The VISES of Garage Journal

[drivesitfar]

Bouncer: as i mentioned on your thread that is some amazing repair to an old working vise. Amazing work and how do you handle a 500 degree vise?

i don't remember the date stamp on the slide, but those Cadets have the Exp Guar on them that are in a group of Wilton bullets we are trying to figure out their stamping method to get the dates each vise was made according to the stamp.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=269079

if you have time to post it up on that thread and the vise repair 101 thread it would be much appreciated and your fine work will get seen by as many members as possible.

personally I've passed on vises with less issues than yours unless i needed some parts for it. i'm guessing it got dropped or hit with a BFH or do you know?

Vintage: you might have a double swiveler in your future and they are cool if you've never seen one in person.

 

[bagged89s10]

You don't know how useful an extra swivel base vise is until you have one sitting in the garage.

My Parker no 22 holding my Oswego No 88 so it can bake in the sun.




~Veeps

 

[dutchgray]

That should clean up nicely. Is the spring completely knacked or just snapped at the end? Is the QR strip/rod just a piece of mild flat on those too? Should be simple enough to straighten or replace if so.

The spring is so crud coated I cant tell until I take it apart, there is no tension in it though, the bar is just a bit of flat and some untwisting will get it back straight.
I'm going to borrow that copper tube Idea for my Parkinson and Samsonia vices.

 

[balane]

Finished up the Wilton I got in the Renton Pile. So far it's the nicest one of the batch. 4 down and 4 to go. I really wish I knew the model number of this vise. No date stamp that I found.

.

 

[tedsters]

bouncer
hey Welcome to the forum, wow you sure brought the cadet back from the grave.
you did an awesome repair on that vise and it looks great

 

[tedsters]

Finished up the Wilton I got in the Renton Pile. So far it's the nicest one of the batch. 4 down and 4 to go. I really wish I knew the model number of this vise. No date stamp that I found.

.

man that is sweet that looks a little longer then the norm,is it

 

[balane]

Yes, it's longer than the 744 which is the closest model I've found to it. I've never seen one of these before. It opens as wide as a typical Engineer's vise. The 744 was shorter and didn't open as far. The 744 also had an anvil surface and pipe jaws which this one doesn't. This one has 4" jaws. The main screw is completely enclosed all the way around similar to a bullet. Here's a photo of the 744 which is still in production.

.

 

[zoomieport]

Finished up the Wilton I got in the Renton Pile. So far it's the nicest one of the batch. 4 down and 4 to go. I really wish I knew the model number of this vise. No date stamp that I found.

.

I had a 4" one a while back and it seems like it was a #744, but it's been quite a while and a lot of beer ago...

Looks Great balane!

Take care!
ZOOM

 

[zoomieport]

Yes, it's longer than the 744 which is the closest model I've found to it. I've never seen one of these before. It opens as wide as a typical Engineer's vise. The 744 was shorter and didn't open as far. The 744 also had an anvil surface and pipe jaws which this one doesn't. This one has 4" jaws. The main screw is completely enclosed all the way around similar to a bullet. Here's a photo of the 744 which is still in production.

.

I had a 4" one a while back and it seems like it was a #744, but it's been quite a while and a lot of beer ago...

Looks Great balane!

Take care!
ZOOM

You must type faster than me, LOL!

 

[Fretters]

Here are the before and after photos of my Wilton 8145 Cadet.

Lovely job you've done there.

You don't know how useful an extra swivel base vise is until you have one sitting in the garage.

My Parker no 22 holding my Oswego No 88 so it can bake in the sun.

Sometimes one vice is just never enough, is it. I appreciate I'm stating the blindingly obvious, in this thread.

Finished up the Wilton I got in the Renton Pile. So far it's the nicest one of the batch. 4 down and 4 to go. I really wish I knew the model number of this vise. No date stamp that I found.

That's a truly impressive restoration Balane.

The spring is so crud coated I cant tell until I take it apart, there is no tension in it though, the bar is just a bit of flat and some untwisting will get it back straight.
I'm going to borrow that copper tube Idea for my Parkinson and Samsonia vices.

Hopefully it'll just be the end that's gone. Should be easy enough to heat and bend a new hook, if so.

The copper sleeves/washers are definitely worth making and using, IMHO. They improve the contact/clamping area of the nuts on the vice, with the curve of the body being so close to the bolt holes. They also prevent the risk of the nuts and threads digging into the body, and make it nigh on impossible to overtighten too. It's taken a few tries to get there, but I think I've finally figured the perfect design this time around. Time will be the ultimate test though. I know it's sad to admit it, but trying to achieve the perfect setup on the bolts has been irking me for ages.

 

[tedsters]

balane
its a darn nice looker regardless of the model.

 

[bagged89s10]

Finished up the Wilton I got in the Renton Pile. So far it's the nicest one of the batch. 4 down and 4 to go. I really wish I knew the model number of this vise. No date stamp that I found.



.

Wow another awesome restoration! Great work again!


~Veeps

 

[tedsters]

I NEED
some wilton stickers for the 3 i have to do and the silver wilton 2x4 tag like the one on a snap-on or tradesman anybody got any they can sell PM me,

Thanks, Ted

 

[balane]

Ted, you can easily make your own. First, order some foil decal printable sheets. (You can get gold too so don't be surprised if I post up a real blinger one of these days.)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RX1AYW/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Download my images attached to this post. (These were created in Paint Shop Pro and are very, very close to OEM.) Make sure your printer is set to print them at 4" x 1.5" if you want it to be in the original size. I have resized the print job before for a better fit on the vise.

Put a sheet of clear laminate or a strip of clear packing tape over the print area. This is to protect it. Trim the decal to size.

Peel and stick!

PS: I added my Snap On image if anybody is doing a Snap On themed vise.

.

 

[bagged89s10]

Ted, you can easily make your own. First, order some foil decal printable sheets. (You can get gold too so don't be surprised if I post up a real blinger one of these days.)



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RX1AYW/?tag=atomicindus08-20



Download my images attached to this post. (These were created in Paint Shop Pro and are very, very close to OEM.) Make sure your printer is set to print them at 4" x 1.5" if you want it to be in the original size. I have resized the print job before for a better fit on the vise.



Put a sheet of clear laminate or a strip of clear packing tape over the print area. This is to protect it. Trim the decal to size.



Peel and stick!



PS: I added my Snap On image if anybody is doing a Snap On themed vise.



.

Thanks balane. This should be useful for many.


~Veeps

 

[tedsters]

Ted, you can easily make your own. First, order some foil decal printable sheets. (You can get gold too so don't be surprised if I post up a real blinger one of these days.)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RX1AYW/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Download my images attached to this post. (These were created in Paint Shop Pro and are very, very close to OEM.) Make sure your printer is set to print them at 4" x 1.5" if you want it to be in the original size. I have resized the print job before for a better fit on the vise.

Put a sheet of clear laminate or a strip of clear packing tape over the print area. This is to protect it. Trim the decal to size.

Peel and stick!

PS: I added my Snap On image if anybody is doing a Snap On themed vise.

.

Thanks balane, i will look into i broke are printer 3 or 4 days ago.
Thanks

 

[trijeff]

Finally! My first restoration is complete, a nice transition-era Reed 104.5 R. Jeweled up the jaws and handle and coated with BLO. The only change I made was to swap-out the standard thrust bearing for a needle-roller thrust bearing assembly/stack ... pictures and a link to a YouTube video I posted showing the silky smooth, one-finger action are below. Thanks to everyone who helped knowingly or unknowingly, this and the other vise threads are SUCH great resources. Special shout out to Zak77 for hooking me up with replacement set- and nut-pin screws as I would have been totally screwed without them!!!

Before:



After:




Thrust Bearings, Old & New:



YouTube video showing spindle action with new thrust bearing assembly: click here

 

[KMScott]

Thanks balane, i will look into i broke are printer 3 or 4 days ago.
Thanks

PM me with your address, I'll mail you one.

Nice job Balane, and trijeff

 

[balane]

That's a lovely vise trijeff! Very nice work there.

 

[bagged89s10]

Finally! My first restoration is complete, a nice transition-era Reed 104.5 R. Jeweled up the jaws and handle and coated with BLO. The only change I made was to swap-out the standard thrust bearing for a needle-roller thrust bearing assembly/stack ... pictures and a link to a YouTube video I posted showing the silky smooth, one-finger action are below. Thanks to everyone who helped knowingly or unknowingly, this and the other vise threads are SUCH great resources. Special shout out to Zak77 for hooking me up with replacement set- and nut-pin screws as I would have been totally screwed without them!!!



Before:







After:









Thrust Bearings, Old & New:







YouTube video showing spindle action with new thrust bearing assembly: click here

That handle spins like a propeller! awesome work! Where did you get that bearing?


~Veeps

 

[Garageguy54]

Trijeff, great job on that Reed. Looks awesome and I bet it works better than the day it was cast in Erie,PA

 

[colin39]

I got this today £25.0, itll work as a van vice nicely. Record no1 engineering vice

 

[trijeff]

Nice job Balane, and trijeff

That's a lovely vise trijeff! Very nice work there.

That handle spins like a propeller! awesome work! Where did you get that bearing?

Trijeff, great job on that Reed. Looks awesome and I bet it works better than the day it was cast in Erie,PA

Thanks, gents!! I ordered the "INA" brand bearings from ZoroTools. Links here (qty. 1 needed) and here (qty. 2 needed). I couldn't find anything available that hit all three important measurements (O.D., I.D., and overall thickness), so I got as close as possible to the two critical measurements (the I.D. and overall thickness). Originally got this idea from one of Carla's posts. Definitely going to do this for any vise whose configuration allows, a couple dollar change that makes a WORLD of difference. Oh, btw, the new bearing stack is rated for 3,850 lbs. dynamic and 16,300 lbs. static load capacity.

 

[zoomieport]

Thanks, gents!! I ordered the "INA" brand bearings from ZoroTools. Links here (qty. 1 needed) and here (qty. 2 needed). I couldn't find anything available that hit all three important measurements (O.D., I.D., and overall thickness), so I got as close as possible to the two critical measurements (the I.D. and overall thickness). Originally got this idea from one of Carla's posts. Definitely going to do this for any vise whose configuration allows, a couple dollar change that makes a WORLD of difference. Oh, btw, the new bearing stack is rated for 3,850 lbs. dynamic and 16,300 lbs. static load capacity.

That's nice, really nice!

 

[joe.striper]

Trying to pick this up. Early Athol. Jaws are cast in and clean. Original pipe jaws. Anyone see one like this before? 5" jaws 130 lbs.

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

There was a 4.5" starrett/athol that just sold over here, I think it went to a GJ member and hope it is going to make an appearance in this thread. Script wasn't curved like that though.

 

[FMC1959]

Trying to pick this up. Early Athol. Jaws are cast in and clean. Original pipe jaws. Anyone see one like this before? 5" jaws 130 lbs.

I don't have any info on what model it is, but if you get, weigh it if you can. If it is truly 130 lbs, that has to rank as the heaviest 5" vise made. Being that it is an Athol, would also make it quite possible

 

[RivennHewn]

Before:

After:

 

[FMC1959]

Trying to pick this up. Early Athol. Jaws are cast in and clean. Original pipe jaws. Anyone see one like this before? 5" jaws 130 lbs.

I don't have any info on what model it is, but if you get, weigh it if you can. If it is truly 130 lbs, that has to rank as the heaviest 5" vise made. Being that it is an Athol, would also make it quite possible

Joe, I did some looking and some pictures of Athol 325's look pretty much the same, except for the lettering. There was a 325X, which from what I have read was a revision, and I haven't seen a pic, but could very well be what you have there.

Also, I checked through various brands and the only other 130 lb vise I could find a listing for was the Parker Superior Combination model 825, and the next heaviest 5" was a Reed 3C at 120 lbs.

That would be a real sweet keeper

 

[joe.striper]

I don't have any info on what model it is, but if you get, weigh it if you can. If it is truly 130 lbs, that has to rank as the heaviest 5" vise made. Being that it is an Athol, would also make it quite possible

I had a Parker 825 with a 5" jaw, swivel base that went 135.

 

[wrenchguy]

Finally! My first restoration is complete, a nice transition-era Reed 104.5 R. Jeweled up the jaws and handle and coated with BLO. The only change I made was to swap-out the standard thrust bearing for a needle-roller thrust bearing assembly/stack ... pictures and a link to a YouTube video I posted showing the silky smooth, one-finger action are below. Thanks to everyone who helped knowingly or unknowingly, this and the other vise threads are SUCH great resources. Special shout out to Zak77 for hooking me up with replacement set- and nut-pin screws as I would have been totally screwed without them!!!

YouTube video showing spindle action with new thrust bearing assembly: click here

nice, real nice.

 

[McBrownie]

I had a Parker 825 with a 5" jaw, swivel base that went 135.

That's a Superior. Way beefier than the 97x Eclipse models.

 

[wrenchguy]

Trying to pick this up. Early Athol. Jaws are cast in and clean. Original pipe jaws. Anyone see one like this before? 5" jaws 130 lbs.

post model number when u can. it might be in my early athol brochures.

 

[torqueman2002]

I thought the CM Block grinder thread moved fast, then I found my way here!

As mentioned above by ShadowRuleZ, here's the 4.5" Starrett/Athol. I thought the swivel base hold down 'bolts' looked alike.

PhotoBucket SlideShow with more pictures:
http://s786.photobucket.com/user/torqueman2002/slideshow/Vises/Starrett 624_5

 

[tedsters]

torqueman
nice vise

 

[JZiggy]

Trijeff,
I have put the same needle roller bearings on all of my vises that will take them. The difference is really astounding. You can clamp harder with less force and unclamp easily.

The only disclaimer is that if you have a very coarse main screw thread pitch they will not work. I fitted a roller bearing to an early Parker vise with a "fast" screw and when you clamp down it won't hold - the handle just springs back up.

 

[trijeff]

JZiggy: Thanks for dropping the knowledge! I will include in my 104.5 write-up on the Vise Repair 101 thread so others can benefit, too. A few questions:

1) What TPI are you talking when you say "very coarse"?
2) What brands/models do you have that do/don't accept?
3) What's the best source/selection you've found, i.e. where do you buy yours?
4) And finally, ever had a failure?

 

[muddyriverdogz]

Twinkies.

Hi All from a new guy.A 506-51800 and a 5169. $25.00 and $40.00 Craigslist finds that i cleaned up and painted.

 

[NorthernHappenings]

NH: welcome to our group and why would you ever leave Norway? sounds like maybe you are in the military or are you just making a few stops in the US before you head to Alaska.

i'm sure there are a lot of good choices if you want a nice old vise and get to know the guys on this thread and i'm sure one of us probably has one sitting on a shelf waiting to sell you maybe without shipping it. we haven't figured out how to ship across the pond yet without giving up an arm and a leg, but shipping in the US has a few options. for anything over 150 pounds i use Fastenal's shipping service that ships pallets across the US.

Almost any 4 or 5 inch old US or English made vise should work for about 90% of any work and depends how much time you want to spend looking for one on how much you might find a nice one for. i'm guessing in the areas you are heading that $100-150 should be in the price range for a good Reed, Morgan, Rock Island, Prentiss, Craftsman and several other vises in the 50-75 pound range. of course there are many other good vises and didn't want to write down the hundreds of them and just picked a few of my favorites. Wilton bullets and tradesman vises tend to sell for a bit more in case you like them better.

good luck on your move and your search for a vise.

Thanks for the reply, Drivesitfar. Leaving Norway for a new job. With the downturn in oil price, it's time to move back towards home.
No need to ship across the pond, heavens that'd be expensive. I'd have it shipped to Arkansas - or pick it up if it's near my route driving northbound.

I've been keeping an eye on the classified section. I wanted to shake the tree here a bit, to see if folks had any vises they didn't know wanted to sell.. like maybe a Morgan 140, for example.

I'm keeping my eye out!

Again, thanks for the beta. I appreciate it.

 

[NorthernHappenings]

I had a Parker 825 with a 5" jaw, swivel base that went 135.

Holy cow Joe! Sharp vise!