bigcaddy
Well-known member
I'm thinking its a 15171, fixed base and 4" jaws. Nice looking vise with good original paint.
The VISES of Garage Journal
- Thread starter mjozefow
- Start date
I'm thinking its a 15171, fixed base and 4" jaws. Nice looking vise with good original paint.
oldldh
Well-known member
Did you say...California? I live in Californiawhere did you find it at, Oldldh?,
If you need help making arrangements with shipping and I can be of assistance, let me know and I'll see what I can do. I glad you finally caught your unicorn
I don't know where in California...
I also don't know his price...
As a poor retiree, I have to watch my pennies...
If he wants too much, and the freight is too high...
I'll let you know, so you can "Properly Restore" another one!!!
Fretters
Well-known member
Fingers crossed for you here too. Hope it's not someone with a rotten streak winding you up.
Hope it's not someone with a rotten streak winding you up. jakemac
Well-known member
Oldldh (and all) -
Maybe a "shipping chain" can be created with members from CA to AL meeting up to pass it along from California to Alabama.
If not, then perhaps a shipping fund could be created (I'd be in) so that we can get that beauty to Oldie where it belongs. (and get him to focus on other topics)
That vise needs some paint. I wonder what color it should be ? Hmmmmmm ??
Maybe a "shipping chain" can be created with members from CA to AL meeting up to pass it along from California to Alabama.
If not, then perhaps a shipping fund could be created (I'd be in) so that we can get that beauty to Oldie where it belongs. (and get him to focus on other topics
)That vise needs some paint. I wonder what color it should be ? Hmmmmmm ??
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oldldh
Well-known member
I'm working on an appropriate shade...
It'll come to me...
Thanks for the "Vise Transport" offer...
I'm afraid his price is going to be stratospheric...
It'll come to me...
Thanks for the "Vise Transport" offer...
I'm afraid his price is going to be stratospheric...
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
Did you say...California? I live in California
If you need help making arrangements with shipping and I can be of assistance, let me know and I'll see what I can do. I glad you finally caught your unicorn
I'm another option if it's in my part of the left coast...
Edit: to help get it to oldie!
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balane
Well-known member
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oldldh
Well-known member
Outlawmws
Well-known member
oldldh
Well-known member
A littlel distracted Oldldh?
At my advanced age, and state of decrepitude...
It don't take much...
I put a new 4 1/2" machinist vise in storage 30 years ago when my plans fell thru for a shop and I did a poor job storing it. I recently got it out and got sick, surface rust but no serious pitting except on one of the nuts used to loosen/ tighten the swivel. I want to repaint it. I have it apart and it's date is 9-83. There's a label (made in USA) on the right side of the dynamic jaw. I thought of masking it off but can it be removed easily ( how) and replaced after painting? I would like to use Rustoleum Dark Machine Grey instead of the Verde Green but I don't want to anger the Vise Gods since I took such poor care of this old girl in the first place. Any help would be appreciated. I tried to read this whole thread but may have fried my 72 year old brain. Thanks again.
Fretters
Well-known member
Photo's would be handy for making suggestions. If you want to peel a sticker whilst keeping it usable, heat gun or hairdryer is your best option.
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
I think you could be the first person to setup a crowdfunding campaign for a vise...
I *do* recall you said you would sell your Starrett 925 to me if you ever found your unicorn....
oldldh
Well-known member
I *do* recall you said you would sell your Starrett 925 to me if you ever found your unicorn....
I may have to...
Depending of the purchase price + freight!!!!
J HAV
Well-known member
I've always told myself I would drop stupid money if I ever ran across a 5198. You apparently found the white whale. Congrats brother. Hopefully you can workout a good deal with the guy
KMScott
Well-known member
Gonna try my luck at painting tomorrow. I would rather build vise parts then paint them. My first go around is four Colombians and one American Scale #55. It was sure easy loading up that gob of vises from the Golden pile, now comes the hard part and that is patching them up, building the wore out and missing parts, handles and swivel clamps. Here is over two month's of work, that leaves me with several more years of work left to do.
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HunterMike
Well-known member
What color are you doing the Columbians?
oldldh
Well-known member
Good Grief, Reverend Scott...
You are going to be there a while getting those finished...
You are going to be there a while getting those finished...
Gonna try my luck at painting tomorrow. I would rather build vise parts then paint them. My first go around is four Colombians and one American Scale #55. It was sure easy loading up that gob of vises from the Golden pile, now comes the hard part and that is patching them up, building the wore out and missing parts, handles and swivel clamps. Here is over two month's of work, that leaves me with several more years of work left to do.
It's not a bad problem to have, when you need to stop and take a photo break after all the time and effort it took to prep a bunch of vises for painting.
KMScott
Well-known member
Three smaller Columbians will be grey, the 5" # 205 will be a teal color, I had a paint mixer match the original color. The American Scale is going to be a Oldldh bright red color. I tried to match the original color as best as I could.
The work is all done. It is painting and then assembling, I am more efficient if I do a bench full then just doing one at a time.
va.grouseman
Well-known member
KM----How on earth do you keep up with all the parts? You must have some kind of system.
oldldh
Well-known member
gatewaysysop
Well-known member
Fingers crossed for you here too.
Oldldh (and all) -
Maybe a "shipping chain" can be created with members from CA to AL meeting up to pass it along from California to Alabama.
If not, then perhaps a shipping fund could be created (I'd be in) so that we can get that beauty to Old where it belongs. (and get him to focus on other topics
I'm in to help as well, if I can. Hope you can land this one, and thanks for sharing so many pics of it already. Awesome find.
GETRIDAONE
Well-known member
Gonna try my luck at painting tomorrow. I would rather build vise parts then paint them. My first go around is four Colombians and one American Scale #55. It was sure easy loading up that gob of vises from the Golden pile, now comes the hard part and that is patching them up, building the wore out and missing parts, handles and swivel clamps. Here is over two month's of work, that leaves me with several more years of work left to do.
Kevin, I use slick magazine pages to wrap the slides. The paint won't bleed through and it saves time and the expensive blue tape. That is a lot of prep work all at one time.
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
I've used a couple of the plastic grocery bags to cover the slide and just taped the fine edges near the front.
After all that work shining them up, you should just cover them with paste wax or boiled linseed oil!
sandman54
Well-known member
Kevin just consider it therapy i do sandman 54
KMScott
Well-known member
Good idea Kenny, but only on the square tube. Actually taping was kind of relaxing while listening to music, instead of my machines. Even got to watch a couple of Westerns on the tube.
Jason do you think they will sell better with out paint? I kind of think painted vises sell higher. I am not selling these on E-bay or cL but on one of my websites, I think all prettied up they will bring attention to the site. The Colombians were a perfect vise to practice on.
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
Man, I am no marketing expert when it comes to old vises... lol. I do see that one guy that shines up the old little CMans on eBay gets crazy prices. Everyone has their favorites, some like the old patina, some like an OEM new look, and others like the bare metal.
I would find a small vise that hasn't been all beat to hell to do as a trial. After a couple coats of boiled linseed oil it gives it a *slightly* darker tint, similar to paste wax. Or you could spray with clear coat. If it sells quick, then you have your answer!
drivesitfar
Well-known member
KM: awesome work. i'm leaning toward the "naked" vise look with the boiled linseed oil, but you already did all that prep work so painting looks like the way to go for you on this batch. did you see Balane's eye popping green Tradesman vise. i think somebody said he got $350 for it and some of his other similar vises didn't get near that much.
i'm not sure i'd be breaking the green paint out yet, but since they are on your web site instead of up for auction why not offer the buyer a custom color option? the Buyer might want to have you paint it the color of his old collectable car that it will sit next to and pay you double so he doesn't have to do it himself or have it done after you ship it to him.
I agree with VA that you must have a helluva system to keep all those vises and parts in their place so you can find them.
Oldie: YOU FOUND IT!!!! NICE WORK
I hope he gives you a decent price. i wish it was in your hands already. What the heck is the hole all about? was a prior owner trying to make one of those little hardys like the smaller vises have? before you buy it have the owner pull it apart and take pictures for you of the inside because I've seen a broken vise nut on the 519x series. it still worked, but it was a flaw. also double check the back of the slide because it doesn't look like a crack, but there is some old paint or a stain back there and with a hole in the anvil somebody might have been beating on it.
GOOD LUCK
i'm not sure i'd be breaking the green paint out yet, but since they are on your web site instead of up for auction why not offer the buyer a custom color option? the Buyer might want to have you paint it the color of his old collectable car that it will sit next to and pay you double so he doesn't have to do it himself or have it done after you ship it to him.
I agree with VA that you must have a helluva system to keep all those vises and parts in their place so you can find them.
Oldie: YOU FOUND IT!!!! NICE WORK
I hope he gives you a decent price. i wish it was in your hands already. What the heck is the hole all about? was a prior owner trying to make one of those little hardys like the smaller vises have? before you buy it have the owner pull it apart and take pictures for you of the inside because I've seen a broken vise nut on the 519x series. it still worked, but it was a flaw. also double check the back of the slide because it doesn't look like a crack, but there is some old paint or a stain back there and with a hole in the anvil somebody might have been beating on it.
GOOD LUCK
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FMC1959
Well-known member
Scott, just another opinion...I would say the natural, linseed kind of finish caters more to the vise aficionados. The really hot paint job caters more to the overall general tool freaks. I think on something like eBay, the nice paint jobs will usually bring more. The tool aficionados are basically most of the people that follow this thread. They may know and appreciate the beauty of an old vise, but at the same will not pay big money (unless it is their holy grail), tool freaks there are more of and will pay to have any hot looking tools. (Balane does great paint jobs and fetches good money)
On your website, hard to say, what is your client base? (probably more "Vise Aficionados"?) If I were in your position, with the many vise to sell, I would paint them and not all at once, put them on eBay.
My 2 cents
FMC1959
Well-known member
I'm in to help as well, if I can. Hope you can land this one, and thanks for sharing so many pics of it already. Awesome find.
I just want to add my name to the list. If pitching in for the freight or the overall price of the vise helps Oldie get the 5198.
Hopefully the current owner does NOT follow GJ, would not want him to think he can get more than whatever his first thoughts were for selling price.
balane
Well-known member
Sorry guys, you all love the naked look but none of you pay a lot for vises either. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that vises with color make more money than bare vises. Your target customer is a guy who just remodeled his garage and wants a vise to match his color scheme. He will likely seldom use this vise and most of his joy will come from showing it to his friends. These are the people who overpay. I buy unpainted vises from eBay auctions all the time, paint them, and then resell them for more than what they were bid up the first time around.
If you want to keep them then do what you want, if you want to sell them for the most possible money then you put color on them.
If you want to keep them then do what you want, if you want to sell them for the most possible money then you put color on them.
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
And now we have the definitive answer!
What color would you say sells best? My guess would be RED...
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Balane: i know you are right about the paint, but i think the term "None" of use vise guys will pay much for a vise might not quite be true. i know of one new member that drove maybe close to 4000 miles to pay $2000 for a vise instead of having it shipped.
Kudos to Cretedog for that purchase. there are others too with maybe similar stories or purchases and they know who they are and can chime in if they wish too.
i know I've probably overpaid for a vise or two or three, but since i already own a few vises now i'm less likely to pay huge money for one now unless it's on a short list of ones i want to see in my hands.
BC: do all your Craftsman 519x series vises with the badges on their sides have a production date stamped on their slides and what range are they. i'll have to look at mine, but i think the ones i have badged are in the late 40's and the one with Craftsman on the side like Oldie's 5198 he is trying to buy is a mid 50's version.
Oldie: if i was between California and Alabama i'd love to have that 5198 in the back of my Honda for a few hundred miles to get it closer to you, but unfortunately i'm 1500 miles from there. Again best of luck and now we know that Craftsman actually made one so there are probably others for some of us that would like one too.
ALL: any other Craftsman vise owners or wise men have any input on when the badge stopped and the Craftsman cast name started?
Kudos to Cretedog for that purchase. there are others too with maybe similar stories or purchases and they know who they are and can chime in if they wish too.
i know I've probably overpaid for a vise or two or three, but since i already own a few vises now i'm less likely to pay huge money for one now unless it's on a short list of ones i want to see in my hands.
BC: do all your Craftsman 519x series vises with the badges on their sides have a production date stamped on their slides and what range are they. i'll have to look at mine, but i think the ones i have badged are in the late 40's and the one with Craftsman on the side like Oldie's 5198 he is trying to buy is a mid 50's version.
Oldie: if i was between California and Alabama i'd love to have that 5198 in the back of my Honda for a few hundred miles to get it closer to you, but unfortunately i'm 1500 miles from there. Again best of luck and now we know that Craftsman actually made one so there are probably others for some of us that would like one too.
ALL: any other Craftsman vise owners or wise men have any input on when the badge stopped and the Craftsman cast name started?
balane
Well-known member
It honestly isn't going to be one set color. I try to pick a color that matches the lines of the vise and what I feel might draw the most attention to it. The color I use that seems to sell for more money than the others is Satin Italian Olive by Krylon. I think the reason that color sells well is that it photographs well.And now we have the definitive answer!
What color would you say sells best? My guess would be RED...
One thing I advise when painting a vise to sell is that photos are everything. Never use gloss paint of any kind. Gloss paint highlights the surface irregularities, especially in photos. Matte or Satin is what I almost always use.
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ShadowRuleZ
Well-known member
I may have to...
Depending of the purchase price + freight!!!!
Road trip!
KMScott
Well-known member
Balane, I love that color, I think it was one of yours a while back, you painted a Colombian 504 M2 or one similiar with that Satin Olive and highlited the Text, It showed very well. I was going to try my luck and if it even comes close to your quality I will be happy.
Scott, just another opinion...I would say the natural, linseed kind of finish caters more to the vise aficionados. The really hot paint job caters more to the overall general tool freaks. I think on something like eBay, the nice paint jobs will usually bring more. The tool aficionados are basically most of the people that follow this thread. They may know and appreciate the beauty of an old vise, but at the same will not pay big money (unless it is their holy grail), tool freaks there are more of and will pay to have any hot looking tools. (Balane does great paint jobs and fetches good money)
On your website, hard to say, what is your client base? (probably more "Vise Aficionados"?) If I were in your position, with the many vise to sell, I would paint them and not all at once, put them on eBay.
My 2 cents
FMC, I hate paying final evaluation fees to Ebay, almost 18% for all the fees not including having a store and it's cost (24$/month). For me E-bay is a advertisement cost, I hardly sell any jaws there but get plenty of traffic to my two sites. My sites charges me 4% per sale and operating fees that amount to another 3%.
I could set up a shipping fund on my store for Oldie and collect the 5198 funds for Larry, say a $5 donation. I would be happy to send him all the contributors invoices and funds including mine. Just a thought.
FMC1959
Well-known member
McCartney said "money can't buy me love", and others would add happiness.
To me happiness is family, friends & health, although a new car, a new tool, or any new toy rank up there pretty high. Actually happiness can be just about anything, including seeing someone else's dream (obsession) of a 5198.
Scott, if you start the fund, that would be great. People can give whatever they want $5, $10 or whatever, be it for the freight, or even the price of the vise, who knows what this guys is asking for it. I am going to assume you take PP? If yes, let me know if the fund is a go, I will send you $50 to get it started!