The VISES of Garage Journal

[Fretters]

Jake and Fretters: i really have no idea who those guys are you are talking about, but happy you both are smiling about them.

If I recall correctly, they're the two grumpy old gits who sit up in that box. Not sure which is which though.

 

[Fretters]

Fetters, No 7 being a model number used by various of the English vise MFR's, I am assuming you are referring to your Parkinson?

I am indeed.

I resemble that remark...

As your bench will attest to.

I can make that work.

Which is which, btw?

Idk wtf half of you guys are talking about

That's the sign of a good thread right there.

 

[drivesitfar]

Nines and Tree: let me know if you see or find another Wilton clamp because after i bought mine i haven't seen another one and it has been about 2 years now. thanks for the Kudos.

CW: did you forget Joe is living in Vise Heaven? if he thinks about a vise or wants one he has it in his hands shortly. since you have more cool vises than most how about a top 5 list with a few pictures?

TJ: did the Prentiss #98 maybe make your top 5??

Fretters: good answer

Outlaw: i know a vise is a tool, but why would you be hitting something in it's jaws so hard that you are moving your bench? especially a Parker?

McB: passing down the pipe on the handle method too i assume? i still remember those guys at the shop my Gramps used to get his logging stuff fixed grabbing about a 5 foot pipe and putting it over the handle of about a 150 pound vise and tightening something. there are other tools than a vise for some jobs, but they are just so handy.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

DIF: You'll get my top 5 in 3 months

 

[drivesitfar]

CW: does it take that long to ship them to me?

thanks in advance

 

[jakemac]

Jake and Fretters: i really have no idea who those guys are you are talking about, but happy you both are smiling about them.

Fretters described them well. They're the bastards who heckle the muppets from the sidelines.

Which is which, btw?

Waldorf is the short one with the white hair and mustache, Statler is the taller one with grey hair. (had to use google to make sure )

 

[scooternut]

Well, the craigslist Reed 206 came home with me today, along with the couple hundred pound 1/4 plate steel table that it was sitting on. Both are pretty impressive. That table is harder to move around than the vise! No pics of the table at the moment.

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[bagged89s10]

Well, the craigslist Reed 206 came home with me today, along with the couple hundred pound 1/4 plate steel table that it was sitting on. Both are pretty impressive. That table is harder to move around than the vise! No pics of the table at the moment.



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Nice vise. I want one of those. In that picture, the dynamic jaw seems to sit lower than the static jaw. I hope nothing is cracked.

 

[scooternut]

I noticed that in the pic as well. I'll take a closer look later. Hopefully just crappy cell phone pic trickery.

 

[zkling]

Nice vise. I want one of those. In that picture, the dynamic jaw seems to sit lower than the static jaw. I hope nothing is cracked.

I've seen that before, and it is typically when someone welds the dynamic jaw back on the slide without proper fit up. Hopefully that is not the case here. The, what appears to be, longer than normal handle is not a real confidence booster that the vise was cared for.

I really hope the seller didn't carefully put the bottle there to hide a repair.

 

[ironhorsemachinery]

CW & TJ: while i'm sure that there have been a few posters and posts i'd rather not look at or read, but at this point i haven't needed that option. we all have a bad minute, day or year so go with the flow. if a member has enough BS posts then report him so Mods can ban him or her with enough notices. i bet the awesome Mods will take care of the problem. or maybe you are talking about me??



Tree: yes it's a Wilton made clamp for the power arm which i heard was pretty rare. I've used it a lot and i can't tell you how handy and nice to use it really is. i'll take more pictures of it if you or anybody else wants them so you can see what you are looking for or need to make.



ALL: keep those top 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 or more personal favorites list postings coming i always like reading what other members like and think.



cheers all

That little Wilton with base and clamp is really cool! May be an alien though, so happy to return your kind offer of a secure storage facility [emoji3]


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[scooternut]

Upon a quick closer inspection, the dynamic jaw just looks that much bigger. Not as much attention to detail when they are this big?? That's as big as I can make the pic, new cell phone, haven't perfected the settings yet.

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[bagged89s10]

Upon a quick closer inspection, the dynamic jaw just looks that much bigger. Not as much attention to detail when they are this big?? That's as big as I can make the pic, new cell phone, haven't perfected the settings yet.



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Cool. Is it fine when you open it up a little?

Joe just posted a 7" Reed he painted yesterday and the dynamic jaw is larger just like on yours. I guess that's how they made the larger Reeds.

 

[drivesitfar]

SN: i know that Reed 206 is a beast, but can you pull out the dynamic jaw and take pictures of the slide especially the areas under the jaw?

hopefully it's not broken or welded and just needs a little tweaking.

IH: thanks for your kind offer, but it's under lock and key until i find it's close relative. hard to believe that there are not more to go with the power arms or maybe they weren't a big seller because they broke easily. mine seems very stout. go figure and yes i will consider your offer if it really starts acting up.

 

[scooternut]

Hopefully it turns out to be a good one.
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[ironhorsemachinery]

Cool. Is it fine when you open it up a little?

Joe just posted a 7" Reed he painted yesterday and the dynamic jaw is larger just like on yours. I guess that's how they made the larger Reeds.

A quick question for you Reed owners - on the No. 32 I picked up this weekend I notice that the serrations cover the entire jaw face on the static side, but only go about halfway down on the dynamic side (bottom half of jaw is smooth). Is that typical? Or is it perhaps a modification that might have been made for some reason?

Here are photos - hopefully right way 'round this time

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[bagged89s10]

A quick question for you Reed owners - on the No. 32 I picked up this weekend I notice that the serrations cover the entire jaw face on the static side, but only go about halfway down on the dynamic side (bottom half of jaw is smooth). Is that typical? Or is it perhaps a modification that might have been made for some reason?

Here are photos - hopefully right way 'round this time

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Looking at the picture closely you can still see slight serration marks. looks like it was ground down by the previous owner

 

[TreePointer]

Nines and Tree: let me know if you see or find another Wilton clamp because after i bought mine i haven't seen another one and it has been about 2 years now. thanks for the Kudos.

After I saw the picture of your Power Arm bench clamp, I expected to see it in at least one of the Internet searches I performed, but nothing came up. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it. Thanks for posting the pics.

 

[drivesitfar]

IH: yes, your jaws are just a bit worn down. you might make some jaw covers unless you want to teach your son how to make new serrations after you adjust the jaws.

i guess your vise is ok and just was getting used to it's new home on the sideways pictures. my offer still stands if it acts up though.

Tree: if you need more or dimensions just ask. also let me know if you even see another clamp because i haven't yet.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

CW: does it take that long to ship them to me?

thanks in advance

Lol, there are a few more vices that I'm picking up in a few months that are something special .... then I'll do my list

 

[joe.striper]

A quick question for you Reed owners - on the No. 32 I picked up this weekend I notice that the serrations cover the entire jaw face on the static side, but only go about halfway down on the dynamic side (bottom half of jaw is smooth). Is that typical? Or is it perhaps a modification that might have been made for some reason?

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Oooohhhh, I can handle this one. I have seen this on a lot of older vises. Here is what happens. These vises have the jaws cast in. They are cast in on a shelf that is cut in the factory. After the vise is made the factory cuts the jaws serrations. The jaw inserts are HARDER than the vise material. Over the years the part of the jaw that is poured wear at a much faster rate than the jaw inserts. That is why the wear is so uniform top and bottom.

I discovered this while side dressing the jaws and I noticed two different metal colors, one was the jaw insert, one was the jaw itself.

I've attached a pic of my Reed, blow it up and you can see the jaw insert and the delineation between the vise itself and jaw insert.

 

[drivesitfar]

Joe: nice explanation and picture to go along with it.

IH: maybe no adjustment needed, but Vintage might still want to learn how to file in new serrations and build up his grip.

Vintage: i hope your finger has healed because Dad needs a little of your energy.

 

[Fretters]

A quick question for you Reed owners - on the No. 32 I picked up this weekend I notice that the serrations cover the entire jaw face on the static side, but only go about halfway down on the dynamic side (bottom half of jaw is smooth). Is that typical? Or is it perhaps a modification that might have been made for some reason?

Looking at those photo's, that's merely due to the serrations being cut after the inserts are added. One insert is flush with the jaw, one is slightly proud of the jaw, (front faces). That's why the serrations have carried down onto one jaw yet barely at all on the other. If both of those inserts had been proud of the jaw by at least the depth of the serrations, you wouldn't have seen any serrating whatsoever on the jaw itself.

 

[ironhorsemachinery]

Thanks all. I appreciate the quick responses. Once I clean up the sides a bit more I'll probably see the line JS pointed out, and I suspect Fretters is right in that the original jaw inset was forged in a bit proud. I had originally thought the forged-on hardened jaw spanned the whole depth of the jaw, but JS clearly showed this is not the case.

DIF: recutting these serrations would be a challenge because they were originally cut with a large diameter tool - essentially a large fly-cutter with a triangular cutting tip. That is why the serrations are curved. While it would not be so hard to reproduce this if the original serrations were ground off (though it would require making a special tool), it would be very hard to clean up or refurbish the serrations that are already there because one would have to precisely match original cutter diameter and feed/speed - pretty near impossible (for me anyway). The straight serrations on modern jaw inserts are much easier and I believe the set-up for that has been shown by others in precious posts.


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[ironhorsemachinery]

Aargh ... "Previous" posts

Also, I can now see the difference in color between the hardened and in-hardened portions of the jaw in my first photo. I had initially thought that was jut discolouration because of how the opposing jaw set against it. Thanks JS


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[Outlawmws]

IH, the fist thing to do with jaw serrations for cleanup is wire wheeling them. Often the "damage" is actually material load up. Get that out and often the serrations are in much better shape than at first glance.

 

[scooternut]

As requested. The one side is rough down near the slide (under the jaw), but the other is not. Guess we'll just have to wait until I get it cleaned up to know for sure.

 

[ironhorsemachinery]

IH, the fist thing to do with jaw serrations for cleanup is wire wheeling them. Often the "damage" is actually material load up. Get that out and often the serrations are in much better shape than at first glance.

Yes, in fact they don't look that bad - the pictures don't convey that very well


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[bagged89s10]

Oooohhhh, I can handle this one. I have seen this on a lot of older vises. Here is what happens. These vises have the jaws cast in. They are cast in on a shelf that is cut in the factory. After the vise is made the factory cuts the jaws serrations. The jaw inserts are HARDER than the vise material. Over the years the part of the jaw that is poured wear at a much faster rate than the jaw inserts. That is why the wear is so uniform top and bottom.



I discovered this while side dressing the jaws and I noticed two different metal colors, one was the jaw insert, one was the jaw itself.



I've attached a pic of my Reed, blow it up and you can see the jaw insert and the delineation between the vise itself and jaw insert.

Good info Joe.

The jaws on my 104R were cast in differently. Check it out .

 

[joe.striper]

Good info Joe.

The jaws on my 104R were cast in differently. Check it out .

Veeps, your Reed is an intermediate step vise, between the flat nose 1940s and 50s that Zoomie loves so much and the early 1900-1920s versions that I have. I have no oil hole and the jaw insert is different as we can see in the jaw pics I posted.

I have had some real early Emmert vises and Athol vises with HUGE casting voids, and we are all familiar with the slide issues on the Prentiss chipping vises due to poor casting.

A study in vises is the study of the industrialization of America with continuous technological advances.

Here's a question for the group, what Vise Manufacturer had the longest run in the US? We know Wilton started in the mid 40s, so lets say about 75 years... Parker was well over 100 years from the mid 1800s to early 60s late 50s...Reed? Athol was around mid 1800s but was bought out by Starret around 1900. Hmmmmmm

 

[joe.striper]

Good info Joe.

The jaws on my 104R were cast in differently. Check it out .

It is hard for me to blow up that pic of your Reed Veeps as that ridiculously RED paint hurts my eyes!

 

[bagged89s10]

It is hard for me to blow up that pic of your Reed Veeps as that ridiculously RED paint hurts my eyes!

It was meant to burn your retina!

 

[drivesitfar]

Joe: Morgan might be over 100 years in business by now and i'd say Parker was 2nd with it starting in 1867 and selling off to Union tools in 1957 or close to those dates for 90 years of doing business might be the longest. Prentiss is maybe ahead of Wilton, but not sure because i think they also made vises in the mid 1800's. it's just my best guess for American companies. as far as European companies maybe Parkinson, but have no idea.

EDIT: how could i forget Reed is still in business so they might be up there with Morgan tied for the lead both ahead of Parker.

IH: here's Carla's little Reed which i think has some of the nicest finished jaws of any Reed I've seen so if you want a challenge here's one for you. if Carla is doing ok health wise because she wasn't feeling too good a couple months ago i bet she would tell you how she did it or maybe she did already in the vise repair 101 thread. i just remembered i have a similar Reed to the one you now own, but my pipe jaws are MIA and in Area 51 or pipe jaw heaven. according the old Reed catalog page i have the 3.5 inch jaw and you have the 4.5 inch jaw and your vise was $6 more when new.

good luck

 

[bagged89s10]

I'll go with Reed since they have been in business since 1896.

 

[bagged89s10]

So I missed this over the weekend because the seller wouldn't hold it, I even offered extra cash. One of my tool connections grabbed it for $80




Morgan 160 swivel excellent condition.

 

[ironhorsemachinery]

Joe: Morgan might be over 100 years in business by now and i'd say Parker was 2nd with it starting in 1867 and selling off to Union tools in 1957 or close to those dates for 90 years of doing business might be the longest. Prentiss is maybe ahead of Wilton, but not sure because i think they also made vises in the mid 1800's. it's just my best guess for American companies. as far as European companies maybe Parkinson, but have no idea.



EDIT: how could i forget Reed is still in business so they might be up there with Morgan tied for the lead both ahead of Parker.



IH: here's Carla's little Reed which i think has some of the nicest finished jaws of any Reed I've seen so if you want a challenge here's one for you. if Carla is doing ok health wise because she wasn't feeling too good a couple months ago i bet she would tell you how she did it or maybe she did already in the vise repair 101 thread. i just remembered i have a similar Reed to the one you now own, but my pipe jaws are MIA and in Area 51 or pipe jaw heaven. according the old Reed catalog page i have the 3.5 inch jaw and you have the 4.5 inch jaw and your vise was $6 more when new.



good luck

Thanks very much! VintageNut told me about the vise Carla did and asked if I was going to do the hand-scaled slide. I have never done any hand scraping, and would not want to make a mess of it, so I think I'll just polish.
Edit: hand-scraped

I like the way she did the top of the jaws. I had been thinking about how to tackle that as the forge line between the hard jaw and the casting is not perfectly straight on mine. So creating a line further back as she did is a great idea!

Do you know what year the catalogue is from?


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[GETRIDAONE]

Hollands was started in 1887 and Yost in 1906, both are still in business I think.

 

[ironhorsemachinery]

Also, upon closer inspection, one of my pipe jaws is not original and has coarser teeth. I think I will make a new set, just for the fun of it, and will post pictures of the process.


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[drivesitfar]

IH: Carla's post of her Reed i posted a picture of starts at post #76 of the Vise Repair 101 thread and she has a couple posts. you might PM her too if you have any questions and give her all of our well wishes because we miss her and her posts.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252830&highlight=Carla+reed&page=75

also don't throw away those old pipe jaws and maybe they'll fit my old Reed.

sorry i don't have the date on the Reed catalog page, but one of the guys might remember it so they can tell us.

Bagged: when you steal a vise you have to drop and run. that Morgan was a 6 inch wide jaw and 142 pounds of vise. sounds like it might have found a good home even though it would have made your top 10.

Get: Yost is in the running, but didn't know Holland's was still in business.

ALL: even though Columbian is now owned by Wilton is it in the running since they are still making them? maybe blacksmith vise companies??

 

[bagged89s10]

Bagged: when you steal a vise you have to drop and run. that Morgan was a 6 inch wide jaw and 142 pounds of vise. sounds like it might have found a good home even though it would have made your top 10.

Too bad I has 4 hours away from the seller and on vacation or I would have.