The VISES of Garage Journal

[drivesitfar]

Zoomie: i don't know about the other guys or Andrew, but i know i just added a few "little" vises to my list. those little guys are awesome and are they breeding like rabbits at your place? I've never really seen very many tiny ones in the wild so i guess EBay might be the best option for those since shipping them should be pretty easy? would five or 10 or maybe 20 fit inside a USPS flat rate box? i bet the cash involved to buy that many might not fit in the box heading to the owners.

Blue: you have some great vises and not sure how rare that one is you just posted, but i know it isn't a common one. it's sitting on a pretty nice wood bench so are you a woodworker or is that just one side of your shop. sounds like you just need a nice 50 to 150 pound vise for your bench to offset the little guys at the other end.

Andrew: Maybe between us and a few others we might be able to give Zoomie a run for his vise money, but then he might start recruiting some of those in chains. The magnetic pull is definitely pulling harder in the Midwest since you joined GJ and the vise squad.

 

[zoomieport]

I'll just say they were "well bought" compared to the prices I've seen on eBay. If I were to sell, I think I could see about a 600% "profit" over what I paid and the average purchase price on eBay, I'll let you do the math...
Alas, they aren't for sale (yet...).

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

There is a big vise guy that pops in here occasionally, I forget what his list is.

 

[zoomieport]

There is a big vise guy that pops in here occasionally, I forget what his list is.

Is it Demoman?
He's got the most complete collection of "BIG VISES" I've seen.

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

Is it Demoman?
He got the most complete collection of "BIG VISES" I've seen.

Yeah, that's him. Took me a while on google to pull up his name, trying to find his post now.

Edit: Found it.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3399595#post3399595

 

[autopts]

There is a big vise guy that pops in here occasionally.

Here's one. The infamous Wilton 800S, its older with the single piece Dynamic jaw. Its near perfect.

 

[antolod]

So I made the trip to look at the vise jaker10 pointed out that is only 48 miles from home. Craftsman 5162, in really good shape.

Didn't have much else going on this afternoon so I decided to give it a good cleaning and paint job. I guess this is my first restore, since my big Parker is still blue in the background of the picture above. The only problem I found was the swivel lock bolt had been broken off at some point and was only holding on 3 threads. So I made a new one:

Only paint I had at the shop was some dark gray, but it didn't turn out too bad.

I can't make out the last digit, but the slide is stamped 9 46 maybe?

 

[Mark in Indiana]

I got a line on a Columbian 604 locally and was wondering what a fair price would be. Its been used many years and pretty dirty. Missing the swivel handle but seems to swivel ok and lock down. Jaws look fair and no signs of cracks, cuts welding or other big abuse. Its part of a sale to help an elderly lady raise living expenses. I started at $10 for a bargain, they said no. I raised to $20 and they want to research and think about it. I want to pay a fair price if affordable but was wondering what the right range would be? This would be a keeper I would clean up and use, not for quick sale.

Any advice O Vise Wise Ones?

IMHO: Unfortunately vintage vises are undervalued. It's common to see a new Wilton sold at a big box store for $200.00. But it's a Chinese POS. In my part of the country, a fair retail price for your vise in question should be $300.00. Get it while you can.

 

[oldldh]

Autopts---

Is it just me...

Or is that big dude strangely shaped???

Big and strange, just like some of the collections on this thread...

Notice, I didn't say anyone was "Big and Strange"...

I thought about it...

But I didn't say it...

 

[AndrewH]

I've been meaning to ask the community, I want to find a swivel jaw Wilton, what is the model number? Did they only come in one size or multiple? I think they're pretty cool looking and would like to add on to my collection.

 

[zoomieport]

I've been meaning to ask the community, I want to find a swivel jaw Wilton, what is the model number? Did they only come in one size or multiple? I think they're pretty cool looking and would like to add on to my collection.

I've got a 3-1/2" and a 4-1/2" and I'm pretty sure someone (bigcaddy?) on here posted a 4"...

 

[oldldh]

I've been meaning to ask the community, I want to find a swivel jaw Wilton, what is the model number? Did they only come in one size or multiple? I think they're pretty cool looking and would like to add on to my collection.

The Machinist Vises by Wilton are numbered as follows:

300/400/450/500/600/800 the first three numbers of the Model # represent the jaw width in inches...

If that is followed by an "S", presto a swivel base Wilton...

Autopts 800S is as big as it gets...

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

I thought the swivel jaw wiltons were SJs?

 

[zoomieport]

The Machinist Vises by Wilton are numbered as follows:

300/400/450/500/600/800 the first three numbers of the Model # represent the jaw width in inches...

If that is followed by an "S", presto a swivel base Wilton...

Autopts 800S is as big as it gets...

He's asking about "swivel jaw" not "swivel base"...

 

[oldldh]

He's asking about "swivel jaw" not "swivel base"...

As I've gotten older...

My vision and reading ability has gotten worse...

I will now go out and do 25 pushups as penance...

I've attached Maclin's 450SJ that sold on Ebay for over $ 600.00!!!

 

[AndrewH]

The Machinist Vises by Wilton are numbered as follows:

300/400/450/500/600/800 the first three numbers of the Model # represent the jaw width in inches...

If that is followed by an "S", presto a swivel base Wilton...

Autopts 800S is as big as it gets...

Swivel JAW not base, but thanks!

 

[drivesitfar]

I've seen a couple 6 inch swivel jaw vises and one member had a thread on his that was pristine. not sure if Wilton had an 8 incher or how many smaller ones were made, but they are pretty nice vises.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=227704&page=6

 

[rmalkow2]

$10 or $20 offer for a quality USA vise that is also helping an elderly lady survive? Shame on you, offer them $50 and you're still getting a good deal while doing the right thing at the same time.

I appreciate the advice on value but geez don't make too many assumptions and don't your ******* in a wad. I've seen so many regular posts on this forum of guys getting much better vises for a lot less then their true value. Usually they get celebrated and a "you ****".
Before I understood the situation of the sale and who was who I could only see the vise partially exposed on a very piled up bench. I asked for a price and no one there was willing to start the bidding so I started with $10. I could have said $2 or anything. The young ladies response was no and she thought it was worth more but did not know how much. So I doubled the offer to $20 to which she said she would take my name but wanted to do her own research first.
Then I met the older lady and talked about some of her antiques and get a flavor for the situation. At that point I figured I did not know enough about a fair value for this particular vise and did not want to make any more offers too little or too much without some more info.
And that brings me to coming to GJ for some advice but hold off on the conviction just yet. I am not out to cheat anyone but I'm not made of $100 bills either. Typically how I deal with people in this situation is I offer what I can afford and if they say no I try to help them with some info of my own so they can be better informed to negotiate with the next person.
All in all $50 sounds fair to me as it's better than a lesser made new vise and still I'll have to invest some to get this fully usable again and replace missing/worn parts. Hopefully I can get the bench area more cleared off tomorrow to get a better look.

 

[drivesitfar]

RM: Glad you clarified and sounds like you will do the right thing or pass and find a different vise or deal. Mark had a good point that some Columbian vises do sell for quite a bit and not just on a bidding war in an auction. I rarely see a vise that is over 70 years old and over a 4 inch jaw for less than $50 or even $100 for a quality brand, but that might just be because they all were left outside in the rain up here and discarded by the relatives that couldn't get them working.

good luck.

 

[AndrewH]

I appreciate the advice on value but geez don't make too many assumptions and don't your ******* in a wad. I've seen so many regular posts on this forum of guys getting much better vises for a lot less then their true value. Usually they get celebrated and a "you ****".
Before I understood the situation of the sale and who was who I could only see the vise partially exposed on a very piled up bench. I asked for a price and no one there was willing to start the bidding so I started with $10. I could have said $2 or anything. The young ladies response was no and she thought it was worth more but did not know how much. So I doubled the offer to $20 to which she said she would take my name but wanted to do her own research first.
Then I met the older lady and talked about some of her antiques and get a flavor for the situation. At that point I figured I did not know enough about a fair value for this particular vise and did not want to make any more offers too little or too much without some more info.
And that brings me to coming to GJ for some advice but hold off on the conviction just yet. I am not out to cheat anyone but I'm not made of $100 bills either. Typically how I deal with people in this situation is I offer what I can afford and if they say no I try to help them with some info of my own so they can be better informed to negotiate with the next person.
All in all $50 sounds fair to me as it's better than a lesser made new vise and still I'll have to invest some to get this fully usable again and replace missing/worn parts. Hopefully I can get the bench area more cleared off tomorrow to get a better look.

Oops, my dry humor was apparently a little to dry! But never fear, my ******* are riding just fine and I'm certainly not condemning you to 'cheapskate-dom', however I still stick by advice of $50, I think that'd be a very fair price for you and would help her out a bit. Hopefully if everything checks out we'll see pictures of said vise tomorrow afternoon, and I'll be sure to spice up my humor a bit!

 

[theVirginian]

Picked up this vise about three weeks ago for free, and boy was she filthy. Cleaned her, filed off rough edges then spray prime and paint. I had a before picture which, apparently, has flown the coop. Could not find a single marking.

 

[drivesitfar]

Virginian: Free is good and looks like you did a great job cleaning it up. you probably know it's missing the pipe jaws on the one side, but there are a lot of these import vises made so maybe they are easily found.

my guess is it is an Olympia or Larin brand vise. also looks like you are a fairly new member and welcome to Garage Journal. welcome and hope you stick around to teach us what you know and maybe learn a little too.

 

[PghJKB]

Can you tell me more about a "Mighty-Mini"?

Also, I detected some dark red when I brushed it lightly with wire brush. Is "Arrest-Me-Red" a standard red?

I would like to get this down to bare metal and paint it an original color if possible.

Thanks for your kind reply.

As you have seen from other replies, the burgundy red (I prefer Tuscan Red, as Dad was PRR) is the original color. Here are a couple of images of mine - which either has the original paint or someone went to a good deal of trouble some time ago repainting it.

 

[NOMADMAD]

i look at road side trash and make the occational peak in a dumpster or two in certain areas. Yesterday paid off. saw the handle first grabbed it and pulled and out came this nice Wilton. Only thing wrong with it is it is missing one of of the side locking bolts that keeps it from turning.

 

[Golferdawg17]

First post on the GJ. Just got this Wilton on eBay; I have been looking at them for a month or so. ...finally gave in. Mine has "Wilton Tool Corp Chicago" on one side, and "Wilton Vise No 3 Patent Pending Made in USA" on the other side. There is no date stamp, and no other raised letters for part no.'s etc.. It has been refurbished and painted a grayish color.

I did some research on this site, and it appears this one is from the 1941 to 1942 timeframe. I paid $175 + $25 shipping for it. If my assessment is correct, it seems to be a fair price for it.

 

[allinon72]

First post on the GJ. Just got this Wilton on eBay; I have been looking at them for a month or so. ...finally gave in. Mine has "Wilton Tool Corp Chicago" on one side, and "Wilton Vise No 3 Patent Pending Made in USA" on the other side. There is no date stamp, and no other raised letters for part no.'s etc.. It has been refurbished and painted a grayish color.

I did some research on this site, and it appears this one is from the 1941 to 1942 timeframe. I paid $175 + $25 shipping for it. If my assessment is correct, it seems to be a fair price for it.

Most here will tell you that you overpaid for a Wilton of that size. However, it really depends on your willingness to seek out a "cheap" Wilton and your willingness to pay a higher price to avoid that process. Most every Wilton I see on eBay, regardless of size, goes for a minimum of $200 shipped.

 

[bigcaddy]

I've got a 3-1/2" and a 4-1/2" and I'm pretty sure someone (bigcaddy?) on here posted a 4"...

I might have a few swivel jaw Wilton's laying around the vise "museum" but don't have any pictures on here at the moment. I think I posted them on here sometime around May/June since I bought them on April fools day 1 or 2 years ago. If you want to look for them, they will be one here, just a few years back

 

[Recoil Rob]

Need help with a Yost Part

Have a Yost 32C made in the late 1970's in Muskegon, MI.

It's a swivel base but the single screw that comes up from the bottom and engages the two toothed rings to lock the swivel must have broken somewhere along the line and the homemade piece that came with the vice just will not lock the ring.

Yost tried to help but has no parts and made the suggestion of trying to adapt another base but they couldn't guarantee it would work.

Here' are some pics, the thread on the locking piece is 5/8-11, NC.

 

[McBrownie]

First post on the GJ. Just got this Wilton on eBay; I have been looking at them for a month or so. ...finally gave in. Mine has "Wilton Tool Corp Chicago" on one side, and "Wilton Vise No 3 Patent Pending Made in USA" on the other side. There is no date stamp, and no other raised letters for part no.'s etc.. It has been refurbished and painted a grayish color.

I did some research on this site, and it appears this one is from the 1941 to 1942 timeframe. I paid $175 + $25 shipping for it. If my assessment is correct, it seems to be a fair price for it.

Welcome to the forum. I think that is a reasonable price for a Chicago Wilton. It's an old one and in nice shape. Keep the sledge hammers away from it!

 

[PghJKB]

Most here will tell you that you overpaid for a Wilton of that size. However, it really depends on your willingness to seek out a "cheap" Wilton and your willingness to pay a higher price to avoid that process. Most every Wilton I see on eBay, regardless of size, goes for a minimum of $200 shipped.

I agree with allinon72, except for the final cost - probably 75% go for $200+, but the 4 inch and smaller can usually be had in the 140 - 170 range with shipping.

The only way we can stop the greedy, scumbag, SOBs on evilprey from charging ever higher and higher prices for vises is for us to stop paying outrageous prices for the vises now.

START OF RANT: It should not be up to the seller, but the market, to determine what a good price is. It turns my stomach a bit every time I hear the phrase "collector's premium". There is no collector's premium to be set by the seller. The market sets the "collector's premium". Look at some of the resto artists we have here, are they charging a premium for their work?

The next greedy, scumbag, SOB that finds a Wilton decides his is worth as much as or more than the last one sold. So guess what, he prices his POS at the same level as one in 5x better condition. And seller's that stupid are usually stubborn not to give an inch in price over time. So someone else finds a Wilton in better shape that the jerks and decides their is worth more than his, so GUESS WHAT?

Stop vise inflation now! Remember what your Mother said about your friends jumping off a bridge!.... END OF RANT

END OF RANT

 

[rick carpenter]

Got my vises mounted yesterday. I discovered my Saturday garage sale 3-1/2" Craftsman I picked up is a 506 51800, not a 606 as I said earlier. I didn't have my glasses on when I bought it and 606 got stuck in my mind. I bought it off a friend who said it was his dad's. The jaws are nearly perfect with very minor dings, sharp edges, and knurling still showing. It's mounted on 1/8" cast iron plate on two laminated & screwed 3/4" pieces of plywood about 3" off the front of the bench. Will relieve the sharp edges of the wood & plate, clean it, and call it good.



I still don't know anything about the little black vise though. There is nothing on it to identify it. It's 3" with the screw engaging at 3-1/8", and two 3/4" square recesses under the jaws. I don't know what accessory fit there. I mounted it on my little bench. Did a little surgery on the bench to move it in closer but still had to put a spacer block for the horizontal screws. There's a scrap of cast iron plate under the swivel to spread that load.

 

[autopts]

First post on the GJ. Just got this Wilton on eBay; I have been looking at them for a month or so. ...finally gave in. Mine has "Wilton Tool Corp Chicago" on one side, and "Wilton Vise No 3 Patent Pending Made in USA" on the other side. There is no date stamp, and no other raised letters for part no.'s etc.. It has been refurbished and painted a grayish color.

I did some research on this site, and it appears this one is from the 1941 to 1942 timeframe. I paid $175 + $25 shipping for it. If my assessment is correct, it seems to be a fair price for it.

That is one fine fully functional antique. Its smaller then most guys think. With a 3 bolt base, one could say its a big baby Wilton, perfect got a tool cart, tool cabinet top or caddy. I don't think it even weighs 20 lbs. With the OE acorn nuts its in very nice condition. Price is what it is. You made a one time investment in a beauty that will add class to any work area in your shop

 

[AndrewH]

First post on the GJ. Just got this Wilton on eBay; I have been looking at them for a month or so. ...finally gave in. Mine has "Wilton Tool Corp Chicago" on one side, and "Wilton Vise No 3 Patent Pending Made in USA" on the other side. There is no date stamp, and no other raised letters for part no.'s etc.. It has been refurbished and painted a grayish color.

I did some research on this site, and it appears this one is from the 1941 to 1942 timeframe. I paid $175 + $25 shipping for it. If my assessment is correct, it seems to be a fair price for it.

Welcome to GJ! There probably will be a lot of people who think you overpaid, but as long as YOU are happy, that's all that matters. Of course there are better deals to be had, at this moment there's a Wilton No 3 restored just like yours by one of our members that's currently at $152 on eBay and will undoubtedly hit $200 or more before it ends. So you didn't do bad at all as far as eBay is concerned. Enjoy it!

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=390866242161&alt=web

 

[Mk3Mike]

Who are you? Show yourself!!

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/tls/4507363306.html

This is in my local CL. I'm not in the market for any more vises but I figured maybe one of you guys are. Looks like he has some pretty interesting stuff

 

[McBrownie]

Columbian 606 Update:

Good news and bad news. Mostly bad news. The vise is not for sale. It turns out that everything in this section of the building (the vise, cabinets, ladders, etc...) is not owned by the hospital. It is owned by the facilities company that manages the building. So, even though we are moving, they are not.

The vise is not original to the building, but has been here for years. So what's the good news, you ask? To me, the good news is that the two maintenance guys rely on the vise to fix things like big leaking plumbing fixtures on a regular basis. It is nice to know that the vise is being used but not abused, is appreciated by the owners, and is not headed for a scrap bin anytime soon. It is doing work that it was designed to do.

Farewell, Columbian 606, we hardly knew ye.

 

[AndrewH]

Columbian 606 Update:

Good news and bad news. Mostly bad news. The vise is not for sale. It turns out that everything in this section of the building (the vise, cabinets, ladders, etc...) is not owned by the hospital. It is owned by the facilities company that manages the building. So, even though we are moving, they are not.

The vise is not original to the building, but has been here for years. So what's the good news, you ask? To me, the good news is that the two maintenance guys rely on the vise to fix things like big leaking plumbing fixtures on a regular basis. It is nice to know that the vise is being used but not abused, is appreciated by the owners, and is not headed for a scrap bin anytime soon. It is doing work that it was designed to do.

Farewell, Columbian 606, we hardly knew ye.

Aww, very sorry to hear that!

 

[GETRIDAONE]

Recoil Rob,
It looks like the welds are preventing the plate from contacting the ring. Try filing the welds downs down a little and if you can file some grooves in the plate to engage the ones on the ring.

 

[Outlawmws]

Have a Yost 32C made in the late 1970's in Muskegon, MI.

It's a swivel base but the single screw that comes up from the bottom and engages the two toothed rings to lock the swivel must have broken somewhere along the line and the homemade piece that came with the vice just will not lock the ring.

SINI

Recoil Rob,
It looks like the welds are preventing the plate from contacting the ring. Try filing the welds downs down a little and if you can file some grooves in the plate to engage the ones on the ring.

Can you make a new piece and weld it from the bottom? maybe drill and tap? Also I think that piece needs to be thicker. I have a similar piece out of a Starrett I'm cleaing up. I'll take a pic after work..

 

[robmack]

Can you make a new piece and weld it from the bottom? maybe drill and tap? Also I think that piece needs to be thicker. I have a similar piece out of a Starrett I'm cleaing up. I'll take a pic after work..

Just an idea. Could you drill and tap for a small pointed-tip grub screw? Locate it on the plate beside the stud and you could adjust how much it protrudes until it engages the teeth when you clamp down the vice base. Loctite the grub screw to make sure it doesn't move afterwards..

 

[KMScott]

I have a picture of a Reed swivel clamp stud very similar to Recoil Robs Yost 32C vise. If I was doing it I would make it from Solid but a simpler way is what Outlaw mentioned is drill and tap the 5/8:11 thread into the plate, spot weld underneath and some how hand or machine the teeth on the arc. I have a drawing of the Reed 106R stud if anyone wants a copy.