The VISES of Garage Journal

[Outlawmws]

88, you didn't mention a price, so can't comment:

99.99% of the time I'd automatically say that was Asian in origin, and to walk away...

That one lacks some of the stereotypical red flags however:

• The handles are not chromed
• The castings appear to be decent
• The paint does not appear to be mixed liberally with Bondo to cover the casting flaws...

do you have any more pics available?
Could this be that rare bird, an original us/European original, the source for the cheap knock offs?

 

[Torquaholic]

thanks for the age estimate and the compliments from all. I'm happy to have the Parker.

 

[shiftdrift]

swift: nice C2 or C3. The swivel bases on those are their week points and a lot have broke so if you and others travel with them you might want to lay on their sides. How much does it weigh, jaw size and date stamp on the slide if you get a chance please. Probably wiltons best commercial vise. Nice score.

It is a c3. Stamped 12/1/67, I laid it on the side after realizing it won't ride that way. Weighs 160lbs, 6" jaws I'm restoring it

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[88e30]

88, you didn't mention a price, so can't comment:

99.99% of the time I'd automatically say that was Asian in origin, and to walk away...

That one lacks some of the stereotypical red flags however:

• The handles are not chromed
• The castings appear to be decent
• The paint does not appear to be mixed liberally with Bondo to cover the casting flaws...

do you have any more pics available?
Could this be that rare bird, an original us/European original, the source for the cheap knock offs?

That is the only pic I have. The ad claims it is made in the US, the asking price is $100.

 

[master Zoda]

So I found some pictures of a lewis vise that is the same as my Prentiss and it shows some of the parts I am missing. It also confirms the patent date that I could hardly read April 12 1882. I am no machinist would anybody be willing to try to make this little lever or point me in the direction of someone who could.

 

[master Zoda]

88 It looks very similar to this Olympia vise that is on eBay for 120.

 

[Outlawmws]

That is the only pic I have. The ad claims it is made in the US, the asking price is $100.

If verifiable (cast Stamped, USA...) I'd buy it.

 

[Outlawmws]

Master Z, those Asian sourced vises always look the same, but they knocked off someone else's vise, in doing so... If actually US made (and not some pseudo US named company like "pitsburg" or "chicago") it's worth getting.

 

[ritzblitz]

Picked up this Columbian 406 today. It's kinda nice. Had to give $180 for it. Worth if for a swivel jaw if this size. Might restore and try ebay.

 

[AndrewH]

Picked up this Columbian 406 today. It's kinda nice. Had to give $180 for it. Worth if for a swivel jaw if this size. Might restore and try ebay.

I'll give ya $225 for it nice vise!

 

[Outlawmws]

Picked up this Columbian 406 today. It's kinda nice. Had to give $180 for it. Worth if for a swivel jaw if this size. Might restore and try ebay.

Why sell it? You may never find another.

 

[ritzblitz]

Why sell it? You may never find another.

Trying to avoid becoming a hoarder. Also selling some stuff to buy a new kurt vise. This guy could take care of that.

 

[gatewaysysop]

Picked up this Columbian 406 today. It's kinda nice. Had to give $180 for it. Worth if for a swivel jaw if this size. Might restore and try ebay.

The 406 looks pretty nice in red. Ask me how I know.

Why sell it? You may never find another.

I second Outlaw, they are rare in this size and quite nice specimens.

 

[balane]

Picked up this Columbian 406 today. It's kinda nice. Had to give $180 for it. Worth if for a swivel jaw if this size. Might restore and try ebay.

Those are nice. I sold one on eBay but a 405. It went for a nice price too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390794577561

 

[AndrewH]

Those are nice. I sold one on eBay but a 405. It went for a nice price too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390794577561

I have to admit I love reading your Description section, I'm not sure what you do for a living but you'd be an excellent salesman! I've even considered bidding on one or two of your vises though they were selling for much more than they're worth (to me anyways!) gotta love eBay! That was a very nice looking Columbian, I'm sure you liked the price even better!

 

[balane]

Thank you very much, that's kind of you to say. Not a salesman by trade, in casino management. And, yes, I love eBay, fees and all.

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

I should have bookmarked it, but does anyone have a link to the post that showed a vise all boxed up for shipping? I spent 20 minutes the other day between this site and google trying to find it with no luck.

 

[AndrewH]

I should have bookmarked it, but does anyone have a link to the post that showed a vise all boxed up for shipping? I spent 20 minutes the other day between this site and google trying to find it with no luck.

How big vise? I bought a 150 lber on eBay that was local pickup but I convinced the guy to let me 'build' two boxes to ship it to me in. I shipped them empty to him and he's going to secure the slide in one custom box and the base in the other and drop them off at UPS. It was a lot of work, and increased the total cost, but it's worth it to me!

 

[bl00]

I should have bookmarked it, but does anyone have a link to the post that showed a vise all boxed up for shipping? I spent 20 minutes the other day between this site and google trying to find it with no luck.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3516808#post3516808

Someone else also posted how they do it, but I can't remember who.

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3516808#post3516808

Someone else also posted how they do it, but I can't remember who.

Thanks so much! I even had liquor box in my search and it wasn't finding it. Bookmarked now! The kids' diaper boxes seems like the right size for the 1750 and even though it's not double wall it's pretty thick.

 

[Outlawmws]

Get some 3M spray glue and cut panels and glue them in. I've done that a bunch of times for heavy shipping...

 

[ritzblitz]

Those are nice. I sold one on eBay but a 405. It went for a nice price too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390794577561

Saw your listing before. That brought great money. If I sell mine, maybe it will be similar. I'm gonna see how my green Parker does first

I might restore, build copper jaws, and keep the 406. After all, it is badass.

 

[zkling]

The 406 looks pretty nice in red. Ask me how I know.

That looks really nice. How did you get the full, even polish on the handles? Did they have any dings in them before?

 

[gatewaysysop]

That looks really nice. How did you get the full, even polish on the handles? Did they have any dings in them before?

I trusted my old man with the resto job, his skill exceeds mine by orders of magnitude.

Nevertheless, PM me and I'll try to get details for you.

 

[va.grouseman]

Posted by ShadowRuleZ.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I should have bookmarked it, but does anyone have a link to the post that showed a vise all boxed up for shipping? I spent 20 minutes the other day between this site and google trying to find it with no luck.
__________________
-Jerry
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I remember one guy saying he ships a lot of blacksmith equipment, vises, anvils, etc.. Aside from the really big stuff that had to be palletized, he double boxes the smaller stuff, wooden boxes the medium stuff. But first he double wraps the item in trash bags then set the item in the box on a stiff block of Styrofoam and sprays Great Stuff all around the item. If you're familiar with Great Stuff, you already know it will stretch out on you considerably as it dries, so I would do it in stages. Once it dries you have a solid block of foam and the box becomes a solid cube, rendering the item immovable. The plastic bags keeps the item clear of any of the foam. Sounds pretty good in theory, but I've never shipped anything heavy so I wouldn't know. Just an idea. Don't sound too bad knowing how UPS, FEDEX, USPS kick things around. I've received several broken items, items with missing parts that escaped through the hole in the container, and totaly empty packages, from all three. I have to give some of the blame to the packagers though.

 

[PghJKB]

Never seen a vise like this one and the price looks decent for the size. I wonder if it is really a railroad vise?

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tls/4508224791.html

Need I say more....

As an ex-ConRail employee, (and the son of an ex-PRR, PC, and ConRail employee) I never saw any vises like this in the engine houses, but they would have been replaced long before I got here. I just consider them rail vises because of the rail that the rear jaw moves on.

JKB

 

[FMC1959]

Wondering if anyone has seen this page, click on the link below and scroll down about 2/3 of the way, till you get to "Bench Vises".

http://kesterhouse.com/etc.html

Pretty cool transformation on that 973 1/2 to a 1073 1/2. Often wonder when you see these custom jobs if it was a really good machinist owner of the vise, or if the manufacturer that did it; in this case Parker.

The author's story figures it may have been Parker or USMC that did it, my money would be on Parker having done this. Whoever did it, pretty cool and unique vise!

 

[NOMADMAD]

Need I say more....

As an ex-ConRail employee, (and the son of an ex-PRR, PC, and ConRail employee) I never saw any vises like this in the engine houses, but they would have been replaced long before I got here. I just consider them rail vises because of the rail that the rear jaw moves on.

JKB

these things are comming out of the wood work. Millers Falls Vises 1912. great shape

 

[SunnyBeach]

This made me laugh.

 

[AndrewH]

This made me laugh.

I just saw that, it's actually a really nice vise, and I'd personally give him a couple bills for it but I've found that when someone thinks they're worth that kind of money, offering them a realistic price is a dead end because they swear it's worth more than they're asking.

 

[oldldh]

Thanks to FMC1959---

Parker 1073???

HMMMM!!!

Has anybody else seen one of these???

I'll bet Reverend Scott could whittle you one!!!

Why not use a six inch swivel jaw "Whatzit" for the basis???

 

[AndrewH]

Thanks to FMC1959---

Parker 1073???

HMMMM!!!

Has anybody else seen one of these???

It certainly is a cute little guy, as he said on his website it started as a 973 1/2, whether Parker modified it for a special order or the owner modified it to suite their needs I guess we'll never know unless another one turns up! I wouldn't be surprised if it's the only one in existence at this point.

 

[jakemac]

I had to walk away from a 4" Parker this morning.
It looked like it had been beaten to death by King Kong. I couldn't find any salvageable parts, even the main nut was toast. He was begging me to take it for $30 and I still had to walk away. It was just too broken up. The only thing holding the pieces of the swivel base together were the bolts through the bench.

At a different sale I picked up a nice little Stanley #741 1-1/2" jaw clamp-on vise. The original color is a reddish brown. This one will get cleaned up and used on my "clean" bench for light work. There is a 3/32" slop in the jaw, but I think I can shim behind the main nut to tighten that up.

The stampings are on the end of the main slide.

I took this one apart so I can clean it up and paint it. Some pictures here :
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4024224#post4024224

I'll post final pictures here when I get around to finishing it.

 

[sgs236]

You can have made this piece I drew in purple and have it welded to your spindle thread diameter. Just make sure the end piece fits in the pocket of your dynamic jaw. Getting the collar will give you the diameter to cut the groove, remember the dynamic jaw does not need much pressure to open it and the welded end will handle any tightening. I hope this makes sense.

Thanks for the image, I ordered the holder for it today. The spindle that I have looks to be square thread instead of acme thread. I measured it and got 7/8" @ 3TPI. Does that sound about right? If anyone has a spindle in that size they want sell, let me know, otherwise I'll plan on making a collar for the one I have.

 

[joe.striper]

Saw this on CL tonight. Snap On 6". Did Wilton make vises for Snap On? Seems in good shape for $200, but not if it isnt Wilton. Ive got to hit it hard tomorrow if I want it.

 

[AndrewH]

Saw this on CL tonight. Snap On 6". Did Wilton make vises for Snap On? Seems in good shape for $200, but not if it isnt Wilton. Ive got to hit it hard tomorrow if I want it.

Yes, it's a Wilton, $200 to me still seems a bit high.

 

[Outlawmws]

Yes, it's a Wilton, $200 to me still seems a bit high.

 

[apong23]

Here a Starrett Athol that I have been working on. Its 3 1/2" with smooth jaws. I picked it up for $40, the previous owner said it came out of a school. That explains why the slide had been pounded on quite a bit, and there are a few hacksaw marks. I straightened the handle the best I could, but its also dinged up.

Was a little tough pulling the slide out.

There was a flaky green color under the blue/grey color.

I then forgot to take pics after wire brushing, prime, paint, and polish. So below are the finished pics.

I hope it gets the Garage Journal members stamp of approval, as I don't post much.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[oldldh]

Ya Dun Gud, Bubba!!!

 

[Outlawmws]

That came out pretty nice apong23; I like the OD paint!