The VISES of Garage Journal
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jakemac
Well-known member
FYI - Paint archeology.
While cleaning up my late-20's/early-30's (WAG) Reed in prep for a restoration, I put the static jaw in a bucket of Simple Green to degrease it and to soften what was left of the paint. A few hours later I pulled it out to start scrubbing. While removing the paint with a detail brush, I noticed some unexpected colors under the grime and original paint and thought that I'd document them for others.
First - Behind the static jaw I found what looks like a light gray primer under the black top coat. I haven't seen evidence of it anywhere else on the vise.
Second - I noticed what looks like red paint in and around the lettering on both sides of the vise.
So, did this vise start out Grey, Red, or Black ? The black looks like it was the original color, but that doesn't explain the other colors underneath.
Hmmmmmmmmm ....................
While cleaning up my late-20's/early-30's (WAG) Reed in prep for a restoration, I put the static jaw in a bucket of Simple Green to degrease it and to soften what was left of the paint. A few hours later I pulled it out to start scrubbing. While removing the paint with a detail brush, I noticed some unexpected colors under the grime and original paint and thought that I'd document them for others.
First - Behind the static jaw I found what looks like a light gray primer under the black top coat. I haven't seen evidence of it anywhere else on the vise.
Second - I noticed what looks like red paint in and around the lettering on both sides of the vise.
So, did this vise start out Grey, Red, or Black ? The black looks like it was the original color, but that doesn't explain the other colors underneath.
Hmmmmmmmmm ....................
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FYI - Paint archeology.
While cleaning up my late-20's/early-30's (WAG) Reed in prep for a restoration, I put the static jaw in a bucket of Simple Green to degrease it and to soften what was left of the paint. A few hours later I pulled it out to start scrubbing. While removing the paint with a detail brush, I noticed some unexpected colors under the grime and original paint and thought that I'd document them for others.
First - Behind the dynamic jaw I found what looks like a light gray primer under the black top coat. I haven't seen evidence of it anywhere else on the vise.
Second - I noticed what looks like red paint in and around the lettering on both sides of the vise.
So, did this vise start out Grey, Red, or Black ? The black looks like it was the original color, but that doesn't explain the other colors underneath.
Hmmmmmmmmm ....................
My Reed also had the same red coating and honestly I think its filler because mine was kinda gummy and was a real pain to remove but it wasn't everywhere just in certain spots. Plus from the old catalog pages it states Reed vises come finished in Black. Also our Reeds are fairly close in time periods.
balane
Well-known member
Kind of a fluff post but mostly made for giving kudos to Kevin (KMScott) for his great work.
This is on my big Parker. It's my one and only vise that I use every day. I love the vise but one thing bugging me on it was the thrust washer set up. When I received the vise there was one really thin washer and more handle slop than I wanted. I dug through my stash of washers and came up with a two washer combo which gave me a good working thickness. But I didn't like having two of them and they were both pitted and obviously well worn.
I contacted Kevin and he said he could make me a bronze one. (I think it's bronze anyway.) He needed dimensions so I came up with what I believed would work the best. Those were;
Outside Diameter: 2.430"
Inside Diameter: 1.315"
Thickness: 0.145"
In a ridiculously short amount of time I had his thrust washer in my hands and I believe it to be a thing of beauty. The grease grooves are really great. It's installed now and I'm 100% happy with it. Jaw movement is quick, 1/8 turn, with the handle and also very, very smooth. It's perfect!
Thanks Kevin.
.
This is on my big Parker. It's my one and only vise that I use every day. I love the vise but one thing bugging me on it was the thrust washer set up. When I received the vise there was one really thin washer and more handle slop than I wanted. I dug through my stash of washers and came up with a two washer combo which gave me a good working thickness. But I didn't like having two of them and they were both pitted and obviously well worn.
I contacted Kevin and he said he could make me a bronze one. (I think it's bronze anyway.) He needed dimensions so I came up with what I believed would work the best. Those were;
Outside Diameter: 2.430"
Inside Diameter: 1.315"
Thickness: 0.145"
In a ridiculously short amount of time I had his thrust washer in my hands and I believe it to be a thing of beauty. The grease grooves are really great. It's installed now and I'm 100% happy with it. Jaw movement is quick, 1/8 turn, with the handle and also very, very smooth. It's perfect!
Thanks Kevin.
.
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KMScott
Well-known member
Thanks balane, everything is timing, I had a emergency job to make a thrust washer for a Suburban, while I had the setup I threw in your job, remember I do not have a lathe so all this is cut on my CNC. I am glad you like it and this Copper/Aluminum/Tin (I call it alum bronze) is really magical material, it just does not wear. Looks great on your vise.
PWRstroke_smoke
Well-known member
Well I think it has held up well to the years of abuse my grandfather and uncles put it through. It still looks great, is tight and in spec. should last my lifetime too! You would be happy to own one im sure
Yes just be patient you will find one soon enough, estate sales and craigslist are great place to look.Nice.A leg vice is still one of the things on my vice wishlist. They always seem to be dirt cheap if they're miles away and a small fortune if they're fairly close though, so I'm having to play the patience game in getting one.
Hot Chop shop
Well-known member
I have dreamed a dream... And that dream is to join the big boy club of huge vise owners... Today is the day.... Drum roll please...
Hot Chop shop
Well-known member
I have dreamed a dream... And that dream is to join the big boy club of huge vise owners... Today is the day.... Drum roll please...
I'll drum roll for me..... Drum roll... I know it's late but I was excited to post it... I have looking for a monster like this for a long time
Reed 208
I didn't have a can of beer/soda to show its true size...
gotta go ice my back right now but I'll be posting pics of the tear down and paint!
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
gatewaysysop
Well-known member
oldldh
Well-known member
A Reed 208 is a big motor-scooter...
Rest your back!!!
There are folks on this forum that are hunting for his big brother...the "Ever Elusive Reed 209"...
You've probably caused more than a few coughing fits with you new vise!!!
That photo under the quilt was especially cruel...
Rest your back!!!
There are folks on this forum that are hunting for his big brother...the "Ever Elusive Reed 209"...
You've probably caused more than a few coughing fits with you new vise!!!
That photo under the quilt was especially cruel...
va.grouseman
Well-known member
Nothing like a 208 find to stir the pot up?---Was it a Craigslist or estate find?---What's the story?---PRICE.
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
Great find Hot Chop!
Hi Outlaw, I was just now refining it. Please give it another try. It comes up in your reply...
Maurice
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Still nothing... (I copy/pasted the new link)
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Hot Chop: not enough thumbs up to put in my post for that Reed 208. You not only joined the big boys you found one of the nicest almost 300 pounders around. Please post some before and after pictures on the vise repair 101 thread if you have time maybe similar to McB's posts from #117-124 so we can all enjoy seeing them and hear the challenges of restoring a vise that big.
Awesome!!!!!
Awesome!!!!!
Iron Hoarder
Member
I got some only slightly out of focus pictures of my vise piles today. Sorry they are all stacked on pallets but space is running out. I've actually skipped buying a few although I passed on one monster I really wish I'd bought now. They are nearly all Record, Paramo, Parkinson and Woden although there are a few odd ones and none of the Leg vises have given up a makers mark yet although there are many layers of paint and grime hiding who knows what.
OK...I think I figured it out
You need to separate the image link out of the protected user panel in drop box. Go to Share Photos and then Get Link.
I can't imagine it was in a home garage, but... 
That is ridiculous.
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Yea Chop Shop... tell me... err us! Great find!
va.grouseman
Well-known member
Iron Hoarder,---You may have just joined this month but it's obvious you've been a collector a long time.---Man there ain't nothing wrong with the brands you've got,---Those are some solid vises.---I'm looking to add a Record, Paramo, and Woden to my stash when the timing is right.---You'er probably like me, you were collecting vises before you knew there was vise collectors.---Nice hoard.---PS. Always make room for a monster even if you have to set something of her's out in the rain.
Hot Chop shop
Well-known member
Thanks for the kind words gentlemen.
The story behind this vice... I was in Boston all week with my wife for a semi vacation while she was there for work. I was site seeing and checking Craigslist for tools and even a vise. I was going over different plans for how to bring one back on the plane with me when I went back to my own local Craigslist to check for the usual stuff: Vise then misspelling Vice , tig welder, lista, vidmar etc. all the usual stuff and then an ad read "Huge 200 pound Reed Vise" it was 24hours old and I was on east coast time but I quickly emailed the seller to see if it was still available... The guy said yes come look at it. Since I didn't return home for another day and the picture posted in the ad was so poor you couldn't see the condition and there was nothing in the pic to really tell how Big it was... I began emailing questions to see if it was what I thought it might be; does it have any repair welds? how wide does it open? What is the jaw size? Can you help me load it in my SUV? Is the vise 200pounds alone or is the vise with the metal I-beam base/stand 200pouds? etc. I was annoying but because the pic on Craigslist was so bad I didn't know what the condition was. So once I got all the answer I needed, I called a buddy of mine to see if he could go get it for me. And since I was sending a non-GJ friend to pick it up he would have no clue what to look for when buying it but I took a chance.
My buddy said the guys place had old cars and piles of engine parts all over his yard. I was really jealous I didn't pick it up myself to meet the guy and get the story behind the vise and shake his hand.
Now I just need to grind it down to bare metal, prime, paint, lube then build a bigger welding table to mount it
((((If anyone has any history on the reed 208 R I would love to know more about it.
The time frame and what the R stands for after 208 etc.
I think I know the basics 100s didn't have a swivel base and the 200 means it swivels and the 8 is the jaw size and cause it says the patent number on the side it's an early 1930's ? )))
The story behind this vice... I was in Boston all week with my wife for a semi vacation while she was there for work. I was site seeing and checking Craigslist for tools and even a vise. I was going over different plans for how to bring one back on the plane with me when I went back to my own local Craigslist to check for the usual stuff: Vise then misspelling Vice , tig welder, lista, vidmar etc. all the usual stuff and then an ad read "Huge 200 pound Reed Vise" it was 24hours old and I was on east coast time but I quickly emailed the seller to see if it was still available... The guy said yes come look at it. Since I didn't return home for another day and the picture posted in the ad was so poor you couldn't see the condition and there was nothing in the pic to really tell how Big it was... I began emailing questions to see if it was what I thought it might be; does it have any repair welds? how wide does it open? What is the jaw size? Can you help me load it in my SUV? Is the vise 200pounds alone or is the vise with the metal I-beam base/stand 200pouds? etc. I was annoying but because the pic on Craigslist was so bad I didn't know what the condition was. So once I got all the answer I needed, I called a buddy of mine to see if he could go get it for me. And since I was sending a non-GJ friend to pick it up he would have no clue what to look for when buying it but I took a chance.
My buddy said the guys place had old cars and piles of engine parts all over his yard. I was really jealous I didn't pick it up myself to meet the guy and get the story behind the vise and shake his hand.
Now I just need to grind it down to bare metal, prime, paint, lube then build a bigger welding table to mount it
((((If anyone has any history on the reed 208 R I would love to know more about it.
The time frame and what the R stands for after 208 etc.
I think I know the basics 100s didn't have a swivel base and the 200 means it swivels and the 8 is the jaw size and cause it says the patent number on the side it's an early 1930's ? )))
wrenchguy
Well-known member
Where was it? Boston area? if sou wouldn't got it if i was at my daughters in plymouth. i don't leave here (indiana) till october 10, i always search both spellings.
I see local now........ never mind jake.
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AndrewH
Well-known member
Great find Hot Chop Shop, hoping to find one myself sometime soon!
jakemac
Well-known member
Reed 208 = jealous ! 
What the heck is this Reed vise? At first I thought it was a swivel vise but there's no way it could swivel. I don't even see how this two part static jaw assembly is removable. It looks interlocked to the body of the vise.
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
tool_scrounge
Well-known member
What the heck is this Reed vise? At first I thought it was a swivel vise but there's no way it could swivel. I don't even see how this two part static jaw assembly is removable. It looks interlocked to the body of the vise.
I had a 405 I gave to a friend - it does swivel. The two parts are machined in a arc and lock together. Soak the joints (expecially the one under the static jaw) in Kriol for a week for two. Then remove the pin and tap lightly on the side of it with a lead hammer. Sometimes one direction moves easier than the other one.
here is a picture:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141706&highlight=reed
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EOC_Jason
Well-known member
The "R" means Revised or Revision or something like that. It was during a transitional period when they went from the "old style" of vises with the round nose and the retention collar on the mainscrew, to the "new style" with the split-ring on the front that allows for backlash adjustment and also to the flat nose.
Eventually they dropped the R since all vises were the new style.
A guess for age... 1930's... maybe early 1940's...
Attached are a couple examples of old vs new... Note, only the very very late models have replaceable jaws... Like 1970's... *maybe* 1960's?
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
This^^^
Nice find! I have a newer 3-1/2" swivel jaw, swivel base Reed with the button head screw. Nice vises!
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Why would somebody want to have a swivel jaw? Like in this beautiful Morgan
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MORGAN-VISE-NO-345B-4-12-JAWS-80-LBS-EXCELLENT-/400758809802
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MORGAN-VISE-NO-345B-4-12-JAWS-80-LBS-EXCELLENT-/400758809802
Thanks!! That's very helpful. Now I can visualize how it can swivel and look that way.
That pin will not budge and there's really no straight shot from underneath. I hate to use vise grips which will ****** up the top of the pin.
Any other tips for pin removal other then a long Kroil soak???
Keep on hitting it with penetrating oil ever so often and occasionally tap it with a brass or lead hammer. The more you struggle with pulling and hitting it the more stress you put on the vise because pulling a stuck taper puts a lot of stress on the cast. So just be careful and just remember it has to move some time.
Here is a picture of the 6" Parker at the restoration ship at Union Station, Ogden.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/knld6tdcz2vzklc/Parker%20GJ2.jpg?dl=0[img/]
Arrgh! Still not displaying... but clicking on the link will bring it up. (I hope)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/knld6tdcz2vzklc/Parker%20GJ2.jpg?dl=0[img/]
Arrgh! Still not displaying... but clicking on the link will bring it up. (I hope)
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
Here is a picture from my Prentiss, hopefully that will help.
If you remove the slide and feel inside, the hole doesn't go all the way through the top?
You could probably heat the casting around the pin with a torch gently, that might expand enough to free the pin. Or even maybe heating the pin itself since it's a taper it might "push" itself up some when it expands?
If you don't have a torch, just be patient with the oil. Give it a squirt a couple times a day for a week or so... Let it do its thing...
If you remove the slide and feel inside, the hole doesn't go all the way through the top?
You could probably heat the casting around the pin with a torch gently, that might expand enough to free the pin. Or even maybe heating the pin itself since it's a taper it might "push" itself up some when it expands?
If you don't have a torch, just be patient with the oil. Give it a squirt a couple times a day for a week or so... Let it do its thing...
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
As said, take the slide out remove the main nut then assemble a "jack screw" from a couple of bolts and a coupler nut. I'd guess 3/8 should do it.
Get some pressure on it, then rap it sideways on the head from one side, then the other.
you are fighting two things: rust, and/or the vacuum lock tapered fits often get.
Get some pressure on it, then rap it sideways on the head from one side, then the other.
you are fighting two things: rust, and/or the vacuum lock tapered fits often get.
Iron Hoarder
Member
I've been collecting stuff since i was a kid. I knew there were others out there like me it just took me awhile to go looking for them. My original plan when I came over here was to fill containers and send them back. Lack of money has stood in the way and the increased difficulty of shipping restrictions imposed in recent years makes getting them back difficult. I plan to ship it all back someday and I know a guy with a real big pile of fly presses, anvils and leg vises that plans to ship a load over. I need to go have a talk with him one of these days. A joint venture may be in order.