The VISES of Garage Journal

[balane]

Zkling, that looks really good I think. Amazing work especially considering what you had to work with. Do you have the slide support chunk?

 

[Fretters]

sorry i was referring to the width. i want a really good vise that i can "pass on to the grandkids"

my question on the newer wiltons like the 500s or the 450s are they still considered to be the last vise i will need assuming that i take care of it which i will? i can spend whatever i need to(within reason) to get a top of the line vise that i will have forever. are the new ones going to give me that or do i take forever to find a restored used one?

thanks again for all of the input fellas

Personally, I'd suggest keeping your eye out for an old vice in good physical condition. Doesn't need to be restored, as long as it's physically sound. A quick tart up doesn't take long, and can be anything from a quick degrease and clean to a full strip and repaint.

 

[Fretters]

On top of that the PO decided it would be a good idea to test out his sand blaster on the sides giving a pretty rough surface.

It's not pretty seeing blasted cast, is it. It removes a lot of the natural look, in my opinion. That battered, blue Parkinson I got a while ago had received that treatment, and you can tell the difference in surface appearance straight away.

 

[Fretters]

Well, I finally got hold of something recently which has been eluding me for a good while now. A leg vice.

All bits intact, 4" jaws and generally decent condition to boot.

 

[zkling]

It's not pretty seeing blasted cast, is it. It removes a lot of the natural look, in my opinion. That battered, blue Parkinson I got a while ago had received that treatment, and you can tell the difference in surface appearance straight away.

Nope, right up there with rounding over corners, holes and polishing uneven surfaces. Congrats on the complete post vise.

Zkling, that looks really good I think. Amazing work especially considering what you had to work with. Do you have the slide support chunk?

Thanks, it's a start. There was HEAVY pitting on the screw eye, handle and wrench. Had to soak, heat, press and lead hammer just to get the handle free. I was painting something else and just dipped a rolled up paper towel in the paint cup to highlight the letters real quick. It's going on a shelf till I can track down some good pictures and or dimensions for the support chunk/shelf to make. Unfortunately it is MIA. How the heck one breaks the shelf off a 2" vise is beyond me. I did a quick FPI to check for cracks elsewhere, none present.

 

[balane]

It is amazing that can happen to a 2" vise. Just like the one with chips I bought recently. What are these people doing with these tiny hobby/jeweler vises? A hammer should never come anywhere near these things. I can see a guy using one to hold his work while he swaps out some old, rusted tie-rod ends and then wonder what went wrong.

 

[Outlawmws]

ZK, that looks like a precursor for the :Big Bear" service vise. Not precisely the same, but hopefully this gives you somewhat of a profile:

 

[zkling]

So far the best I've found was a No. 20 example, which I wouldn't think would be much different. I was looking for a catalog scan, just curious what all they made in this size. A No. 18 at 1.5"?

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1177563&postcount=1326

It is amazing that can happen to a 2" vise. Just like the one with chips I bought recently. What are these people doing with these tiny hobby/jeweler vises? A hammer should never come anywhere near these things. I can see a guy using one to hold his work while he swaps out some old, rusted tie-rod ends and then wonder what went wrong.

If I had to bet....I would probably say that most are from being dropped or in the process of removing the static jaw.

 

[Outlawmws]

sorry i was referring to the width. i want a really good vise that i can "pass on to the grandkids"

my question on the newer wiltons like the 500s or the 450s are they still considered to be the last vise i will need assuming that i take care of it which i will? i can spend whatever i need to(within reason) to get a top of the line vise that i will have forever. are the new ones going to give me that or do i take forever to find a restored used one?

thanks again for all of the input fellas

So where are you located? Lots of guys here buy and sell.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Is there any way to share PDF files on here? The forum software has a stupidly low file size limit for them. I have a Parkinson Vise catalogue that a friend kindly scanned for me and said I could share.

EDIT: Fretters has kindly offered to sort a download link for me bl00 also offered to help out so I'm grateful to them both for helping

 

[GETRIDAONE]

zkling,




If anyone has a No. 19 and can provide rough shelf dimensions I would greatly appreciate it. I am going to graft on a piece to replace the shelf. One of those rainy night projects.

The slide on my No. 21 ( 3 1\4" jaws ) is 1 3\8" wide. The slide support is 1 7\8" long from the base. Maybe this will give you a guess as to the size on your No. 19

 

[charger0926]

Personally, I'd suggest keeping your eye out for an old vice in good physical condition. Doesn't need to be restored, as long as it's physically sound. A quick tart up doesn't take long, and can be anything from a quick degrease and clean to a full strip and repaint.

the tough part is that i dont see alot of used around here and im just afraid that there may be some hidden issues if i get one...plus my o.c.d. wont let me have a vise that doesnt look good on my bench, but thats my issue..lol

i have some other projects that i would like to spend my time on and leave the vise restoration up the guys who have done several

 

[zkling]

Is there any way to share PDF files on here? The forum software has a stupidly low file size limit for them. I have a Parkinson Vise catalogue that a friend kindly scanned for me and said I could share.

EDIT: Fretters has kindly offered to sort a download link for me bl00 also offered to help out so I'm grateful to them both for helping

Unfortunately no, not that I am aware of at least. I wish we had a file sharing system on here. Even the PM's don't allow for attachments. Best bet is a personal email.

 

[Fretters]

The Parkinson catalogue:

Parkinson Catalogue

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Thank you sir

 

[Fretters]

Thank you sir

No problem. The thanks are owed to you though, not I, for making it available for the rest of us.

Does that link work okay, btw? My browser decided to play silly beggars a while ago, so it took me a while to post that link.

 

[drivesitfar]

Fretters: thanks for posting the link to the catalog and it works for me. it must be fairly large because it took a while to download or my old laptop is slow. have you seen a Parkinson Ball Vice in person or owned one? happy to hear you finally have a vise that you can pound on because it was built for that.

CW: thanks for finding the Parkinson catalog and probably should ask you too if you have or have seen a ball vice?

 

[Fretters]

Fretters: thanks for posting the link to the catalog and it works for me. it must be fairly large because it took a while to download or my old laptop is slow.

It's not a massive file. I just limit speed on the file downloads a bit to save them hogging all of the bandwidth. I have so many different things running on the server, it's a bit of a balancing act. Its no speed demon, but it's consistent.

have you seen a Parkinson Ball Vice in person or owned one?
CW: thanks for finding the Parkinson catalog and probably should ask you too if you have or have seen a ball vice?

CW has a ball base vice. I haven't even seen one in the flesh as yet.

happy to hear you finally have a vise that you can pound on because it was built for that.

I'm chuffed to finally have one. They've kept eluding me so far. I doubt I'll be pounding on it, but this one will definitely be put to use.

 

[mike_paxton]

No problem. The thanks are owed to you though, not I, for making it available for the rest of us.

Does that link work okay, btw? My browser decided to play silly beggars a while ago, so it took me a while to post that link.

Fretters:

Your link worked great in allowing the download of the .pdf

BTW, the Parkinsons riggers vises are amazing.

Mike

 

[Fretters]

Fretters:

Your link worked great in allowing the download of the .pdf

BTW, the Parkinsons riggers vises are amazing.

Mike

Cheers. Glad to hear it's working okay. The only problem with looking at that catalogue is that it makes you suddenly realise how many different types of vice there are out there, somewhere, to still get a hold of for the collection. It's like a wishlist of hens teeth.

 

[zkling]

zkling,

The slide on my No. 21 ( 3 1\4" jaws ) is 1 3\8" wide. The slide support is 1 7\8" long from the base. Maybe this will give you a guess as to the size on your No. 19

The slide on the No. 19 is exactly 1" wide. I think I can come up with something from Mazak Mark's pics. Just hoping that someone had a no. 19 sitting around.

 

[Fretters]

Nope, right up there with rounding over corners, holes and polishing uneven surfaces.

Congrats on the complete post vise.

Cheers. Can't believe how long it's taken for me to drop on one of these. We have no shortage of them across here in general, but they always seem to be either miles away else people are asking silly money for them.

 

[zkling]

the tough part is that i dont see alot of used around here and im just afraid that there may be some hidden issues if i get one...plus my o.c.d. wont let me have a vise that doesnt look good on my bench, but thats my issue..lol

i have some other projects that i would like to spend my time on and leave the vise restoration up the guys who have done several

I'd probably look at a Yost combination or a Wilton tradesman for a general use.

 

[charger0926]

I'd probably look at a Yost combination or a Wilton tradesman for a general use.

are you referring to new ones? or going with one of these to have restored?

if you are referring to getting used ones are there any really good new vises out there if i want to spend the money. it seems that the general consensus is that all of the new vises of any brand arent as good as older used ones. do you concur?

 

[jrobb316]

are you referring to new ones? or going with one of these to have restored?

if you are referring to getting used ones are there any really good new vises out there if i want to spend the money. it seems that the general consensus is that all of the new vises of any brand arent as good as older used ones. do you concur?

I think he is referring to new ones. You can find used tradesman's out there too though. Speaking for me personally, I think Morgan makes the best vise out there in the new market for the price. Wiltons of the C series get into the thousand+ dollar range. The tradesman is a good, intermediate version, but I don't think you would classify it as a machinist vise, more of a mechanics vise. Wilton and Yost are the easiest to buy, as you can buy them on Amazon, but bang for you buck, i'd look elsewhere. Or wait until a good used deal comes along, which could be tomorrow or in two years, you never know.

 

[Outlawmws]

Yeah I forgot about Milwaukee-Morgan. Good Vises.

 

[FMC1959]

Here are a couple of really old ads that have the # 19. These have the swivel through the center and goes through the bench. As was back then, often an artist drawing and also inconsistent sizes; not sure if the marketing was flawed or if Parker did make actual size changes a couple of years after the first ones were made.

 

[FMC1959]

ZK, I have a No 20. Maybe from the attached pics and measurements, you can figure out the support's size you would need for your N 19. Pic # 4 is looking up at the support (where it is currently bolted to a shelf)

 

[richeyc2000]

Hi, joined here from Ireland. This is my Paramo no.41 vice.





Working on cleaning it up and bringing it back to some former glory.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

So, this is the process and I'm happy with the outcome. It now works again. Result!





























Really enjoyed the process of ripping it apart, cleaning it up and repainting. I know the handle is still beat up but I like that character about it. Been through the wars. Probably literally as I'm unsure if the age.
Would be great if someone here knew when Paramo made this No.41 vice.

So when all that was done I got all of my vices and lined them up.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Fretters]

That's definitely seen some stick. Tidied up decently though. I see you have a Parkinson Handy, (the No.3), too.

 

[exmaxima1]

So, this is the process and I'm happy with the outcome. It now works again. Result!
Really enjoyed the process of ripping it apart, cleaning it up and repainting. I know the handle is still beat up but I like that character about it. Been through the wars. Probably literally as I'm unsure if he age.

I don't mind a "patina", especially for vises that get hard use, but I don't think I could tolerate a bent handle like that. The handle is your interface with the vise, and it should be as close to original as practical. YMMV....

Paint job looks fantastic!

 

[richeyc2000]

I don't mind a "patina", especially for vises that get hard use, but I don't think I could tolerate a bent handle like that. The handle is your interface with the vise, and it should be as close to original as practical. YMMV....



Paint job looks fantastic!

Thanks exmaxima.

I've very little use for the Paramo currently as I picked up another record for a good price. If I decide to do a bit more work with it then it may drive me crazy and I'll need to straighten it out.
Might need to make myself a Rail Road anvil first. [emoji3]

These are the images the other vice. It's a Record No. 34.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Coventry]

Richey, those vices look great.

I've some Record love of my own to add: my brother spotted this No. 1 in an antiques place the other day and picked it for me for £13. It's a little smaller than I'd like at 75mm jaw width but at £13 I'm not complaining! I'll pick up a No. 6 or similar at some point into the future.

I've given it a clean with a rag and white spirit to remove any grease and oil. I'll probably paint it soon: is it best to strip off the good blue paint or can I leave it and paint over it? I assume a primer is a good idea.

The jaw screws came loose without a fight, which was nice, and there's no significant wear/abuse on it.

Edit: its weight is 5kg.

 

[exmaxima1]

I've very little use for the Paramo currently as I picked up another record for a good price. If I decide to do a bit more work with it then it may drive me crazy and I'll need to straighten it out.
Might need to make myself a Rail Road anvil first. [emoji3]

These are the images the other vice. It's a Record No. 34.

That's another beautiful Record with QR. I have the No. 24, but never use it---it's only for show.

My everyday vice is a Paramo No. 6 with swivel.

 

[zkling]

Awesome FMC1959, exactly what I was looking for. Many thanks

Edit, could you please double check the slide height dimension? The slide on the No. 19 is 1" wide too, but 1.5" tall. I find it odd that they would make a larger vise with a smaller cross section slide.

 

[richeyc2000]

Richey, those vices look great.

I've some Record love of my own to add: my brother spotted this No. 1 in an antiques place the other day and picked it for me for £13. It's a little smaller than I'd like at 75mm jaw width but at £13 I'm not complaining! I'll pick up a No. 6 or similar at some point into the future.

I've given it a clean with a rag and white spirit to remove any grease and oil. I'll probably paint it soon: is it best to strip off the good blue paint or can I leave it and paint over it? I assume a primer is a good idea.

The jaw screws came loose without a fight, which was nice, and there's no significant wear/abuse on it.

Edit: its weight is 5kg.

Hi Coventry,
The guys on here are probably best placed to answer your questions as I'm only a novice at this compared to them.

All my ones I stripped back to bare metal and then primed and top coated them and greased them up.

Thanks for the kind words. That's a lovely vice, it's so hard to find good cheap(ish) ones here in Ireland. Their like hens teeth.

Then anyone around for sale are too expensive with no wiggle room and in a bit of a state.

Great to come across some nice tight vices with no abuse. Enjoy the process. It's really satisfying.


Richie


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[drivesitfar]

Coventry: as far as leaving the good paint before painting that is ok and just make sure to hit it with some light sandpaper or a light wire wheeling on your bench grinder to maybe rough up the surface a bit and get it real clean of grease too. great prep equals a great paint job. of course taking it to bare steel is ok and coating it with BLO if you don't want to paint is another option that looks good.

primer can be used and just depends how thick you want the paint. some of the guys stick their almost freshly painted vises in an oven at about 200-250 to bake it on sort of like powder coating.

some might have other tips that might be better since i haven't painted a vise yet, but I've painted other cast iron tools and items.

Richey: i like your growing collection of English made vices and i really like the old Record with the quick release.

 

[Coventry]

Cheers guys, I'll have a crack at it soon and try to post some pictures.

 

[Fraggles]

Fretters,

I've sent you a PM.

Please check

 

[ritzblitz]

ALL- Tom Lipton of oxtools is building a baby bullet copy from scratch. Its gonna be an interesting project to follow if you are into machining and fabrication. Its on youtube, oxtoolco is his username.