The VISES of Garage Journal

[dutchgray]

Nice pair, (thankfully I can say that without getting slapped, in this case ). One thing I do seem to note is that the swivel bases seem to crop up more frequently over your side of the pond too. Can't remember the last time I personally saw one over here.

I have two with swivel bases but one of those is American, they really are rare here.

Something else history wise, its all one family that was behind both Woden and Record and Woden is older.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

The Woden swivel bases are a better design than the Record ones looking at DIF's pictures.

I have 2 swivellers as well I think, the Record 633 and the Bison polish vice, unless you include the Abwood drill/milling vices..... oh I don't know now ... I may have an excessive number of vices it seems..... do Ball vices count as swivellers? I have two of them ..... oh and a tool and cutter grinder vice with a swivel base.....

 

[Fretters]

I have two with swivel bases but one of those is American, they really are rare here.

What's the story behind the American one? Sounds like that's done a fair bit of travelling.

Something else history wise, its all one family that was behind both Woden and Record and Woden is older.

Never knew that. Was it some type of family dispute which led to the two companies, or just some business progression?

 

[drivesitfar]

Dutch (CW and Fretters and Fraggles too): wasn't Paramo and Parkninson somehow related too or maybe i just thought so because their designs all look like those old Records?

cheers mates

Joe: i thought you bragging about cheap vises that you were selling for big money might not last long with your minions starting to try their hand at buying them too like Bagged. you have no idea how many vises a couple guys I know are finding back your way.

of course with $40 Prentiss swivel jaw vises with swivel bases sitting on Craigs i don't have to feel too bad for you.

Fretters and Outlaw: funny i just had a huge bowl of freshly buttered redenbacker's air popped popcorn about an hour ago. i have to get ready to swim the English channel with my Woden swivel bases so i'm carbbing up.

 

[drivesitfar]

Fretters: i think your mates might know better or give you a source, but i heard the Queen told Record to split off and that might have been the two brothers having a vise company each. it was because of WWI or WWII i think. something about having multiple factories working in case one was bombed.

 

[Fretters]

oh I don't know now ... I may have an excessive number of vices it seems.....

Where would you get a crazy notion like that from?

 

[02superduty]

Thanks for the info CW

 

[drivesitfar]

CW: i bet if clamps counted Outlaw might have us all beat, but i'm catching up and looks like you might have a vice for vices so BEEE CAREFUL.

 

[Fretters]

Dutch (CW and Fretters and Fraggles too): wasn't Paramo and Parkninson somehow related too or maybe i just thought so because their designs all look like those old Records?

Paramo were reproductions of Record models.

Fretters and Outlaw: funny i just had a huge bowl of freshly buttered redenbacker's air popped popcorn about an hour ago. i have to get ready to swim the English channel with my Woden swivel bases so i'm carbbing up.

 

[KMScott]

Bought this Prentiss #19 swivel jaw last weekend for $20 on CL in Denver. Been sitting for awhile, spring loaded swivel lock and swivel jaw pin is frozen and looks like the same size as the 19-1/2, 20 and 21 pin. But over all in great shape.

 

[02superduty]

Now Now big guy Joe I did tell you back in april when I got it. Just didn't have time to look at it until now. Last quick release I had you bought it. You are welcome to make an offer on this one too.

 

[Fretters]

Thanks Fretters great eye on the front plate being bent. I cleaned all the **** off the spring, took most of the bend out of the lever shaft and seems to be working good. Once again thanks for the help.

No worries, you're welcome, and glad to hear it sounds to be working okay. Have you had that vice for a while, or is it a fairly recent acquisition? I bet you've already come to appreciate just how much easier the quick release makes using a vice? With it having the swivel base too, that's definitely a keeper if you want/need a good vice.

 

[Fretters]

Bought this Prentiss #19 swivel jaw last weekend for $20 on CL in Denver. Been sitting for awhile, spring loaded swivel lock and swivel jaw pin is frozen and looks like the same size as the 19-1/2, 20 and 21 pin. But over all in great shape.

That looks to be in almost unused condition, barring those few chisel? marks.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

CW: i bet if clamps counted Outlaw might have us all beat, but i'm catching up and looks like you might have a vice for vices so BEEE CAREFUL.

I reckon I might beat that clamp collection .... might pop out for a count now

EDIT: Just shy of 70 G clamps, about 20 sash clamps and a pile of quick clamps and F clamps.

 

[trijeff]

Finally!!! The monster blacksmith vise restoration is complete. All I can say is that it was a SH#TLOAD of work, my arms are a LOT stronger and I'm glad it's done. This one was definitely privately forged except for the leadscrew and nut assembly - I've actually seen old catalogs where they just sold those parts then the blacksmith made the rest. On this one you can see a bunch of work marks and forge welds, it is really neat in that regard. Definitely have nothing but respect for those guys' skills. You might notice that the mounting bracket in the 'after' photos is different than the ones in the 'before' photo - the after is the original and the before is a modification that some owner had done to be able to mount it to a full length post. Still have both and will let the new owner decide what route they would like to take. The measurements on this one are as follows:

Jaw width...................7-3/4"
Weight.......................205#
Height........................38"
Width (jaws closed)......22-1/2"
Width (jaws open)........31"
Jaw opening max.........12-1/2"
Handle length..............21-1/2"
Leadscrew diameter.....1-7/8"

Before:


Apart:


After:


Leadscrew comparison:
Top is a 1740 Tradesman and lower left is Prentiss 98 [1-1/2"] - lower right is this blacksmith vise


Steps were disassembly, electrolysis (had to build a new tank), wire wheel then finally BLO. A ridiculous amount of surface area on this guy. Did I happen to mention this was a LOT of work???

 

[bagged89s10]

I picked this up over the weekend along with a "boatload" of small tools and paint from a garage workbench, and I have a couple of questions about the vise:

1. The jaws appear to have been smooth originally. Is this normal?

2. There is some "play" in the screw behind the Parker horseshoe. What normally causes that?














Blue

1- I have 2 Parker 974 vises and both have serrated jaws. I thought they made them all the same. Don't know if they made them smooth from the factory.

2- The play can be fixed behind the collar using shims or large washers. One of the Parkers I just took apart has like 4 shims of different sizes. The other one only had 1 shim.

 

[bagged89s10]

Finally!!! The monster blacksmith vise restoration is complete. All I can say is that it was a SH#TLOAD of work, my arms are a LOT stronger and I'm glad it's done. This one was definitely privately forged except for the leadscrew and nut assembly - I've actually seen old catalogs where they just sold those parts then the blacksmith made the rest. On this one you can see a bunch of work marks and forge welds, it is really neat in that regard. Definitely have nothing but respect for those guys' skills. You might notice that the mounting bracket in the 'after' photos is different than the ones in the 'before' photo - the after is the original and the before is a modification that some owner had done to be able to mount it to a full length post. Still have both and will let the new owner decide what route they would like to take. The measurements on this one are as follows:



Jaw width...................7-3/4"

Weight.......................205#

Height........................38"

Width (jaws closed)......22-1/2"

Width (jaws open)........31"

Jaw opening max.........12-1/2"

Handle length..............21-1/2"

Leadscrew diameter.....1-7/8"



Before:





Apart:





After:





Leadscrew comparison:

Top is a 1740 Tradesman and lower left is Prentiss 98 [1-1/2"] - lower right is this blacksmith vise





Steps were disassembly, electrolysis (had to build a new tank), wire wheel then finally BLO. A ridiculous amount of surface area on this guy. Did I happen to mention this was a LOT of work???

Nice work.

That lead screw is huge!

 

[drivesitfar]

TJ: nice looking homemade BS vise. looks like a lot of work. was it? i think i need to save the 3 different screws you posted in a group picture. nice.

CW: i already had a few before i picked those up a few weeks ago. i forgot to throw a $1 bill in that bin because those are some seriously big clamps. one of them weighed in at 40 pounds.

i'd still like to see yours even in an email if you don't want to use Vise thread space. i think Outlaw might have started a clamp thread and if he can post us a link let's post there?

cheers

 

[02superduty]

Fretters I traded for the Woden back in early April. When ever I come across something I never seen before I buy it. I am gonna flip it. My main vise is a Reed 206 R. I know joestriper doesn't have one.

 

[autopts]

Bought this Prentiss #19 swivel jaw last weekend for $20 on CL in Denver. Been sitting for awhile, spring loaded swivel lock and swivel jaw pin is frozen and looks like the same size as the 19-1/2, 20 and 21 pin. But over all in great shape.

Kevin, that's one hell of a nice Prentiss for $20. it doesn't even look like it needs jaws. That's a gem!

 

[JZiggy]

CW: thanks for checking on the Paramo stuff for me. Always interested to find old literature.

Kevin: That Prentiss #19 is super cool.

TJ: Now we have GOT to try the vise force gauge on that one!

 

[Blue Frog]

1- I have 2 Parker 974 vises and both have serrated jaws. I thought they made them all the same. Don't know if they made them smooth from the factory.

2- The play can be fixed behind the collar using shims or large washers. One of the Parkers I just took apart has like 4 shims of different sizes. The other one only had 1 shim.

Thanks for the info. You must be fond of the Parker 974 having two of them.


Blue

 

[Outlawmws]

I picked this up over the weekend along with a "boatload" of small tools and paint from a garage workbench, and I have a couple of questions about the vise:

1. The jaws appear to have been smooth originally. Is this normal?

2. There is some "play" in the screw behind the Parker horseshoe. What normally causes that?

Blue

"Normal"; No, but Parker jaws usually had very light serrations, like just beyond scratches. There have been some that surfaced smooth, but whether that was Factory or some machinist smoothing them off, is not clear.

1- I have 2 Parker 974 vises and both have serrated jaws. I thought they made them all the same. Don't know if they made them smooth from the factory.

2- The play can be fixed behind the collar using shims or large washers. One of the Parkers I just took apart has like 4 shims of different sizes. The other one only had 1 shim.

on this ^^^^

Never knew that. Was it some type of family dispute which led to the two companies, or just some business progression?

Fretters: i think your mates might know better or give you a source, but i heard the Queen told Record to split off and that might have been the two brothers having a vise company each. it was because of WWI or WWII i think. something about having multiple factories working in case one was bombed.

Dutch (CW and Fretters and Fraggles too): wasn't Paramo and Parkninson somehow related too or maybe i just thought so because their designs all look like those old Records?

cheers mates

Paramo were reproductions of Record models.

As I understand it, Record was the only game in town for vises during the blitz, in WWII and realizing after a close call, that this would seriously jepardized war production efforts, they "decentralized". The government of the day (Not the queen, she was a child; and the king was already a figurehead...) may have had their say as the end result WAS several competing companies.

However, if Woden is in fact older than Record, that doesn't play well, OR maybe Woden didn't make Machinist vises until the decentralization? That war stretched a LOT of companies into completely different spheres for War production; Singer Sewing machines made machine guns and M1 carbines.... The list is long...

Fretters and Outlaw: funny i just had a huge bowl of freshly buttered redenbacker's air popped popcorn about an hour ago. i have to get ready to swim the English channel with my Woden swivel bases so i'm carbbing up.

Good Luck with that!

CW: i bet if clamps counted Outlaw might have us all beat, but i'm catching up and looks like you might have a vice for vices so BEEE CAREFUL.

I reckon I might beat that clamp collection .... might pop out for a count now

EDIT: Just shy of 70 G clamps, about 20 sash clamps and a pile of quick clamps and F clamps.

Mmmm... not going to make it in the running with that CW!

C Clamps (G clamps?) : 149

Bar (F?) Clamps : 21

Pipe (Sash?) Clamps - 20

Wood Screw clamps : 15

Spring/Grip clams : 22 (Not counting the tiny ones I use for speaker re-foaming...)

Total 227 (At least)

 

[sgs236]

I picked this up over the weekend along with a "boatload" of small tools and paint from a garage workbench, and I have a couple of questions about the vise:

1. The jaws appear to have been smooth originally. Is this normal?

2. There is some "play" in the screw behind the Parker horseshoe. What normally causes that?




Blue

I just picked up a 974 today and it had smooth jaws. They didn't appear to be worn, looked like they were made that way.

 

[bagged89s10]

Thanks for the info. You must be fond of the Parker 974 having two of them.





Blue

One is a keeper and the other one is either getting sold once I finish restoring it or given to a family member as a present. The second one was actually part of a package of machinist tools I picked up.

I also live in the town next to where Parkers were made, Meriden, CT. And I'm on the perfect Parker that has the November 22 patent date which is my birthday so I can mount it on my bench.

 

[KMScott]

That looks to be in almost unused condition, barring those few chisel? marks.

Kevin, that's one hell of a nice Prentiss for $20. it doesn't even look like it needs jaws. That's a gem!

Kevin: That Prentiss #19 is super cool.

Thanks guys, it has been a long time since picking up a vise at a bargain price, still have a cupboard load of work from the Golden Pile. Picked up three other vises in the last week but not at bargain prices except for the Morgan 140. If you notice that I machined the Morgan and 3" Union Parker for custom jaws. Both will be one of a kind and making a smooth and serrated set for both.

The Reed 1C is quite a impressive vise, everything machined including the nut. I might have to make that one my working vise. The jaws are solid and in very good condition. I wish they were not solid and in good condition since I need smooth jaws. I see why Carla made her working vise a Reed and she also likes smooth jaws. Hate leaving idiot marks in my work.

Jeff, great job on that post vise, wow 7-3/4 jaw width. You are getting a workout with the two big guys you are muscling around. Can't wait to see the 98 done, hope you ain't waiting on me.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

They're strong shelves Mr Scott

 

[CwazyWabbit]

DIF: I'll try and get a clamp photo ..... Although a number of the sash clamps are in the the middle of being refurbished at the mo as they spent a portion of their life in an oven which left them rusty.

 

[KMScott]

I picked this up over the weekend along with a "boatload" of small tools and paint from a garage workbench, and I have a couple of questions about the vise:

1. The jaws appear to have been smooth originally. Is this normal?

2. There is some "play" in the screw behind the Parker horseshoe. What normally causes that?

Blue

Blue
I have worked on many Parkers and 1/3 of them had smooth jaws, some have very light hand filed serrations that can be filed or machined smooth but my bet is some were made smooth.

I also have fit several collars and have also noticed that Parker hand fit the collars like they did on the jaws, best bet is shim the inside of the spindle end with hard washers like rolled SS shim stock to take away the gap even if you have to sandwich several together. If you have a milling machine then you could drop the two levels on the inside of your collar, best bet is shims. Good luck and nice vise.

 

[Blue Frog]

Blue
I have worked on many Parkers and 1/3 of them had smooth jaws, some have very light hand filed serrations that can be filed or machined smooth but my bet is some were made smooth.

I also have fit several collars and have also noticed that Parker hand fit the collars like they did on the jaws, best bet is shim the inside of the spindle end with hard washers like rolled SS shim stock to take away the gap even if you have to sandwich several together. If you have a milling machine then you could drop the two levels on the inside of your collar, best bet is shims. Good luck and nice vise.

Thanks for the detailed advice. I'll put it to work tomorrow.

This is my second Parker. You have first-hand knowledge of my first one, having fitted a sweet set of jaws to it.


Blue

 

[vintage nut]

I probably got 20 or so C clamps. And a good assortment of spring clamps and my favorite irwin quick grip clamps for knife handles. Probably got 10 or so of those, and could probably use a couple dozen more lol... 3-4 clamps per knife, if you're doing a batch (I try to due to the epoxy I use) its pretty easy to run out... I prefer these over C clamps for knives as they are far faster, and more importantly, epoxy won't stick to them

you can never have too many tools

 

[Lu-Max]

I like a 'big-ole-pair' as much as any guy, but sometimes even a tiny pair can be fun to play with.

The IBVC?

 

[trijeff]

Even a tiny pair can be fun to play with.

So you're just going to lob that softball out there, huh?? [emoji23]

 

[Outlawmws]

Um, what's WRONG with this pic?

Rev. Scott... the heavies on top and the little guys on the bottom?

 

[danstead]

WOW, Awesome!!

 

[Tacoma bo]

Finally!!! The monster blacksmith vise restoration is complete. All I can say is that it was a SH#TLOAD of work, my arms are a LOT stronger and I'm glad it's done. This one was definitely privately forged except for the leadscrew and nut assembly - I've actually seen old catalogs where they just sold those parts then the blacksmith made the rest. On this one you can see a bunch of work marks and forge welds, it is really neat in that regard. Definitely have nothing but respect for those guys' skills. You might notice that the mounting bracket in the 'after' photos is different than the ones in the 'before' photo - the after is the original and the before is a modification that some owner had done to be able to mount it to a full length post. Still have both and will let the new owner decide what route they would like to take. The measurements on this one are as follows:

Jaw width...................7-3/4"
Weight.......................205#
Height........................38"
Width (jaws closed)......22-1/2"
Width (jaws open)........31"
Jaw opening max.........12-1/2"
Handle length..............21-1/2"
Leadscrew diameter.....1-7/8"

Steps were disassembly, electrolysis (had to build a new tank), wire wheel then finally BLO. A ridiculous amount of surface area on this guy. Did I happen to mention this was a LOT of work???

That is beastly!!! Nicely done

 

[KMScott]

Um, what's WRONG with this pic?

Rev. Scott... the heavies on top and the little guys on the bottom?

Yea, try lifting that Prentiss 58 from the bottom, my back could not handle it and I need a knee replaced, just can not get on my knees anymore. I made them cabinets heavy duty. I could store engine blocks on those shelves.

 

[Outlawmws]

Time for an overhead crane system Rev. Scott!

 

[JeremyBurke]

......



The Reed 1C is quite a impressive vise, everything machined including the nut. I might have to make that one my working vise. The jaws are solid and in very good condition. I wish they were not solid and in good condition since I need smooth jaws. I see why Carla made her working vise a Reed and she also likes smooth jaws. Hate leaving idiot marks in my work.



........

Ooh ooh ooh I see a 1C. I want it, I want it, I want it. Gimme gimme gimme. I want it.





Sorry guys I blacked out for a second there, I didn't saying anything embarrassing did I?

 

[oldldh]

Ooh ooh ooh I see a 1C. I want it, I want it, I want it. Gimme gimme gimme. I want it.





Sorry guys I blacked out for a second there, I didn't saying anything embarrassing did I?

Nah...

Not with this bunch...

Very understanding, we are...