The VISES of Garage Journal

[KMScott]

454 and Mr. Scott-

Files didn't come from PM, but from The Ebay, perhaps even from Mr. Scott?

I've been going to make and cross hatch some jaws on the shaper for a couple of winters now, but haven't gotten there yet. Would be a fun shaper project- maybe this winter. Mr. Scott- do you do yours on a VMC? The ones on the Big Parker are exquisite.

No, not a VMC but a knee mill made by Milltronics. I built a holder for a double angle cutter and cut my serrations. If I had a shaper I would use that instead. The big Parker and Autopts 8" were a fun project thanks for the kind words. PM me if you need spec:s for jaws. Happy New Year.

 

[drivesitfar]

Jaker: at first i thought you might have a frankenvise because i couldn't remember seeing that hub on any of my Prentiss vises. then i found one old Bulldog Prentiss that had one like yours.

i also know that Prentiss vise company built the Penn vises and those have the same handle. when i read what little information i could find on Penn vises last year I remember reading that Penn was that economy line of Prentiss vise company. so my guess at the risk of being wrong is that some of the Bulldog Prentiss vises are also an economy line with that handle.

good catch and question because I've had my Bulldog vise with that same handle for about a year now and didn't notice it. i posted the Penn vise yesterday i think if you want to see that one, but since i have room to post it again here i will.

Happy new year

 

[Nuts]

Not much time left for most of you to get your New Years resolutions made.

Personally I never make them, no since starting the New Year off wrong.


Nuts

 

[jaker10]

Jaker: at first i thought you might have a frankenvise because i couldn't remember seeing that hub on any of my Prentiss vises. then i found one old Bulldog Prentiss that had one like yours.

i also know that Prentiss vise company built the Penn vises and those have the same handle. when i read what little information i could find on Penn vises last year I remember reading that Penn was that economy line of Prentiss vise company. so my guess at the risk of being wrong is that some of the Bulldog Prentiss vises are also an economy line with that handle.

good catch and question because I've had my Bulldog vise with that same handle for about a year now and didn't notice it. i posted the Penn vise yesterday i think if you want to see that one, but since i have room to post it again here i will.

Happy new year

All mine have the bulb tip end never saw one with the straight end before, till I saw this one on craig's list. http://peoria.craigslist.org/tls/4822283383.html

 

[steelkilt]

Outlaw, I wad looking through some old posts, I thought I remember seeing you have one of these but I don't remember if yours was the older version or not. Do you still have yours?
Get: Congratulations! ! I hope you enjoy your retirement! !

 

[bluebolt]

drivesitfar If you ever (or anyone else) run across any info as to a date this 40-1/2 was made, I would very much appreciate hearing from you. I was told it's possibly a sheetmetal working vise but, that I couldn't say for sure. As for the golf...well, I have the notorious blacksmith shoulder and my club swinging is very infrequent....but, I do love the 19th hole there !!

I think Parker called that a coachmakers vise here is an Ebay listing for an advertisement that shows a # 40 Parker Coachmakers vise with 4" jaws. What jaw size are yours?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1902-AD-Par...392?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item485f7adb68

 

[jakemac]

Saved the pics.

.

 

[Outlawmws]

I've still got it Steelkilt. Same flat button nose, so about the same age. Mine has the removable jaws however (and needs a swivel jaw pin.)

 

[steelkilt]

Outlaw- ah, ok I remembered it was something different but I wasn't sure what it was. While we're on the subject, I'll ask this; Were manufacturers making both replaceable and fixed jaws at the same time (thereby offering the replaceables as an option upgrade)? Or maybe perhaps the replaceable jaws were what they went to and subsequently, abandoned the fix jaw offering? I've always been curious about this because it seems some manufacturers line up with this theory of timeframe. And others seem to suggest differently. Anybody have thoughts on this?

 

[thursday]

Speaking of Die Filers can anyone identify mine? The upper plate assembly is made from aluminum and not original. There's no identifying markers other than a few a part numbers. It runs like a dream. The only problem I have is coming across files. Nothing that can't be solved by grinding and inverting a small triangular file.

 

[cretedog]

Thursday-
Some resourceful guy didn't make himself one out of old compressor pump, did he?...

 

[wrenchguy]

Jaker: at first i thought you might have a frankenvise because i couldn't remember seeing that hub on any of my Prentiss vises. then i found one old Bulldog Prentiss that had one like yours.

i also know that Prentiss vise company built the Penn vises and those have the same handle. when i read what little information i could find on Penn vises last year I remember reading that Penn was that economy line of Prentiss vise company. so my guess at the risk of being wrong is that some of the Bulldog Prentiss vises are also an economy line with that handle.

good catch and question because I've had my Bulldog vise with that same handle for about a year now and didn't notice it. i posted the Penn vise yesterday i think if you want to see that one, but since i have room to post it again here i will.

Happy new year

Lest we forget!! and happy new year!

 

[Junebuggy]

.....wow.

 

[Fretters]

Thursday-
Some resourceful guy didn't make himself one out of old compressor pump, did he?...

That was my first thought too. That housing has compressor written all over it from the style. An impressive and cute bit of repurposing.

 

[bmxdad]

What do you think? Holland and cheap at $15

 

[bmwpower]

What do you think? Holland and cheap at $15

Yes sir!

 

[Outlawmws]

Thursday-
Some resourceful guy didn't make himself one out of old compressor pump, did he?...

That was my first thought too. That housing has compressor written all over it from the style. An impressive and cute bit of repurposing.

 

[Outlawmws]

What do you think? Holland and cheap at $15

I assume it's yours now? That would be a no brainer.

 

[drivesitfar]

BMXDAD: if you get there and don't like the crack on the top of the back of the slide of that 4 inch Holland's then i'll buy it from you or work out some trade because it will be a good parts vise.

Wrenchguy: hard to think Prentiss put those handles on their economy line after your post those 250-300 pounders. also with Jaker's Prentiss with the raised casting i wouldn't have thought was their economy line. interesting.

 

[flavc3]

Any info on RAE vises. Says it a RAE 205 swival with 5" jaws and 12" open. Where these modeled after any other vise??

 

[drivesitfar]

Flav: pretty sure RAE vises (vices) were made in Canada. some of their designs are very close to the look of Record and Paramo. maybe that will help you on your search to get us a little more information about them. is there a Made In Canada raised casting on that RAE?

 

[JeremyBurke]

What do you think? Holland and cheap at $15

If you don't want it I do. It will go nicely with my Hollands 15.

 

[bluebolt]

bmxdad,I have a Hollands 24 and it's a nice vise. I don't think that is a crack my Hollands has straight lines running down the slide like that, from the machining I suppose.

flavc3 I agree with Drivesitfar probably made in Canada but definitely in the flavor of a USA machinists vice.

 

[cretedog]

Finished the Hollands this morning.

On to the Pittsburg...

 

[Fretters]

Finished the Hollands this morning.

Nice work.

 

[Rickenbackerman]

Thanks for all the kudoses on my checkering job guys! It was a pain, but it was worth it. They don't make 'em like this anymore!

Unfortunately I didn't think to snap any "before" pics of the jaws, but they were pretty bad. Uneven mating and with a big "scoop" for lack of a better term in the middle of the static jaw running vertically.

Charlie is painted as of last night, I still need to do the lettering but "after" pictures will be coming shortly...

 

[thursday]

Thursday-
Some resourceful guy didn't make himself one out of old compressor pump, did he?...

That was my first thought too. That housing has compressor written all over it from the style. An impressive and cute bit of repurposing.

I figured it didn't start life as a die filer. Thanks

 

[McBrownie]

Thanks for all the kudoses on my checkering job guys! It was a pain, but it was worth it. They don't make 'em like this anymore!

Unfortunately I didn't think to snap any "before" pics of the jaws, but they were pretty bad. Uneven mating and with a big "scoop" for lack of a better term in the middle of the static jaw running vertically.

Charlie is painted as of last night, I still need to do the lettering but "after" pictures will be coming shortly...

They didn't look like this did they? This was the set off of my worn out Parker 203 after KMScott welded them up.

View media item 42937
I got them looking like this on the outside:
View media item 42934
But the checkering is gone. You have me thinking of making a jig to get the faces in the same shape as yours. See the trouble this site causes?

 

[bluebolt]

Finished the Hollands this morning.

On to the Pittsburg...

More of those Holland 24 vises out there than I realized. They are a nice vise, it's one of my beefier 4" vises. Nice job!

 

[Smokeshow69]

What do you think? Holland and cheap at $15

Do it! It is 2 hours from me otherwise I would have already bought it. Good price though, even if it is in need of some repair!

 

[KershawMan]

Just completed my first restoration of a Parker 954 1/2 vise. This vise was so rusty when I got it that everything was fused together. I did not get a "before" photo as I did not think it would come apart without breaking it. I learned a lot on Garage Journal to complete this project. I used reverse electrolysis to remove all the rust and separate the parts. A knotted wire wheel on a grinder finished it up. The cast iron parts cleaned up very well, except for some pitting on the tail end of the slide. The spindle and handle are very pitted but still serviceable. Thanks to this message board, a member was able to easily direct me to where I could find new spindle washers. I also had to replace a couple of the pins to secure the jaws. There were a couple of threads on this forum about the problem finding pins with the correct taper to match the originals, so I came up with my own solution. I annealed a couple of tapered pins that I found at an old-time hardware store, hammered them in from the top side, and then peened them inside the hole from the bottom to fit the taper. This vise should now be good for another 75 years or more!

 

[demoman]

Here is an Athol model 33 quick adjust that I had moved today. I forgot I even had it till I was cleaning up. Was like Christmas! I know I have too much stuff when I find things that I forgot I bought. Anyone else ever get that way. This vise was from an auction a year ago. I have never ran across another of these quick adjusts. Kid of a nice idea. There are very few Athol vises period in my area. They were just not sold locally I guess

 

[454ragtop]

Demoman, I have one of those quick set Athols, pics here http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3110446#post3110446
Unfortunately, as I posted a few days later, the swivel jaw is broken where the retaining collar holds it in the main body. I'm going to try to repair it someday, when I get a round tuit.
Jim

 

[demoman]

Looks like it was a nice vise. Had all the options!! . Get someone to weld it back together.

 

[Rickenbackerman]

They didn't look like this did they? This was the set off of my worn out Parker 203 after KMScott welded them up.

But the checkering is gone. You have me thinking of making a jig to get the faces in the same shape as yours. See the trouble this site causes?

EEK! Luckily mine weren't that bad. This the only "before" pic I have of it (the orange one):

You can see that the dynamic jaw is clearly a replacement since it stuck up about 1/8" higher than the static. So I didn't have to add any material, only remove.

And most of the original checkering was there to use as a guide when redoing it. If you have to start from scratch with completely smooth jaw faces I think it'd be pretty much impossible to do by hand.

 

[jakemac]

Demoman, I have one of those quick set Athols, pics here http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3110446#post3110446
Unfortunately, as I posted a few days later, the swivel jaw is broken where the retaining collar holds it in the main body. I'm going to try to repair it someday, when I get a round tuit.
Jim

Looks like it was a nice vise. Had all the options!! . Get someone to weld it back together.

EEK! ................. And most of the original checkering was there to use as a guide when redoing it. If you have to start from scratch with completely smooth jaw faces I think it'd be pretty much impossible to do by hand.

ragtop - It sounds like you now have an excuse to buy a die filing machine.

If you do have the swivel jaw welded, I'd also recommend drilling a few holes in the bottom of the retaining collar, up into the jaw. Drop a few steel pins into the holes and plug weld them in. Or tap the holes and weld in some threaded rods. Then you can weld the break and mill the welds down. This will help strengthen the whole thing against lateral stress when clamping odd shaped pieces, reducing the possibility of it breaking again.

 

[Rickenbackerman]

Here's another thought:

Gunsmiths use these checkering files to do... you guessed it... checkering!

Places like Midway USA and Brownells sell 'em.

 

[454ragtop]

ragtop - It sounds like you now have an excuse to buy a die filing machine.



Jake, actually I have 2 die filers, need to find an excuse to sell one! The jaw has a poor prior repair, somebody tried to weld it. I'll probably try to cut all the **** off and fad a piece out of steel and bolt it to the jaw. Won't be able to see it once it's together.

 

[tozyp]

I just picked up this Prentiss Bull Dog Vise #54 from a machine shop that went out of business. It came with the table for $125. I plan on restoring it. Seems to be in good shape just loaded inside with metal chips and oil.
It has a stop on the bottom that looks like you should be able to **** it up to the edge of a table but has a 45 degree taper that won't let it **** up. (it keeps it away about 3/4 of an inch) You might be able to see it in the photo. Seems funny that it would be designed like that? Anyone see the reasoning behind it? Thanks! Tom

 

[GETRIDAONE]

It is an older style, you had to cut a notch out of the table to mount it. Later on the wedge piece disappeared and the base had a 90 lip in its place to keep it square.