Hi I am new so I do not know the best way to start a discussion I have a Colombian bench vise I got with some equipment I bought and I can't seem to find out anything about it is a large vise and it looks like it is made out of solid copper or brass the side where there would be a model number has been ground down but inside of it there is 204 1/2-2 anybody have any info ? Thanks
columbian vise copper/brass ?
- Thread starter Automatt
- Start date
Fretters
Well-known member
Pop some photo's up. That sounds like it could be an interesting piece of kit. Generally, if something is made from non-ferrous materials, it usually indicates it was for hazardous locations, where a spark could have been catastrophic, hence the use of things like brass, copper, aluminium etc.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
AutoMatt: pictures would help if you can post a few of your vise. what i can tell you is that it is highly unlikely that you have a copper or brass vise made by Columbian. they made good old US steel vises and still do. my guess is you have one that had a pretty good brass or copper color paint job, but would like to see pictures if you are able.
the 204 1/2 means you have a 4.5 inch wide jaw across the top with the jaws closed and you have a swivel base. the Columbians did have a brass badge on some of their vises and their numbers were usually worn down pretty good so not very readable.
Welcome to Garage Journal and looking forward to your posts of what you know or can add to the threads and you'll learn a lot if you want to.
the 204 1/2 means you have a 4.5 inch wide jaw across the top with the jaws closed and you have a swivel base. the Columbians did have a brass badge on some of their vises and their numbers were usually worn down pretty good so not very readable.
Welcome to Garage Journal and looking forward to your posts of what you know or can add to the threads and you'll learn a lot if you want to.
wrenchguy
Well-known member
sparkproof vise. BERYLLIUM, BERYLCO. never seen 1, but gotta be neat if it is 1.
Last edited:
glenmore
Well-known member
Before you do any cleaning, search under "Berylco" and check out that thread.
Farmall450
Well-known member
+1 I remember ratchets coming up being made of that.
4xdog
Well-known member
Beryllium, as the pure metal, is very bad -- we used to have a machine shop for beryllium at my first job, and boy were controls tight in that area. I never got close to it.
Beryllium-copper is a lot better, but as noted by glenmore and zkling, don't breathe any dust from the metal.
Beryllium-copper is a lot better, but as noted by glenmore and zkling, don't breathe any dust from the metal.
bushmechanic
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2014
- Messages
- 4,820
I'd think a copper-beryllium object the size of an average vice would be pretty darn valuable.
Found this on marketplace so I figured I'd resurrect this thread for a bit to put a pic.
It's 5 hours away so no magnet test but it looks like plating at minimum or maybe automotive paint but it looks too good in my opinion. Steel jaws and even arm where other examples I saw were strictly brass with replaceable steel jaws. It is in Ohio so not particularly oceanside but there is a lot of ex Navy in the area that cast aside the ocean for the moderate woods.
Mainly just posting as it's a curiosity and someone might have an opinion on it's production, either materialistic or historical. It's probably just a very good cast copy but I'd imagine the bimetallic construction would take some effort regardless assuming I'm not falling for a professional paint job.
It's 5 hours away so no magnet test but it looks like plating at minimum or maybe automotive paint but it looks too good in my opinion. Steel jaws and even arm where other examples I saw were strictly brass with replaceable steel jaws. It is in Ohio so not particularly oceanside but there is a lot of ex Navy in the area that cast aside the ocean for the moderate woods.
Mainly just posting as it's a curiosity and someone might have an opinion on it's production, either materialistic or historical. It's probably just a very good cast copy but I'd imagine the bimetallic construction would take some effort regardless assuming I'm not falling for a professional paint job.
You're probably right. I can't tell the difference too well so figured I'd post it regardless and let anybody who wanted to check it out make observations.
It looks the the actual arm/slide to dynamic body mesh point might show signs of paint/plating overlap too. Potential wear through on jaw side mesh surfaces too.
Maybe it's gold plated? Too bright for bare copper I think and a carbon contact plater would make quick work of a job like that. I haven't tried plating cast iron before but I'd imagine the copper, nickel, gold stages setup would still be ideal.
It's a 5 hour each way trip to do a magnet test since it's just something on marketplace so it's not likely to happen. I could ask the seller but I'm not keen on bothering them and since they have a couple dozen vises I'd imagine they'd say to come check it out myself anyhow.
My knowledge of plating isn't too advanced so I'm not sure what all you can plate so not sure if brass itself can be plated. It looks brassy to me but stone finish gold plating can be brassy too sometimes. Also gold plating at that square inches would probably be $15 so it's not like it'd add value beyond potentially cosmetically.
Edit: you can plate 70/30 brass direct on steel and nickel so brass plating is a viable option. Not sure how well it works with carbon contact plating but it should work fine and if bath plating then you'd just polish off the plating on the jaws and arm/slide anyways to get the same results shown.
Last edited: