The VISES of Garage Journal

[autopts]

I've has this 978 Parker for awhile and decided to finally knock it out and sell it. The color is Detroit Diesel Alpine Green and it didn't take long for me to get it smudged up with Anti-Seize however its new owner (unknown at this point) can have the opportunity of changing it. The handle is original to this vise and in excellent condition for a vise this large. The new jaws were made by KMScott to preserve its usability another 100 years. This is the Mother of all Parkers here fellas.

 

[drivesitfar]

Zoomie: Thanks for the tip on Cbrax's Wilton 600S. not sure i need it, but good to know it's a keeper if i do.

AutoPts: awesome vise and great restoration by you and Kevin. in case anybody wants a shot at it this is the owner's auction name to look it up under. good luck and it will probably go for more than i can spend on a big vise today.

DNG: welcome and happy to have you join our little (or sometimes large) group.

BB: it'll take me a day or two to go through all the pictures and vises you posted so for now i'll just say DAMN NICE COLLECTION.

JKB: let the horse trading commence and thanks for solving another mystery about our vises.

VA: thanks for finding another Standard (brand) vise and it's a very hard one to Google as you might imagine.

 

[oldldh]

Holy Sheep Dip, Nick...

Ya dun real gud, on that wee beastie, Bubba...

I'll "observe" the sale from way down here...where my el cashola will be safe...

 

[EOC_Jason]

Wow, that parker looks sharp!

 

[GETRIDAONE]

I going to have to start digging up my coffee can stash $ in the backyard.

 

[KMScott]

Awesome vise Nick. I bet you are tired of moving that one around. I wish all Parker jaws were that easy, you really made my job simple. Let the bidding begin.

 

[zoomieport]

Nice wok Nick!

 

[bigcaddy]

Thanks for the information. The retainer is there. It's older than I thought! Weighs about 75lbs +/-
The same seller had a Rock Island vise just as large, but it had a lot of repairs on it, some major, that were really poorly done.

Does the vise say "Semi Steel Solid Slide" on the opposite side of C. Parker?

 

[Outlawmws]

My livingroom is getting a "little heavy" again...

Thougt I'd show a few before they head to the basement.

Take care,
ZOOM

Zoomie, don't you worry about the floor collapsing?

 

[Outlawmws]

DIF,

I just had quadruple bypass 9/24, so I can't move much around to get a good family photo right now, but maybe I'll try to take a few 'group shots" that will suffice...


I'm really only looking for ""flat nose", "screw in replacable jaw", "swivel base" REED's" and "odd", "strange" "tiny" or "multi-swivel" stuff right now...

But I'm alway open to a trade! I'd rather "lose" on a trade that makes both party's happy than buy and sell my vises...

I guess I'd rather over trade to get what I want and have someone get what they want. Probably not fiscally responsible, but it's my hobby and I enjoy it...

Thank you DIF!
Take care!

ZOOM

Although I must admit, I am having a "blacksmith" tools phase I'm going through...

Sorry Zoom, these two statements boggled me!

But here is to hoping you make full recovery and are with us for many more years! at least 3 digits!

 

[Outlawmws]

Dutch: vinegar works very well to unstick a vise, but make sure to wipe all the vinegar off or don't leave it in the bucket too long or you have a science project. i had a Prentiss swivel jaw that had a big weld on it so thought i'd try the vinegar and it worked great after i left in the vinegar for about a month. then i put it back in the bucket to loosen the handle, set something in front of the bucket and now i have a science project. Diesel works too i hear, but vinegar doesn't smell as bad and easier to dispose of.

Drives, Wow, but that is exactly why vinegar (or almost any acid based rust removers) has to be used with some care. 'Cause it is ACID...

AFAIK, I think only Phosphoric stops with the rust and leaves the steel behind.

I've deeply etched a couple of hand tools with vinegar a bit to long...

 

[Outlawmws]

Autopts, that is gorgeous!

 

[zoomieport]

Sorry Zoom, these two statements boggled me!

But here is to hoping you make full recovery and are with us for many more years! at least 3 digits!

THANK YOU! It looks like they caught in just in time, lucky man!

I'm also lucky I have a few "strong back" buddy's that will move vises and such for beer, so the hunt continues!

Take care!
Mike

 

[FMC1959]

I've has this 978 Parker for awhile and decided to finally knock it out and sell it. The color is Detroit Diesel Alpine Green and it didn't take long for me to get it smudged up with Anti-Seize however its new owner (unknown at this point) can have the opportunity of changing it. The handle is original to this vise and in excellent condition for a vise this large. The new jaws were made by KMScott to preserve its usability another 100 years. This is the Mother of all Parkers here fellas.

Nick, are you putting it on eBay, or taking offers?

 

[jrobb316]

My newest purchase. Prentiss bulldog 264. Is this really a parker vise or what's the story on these late model prentisses? Near perfect shape, the swivel handle is even still painted black.

 

[C.BRAXMAIER]

she is for sale! If you pick it up I will throw in a authentic wilton stand.

 

[jkrswld]

Here's my garage sale find. I really know nothing about it, other than the Dawn brand seems to be from Australia. The guy I got it from was a pipefitter and fabricator with a pretty decent home shop - I took his benches and some cabinets too. The vice was mounted as you see on this bench (and bench bolted to wall). I just cleaned it up a bit and shot it with some rattle can metallic - but I don't love how "light" the silver is. Maybe I'll change it later but I'm giving it a chance to grow on me.

Anything know much more about it? I've poked around here and google a bit and nothing seems to be particularly special about this - just a big ol' vise. The guy did tell me he picked it up from the nuclear power plant when they were retooling or something - said he and his fab buddies got to buy all kinds of metal goods for a few cents a pound. I haven't weighed this thing but I know I wouldn't want to carry it further than I had to without some help.

Pics...

 

[autopts]

she is for sale! If you pick it up I will throw in a authentic wilton stand.

Chris, your restorations are flawless and you obviously spare no expense. Good luck

 

[autopts]

Nick, are you putting it on eBay, or taking offers?

Guys, that Parker was sold to a friend of a good friend. I couldn't handle the wave of inquiries and besides I don't like to haggle guys down in price or up for that matter. It was a feel good sale and as long as the buyer and myself felt good. That's what counted. Thanks for all your interest

 

[dngrmse]

Does the vise say "Semi Steel Solid Slide" on the opposite side of C. Parker?

It just says "No. 3x" see pic:

The second pic is of the slide. You can see the tooling marks; I was going to wire brush it, but would like to keep the marks intact. Any recommendations?
Regards,
Dan

 

[Outlawmws]

E-tank is the easiest on the metal. Lots of threads on Electrolysis, and it's dead easy.

 

[littleponderosa]

i'm just getting measurements to a blacksmith for a new leaf spring on an indian chief leg vise. gonna be cool when it is working, then i'll attempt to paint it up so i can dirty it up.
all the vise is there excluding the leaf spring.
Bill

 

[GETRIDAONE]

autopts, You had everyone worked up over the big Parker. I'm glad you found it a good home.

 

[jreb10]

So after following this thread for about a year I think it is time to introduce myself a little bit. I had an older Larin bench vise but always wanted an old USA made vise. They are hard to find at reasonable prices in this area. This thread inspired me, probably a bit too much.

I found an older Montgomery Wards USA made vise at an auction and got it for cheap (first photo). Does anyone know who made them for Wards?

Then I found a Simplex 4 incher that needed jaws. I found some cheap longer jaws that could be machined to fit. Since they were cheap, I reasoned that they would not be too hardened. Wrong! That vise taught me lessons on how to work with hardened steel.

Since then things may be getting out of hand. In one of the few CL deals I have seen, I got a Reed 105 in very good shape. I thought I would stop there.

At a farm auction I saw a Reed like mine only the swivel version, in nice shape. Then I noticed a smaller, dirty vise bolted to a section of 2X10. I did some rubbing and realized it was an Athol. I rubbed a little on the jaw and could make out the grooves. I figured it was a sleeper, that everyone else would be distracted by the Reed, and I could get it for cheap, which I did. As I hauled it off to the truck that Reed was at $260 and still climbing. It is the Athol 614 in the picture, with another photo of its jaw.

I better stop the story now. There is more to come, as I have a vise "situation" that needs input from the experienced members on this board. More on this later.

 

[FMC1959]

Guys, that Parker was sold to a friend of a good friend. I couldn't handle the wave of inquiries and besides I don't like to haggle guys down in price or up for that matter. It was a feel good sale and as long as the buyer and myself felt good. That's what counted. Thanks for all your interest

I am sure the friend of a good friend is a happy camper!

 

[Canoe50]

My big one....Athol 926

 

[s2kattracks]

Monster

 

[drivesitfar]

Jreb: Welcome to the GJ and especially the vise thread. it looks like you have learned and are learning well how to spot a good vise. if you have a vise repair issue please post it on the Vise Repair 101 thread. it sounds like you figured how to make a reasonable priced pair of jaws work for a vise that they were not made for so can you post a few pictures of those over on the Vise repair 101 too.

Canoe: nice looking Starrett 926. it looks like it killed a few smaller vises in the background laying on the bench. how big is your crew of vises now?

CBrax: Zoomie wasn't kidding that 35 year old vise looks almost new. good luck in your auction. do you have any before and after pictures of that one you can post on the Vise Repair 101 thread or did you buy it in that condition? NICE

 

[markeric]

Early Parker double swivel vise help needed

Guys,

I open a thread in another section and It was suggested post here instead. Need some help on this one and I know this is the place to find it. Just acquired I believe one of the earliest of Parker's double swivel vises, Patent date is 1906/1908, model is #439. I have only seen #474s with the late style screw and the swivel clamps that use the later style attached wrench. I have an original ad from 1910 showing my exact vise which uses bars to tighten the swivel clamps. Problem is mine was missing one of the bars. I would like to restore this vise to original. I was told by a machinist that Parker's used 1/2 bar stock material for the bars with end caps that screwed on. My bar is 7/16 .431 inches diameter and a hair under 4 1/4" long. I also measured both clamp holes, it appears that the hole inside the upper clamp is actually larger .465 inches vs the lower swivel clamps, .440 inches. My existing bar fits well in the lower clamp. If you look at the picture of the vise in the ad you can see that the upper clamp bar looks to be a larger diameter, maybe an illusion since this upper clamp is closer to the viewer the way the upper clamp overhangs the vise in the way it is constructed, hard to tell. I cant find dimensional data on this vise and Im looking for guys with older swiveling Parker's to verify the thickness of their bars and/or clamp holes if possible to shed any light on this. Reason being I may purchase a donor vise or decide to have a handle turned but Im flying blind on what came from the factory. Thanks for your help

 

[Gtyler]

Here's my garage sale find. I really know nothing about it, other than the Dawn brand seems to be from Australia. The guy I got it from was a pipefitter and fabricator with a pretty decent home shop - I took his benches and some cabinets too. The vice was mounted as you see on this bench (and bench bolted to wall). I just cleaned it up a bit and shot it with some rattle can metallic - but I don't love how "light" the silver is. Maybe I'll change it later but I'm giving it a chance to grow on me.

Anything know much more about it? I've poked around here and google a bit and nothing seems to be particularly special about this - just a big ol' vise. The guy did tell me he picked it up from the nuclear power plant when they were retooling or something - said he and his fab buddies got to buy all kinds of metal goods for a few cents a pound. I haven't weighed this thing but I know I wouldn't want to carry it further than I had to without some help.

Pics...

It looks to me like its a Record copy. I've never heard of the brand though. Eron was another company out of Japan that produced vises exactly like the English made record vises. I'm not sure if it was a collaboration with Record, or if they were knock offs. I have herd that the Eron vises are quite good quality. Record vises for sure are excellent quality.

 

[jakemac]

Re: Early Parker double swivel vise help needed

............Need some help on this one and I know this is the place to find it. ........................ Problem is mine was missing one of the bars. I would like to restore this vise to original. ........................... Thanks for your help

PM sent.

 

[Canoe50]

Jreb: Welcome to the GJ and especially the vise thread. it looks like you have learned and are learning well how to spot a good vise. if you have a vise repair issue please post it on the Vise Repair 101 thread. it sounds like you figured how to make a reasonable priced pair of jaws work for a vise that they were not made for so can you post a few pictures of those over on the Vise repair 101 too.

Canoe: nice looking Starrett 926. it looks like it killed a few smaller vises in the background laying on the bench. how big is your crew of vises now?

CBrax: Zoomie wasn't kidding that 35 year old vise looks almost new. good luck in your auction. do you have any before and after pictures of that one you can post on the Vise Repair 101 thread or did you buy it in that condition? NICE

Yeah, I had it sitting a welding table, along with a couple others soon after I brought it home about 2 years ago. (give or take) That's when I took the picture. It's now in my basement on a nice heavy duty stand I found on CL.
As for the crew, what started out as a small, old Craftsman vise that was left behind when I bought the house 28 years ago, is now around 20 or so. It's a nice mix of Wiltons, Craftsmans (all USA) Parkers & Reeds. That all came about as a result of finding this site/thread & being struck by the G J Curse. I'm doing good though. Haven't bought one in awhile & keep telling myself I'm done. I even sold a few & passed on a very nice Wilton C3 (with a unbelievably nice, extremely heavy duty home made stand...VERY well made) not long ago for a decent price. So I'm confident I have the curse under control.
If I didn't have the Athol & I wasn't running out of room, that likely would have been a different story in regards to the C3.

 

[drivesitfar]

Canoe: I think we need to see the Starrett pictures as it is mounted on a stand because that must be one heavy duty stand. also pictures of the crew and let's call it group therapy instead of a GJ curse because we like our vises?

by the way next time you are not going to buy a nice vise like a C3 on stand at a good price please PM one of us.

 

[va.grouseman]

Posted by Drivesitfar.

let's call it group therapy instead of a GJ curse because we like our vises?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Witness.

 

[Canoe50]

Will do on the Athol & stand....have to take some pictures. The crew will take some moving around for pics, so I'll have to see how ambitious I get.
I was actually going back & forth in my head trying to decide on the C3, so for obvious reasons I didn't want to post it. The seller originally had it listed at $750 & lowered it to $500 at some point. He said the stand weighed more than the vise & I believe it. Whoever made it did one helluva job. Hard to say which was more impressive, the stand was that nice.

 

[BJ42LX]

I ... passed on a very nice Wilton C3 (with a unbelievably nice, extremely heavy duty home made stand...VERY well made) not long ago for a decent price. So I'm confident I have the curse under control.
If I didn't have the Athol & I wasn't running out of room, that likely would have been a different story in regards to the C3.

The seller originally had it listed at $750 & lowered it to $500 at some point. He said the stand weighed more than the vise & I believe it. Whoever made it did one helluva job. Hard to say which was more impressive, the stand was that nice.

Canoe, did you ever go see the C3?

I saw it posted for a while on CL. I didn't want the stand and I don't think the seller was willing to separate (read: provide a discount if I didn't take the stand). I never did go see it. It was the older style, which I prefer over the newer.

That was a mistake. C3's are rare enough and big enough that you have to jump on them when they're available. I won't make that mistake again.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

So after following this thread for about a year I think it is time to introduce myself a little bit. I had an older Larin bench vise but always wanted an old USA made vise. They are hard to find at reasonable prices in this area. This thread inspired me, probably a bit too much.

I found an older Montgomery Wards USA made vise at an auction and got it for cheap (first photo). Does anyone know who made them for Wards?

Then I found a Simplex 4 incher that needed jaws. I found some cheap longer jaws that could be machined to fit. Since they were cheap, I reasoned that they would not be too hardened. Wrong! That vise taught me lessons on how to work with hardened steel.

Since then things may be getting out of hand. In one of the few CL deals I have seen, I got a Reed 105 in very good shape. I thought I would stop there.

At a farm auction I saw a Reed like mine only the swivel version, in nice shape. Then I noticed a smaller, dirty vise bolted to a section of 2X10. I did some rubbing and realized it was an Athol. I rubbed a little on the jaw and could make out the grooves. I figured it was a sleeper, that everyone else would be distracted by the Reed, and I could get it for cheap, which I did. As I hauled it off to the truck that Reed was at $260 and still climbing. It is the Athol 614 in the picture, with another photo of its jaw.

I better stop the story now. There is more to come, as I have a vise "situation" that needs input from the experienced members on this board. More on this later.

You are among family with a vise situation. I can only suggest that your MW vise may have been manufactured by
Lakeside foundry. However, I'm sure that they're more informed answered here.

Welcome!

 

[McBrownie]

Re: Early Parker double swivel vise help needed

Guys,

I have an original ad from 1910 showing my exact vise which uses bars to tighten the swivel clamps. Problem is mine was missing one of the bars. I would like to restore this vise to original. I was told by a machinist that Parker's used 1/2 bar stock material for the bars with end caps that screwed on. My bar is 7/16 .431 inches diameter and a hair under 4 1/4" long. I also measured both clamp holes, it appears that the hole inside the upper clamp is actually larger .465 inches vs the lower swivel clamps, .440 inches.

Markeric,

Very nice vise! My 203, from the same era, needed a new handle and I had KMScott whip me up one with new cap screws. Mine was 1/2" diameter and 4-3/4" long. I'm sure if you PM Kevin, he can do something for you.

Here are some before and afters:

View media item 40375View media item 42946View media item 42935

 

[Neverfly]

Those cap screws are impressive. Knowing people helps...

Maybe I should be nicer to folks on here.











Nah....





That's a fantastic restoration, though, McBrownie. Eyeing my own very amateur work, it's nice to see a higher standard to aspire to.

 

[McBrownie]

Those cap screws are impressive. Knowing people helps...

Maybe I should be nicer to folks on here.

Nah....

That's a fantastic restoration, though, McBrownie. Eyeing my own very amateur work, it's nice to see a higher standard to aspire to.

Thanks! There is a full write up on the process over on the Vise Repair 101 thread starting with post 117:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252830&page=6