbian 3 /12





MY POS beater ("Great Neck", circa 1980)








Current project "work in progress" - turning a real piece of junk into a half decent vise. Machined most surfaces, added gibs, new jaws (O6 tool steel) etc






And of course, a couple of these :




Then there's more Machinist vises, Jewelers vises, Wood Working vises, Electronics vises, Fly-Tying vises, and more...

 

[EOC_Jason]

Anyone see this guy on ebay that made urethane Parker vise jaws?

Unfortunatly he only made one size, for the 954-1/2 "B" (Assuming it would fit a 974-1/2 "B" too).

I'm tempted to buy a pair, would give me an excuse to use my Parker for working on gun stuff...

 

[great white tj]

?? I am looking at a Prentiss #93 Bulldog for $80.00 everything moves with ease, and has good 4 1/2" Jaws and no cracks. For the price of a vise at a box store or HF. I think $80.00 is a good price. Your input would help ......yes, no, hell no.

I will post up some pict. Sat.