The VISES of Garage Journal

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

Hello Vise Friends,

Here's a Reed No. 0 pipe vise I bought from a second hand store last week. These are my favorite pipe vises because of the quick release and the large jaw surface areas. I found a good home for it a couple of days ago.

Mark, Cool pipe vise.. Its really interesting where these sorts of things pop up. I get a few items from Ebay, some from Craigslist, some from in person auctions, but most come from flea markets..

I noticed your pegboard.. Is that repurposed retail pegboard? The beveled edges give it away if so. Most of my pegboard is of retail origin, odd size but price was right.

Dennis

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Mark, Cool pipe vise.. Its really interesting where these sorts of things pop up. I get a few items from Ebay, some from Craigslist, some from in person auctions, but most come from flea markets..

I noticed your pegboard.. Is that repurposed retail pegboard? The beveled edges give it away if so. Most of my pegboard is of retail origin, odd size but price was right.

Dennis

Thanks for your kind words. You're correct about the pegboard. My whole shop is covered with it. Makes it easy to remove sections for wiring upgrades & plumbing repairs. The only tools that go on the wall are ones that I'm selling.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

last ones (for now)

Another type of vise.. I haven't taken the time to work on this one yet (is on the list) as it needs a clamp screw. It had a cap screw in it that I'm certain wasn't original. It is clearly Made in USA, but no other markings (maker, etc.). Interesting too that the back is smooth as one would expect, but the front is rough as a cob. Not sure if that was the result of how it was used to sharpen saws or what, so interesting mystery.. I've not studied how to sharpen a hand saw in a long time, so maybe once I refresh that memory.. it'll become obvious.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

This is addicting.. Remembered another one I had on the pegboard. This is a Stanley 700 Made in USA.. Small portable wood worker's vise. Cute but not very practical.

 

[msgtsmithret]

An estate sale find, this Sears brand 3 1/2" vise, was just $20. Not bad and it will mount to the top of my 1980 MAC cabinet without being in the way. I was just disappointed that it was made in Japan. I guess this was made about 1980. If so, then Sears has been importing a lot longer than I thought.

 

[Outlawmws]

This is addicting.. Remembered another one I had on the pegboard. This is a Stanley 700 Made in USA.. Small portable wood worker's vise. Cute but not very practical.

I've got one of those, I keep it in my 4x4 for clamping on the bumper or brush guard in case of need.

 

[drivesitfar]

Rocket: that Dunlap vise for $25 you are looking at is a good vise for light and medium duty. it was made in the US and looks very similar to MSG's Japanese made one which by the way was good quality. it might weigh only 15 or 20 pounds and if you need a good little vise then buy it if it isn't cracked or had any weld repairs.

Dennis: you are ready for a 100 or 200 pounder to sit on one of your benches. nice collection that seems to get used and the saw sharpening vise looks great sitting in your Wilton.

 

[Craptain]

Is this Dunlap vice worth anything? I know nothing about vices. What should I look for if there's not enough info in the pic?

http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/tls/4558518440.html

Rocket, Dunlap is a nice vise may not really worth what he is asking. It was Sears budget line back in 60's I think. Those should be going for no more than about $15 around here. Unless I am selling it that is.

The picture is not great but I see at least surface rust which belies his claim of

All items are in excellent working condition and have been very well maintained.

Give him a call and find out more. Model # for starters and then you can research it. Maybe you could talk him down a few dollars. If you inspect it look for any sign of repairs, weld, braze or such. Any cracks are not acceptable. Check the screw for wear and lubrication (or lack of). Unscrew a few turns and then check backlash on threads. Does it have an exposed screw ? If so It would be no go for me but if you just need a vise to use then maybe it is OK. I don't believe it has collect-able value but it is still a USA made vise.
I can't remember if I have a Dunlap anywhere in the shop.

 

[Woodtick]

I got up Friday morning,grabbed a cup of coffee and checked CL.

"Vise, large, heavy duty,6 to 7 inch throat,$40" caught my eye. Typical fuzzy CL photo looked like a Reed, and closer inspection showed it to be a pivot jaw model in addition. A quick Google image confirmed my suspicion. Dropped them an email and it was still available but they would not promise to hold for a couple of days. I thought about my schedule a bit and decided I could play hooky that morning to go get it.(One of the perks of self employment!)

Off I went...should be a breeze and I can be back on the job in no time.Well, I gotta tell you there is no bigger buzzkill to a morning of playing hooky than to have the check engine light come on 45 min from home. I pulled over and did what any red blooded male with my mechanical skill set would do.
checked temp:good, popped the hood:yup, engines still there, no billowing smoke, no gushing fluids, thus concludes the extent of my diagnostic abilities.
I decide to take the next exit and spot a NAPA store. I go in and ask if they could recommend a local shop to run a scan for me.Instead the nice guy behind the counter offers to scan for me.He says it's an emissions code, could be as simple as a loose filler cap.I crank down the cap, thank him gratefully and take off. (Did I mention it was a combination NAPA store and gun shop?Never saw that before.)

All is well and I find my destination. The seller is a nice retired guy liquidating his tools to move to a smaller home.Nice guy, retired woodworker, I'm a woodworker,so we're cool.He says he got the vise from an Uncle of his in Phoenix, years ago. Brought the vise back on the plane as a carry on.Just try that now a days!That story alone made the trip worthwhile to me.

The trip home presented a few hiccups for me that involved taking evasive driving measures to miss some blue plastic barrels on the highway, a junk yard dog at a barn sale, and a second tripping of the check engine light. In spite of that I made it to the job site and accomplished all I had to do that day.Car goes in Tommorrow to see what's up with the CE light.

As for the vise, it's a Reed 403 1/2, swivel base, pivot jaw.It has a nice protective coat of crud and paint splatters and the handle has a graceful S curve.But, no broken parts and the jaws line up nicely.After filing off a burr and lube the pivot works with silky smoothness. While not "large and heavy duty" in an 8" Wilton kind of way, it is the heftiest 3 1/2" vise in my collection.I'm not sure if I'm going to do a resto on this one, or maybe just a scrub and lube job.It just might qualify for the "it's only original once" theory

Rich

 

[drivesitfar]

Woodtick: so you are a professional writer or should be. nice story and NAPA and NRA both start with N so why not have a few guns at the shop.

awesome vise and price to go along with your story and if you want to see one of the nicest restorations of that vise check out the Vise Repair 101 thread and look at the ones Carla restored both with the swivel jaw and fixed.

now hope your car issues are solved so you can go find an 8 inch wide jaw one and PM me to buy it from you.

 

[Woodtick]

Drivesit,
Thanks. I just maintain a strictly amateur status as a writer.Although, I've been married for 35 yrs now and that has helped my story telling skills evolve considerably.
A Morgan 50 is this largest vise to date in the Subie.But, I'm always on the hunt for larger game.
Rich

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I got up Friday morning,grabbed a cup of coffee and checked CL.

"Vise, large, heavy duty,6 to 7 inch throat,$40" caught my eye. Typical fuzzy CL photo looked like a Reed, and closer inspection showed it to be a pivot jaw model in addition. A quick Google image confirmed my suspicion. Dropped them an email and it was still available but they would not promise to hold for a couple of days. I thought about my schedule a bit and decided I could play hooky that morning to go get it.(One of the perks of self employment!)

Off I went...should be a breeze and I can be back on the job in no time.Well, I gotta tell you there is no bigger buzzkill to a morning of playing hooky than to have the check engine light come on 45 min from home. I pulled over and did what any red blooded male with my mechanical skill set would do.
checked temp:good, popped the hood:yup, engines still there, no billowing smoke, no gushing fluids, thus concludes the extent of my diagnostic abilities.
I decide to take the next exit and spot a NAPA store. I go in and ask if they could recommend a local shop to run a scan for me.Instead the nice guy behind the counter offers to scan for me.He says it's an emissions code, could be as simple as a loose filler cap.I crank down the cap, thank him gratefully and take off. (Did I mention it was a combination NAPA store and gun shop?Never saw that before.)

All is well and I find my destination. The seller is a nice retired guy liquidating his tools to move to a smaller home.Nice guy, retired woodworker, I'm a woodworker,so we're cool.He says he got the vise from an Uncle of his in Phoenix, years ago. Brought the vise back on the plane as a carry on.Just try that now a days!That story alone made the trip worthwhile to me.

The trip home presented a few hiccups for me that involved taking evasive driving measures to miss some blue plastic barrels on the highway, a junk yard dog at a barn sale, and a second tripping of the check engine light. In spite of that I made it to the job site and accomplished all I had to do that day.Car goes in Tommorrow to see what's up with the CE light.

As for the vise, it's a Reed 403 1/2, swivel base, pivot jaw.It has a nice protective coat of crud and paint splatters and the handle has a graceful S curve.But, no broken parts and the jaws line up nicely.After filing off a burr and lube the pivot works with silky smoothness. While not "large and heavy duty" in an 8" Wilton kind of way, it is the heftiest 3 1/2" vise in my collection.I'm not sure if I'm going to do a resto on this one, or maybe just a scrub and lube job.It just might qualify for the "it's only original once" theory

Rich

That's a super story...and one heck of a CL find.. I've got an American in my garage, just as I purchased it from an auction years ago.. Patina keeps it from rusting further, so I'm not going to restore it anytime soon... I hope all goes well with your MIL ..

Dennis

 

[exmaxima1]

An estate sale find, this Sears brand 3 1/2" vise, was just $20. I was just disappointed that it was made in Japan.

Nothing wrong with Japanese vises. Very similar to USA vises of the same era. I always nab them when I see them.

 

[ladrones]

Cleaned this one up a little to install on my shop cart.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

Cleaned this one up a little to install on my shop cart.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

From orphan to loved..

 

[Fretters]

Didn't know that so much went into buying a used vise.

That's just scratching the surface. Wait until you start your wishlist and that's when the fun truly begins.

 

[alinc100]

Another day,another vise...
Guy from whom the Parker 436 was found calls yesterday evening wanting to know if I am interested in another vise. Sends a couple pics to my phone and we agree on a price and a location which is easy for both of us. So a 10 minute drive and $80 later I have a Chas. Parker 823 1/2 . I may have paid too much but I believe this is a valuable contact and I'd like to keep my phone ringing.
Vise is in good shape that I can see,all parts move, swivel base is there along with the oft missing wrench. I hope to get a little sandblast time at work and get it primed up this week. I am going to presume most don't sandblast the ways/slide/beams, just the basic parts and I can clean/polish the moving parts with scotchbrite pads on an air griinder????
I was gonna wait until my Reed 204 1/2 was back from getting redone to get a good idea of how it's done but I'll give this one a go as see what blossoms.












I would have offered less to start but I have a feeling since this is the same mfg as the 436 and the amount paid he had an idea of what he was expecting. And again I want to keep the relationship on the positive side as these folks do foreclosure house/business cleanouts and I'll take every opportunity to buy more tools,vises,anvils,cabinets,etc. and keep old iron from entering the scrapyards.

 

[Fretters]

I am going to presume most don't sandblast the ways/slide/beams

The safe approach is to avoid blasting any machined or ground surface. You'll usually give yourself more grief and work than if you just left it be.

 

[Outlawmws]

Alinc, time to setup an E-tank and say goodbye to messy/dusty rust/paint removal.

Nice find! I don't think you overpaid. Its wasn't a steal, but you didn't get stabbed either.

 

[macgee]

Alinc, I think you'll be quite happy with this vise once it's cleaned up and restored. It will last you a life time so don't worry about the price, 20 yrs from now you'll be laughing about how little you spent on it.

Nice job

PD> Like others said, please don't sand blast it.

 

[alinc100]

Alinc, time to setup an E-tank and say goodbye to messy/dusty rust/paint removal.

Nice find! I don't think you overpaid. Its wasn't a steal, but you didn't get stabbed either.

I can easily set up for electrolysis.I did it for a long time on handplanes.
Never thought of it for paint removal as we were always trying to keep as much of the japanning on as possible. I'll have to stop at the store and get washing soda but that is all I'd need.
I'll post some pics of the progress as well as read more GJ while it's cooking.

 

[exmaxima1]

Another day,another vise...
Guy from whom the Parker 436 was found calls yesterday evening wanting to know if I am interested in another vise. Sends a couple pics to my phone and we agree on a price and a location which is easy for both of us. So a 10 minute drive and $80 later I have a Chas. Parker 823 1/2 .

Can anyone explain the difference between the Parker 823 1/2 and the 873 1/2?. I think they look virtually the same.

To Alnic, your 2 vises will play well together

 

[FMC1959]

Can anyone explain the difference between the Parker 823 1/2 and the 873 1/2?. I think they look virtually the same.

To Alnic, your 2 vises will play well together

Tough to see on your picture, but I am pretty the vise in picture is a 973 1/2. I have a lot of old Parker catalog ages, never seen an 873 1/2 (doesn't mean it doesn't exist)

If that is the case, the 973 1/2 is a 2nd gen Eclipse vise. The 823 1/2 is a 2nd gen Superior vise. Both great vises but the Superiors were heavier duty compared to the Eclipse. The catalog listings I have show the 973 1/2 at 41 lbs, the 823 1/2 weighs 61 lbs, about 50% more beef.

Eclipse vises are still heavy duty, just about everything Parker made was heavy duty (with the 63 1/2 utility exception), but Superiors are a notch above for someone he needed the extra oomph, back in the day.

 

[Craptain]

Thanks for the info guys. Didn't know that so much went into buying a used vise. Would it be a noticeable difference from the new 4" Craftsman vice that I have? I'm not that much into vises, but I do need one occasionally. I can still take the Chinese **** back.

That I cannot say. But for me a resounding yes. You refer to the Craftsman as ****, but is that true or are you picking up vibes here? I am not disagreeing with you, I don't know. But the new one may serve well for many years..... or one errant hammer blow and it could be in pieces. Having said that, some Chinese vises have come a long way and are certainly on par with the lower end US vises. I have no clue about how good quality control is on the current Sears vises.
Speaking personally I would return it and get a good quality used vise, but that is your choice. I have several 'spare' vises, including a couple of Chinese and one Japanese Craftsman. The Chinese will go out for sale at my next yard sale.

 

[JeremyBurke]

A few of you may remember that I posted this little vise a few pages back when I picked it up.



After what felt like way too long I turned it into this.



This weekend I also had to cut down a tree to close to my house so I took a few shots as an Homage.

5186 Homage to Balane Shot 1

5186 Homage to Balane Shot 3

As is often said, "Good artist barrow. Great artists steal."

 

[balane]

You did a great job on that Jeremy! Your stump is going to far outlast mine too.

 

[macgee]

Thanks for the info guys. Didn't know that so much went into buying a used vise. Would it be a noticeable difference from the new 4" Craftsman vice that I have? I'm not that much into vises, but I do need one occasionally. I can still take the Chinese **** back.

Rocket,

The comment about Craftsman vises as being **** is subjective, I do have to agree for the most part they are, however they do have a one very good vise, the Craftsman Professional 4 1/2" version in red that is actually pretty good but probably hard to find on the shelves.

Is this the one you have?

It's the exact same as a 1745 Wilton and is made with very respectable 60,000 psi iron although it's still made in Taiwan but gets very high reviews, there's quite a few threads on GJ and elsewhere about them (http://toolguyd.com/best-bench-vise-craftsman-professional/) that you can search for. If you have this one, then I think your good; I would have zero problems using it if I had to.

I think it's pretty safe to say that all the other modern Craftsman Chinese made vises can not hold a candle to a nice Wilton or a good old american vise because there pretty crappy, almost Harbor Freight crappy but more like Tektron crappy (is there a difference?)

There were also excellent vintage rebadged Craftsman vises if you can find one made by Reed that would make an excellent addition to your bench. You can see them recently posted to this thread.

 

[exmaxima1]

Tough to see on your picture, but I am pretty the vise in picture is a 973 1/2. I have a lot of old Parker catalog ages, never seen an 873 1/2 (doesn't mean it doesn't exist)
.

You are correct, mine IS a 973 1/2, and I appreciate the history lesson. Thanks!

 

[Filson]

I'm sure it's been addressed before (I think I even asked once) but I can't find any information.. So... How does one add pictures/listings to scuttle.Dayid.org? I could fill in a few of the missing listings with some of the vises I have.

 

[bluebolt]

While doing some Wilton history research I believe I have verified something I suspected about Chicago vises. The later Chicago vises will have a 14 in raised letters right after Chicago. I believed that was the Postal Zone.

Postal Zones were a 2 digit precursor to Zip Code for large cities, Postal Zones came out in 1943, zip codes in 1963. Normally the Postal Zone became the last two digits of the zip code.

Doing a little research using the original Wilton Vise address (941 W. Wrightwood Avenue and the corner of Wilton Avenue) I found a location for Jonquil Park which is only a block away from that corner. Zip code? 60614!

So now I am 99.999 percent sure the 14 on the later Chicago Wilton's was the Postal Zone.

 

[balane]

This vise is the result of the benefits of insomnia. I woke up yesterday, Sunday, morning just before 4:00 AM. I typically lay in bed and look at my laptop until I can fall back asleep. But when I checked Craig's List I saw this vise just listed for $20. Yes, $20. The guy wanted it out of his garage ASAP and knew he was giving it away. I replied instantly via email because no phone number was listed. (I would have texted at that hour, not called... at least I don't think I would have.) I told the guy I was awake and could come immediately. I gave him my number. So then I just laid in bed, wide awake, waiting to hear back. At 6:30 my phone rang and I answered it, it was him. Yehaw! I got his address and got ready to head out. Another stroke of luck is that we had company over the weekend and one of the kids was an 18 year old varsity football player who is one of the biggest high school kids I've ever seen. I promised him breakfast at McDonalds and that I'd play video games with him all morning if he went with me. He got up and seemed happy to go. Nice to have some young muscle on this one. Good kid. The drive was about 30 minutes each way thanks to it being early Sunday morning.

This 6.25" Parker is what I came home with... for twenty dollars. Obviously it didn't look like this. It had been spray bombed not once but three times. The original paint was gray. Then it went green, then yellow and then gray again. It looked like the inside of a jaw breaker as I removed the paint. I did this with gel stripper, several times, with a warm water/Simple Green scrub bath in between each stripping. I finally got it down to pretty much all metal. I gave it a quick media blast to finish things up, prepped the metal and then sprayed it. The cast iron was in remarkable shape I think because of the paint armor coating on it. I cleaned up the hardware and jaws, everything was pretty nice. I did sand the jaw tops down to smooth them out as best I could. Some of the marks were too deep to remove completely. Then it went back together with grease.

I was happy to find a brass spindle retainer, very nice! Everything works 100% perfectly on it. The vise weighs about 170 pounds. I like this vise so much I decided to keep it and replace my Parker vise that I've had for a long time now. I just like this one better. It's not often that I decide to keep a vise but this one rubs me in all the right places. It even has all the bits for the handle friction spring plunger.

I still have some work to do. I need to get some finger savers on it. This vise can be mounted with or without a swivel base. I don't particularly need a swivel base but I'd like to find one just to have it. I don't think it was sold with one originally but maybe.

I don't know the year and I don't know the model number although I did see 79 stamped into a couple parts and that lines up with a 6.25" Parker.

All I can say is that I'm glad I was awake. By the time I got there he had dozens of messages on it, he showed me on his tablet.

.

 

[balane]

Few more pics.

.

 

[Fretters]

You jammy sod. That's an absolute corker of a bargain. Very niece piece too. However, this:

It's not often that I decide to keep a vise but this one rubs me in all the right places.

is really not helping our argument when we try to pretend we're not sad gits with a vice vice.

 

[balane]

Well, lol, I can honestly say that's the first time I've been called a jammy sod so I'm pleased over that.

 

[JeremyBurke]

You did a great job on that Jeremy! Your stump is going to far outlast mine too.

Thanks Balane. On the stump honestly I just hope it doesn't grow back this time. It's a twisty willow tree and I have already tried to kill it twice before.

Also your "New" vise is great and I am very jealous of your deal. YOU ****.

 

[oldldh]

Also your "New" vise is great and I am very jealous of your deal. YOU ****.

+1 twice means---


YOU REALLY ****!!!

 

[Outlawmws]

Terrific Deal Balane!

Was the brass retainer on it, or did you buy that?

 

[balane]

That brass retainer was on it believe it or not. It was a complete surprise because it had three coats of paint on it. I was stripping it off to paint it and obviously changed my plans once I saw what color metal it was. It looks like a crown, lol.

Edit: Home sweet home!
.

 

[node105]

I saw this on Ebay Germany. Can anyone identify the brand?

 

[alinc100]

Ok so I recovered slightly from Friday's Face Palm.
I went back and bought the Wilton Pow-R- Arm this evening for $95.
I believe there is still room to turn a profit via eBay or other means.