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Picked up a Morgan Chicago vise, any information on it?

AndrewH

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Hey guys,

I just got home from picking up this Morgan vise. It seems to be in really good condition. I got it for $50. As you can see in the pictures it's sitting with its smaller sibling my first vise purchase a Chas Parker 973. Any information on the Morgan would be much appreciated!

20140321_101003.jpg


20140321_100950.jpg
 
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Larch

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Ronan Mt.
Wow, You stole that for $50.00. That is a you **** price. Has it had any repairs done to it? What kind of info are you looking for?
 
OP
A

AndrewH

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Wow, You stole that for $50.00. That is a you **** price. Has it had any repairs done to it? What kind of info are you looking for?

No repairs. It's in excellent mechanical condition. The handles are even straight! I was just wondering roughly when it was made, it's a Morgan Chicago 140. Plus any other information that anyone has would be great!
 

ganymede

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The fact that it's marked 'Chicago' dates it to at least the mid 40's . After that they marked them differently.
 

WWIIjeep

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"Morgan Chicago" puts it somewhere between 1929 and 1947.

"Morgan Aurora" 1947-1970.

"Morgan Milwaukee" 1970-present.

Nice score.
 

mncountrydoc

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That's funny cause I hot the same vise for the same price from my neighbor before he moved into assisted living I think they were blue at one time. Mine has paint and surface rust but I don't want to make a e-bath are you using yours as is or restoring it


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drivesitfar

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Andrew: i have a couple Morgan vises and they are one of the smoothest working ones that i own. nice find and a great price too.

WWII: more great information you shared that is not easily found. thanks for the history of Morgan vises.
 
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AndrewH

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That's funny cause I hot the same vise for the same price from my neighbor before he moved into assisted living I think they were blue at one time. Mine has paint and surface rust but I don't want to make a e-bath are you using yours as is or restoring it


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I'm thinking that I'm going to restore it, it's in such great condition already that all if have to do it take it apart and clean it up, relube it and primer / paint it. What kind of paint do you guys recommend for a work vise?

Thanks,
Andrew
 

drivesitfar

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temperature and prep is most important on the painting. above 50 and preferably 60 to 80 degrees is the best. the vise should be warm too and completely dry surface and a little roughed up. most any rustoleum paint will do and go through the vise thread if you want to see which colors you might like if you don't already have a favorite.

I like spending a little more on my paint so i'm in the $10 per can category for the Rustoleum and the Hammered ones have a nice finish IMHO.

also just giving it a good cleaning and waxing or oiling it and they have been talking about what oils to use on the vise thread the last few days.

good luck
 

exmaxima1

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"Morgan Chicago" puts it somewhere between 1929 and 1947.

"Morgan Aurora" 1947-1970.

"Morgan Milwaukee" 1970-present.

I'm not sure how accurate that dating is. I've owned a half dozen Morgan vises and they were all "Chicago". I doubt they were ALL pre-1947. If all the Morgans built 1947-1970 were "Aurora" (especially since I live only a few miles from the original Aurora factory), why would I NEVER see one?

Basically, I think that most Morgans still read "Chicago" up until the move to Milwaukee. I can't say it definitively, but I can't explain how a factory in my own backyard would not have craploads of their vises in all the local shops.
 

WWIIjeep

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I'm not sure how accurate that dating is. I've owned a half dozen Morgan vises and they were all "Chicago". I doubt they were ALL pre-1947. If all the Morgans built 1947-1970 were "Aurora" (especially since I live only a few miles from the original Aurora factory), why would I NEVER see one?

Basically, I think that most Morgans still read "Chicago" up until the move to Milwaukee. I can't say it definitively, but I can't explain how a factory in my own backyard would not have craploads of their vises in all the local shops.

Those are the years when Morgan was located in those places.

That portion is accurate, at least to with a few months or years at either end of the date ranges.

Whether or not they changed the wording on the products to reflect that is a valid point, and I've rarely seen Aurora marked Morgans myself, but we do know Aurora-marked Morgans exist.

The vast majority of Morgan vises I've seen have been marked "Morgan Chicago" yet they were only located in Chicago for about 18 years. Then for about 23 years in Aurora, and now owned by Milwaukee Tool and Equipment Co. for about 44 years, more than the other 2 locations combined, yet still, at least from my own experience, "Morgan Milwaukee" marked vises aren't as commonly seen as "Morgan Chicago" marked vises.

It may be safe to assume that Morgan was more prolific in the pre-1947 or "Morgan Chicago" era, which included WWII when they probably made a lot of vises for the government, and a lot of those vises have found their way into the used marketplace in recent years.

I've asked the Milwaukee Tool and Equipment people about details like that in the past, and I think they really don't know the answers themselves. They've also been less than accurate (or less than interested) about certain historical details on the vises themselves, like when (or if) thrust washers were used on the screws, and when certain styles of pins were used to hold the jaw inserts; i.e., type A groove pins vs their current use of spring pins or roll pins.

And while on the subject of such **** details, it's been oft-repeated on internet forums, and on the Milwaukee Tool and Equipment website, that Morgan vises have (always) been painted (some government spec.) blue, or words to that effect, and while that may be true for Morgan vises made by Milwaukee Tool and Equipment Co., it isn't true for older Morgan vises, especially Morgan Chicago marked vises, which were originally a flat black or charcoal color, not blue.
 
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wrenchguy

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I'm not sure how accurate that dating is. I've owned a half dozen Morgan vises and they were all "Chicago". I doubt they were ALL pre-1947. If all the Morgans built 1947-1970 were "Aurora" (especially since I live only a few miles from the original Aurora factory), why would I NEVER see one?

Basically, I think that most Morgans still read "Chicago" up until the move to Milwaukee. I can't say it definitively, but I can't explain how a factory in my own backyard would not have craploads of their vises in all the local shops.

there have been photos of morgan auroras posted on these 700+ pages.
 

exmaxima1

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And while on the subject of such **** details, it's been oft-repeated on internet forums, and on the Milwaukee Tool and Equipment website, that Morgan vises have (always) been painted (some government spec.) blue, or words to that effect, and while that may be true for Morgan vises made by Milwaukee Tool and Equipment Co., it isn't true for older Morgan vises, especially Morgan Chicago marked vises, which were originally a flat black or charcoal color, not blue.

Most of the Morgan Chicago vises I've seen were blue, and looked like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Morgan-Mach...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
 
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Wi Fire 10

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I grew up in Northern Chicagoland, and am an avid vise collector/seller. I have sold a couple Morgan Vises this year on Chicago Craigslist. One was a Morgan Aurora Vise, that would be consistent with pre-1970 date of manufacture, since I was able to talk to the elderly man who was the original owner. The conversation I had with the machinist who sold me Morgan Aurora vise, supports the "Morgans built 1947-1970 were "Aurora"" theory in WWIIJeeps's post. Most of the Morgans I have seen are "Chicago" manufactured, but the Auroras are out there!:thumbup:
 

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WWIIjeep

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Most of the Morgan Chicago vises I've seen were blue, and looked like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Morgan-Mach...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Let's save a picture of that for posterity before eBay deletes the listing:

MorganChicagoVise_zpsfe096e35.jpg



That's one of very few original blue Morgan Chicago vises I've seen.

Most of the (older) Morgan Chicago vises I've seen look like this:

fcc4f08d-bf37-4c0a-abb4-55799ebedd83_zps71bf9758.jpg



Not a great photo but the only photo I have of one at the moment. No evidence anywhere on it that it was ever blue, just black, and I've always assumed black was an older color for them.
 

wrenchguy

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2 unused morgan 30's from a last summer haul. 1 blue and 1 black, i don't think they ever been bolted down. showed shelf/storage wear though.



 
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cignoid

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"Morgan Chicago" puts it somewhere between 1929 and 1947.

"Morgan Aurora" 1947-1970.

"Morgan Milwaukee" 1970-present.

Nice score.
So if $50 is a steal, how much higher would a good price be for a good condition #140? Thanks is advance
 

drivesitfar

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for a Morgan 140 like the one our OP started this thread with it would sell for around $100 or maybe more in the NW because we rarely see them. check Ebay and your local craigslist and see what you find, but unless you are willing to make looking for a nice old US vise a full time job at weekend sales and scanning auction sites be prepared to spend more than $50.

good luck and it looks like you might be a newer member so welcome to GJ.
 

Wi Fire 10

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Depends on where you live. Around Chicago, the going rate for an unrestored Morgan 140 is about $40-50

I agree with that. in the last year I've sold Morgans in "good condition" that didnt need restoration for $65. I sold one in "excellent condition" with little use and what appeared to be the original blue paint for $85. (Those are craigslist prices in the north chicagoland craigslist section)

I think the OP did just fine as far as price
 

redwrench60

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So this Morgan Chicago 50 that a buddy of mine rescued, cleaned up and gave to me as a gift was made from 1929-1947? Wow, I didn't figure it was quite that old.
 

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exmaxima1

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I sold one in "excellent condition" with little use and what appeared to be the original blue paint for $85. (Those are craigslist prices in the north chicagoland craigslist section)

+1

I've recently sold 2 Morgan 140's, totally restored/painted/lubed, for $85 each on Chicago CL. In retrospect, Morgans seem to be undervalued. But having just restored my first Reed, I feel that Morgans are more average vises compared to Wiltons or Reeds.

I would now rate Reeds towards the upper tiers along with Wiltons and vintage Records. I put Morgans in with Yost/Rock Island/Athol. Prentiss (based on the few I've had) is maybe somewhere in between.

Just rambling.....
 
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