The VISES of Garage Journal

[drivesitfar]

Beudryk i'll ask again. any and all pictures of a vise much less 35 of them mounted in your 1000 sq. ft. shop would be apprectiated especially by me because i want to mount that many in 500 square feet or at least be able to mount more than a few. welcome to Garage Journal and i'm sure you will teach us a lot while we give you "vice" therapy.

Outlaw:awesome post and glad you were able to go to Clara's for a chat and pick up that Parker vise. i would have loved to be a fly on the wall to hear what you pros had to say. any chance you happed to see in her Columbian catalogs the Craftsman 519x series vises? i'm not saying you are not right it's just i have an 80 year old telling me Starrett made them and he is a pretty handy no BS guy that had a 5196 on one of his benches for years before it became mine not too long ago.

Balane: so what band was playing in the shop when you painted that one?? still a quality product as usual and I actually like it better than your baby poop green one awhile back.

Andrew: another giant for the bench so when are you going to show the half inch steel bench you are mounting these on or is that on the "to buy" list. congrats and was that a local pickup or how did you ship that Big Un? please share with thread or PM me if you would.

 

[balane]

Haha, Thanks. I hope it sells for as much as that baby poop green one did!!

 

[Carla]

I'm quick when it matters!
Put that fiver where it belongs: in your Vise Fund!
Color. Hmmm ain't even thinking about that one yet. I'm thinking what to build for a stand....
And thanks!
Well, it wasn't ONLY for a bet! I didn't even know Parker MADE this vise. but I've been gravitating to the idea that a big one with a swivel jaw would be enough to make me consider letting lose of the also rans I've gotten so far. and that Carla posted this one.... The rest as they say is History. And it most certainly IS a keeper!
BTW Carla's shops and what she's considering letting go of is worth the visit! than and the stories she has to tell!
She has a number of nice tools she has on her "Maybe I'll post this" list, not the least is another 6" Parker: fixed base, and fixed jaw, but it does need the main nut repaired/replaced. it was apparently a war vise and the nut was made from a softer CI and wore out... recast from a nice phosphor bronze maybe?
Carla also allowed me to peruse her Columbian scrap book collection which is a set of scrapbooks form the Columbian Vise company, containing both there ads and their competitors as well aden some letters and other photos and dociumentations from the Columian vise companies history. there were 15 volumes total. An incredible resource of the industries history...and thanks!
Heh, I surprised ME! and thanks!
OK but I'd be kinda careful back there...
Yes I was!
And thank you!

Here, as I promised, are the photos of Outlaw perusing the Columbian Vise scrap-books, which might be called 'The Adventures of H. F. Seymour', from 1922 to the early '60's.

(from the old photos, Mr Seymour might not have been the most handsome or 'dashing' of men.......but keeping the business alive and the workers employed during the depression years of the '30's, and then meeting the demands for production during the 1939-45 war, would have been quite an adventure, I should think.)

www.tactical-link.com/cpix/archives1.jpg

www.tactical-link.com/cpix/archives2.jpg

If someone who knows how to do so would be so kind as to post the actual images here on this site, I'd appreciate.

cheers

Carla

 

[bl00]

Here's the pics:

 

[AndrewH]

Nevermind. Already taken care of!

 

[Filson]

Balane,

That is one badass job you did. Very artistic and unique! I'm not a fan of his music much, but I love the concept!

 

[mcmlvif100]

Wow!!!

Just Wow!!!

Most beautiful vise in the known universe???

Don't know about that, but here's his Big Brother...

And, yet another member of the family. Don't know much about it. Saw the picture on HAMB site and saved it for future reference.

 

[jsharpphoto]

I picked up this chuck of Chinese scrap metal today because it came free with the grinder I wanted. Garage sale people are strange.

 

[shiftdrift]

Finally found what I was wanting. 12/67 c3 Wilton. Time to restore. Any help locating pipe jaws and some more info on it would be fantastic!

 

[tool_scrounge]

Finally found what I was wanting. 12/67 c3 Wilton. Time to restore. Any help locating pipe jaws and some more info on it would be fantastic!

Err... that looks pretty bent or broke. Is the moving jaw cracked or it the tube bent or broke?

 

[shiftdrift]

nothing is broken, nor cracked. the swivel base is loose and has a little play in it, the tube slides in and out like butter.

 

[Filson]

I picked up this chuck of Chinese scrap metal today because it came free with the grinder I wanted. Garage sale people are strange.

While its certainly light duty, the ability to position the jaws just about any way you could need could be handy. Price was right too!

 

[Amitygravel]

Don't think I'll be doing anything heavy with this one but I sure wasn't going to leave it lay with a $2 price tag.
Didn't realize until I was cleaning it up later what brand it is.

 

[Filson]

Err... that looks pretty bent or broke. Is the moving jaw cracked or it the tube bent or broke?

My eyes caught the same thing right away too. Funny camera angle maybe?

 

[shiftdrift]

I see what you guys are seeing now, it's just the camera. There's no play in the threads or anything.

 

[spazzer]

Here's my $40 CL find from last week. I put it in place of the Columbian D44 (work issue) that was on my bench @ work.

Here's a vise on a nearby CL. Looks pretty neat almost like a wilton, it has "COBRA-4" cast on the sides.

 

[zkling]

And, yet another member of the family. Don't know much about it. Saw the picture on HAMB site and saved it for future reference.

IMHO, the modernized handle looks good on that first one, but not that great retrofitted to the older vises. To each their own.

 

[Fretters]

I see what you guys are seeing now, it's just the camera. There's no play in the threads or anything.

Some cameras do tend to have that effect. I've bought a few things in the past where the photo's made them look bent, (fortunately they weren't). Nice vice. Like the tall jaws.

 

[McBrownie]

Some cameras do tend to have that effect. I've bought a few things in the past where the photo's made them look bent, (fortunately they weren't). Nice vice. Like the tall jaws.

Even the soda bottle (or as we would say around the Great Lakes - "pop bottle") looks like it is leaning over. I think member KMScott makes pipe jaws for that beast.

Edit: Yes he does. Adding the link:

http://wiltonviseparts.net/wilton-c3-pipe-jaws/

 

[GETRIDAONE]

Outlawmws has snagged a nice Parker and some other members have found some nice vises in the last few weeks.
Balane You have outdone yourself !!!
It seems the vise supply in the south has dried up for now so I have been working on a few projects. I found an old grinder ? stand that I just had to have, for what I don't know yet but it made a nice picture with a vise on it.


My guess is a Rock Island by the scallops on the jaws but it has no name on it

A York 100 (4")

A small Columbian

 

[Egapgt]

Anyone tried baked flax seed oil on a vise?

This may have been covered already but...basically one puts a very thin coat of flax seed oil on the external and non-machined parts, stick them in a 500 degree oven for ½ hour to an hour, let cool and repeat 4 or 5 times. Supposedly produces a “machine black-gray” semi-gloss finish and provides corrosion protection. Too much heat for the metal characteristics?

 

[jakemac]

That method is essentially the same as "seasoning" cast iron cookware. You can do the same thing with linseed oil.

 

[balane]

Is there a sample of this finish? I think I missed it if one was posted. I assume the cast iron is 100% safe at heating to 500F and cooling multiple times? You let it cool down completely between each oil application? Thanks.

 

[jakemac]

I don't know about temperatures, but I usually put my pans on an open fire and let the smoke from the oil tell me if it's hot enough. Obviously, I do this outside. Using the oven in the kitchen would shorten my lifespan considerably.

 

[McBrownie]

Old vise in 'Bula and only $54. Is this a Reed?

http://ashtabula.craigslist.org/tld/4479103244.html

 

[Egapgt]

Balane,
Not sure if 500 F & slow cooling will change the metal properties or not...someone with that expertise needed. I wouldn't do it if I wasn't sure.

Jake,
I'll take your word on the smoke issue. Was your use of the "lol hitting" smile suggesting that someone in your household would shorten your lifespan of was it the smoke itself??

 

[zkling]

Old vise in 'Bula and only $54. Is this a Reed?

Yes, it is a reed, 204.

 

[jakemac]

Balane,
Jake,
I'll take your word on the smoke issue. Was your use of the "lol hitting" smile suggesting that someone in your household would shorten your lifespan of was it the smoke itself??

Both !

 

[Egapgt]

Here is a link from a 1917 article that says 500 degrees F probably won't reduce the strength of cast iron but repeated cycles may cause it to grow and get heavier (although the growth documented was from 27 cycles and heated to over 1400 degrees).

 

[Carla]

Old vise in 'Bula and only $54. Is this a Reed?

http://ashtabula.craigslist.org/tld/4479103244.html

As mentioned, yes, its a Reed, and probably of late 1930's production, after 1938, but before the early/mid '40's.

Its difficult to read in that photo, but it appears to have the patent number for the adjustable nut retainer, It still has the earlier style front jaw, before the 'split-nut' screw retaining system, presumably they'd have been using up older style parts still in stock.

You could, if you like, call it a 'transition model', with one earlier style feature (the front jaw) and one later style feature, the adjustable main nut retainer.......which makes yours a relatively rare model of Reed vise.

(edited.........hmmmm........is that a three-bolt base, or four-bolt?

cheers

Carla

 

[Carla]

Here is a link from a 1917 article that says 500 degrees F probably won't reduce the strength of cast iron but repeated cycles may cause it to grow and get heavier (although the growth documented was from 27 cycles and heated to over 1400 degrees).

The people who 'restore' old Stanley hand planes, and similar hardware duplicate the factory 'Japanned' finish, which is an asphaltum-based material, which has to be baked to 'cure' it.

I've seen some old vises which appeared to have such a finish. If you want a high-quality finish, and are willing to do some work to get it, you can replicate this finish yourself, using an 'expendable' toaster-oven. (I can assure you that you don't want to use your kitchen oven, as the smell from the baking process is rather graphically 'not nice')

Try an internet search on 'Stanley plane restoration' for the source for the material, and the baking time/temperature. I don't remember the temp spec, but it was a common industrial process, 'back in the day', not even nearly hot enough to damage an iron casting.

If you are willing to go through the work of doing a baked Japanned finish on your vise, and post photos here, you are likely to start an 'envy-fest' and a 'new fad' amongst the old vise restorers here.

cheers

Carla

 

[Van Steele]

Got this one today: Samsonia 38A

 

[Egapgt]

The people who 'restore' old Stanley hand planes, and similar hardware duplicate the factory 'Japanned' finish, which is an asphaltum-based material, which has to be baked to 'cure' it.

I've seen some old vises which appeared to have such a finish. If you want a high-quality finish, and are willing to do some work to get it, you can replicate this finish yourself, using an 'expendable' toaster-oven. (I can assure you that you don't want to use your kitchen oven, as the smell from the baking process is rather graphically 'not nice')

Try an internet search on 'Stanley plane restoration' for the source for the material, and the baking time/temperature. I don't remember the temp spec, but it was a common industrial process, 'back in the day', not even nearly hot enough to damage an iron casting.

If you are willing to go through the work of doing a baked Japanned finish on your vise, and post photos here, you are likely to start an 'envy-fest' and a 'new fad' amongst the old vise restorers here.

cheers

Carla

Thanks Carla!!!

 

[balane]

Here's a 1957 Craftsman 4" on the stump. It's clean but there is a casting flaw you can see. I'm really surprised this one made it out the door. I wouldn't have been exactly enthused if I opened the box after coming home from the store and seeing that lump on a premium priced vise. Doesn't hurt anything but it is a wart. Otherwise this is a low use vise and it works like new.

.

 

[zkling]

Here's a 1957 Craftsman 4" on the stump. It's clean but there is a casting flaw you can see. I'm really surprised this one made it out the door. I wouldn't have been exactly enthused if I opened the box after coming home from the store and seeing that lump on a premium priced vise. Doesn't hurt anything but it is a wart. Otherwise this is a low use vise and it works like new.

.

He finally did the lettering. Looks great. Top it off with paint in the screw eye grooves? Cough cough.

 

[balane]

Thanks zk. Well, to be fair, this one came from the factory with painted lettering and I was merely trying to capture the OEM look a little bit. Good luck finding that blue/green/gray paint they used back then though. I can't find anything to even come close I settled on a flat olive.

 

[Fretters]

If you are willing to go through the work of doing a baked Japanned finish on your vise, and post photos here, you are likely to start an 'envy-fest' and a 'new fad' amongst the old vise restorers here.

Not just amongst vice restorers either. If anyone does happen to find a good alternative for the old japanned finish, it'd be useful for a lot more than vices. Never had much luck in finding a good alternative personally.

 

[Fretters]

Got this one today: Samsonia 38A

Nice vices those Parkinson Samsonia's. Is it 5" or 6" jaws on that model?

 

[Fretters]

Here's a 1957 Craftsman 4" on the stump. It's clean but there is a casting flaw you can see. I'm really surprised this one made it out the door. I wouldn't have been exactly enthused if I opened the box after coming home from the store and seeing that lump on a premium priced vise. Doesn't hurt anything but it is a wart. Otherwise this is a low use vise and it works like new.

That casting flaw is nowt. Wouldn't even give that a second thought personally. That colour looks quite nice.

Regarding your question earlier regarding Wilton's, IMHO, it's more the name than owt else. It's akin to Myford's across here. They generally command silly money in relation to actual worth for the simple fact that they have that name on them. The Swinden's vices are another example. I'm not suggesting they're not a sturdy vice, but their finishing and quality of casting could be classed as leaving something to be desired, in comparison to, for example, Parkinsons.

 

[McBrownie]

As mentioned, yes, its a Reed, and probably of late 1930's production, after 1938, but before the early/mid '40's.

Its difficult to read in that photo, but it appears to have the patent number for the adjustable nut retainer, It still has the earlier style front jaw, before the 'split-nut' screw retaining system, presumably they'd have been using up older style parts still in stock.

You could, if you like, call it a 'transition model', with one earlier style feature (the front jaw) and one later style feature, the adjustable main nut retainer.......which makes yours a relatively rare model of Reed vise.

(edited.........hmmmm........is that a three-bolt base, or four-bolt?

cheers

Carla

Looks like 3. I'm not interested in this one. I'm just posting this for people who don't regularly search the Ashtabula Craigslist.