Prentiss No 54
- Thread starter Jamesrstoll
- Start date
bigcaddy
Well-known member
That's a beauty of a vise and most likely 80+ years old. Prentiss went out of business/purchased in the late 50s by Parker/union tool so it's not any newer then that time frame. The typeset on your vise is typical of the older vises so it could be late teens to the 30s or so.
Gee Mr.Big. I never knew that! You da Man!!
Hi, James,
Your Prentiss vise is approximately a century old, at least pre-1920, possibly 1890's or early 1900's.
The old catalogue specs on the No. 54 are 5" jaw width, 8" jaw opening, and 72lbs. weight.
You are exceptionally fortunate to have one with its original finish generally intact like that, Yours is very much a rarity, in that condition.
I would hope that you don't 'restore' it, but, rather, gently remove the paint splashes in some way which won't damage the original paint underneath them (this may be a bit of a challenge......acetone.MEK mix on a Q-tip, maybe, with gentle scraping of the softened white paint, multiple applications, followed by feeding the original finish with some tung oil, diluted thin with mineral spirits, and gently buffed clean with fine steel wool?
With the surface oxidation gently removed, the original paint will have a low-gloss, but smooth, patina if age, Some areas will be chipped, to be sure.....thats alright, the natural effect of age and use.
Its tricky, but you can remove active rust and still keep the 'patina' of age.....again, gently, gently, mix of light oil with a bit of 'metal prep' dilute phosphoric acid, then just light oil, gently working the surfaces down with fine, then ultra-fine steel wool, then hardwood sawdust/oil mix on a rag..
If you have the patience to 'conserve' that vise, so that it has the patinated original finish consistent with a century of careful and gentle use, you will have a very uncommon and desirable preserved tool. Restored ones are common, but its very seldom one may ever see a well-kept 'original' in such nice condition.
You have a real treasure, there, a treasure in its own right, and the fact that it was your grandfather's makes it even more 'special' for you.
cheers
Carla
vekster
Well-known member
Awsome vise,
clean it up gently or I would just leave it the way it is.
I would absolutly love to have something like that in my kitchen.......oh I mean garage.
clean it up gently or I would just leave it the way it is.
I would absolutly love to have something like that in my kitchen.......oh I mean garage.
wrenchguy
Well-known member
i'd leave grandpa's spills on it. what a great family relic.
OP
Jamesrstoll
Member
Wow - You all just blew my mind! Thank you all very much, because my wife wanted to sell it this weekend at our neighborhood garage sale for $25. Can you imagine?
I thought it looked like it was still in very good condition. I couldn't find a picture of a similar model on the internet. I'm unsure if I have the patience to do this vice justice. I may seek a professional locally.
I thought it looked like it was still in very good condition. I couldn't find a picture of a similar model on the internet. I'm unsure if I have the patience to do this vice justice. I may seek a professional locally.
OP
Jamesrstoll
Member
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
James, Ditto what Carla said! I'd have LOVED to have found that vise for $25 at a yard sale! 
I'm glad your good sense prevailed over your wife's "sell that old rusty piece of junk" opinion.
For the paint spills: I'd start with a Simple Green (SG) quick wash for the general cleanup.
The continue with a SG soak using scraps of paper towel locally on the spills only. Work slow, The SG will soften the paint and you can peel/pop it off with a fingernail. You can over lay the SG paper towels with Saran wrap so they don't just dry out.
Smaller drips/spatter will often pop off using the edge of a knife in shear from the edge, but this can be tricky to do, and not slice a chunk of paint with it.
Once the painted parts are done, in this case I'd use Evaporust on the rusty slide and jaw areas.
Once complete, give it a final cleaning with WD-40, and after that dries, use some paste wax on the bare steel parts. The enjoy your bit of family history!
Take a look at the higher prices you see for that vise on Eprey, and if yours is as nice as it looks in the pic throughout...
FYI, I have that exact same vise, and about 2-3 years ago, paid $125. It was the first vise that size I had found, and it was the cool "Bulldog", and I had to have it. Check out the Garage sale thread, and you will discover I rarely pay top dollar for anything, and that was not even top dollar, just top dollar for me at the time. It's still the second most I've paid for a vise, and at that price I'm sure my "investment" will hold or appreciate...
I'm glad your good sense prevailed over your wife's "sell that old rusty piece of junk" opinion.For the paint spills: I'd start with a Simple Green (SG) quick wash for the general cleanup.
The continue with a SG soak using scraps of paper towel locally on the spills only. Work slow, The SG will soften the paint and you can peel/pop it off with a fingernail. You can over lay the SG paper towels with Saran wrap so they don't just dry out.
Smaller drips/spatter will often pop off using the edge of a knife in shear from the edge, but this can be tricky to do, and not slice a chunk of paint with it.
Once the painted parts are done, in this case I'd use Evaporust on the rusty slide and jaw areas.
Once complete, give it a final cleaning with WD-40, and after that dries, use some paste wax on the bare steel parts. The enjoy your bit of family history!
Take a look at the higher prices you see for that vise on Eprey, and if yours is as nice as it looks in the pic throughout...
FYI, I have that exact same vise, and about 2-3 years ago, paid $125. It was the first vise that size I had found, and it was the cool "Bulldog", and I had to have it. Check out the Garage sale thread, and you will discover I rarely pay top dollar for anything, and that was not even top dollar, just top dollar for me at the time. It's still the second most I've paid for a vise, and at that price I'm sure my "investment" will hold or appreciate...
Outlawmws
Well-known member
ps: MORE PICS! 
ditto
OP
Jamesrstoll
Member
I will post more pics tomorrow. Thanks guys.
safetyman665
Well-known member
Very cool vise. I love the lettertype. I suggest you leave it alone and use it. I once restored one of my grandmother's hatchets, removed the patina on the head and marks on the handle, and instantly regretted it. Don't make the same mistake I did.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Look on Eprey for Completed sales and know that differnt areas of the country have different pricing for Craigs list and such.