The VISES of Garage Journal

[Fretters]

Just out of curiosity, does that locking bolt for the cylinder bear down on the cylinder directly? Might be worth putting a nub of brass underneath the tip if so, to prevent it marring the surface.

 

[Perrorojo]

Found this Parker 974-1/2 yesterday at an auction. A bidding war broke out and I had to pay $30.

The one jaw has cotter pins holding it on so I will need to get that fixed but other than that it's not too bad.

 

[BlueBomber]

That's an unusual vice. Is that an import or homegrown? Nice restore.

It's a made in China piece and seems pretty robust. Admittedly, I haven't "tested" it since I bought it a year ago.

you did a nice job on it looks great

Real close to the perfect vise color!!!


Almost "ARREST-ME-RED"!!!!


Ya Dun Gud, Bubba!!!

BlueBomber, great job on the vise.. and others have said the color looks great!

Thanks, guys. Its amazing what a coat of paint will do...

 

[datsbooksleia]

CRAFTSMAN PROFESSIONAL INDUSTRIAL BENCH VISE 4.5 INCH

Have those been discontinued? i've only seen them on Ebay over $200

 

[balane]

This looks like a big vise that just popped up on Seattle Craig's List for $100. Parker maybe? Photos don't show much but maybe worth checking out if you need a big 'un.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/tls/4443685472.html

Super nice vise mesure 26 inche s long hand 17 inche long


$100

.

 

[oldldh]

This looks like a big vise that just popped up on Seattle Craig's List for $100. Parker maybe? Photos don't show much but maybe worth checking out if you need a big 'un.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/tls/4443685472.html



.

That beast does look "Parkerish"...

And it's about/at least 6"...

And it's a swivel jaw...or at least look like it...

If it was closer, I'd already have it...

 

[PghJKB]

This looks like a big vise that just popped up on Seattle Craig's List for $100. Parker maybe? Photos don't show much but maybe worth checking out if you need a big 'un.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/tls/4443685472.html

.

I agree it looks like a Parker,

But it looks a swivel jaw model, pin missing, and some fool with more brawn than brains used a hammer/sledge to remove the "tail" section that extends beyond the swivel jaw. IMHO not custom body work, First Class Vise Abuse.

JKB

 

[Red_Bull]

Got this from my great aunt Saturday...she told me to come dig through the barns that have been on her property for 35 years. I told her I'd pay her for it. She asked for $25 and I gave her $50. Ill post more pictures tn. Its a Reed 404 1/2. Any idea on a year, pre ww2?

 

[mtesh73]

does anyone know if there should be lock washer under the lock down nut/handle assembly?
thanks.

 

[mtesh73]

Got this from my great aunt Saturday...she told me to come dig through the barns that have been on her property for 35 years. I told her I'd pay her for it. She asked for $25 and I gave her $50. Ill post more pictures tn. Its a Reed 404 1/2. Any idea on a year, pre ww2?

nice reed, pretty good condition other than the rust.

 

[PghJKB]

Got this from my great aunt Saturday...she told me to come dig through the barns that have been on her property for 35 years. I told her I'd pay her for it. She asked for $25 and I gave her $50. Ill post more pictures tn. Its a Reed 404 1/2. Any idea on a year, pre ww2?

RedBull
Got an image of the left side of the vise? Any patents on it?

How many "feet" on the swivel base?
It is definitely pre-WW2, manufactured pre-1938. More images may yield a better estimate.

JKB

 

[Craptain]

Got this from my great aunt Saturday...she told me to come dig through the barns that have been on her property for 35 years. I told her I'd pay her for it. She asked for $25 and I gave her $50. Ill post more pictures tn. Its a Reed 404 1/2. Any idea on a year, pre ww2?

Nice! Swivel jaw as well.

 

[CudaChick1968]

Off topic, but in cleaning out Billy's dad's latest hoarding (a 16 foot box truck packed almost 8 years ago when we still lived in Louisiana), I found an old Reed pipe cutter that matches my vise. I didn't get any pics of it yet but DID get this one ... heh hehhhhhhhh 5 foot nuthin and 115 pounds of bad *** LMAO!!!!



Ha! As IF. I was lucky to pick it up.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled vise ****.

 

[GETRIDAONE]

does anyone know if there should be lock washer under the lock down nut/handle assembly?
thanks.

It will hold down tight but a lock washer doesn't want to come loose either. It will hold without a lock washer.

 

[mtesh73]

It will hold down tight but a lock washer doesn't want to come loose either. It will hold without a lock washer.

thank you. looks cleaner without a lock washer too.... i have seen it both ways, but will keep it without the lock washer.

 

[methomas70]

Methomas: have you posted your Parker vises on the vise thread yet? please do and you don't have to announce they are for sale. i would say maybe one or two of us have PM'd a member when they posted a vise we liked to make an offer or bought one. we just like looking at nice vises and especially rare and different ones. good luck on your sales in advance and i'm guessing you didn't just join GJ so you could use us like an auction site. we welcome your posts.

Thanks Drives.

I just posted them in the Classified section.
Theres 3 of them.
An 803, a 974 and a 272 with a swivel jaw.

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

Man, I want a swivel jaw vise but I'm too far from Chicago. Guess I'll have to keep looking here.

 

[McBrownie]

does anyone know if there should be lock washer under the lock down nut/handle assembly?
thanks.

What I'm using are drain plug copper crush washers that came from various oil changes on a VW. They seem to provide a little more bite and also keep the original vise parts from taking anymore abuse.

 

[KMScott]

does anyone know if there should be lock washer under the lock down nut/handle assembly?
thanks.

I use a washers under the lock downs just to position the handles when they are tightened so the handle runs parallel to the vise, but not a lock washer.

 

[Outlawmws]

I don't think you want a lock washer, but a thrust washer won't hurt anything, and a soft material as mentioned probably is a good thing.

 

[Fretters]

Off topic, but in cleaning out Billy's dad's latest hoarding (a 16 foot box truck packed almost 8 years ago when we still lived in Louisiana), I found an old Reed pipe cutter that matches my vise. I didn't get any pics of it yet but DID get this one ... heh hehhhhhhhh 5 foot nuthin and 115 pounds of bad *** LMAO!!!!



Ha! As IF. I was lucky to pick it up.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled vise ****.

Those are stunningly robust and powerful drills. Once they're going, they'll break or spin pretty much everything which is trying to restrain either them or the piece if you don't stop quickly enough if they snag though.

 

[va.grouseman]

Here is a 203 Charles Parker that is advertised as an 1810 which seems a little early to me. I'm thinking maybe an 1870 or 1910. What do you guy's think?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blacksmith-...228?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43c8fe32fc

 

[Outlawmws]

1910. They didn't make that swivel base in 1870, and certainly not in 1810! [/wishfulthinking]

 

[PghJKB]

Think Parker was founded in 1832, doubt they filed for and were granted any patents before they went into business.

Check that front jaw, is that a weld??

JKB

 

[McBrownie]

Here is a 203 Charles Parker that is advertised as an 1810 which seems a little early to me. I'm thinking maybe an 1870 or 1910. What do you guy's think?

I'm working on a 203 right now that says 1810 too. It has to be a casting mistake, but it's fun to see that they made more than one. Must have been a Friday in the foundry. Anyway, the price is a little high, IMO, and that dynamic jaw looks like it's been welded.

 

[Red_Bull]

here is the other side of the vise, it also has 3 feet.

 

[mtesh73]

What I'm using are drain plug copper crush washers that came from various oil changes on a VW. They seem to provide a little more bite and also keep the original vise parts from taking anymore abuse.

I use a washers under the lock downs just to position the handles when they are tightened so the handle runs parallel to the vise, but not a lock washer.

I don't think you want a lock washer, but a thrust washer won't hurt anything, and a soft material as mentioned probably is a good thing.

thank you guys, this thread is amazing!! i am going to give a soft material (as mentioned above )like copper a shot, this way the lockdown handle indexes parallel to the vise body like kevin stated.

maybe i will put the washer on the bolt closest to its head under the vise where it rides in the channel, this way it is not seen from the top?

 

[PghJKB]

here is the other side of the vise, it also has 3 feet.

Red Bull
It has a 1908 patent which would have expired in 1925, and a 1914 patent that would have expired in 1931 - the vise was manufactured after Aug 1914 and before late 1925.

There is no utility in keeping an expired patent on the side of the vise (it actually requires more cast material). Usually the patent citation is eliminated as soon as practical once the patent expires.

JKB

 

[Red_Bull]

JKB thanks for the info man!

 

[Outlawmws]

Think Parker was founded in 1832, doubt they filed for and were granted any patents before they went into business.

Check that front jaw, is that a weld??

JKB

Yes, a rather nasty looking one...

 

[Outlawmws]

PGH, just because the pat. ran out does NOT mean they stopped putting them on things. I've seen MUCH older patents No's still stamped or cast in long after they expired. Probably to still claim to be the originator of whatever it was they had the patent on. (Which was the primary reason for touting a Pat. No, as the rights are there whether it is stamped on or not...)

 

[ganymede]

PGH, just because the pat. ran out does NOT mean they stopped putting them on things. I've seen MUCH older patents No's still stamped or cast in long after they expired. Probably to still claim to be the originator of whatever it was they had the patent on. (Which was the primary reason for touting a Pat. No, as the rights are there whether it is stamped on or not...)

SK comes to mind. They stamped the late 30's and early 40's patents on rats into the 70's.

 

[454ragtop]

thank you guys, this thread is amazing!! i am going to give a soft material (as mentioned above )like copper a shot, this way the lockdown handle indexes parallel to the vise body like kevin stated.

maybe i will put the washer on the bolt closest to its head under the vise where it rides in the channel, this way it is not seen from the top?

I put a steel AN washer under my locking handles just to protect the castings. You can usually index the carriage bolt in the lock plate/plates by turning the bolt to get the handles where you want them.
HTH, Jim

 

[PghJKB]

outlaw, ganymede
Using patents for dating is only as reliable as the company advertising the patent. With Reed, I stand by what I said. My Reeds show a consistent dropping and adding of patent dates. I need some time to put together a sequence to demonstrate this.

And as I said, raised letters in castings cost money, even a fraction of a cent means something when you are dealing with tens or hundreds of thousands of units. And we are dealing with sand molds here, not an expensive medium to alter.

Reed patent 2127008 (which seems to mark the beginning of their R series vise) was granted in 1938. I have never seen a Reed R series with a patent earlier than the 1938 No. 2127008 patent as none of their earlier patents would still be in effect. (I also believe that during WW2 Reed went to the mushroom nose on their screws to save money on steel.)

JKB

 

[mtesh73]

I put a steel AN washer under my locking handles just to protect the castings. You can usually index the carriage bolt in the lock plate/plates by turning the bolt to get the handles where you want them.
HTH, Jim

i never thought of rotating the lock bolt... makes sense (duh). i'll keep it mind.
thanks.

 

[larryq]

Not sure if this is of interest to anyone, but I posted a 9" Wilton link from CL on the hot deals thread. $150 obo per the seller.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3933470&postcount=1352

Don't know about the tiger stripes but it appears to be in good shape?

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

Not sure if this is of interest to anyone, but I posted a 9" Wilton link from CL on the hot deals thread. $150 obo per the seller.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3933470&postcount=1352

Don't know about the tiger stripes but it appears to be in good shape?

Damn, hope someone from here picks it up. Another one of those where they measured it wrong.

 

[zoomieport]

It looks like an old scchool "C3" (6"), it's a big one, that's for sure... and it looks like it's SOLD...

 

[ganymede]

...My Reeds show a consistent dropping and adding of patent dates. I need some time to put together a sequence to demonstrate this. ...
... Reed patent 2127008 (which seems to mark the beginning of their R series vise) was granted in 1938. I have never seen a Reed R series with a patent earlier than the 1938 No. 2127008 patent as none of their earlier patents would still be in effect. ...

JKB

Interesting to know. All I know about my patentless 203 1/2a is that it was made after 1914 and before 1934. Maybe I'll be able to narrow it down someday.

 

[JasonJ]

Don't know about the tiger stripes but it appears to be in good shape?

Grrrrr baby... Grrrrrr...