The VISES of Garage Journal

[va.grouseman]

Ron, I noticed that the (probable 8'') Columbian has flat jaw inserts resting on insert support ledges.---I have a Columbian with the T jaw inserts.---Wonder which style is the oldest?






BTW, that is the biggest vise I have ever seen on a utility truck.

 

[drivesitfar]

Dutch: nice looking group to add on to your collection. Id love to own one of those old Parkinson quick release vices.

All: since ive never seen an old quick release in person do they usually heed some adjusting or repair after 50 years or were they built tough to stand some abuse?

 

[Ron Swanson]

You should see the truck lol. We build custom truck bodies and this guy went crazy adding just about anything you can think of to it. Crane, welder air etc the only thing its missing is running water for a toilet. I bet he is 10,000lbs over the gvw of the truck.

 

[CRSINMICH]

Re: Columbian 403 1/2

Here are the “Befores and Afters” on my Columbian 403½ which had a stuck pin. The pin came out easily by the way. I still don’t know what it was. I didn’t do much to this vise except for the finish. I gave it what I’m now going to call a “Deluxe Minimalist Treatment”. I didn’t do anything to most of the metal parts except a thorough cleaning. The swivel hold down and bar were slightly polished by a new method that I’ll describe at another time. The vise as a whole got cleaned and lubed. That was the “minimalist” part.

The “deluxe” part was the finish. I used Fretters' shoe polish method with Oxblood colored shoe crème from Roots (thanks Canada). That jar must have been at least 25 years old proving that I don’t polish shoes much anymore and that, apparently, I used to wear purplish colored shoes. The spindle hub got the colored wax treatment also. The whole vise was then top coated with Kiwi neutral paste polish.

The temporary replacement pin is a clevis pin that I roughly tapered on a grinder. I carefully filed the tops of the lettering smooth and even polished them a little. With each coat of wax, I very carefully wiped any colored wax off the tops of the letters. I then let the whole thing dry and harden for a few days then went at it with a shoe brush and buffing cloth.

EDIT: The vise looks more brown in the photos. In person the purple shows through much more.

 

[Fretters]

All: since ive never seen an old quick release in person do they usually heed some adjusting or repair after 50 years or were they built tough to stand some abuse?

I've never needed to do anything with one, as yet. Other than dried up old grease and **** in the threads/mech, there's little can affect them other than plain old abuse or someone messing about with them. Plus, the nut threads and 'screw tend to suffer far less wear, as most opening/closing is done via the QR, so the nut and 'screw see nowhere near as much use as a standard fixed nut setup.

Even when they're dismantled and reassembled, simply a couple or three clicks on the tension adjuster and it's good to go again. The Parkinson QR mechanism is practically indestructable, in normal use.

 

[Fretters]

Re: Columbian 403 1/2

EDIT: The vise looks more brown in the photos. In person the purple shows through much more.

Looks good with that Oxblood colour. What's your opinion of the wax/polish treatment? I personally found it quite good/pleasing, the overall finish and such.

 

[drivesitfar]

CRS: before reading your post i saw the pics and was going to guess brown shoe polish. Nice looking vise.

Fretters: thanks and now i guess ill have to hope one of you wants to come visit with one in your suitcase so you can take home a US made one of mine. Cheers

 

[anndel]

Hi Anndel: Welcome to the thread. I'm not an expert on vises. I only joined this thread a couple of months ago so take this with a grain of salt. I know that Yost Co. is in Michigan. Here's a link to their official site.

http://www.yostvises.com/mechanics-...-reversible-combination-vise-swivel-base.html

I think Yost is still made in the USA but I'm not certain. Someone else here will probably know or it might be on the Yost site.

As far as this particular model, the jaws are wide and the reversible jaws are a nice feature. It might suit your needs well but, from what you wrote, I assume you want a general service vise. If so, I think you could find a suitable vise on Craig's List for a lot less money. One caveat though, the CL vises with 6" jaws will probably be a bit more expensive so ask yourself if you actually need wide jaws. I've lived quite happily with a 3 1/2" jaw vise.

You should also be aware that vises can easily become an addiction so beware.

p.s. What area are you from? Do you own any vises already? If you do, we like pictures of vises so please post some. Again, welcome to the thread

Thank you very much. I in Hawaii, Island of Oahu, Central Oahu to be exact. All this time I've been using clamps on a saw horse or Jawhorse but I think it's time to get a vise. I've been going to a bunch of garage sales in the neighborhood and the only vise I saw was a made in china that was trashed. Some Yost are made in china and some USA. I have the one listed in my basket at Amazon.com and it's made in USA.

Thanks you very much and looking forward to more posts/fun reading.

Aloha Del

 

[Fretters]

Fretters: thanks and now i guess ill have to hope one of you wants to come visit with one in your suitcase so you can take home a US made one of mine. Cheers

I seem to recall one of the American manufacturers did also have one model with that QR mechnsim on it. Not sure if it was Parker? It's the one which looks almost exactly like the Victorian Parkinsons, so I'm guessing they either licenced the design else Parkinson were shipping them over for them. Or, if you're ever up Canada way, they should have a good selection of Records up there.

 

[dutchgray]

CRS: before reading your post i saw the pics and was going to guess brown shoe polish. Nice looking vise.

Fretters: thanks and now i guess ill have to hope one of you wants to come visit with one in your suitcase so you can take home a US made one of mine. Cheers

It would have to be one of the smaller ones, the 7's are 60lb according to the catalogue's.

 

[drivesitfar]

Dutch, Fretters, and CW: two suitcases might be required if you want a 100 plus pound US vise of mine to take home for your Parkinson 7.

i'm assuming you saw how a 150 pound vise made it across the boarder earlier this summer? needless to say the custom guys were shaking their heads in wonder especially when my wife had two suitcases full too.

We have the Headquarters of Microsoft, Google and Amazon within 20 minutes of my driveway in case you want to come for a visit or just want to see what's in my "little" cabinet.

 

[CRSINMICH]

anndel: If you can get free shipping and the vise isn't too expensive for you then go for it. Be sure to posts some pictures when you finally get it.

Fretters: I liked the hands on feel of using the polish. I discovered that the best applicator was digital - my index finger in a nitrile glove. I was running low on Oxblood so I had to stretch it a bit. I plan on using the polish method again.

drives: In some light it looks just brown but at another angle it shows more purple. Here are some more pix that might show the differences better.

EDIT: Picture 2 is closest to the true color.

 

[Hemi49]

I picked up this Reed 403-1/2R double swiveler last week......I took it apart today and loaded it in my bucket of Simple Green®......It is in fantastic shape.....Even the swivel jaw was free......

 

[CRSINMICH]

I picked up this Reed 403-1/2R double swiveler last week......I took it apart today and loaded it in my bucket of Simple Green®......It is in fantastic shape.....Even the swivel jaw was free......

Congrats Hemi! It does look like it's in good shape. Are you considering a shoe polish finish too? Nice vise. 403 1/2 seems to be a popular number today.

 

[mbsinmich]

anndel: If you can get free shipping and the vise isn't too expensive for you then go for it. Be sure to posts some pictures when you finally get it.

Fretters: I liked the hands on feel of using the polish. I discovered that the best applicator was digital - my index finger in a nitrile glove. I was running low on Oxblood so I had to stretch it a bit. I plan on using the polish method again.

drives: In some light it looks just brown but at another angle it shows more purple. Here are some more pix that might show the differences better.

EDIT: Picture 2 is closest to the true color.

Looks great to me! I like it!! The color looks like "Plumb" ball peen hammer handles

 

[zkling]

Anyone know if any any of the makers produced a baby or tiny ~2" or smaller combo vise?

Just wanted to share a cool little Prentiss swivel base Vise -standard size salt shaker in back round for size comparison

That is cool, what is the jaw width? Any number on it?

 

[3200fps]

Got another vice with a home made stand today. It's an Irwin Record no 3 that I have already sold. Took quite a lot of cleaning up but it's nice and tight, no play or abuse. I mainly just wanted the stand. I have to clean it, give it some fresh paint, fill the base with cement and mount my Irwin Record no 6 on it. So far so good!

 

[Hemi49]

CRSINMICH
Right now I'm noodling on a flat, possibly wrinkled, medium green with black lettering.....The only thing that needs fixed is the bent spindle handle......I recently tuned up a Prentiss 19 double swiveler.....I painted it with Rustoleum Rosemary.......I'm not sure I made a good color choice on that swiveler....

 

[CRSINMICH]

CRSINMICH
Right now I'm noodling on a flat, possibly wrinkled, medium green with black lettering.....The only thing that needs fixed is the bent spindle handle......I recently tuned up a Prentiss 19 double swiveler.....I painted it with Rustoleum Rosemary.......I'm not sure I made a good color choice on that swiveler....

I'm liking that rosemary color more and more. I think you're right about black lettering though. That would really make the vise pop! Check back a few pages and see how Steelkilt did the lettering on an Emmert Tiger. It sparked a discussion on getting crisp clean letters.

EDIT: Look at bagged's post #37104 page 1856. He painted a Wilton that green and did black lettering. Also flavc3 page 1846 post 36917 painted a Henry the same colors.

 

[charger0926]

so does anyone on here have a new wilton vise that they have purchased. I really like the old ones but wondering if there are any new purchases

 

[Ron Swanson]

so does anyone on here have a new wilton vise that they have purchased. I really like the old ones but wondering if there are any new purchases

I dont own one but I installed a new foreign made large Wilton vise on a truck bumper at work. It felt and looked very cheap and "Harbor Freightish". I believe the customer bought it on Amazon.com.

 

[drivesitfar]

Charger: the new Wilton bullets are good vises and the one Ron mentions is probably their cheaper Chinese imported ones. not cheap, but made in US of A are the bullet line.

Hemi: you either get to choose from and pick the best vises or you just happen to only buy the quality ones. nice find again and i vote for BLO, but your vise your color. congrats on your find(S).

CRS: i thought your vise was done with shoe polish by just looking at your pictures because i saw traces on the slide. did you apply by hand like Fretters does or with a sponge or brush? sorry i'm a bit off color saying brown, but in my defense my cell phone only has about a 3 inch screen. nice job with the lettering too.

 

[Hemi49]

CRSINMICH

Page 1844; 36874 Reverend Scott's vise sans the sheen is close to what I was thinking about......

 

[Ron Swanson]

The vise I was talking about was not a bullet style one. i am not sure what model it was.

 

[Hemi49]

Charger: the new Wilton bullets are good vises and the one Ron mentions is probably their cheaper Chinese imported ones. not cheap, but made in US of A are the bullet line.

Hemi: you either get to choose from and pick the best vises or you just happen to only buy the quality ones. nice find again and i vote for BLO, but your vise your color. congrats on your find(S).

CRS: i thought your vise was done with shoe polish by just looking at your pictures because i saw traces on the slide. did you apply by hand like Fretters does or with a sponge or brush? sorry i'm a bit off color saying brown, but in my defense my cell phone only has about a 3 inch screen. nice job with the lettering too.

Drives
I buy almost exclusively via mail order from photos....I seldom ask questions before I buy.....I stood around at a sale once and vowed I'd never do that again.....I've been disappointed once by a vise I received but I can likely recoup 80% of my purchase price if I decide to sell that vise.....

 

[3200fps]

Drives
I buy almost exclusively via mail order from photos....I seldom ask questions before I buy.....I stood around at a sale once and vowed I'd never do that again.....I've been disappointed once by a vise I received but I can likely recoup 80% of my purchase price if I decide to sell that vise.....

Can you line those up and take more pics?

 

[drivesitfar]

Hemi: every vise ive seen you post would be one id buy so i think you are doing great in your selection. Have you found a baby bullet yet or a parker with the triple swivel?

Ron: sorry I didnt explain well enough. Im pretty sure the wilton bullets are their only vise made in US and all their other less expensive vises in China which is probably the one you installed. Even the chinese ones are decent and should work ok if not hit with a BFH or used as a press. Do you have any pics of that custom truck with yhat 8 inch columbian vise on the bumper? Post some if you can. Ive seen some 6 inch wilton tradesman vises on bumpers but never a vise that big.

 

[CRSINMICH]

CRSINMICH

Page 1844; 36874 Reverend Scott's vise sans the sheen is close to what I was thinking about......

Ah, yes the Reverend. Nice color, nice vice, nice job. Whatever color you paint yours be sure to post pictures.

 

[CRSINMICH]

CRS: i thought your vise was done with shoe polish by just looking at your pictures because i saw traces on the slide. did you apply by hand like Fretters does or with a sponge or brush? sorry i'm a bit off color saying brown, but in my defense my cell phone only has about a 3 inch screen. nice job with the lettering too.

Yes, I did do it by hand. That's probably how the polish got on the slide - too much handling and not enough neatness. You should see my shop shirt. Looks a bit like a Jackson Pollack painting. The color does look brown from some angles even in person. I wonder how I ever got clothes that went with those shoes.

 

[Hemi49]

Hemi: every vise ive seen you post would be one id buy so i think you are doing great in your selection. Have you found a baby bullet yet or a parker with the triple swivel?

Ron: sorry I didnt explain well enough. Im pretty sure the wilton bullets are their only vise made in US and all their other less expensive vises in China which is probably the one you installed. Even the chinese ones are decent and should work ok if not hit with a BFH or used as a press. Do you have any pics of that custom truck with yhat 8 inch columbian vise on the bumper? Post some if you can. Ive seen some 6 inch wilton tradesman vises on bumpers but never a vise that big.

DRIVES
Both a baby bullet and a triple swiveler are on my radar...I bought (2) 3-1/2" bullets last week......I also have a 3" and (2) 4" bullets......I want to get a nice 4-1/2" bullet......Seems like the price of bullets recently skyrocketed.....Oh, also on my shopping list is a nice 700 series Athol with the Bridgeport knee style screw actuating teeth.....I had one in my sights last week but while the owner dithered about shipping it a local came along and bought it out from under me.....

 

[Jay woods]

Hello, I visit this site daily but never post. I picked up a Morgan Chicago 40 vice yesterday at a estate sale. Just needed an additional heavy vice. Seems well built. Can anyone tell me if it is anything more than just a good vice. Fits my needs well. Thank you

 

[Hemi49]

CRSINMICH
Will do......I'm finishing up a Fulton 11 and Reed 102.....Behind those two is a Craftsman 5160 and a Wilton 9400 bullet that need painted......And, I just put the Reed double swiveler in the bucket today......Who said retirement was easy!!.....

 

[drivesitfar]

hemi: your vise inventory and your knowledge will land you the missing ones to your collection with time. PM me if you see something I've posted that you might like because i'm going to sell a few to get a new welder. or keep up your own hunt and I wish you the best.

Jay: where are you located? you can put in a city/state or area like I did and it might help us when you post area specific questions. not that your Morgan question is this time. yes your 4 inch Morgan would work great in almost anybody's garage. you are asking on a thread were we tend to buy bigger maybe just because we can and not so much need one that big. Morgan vises are still made in the US and post up a few pictures of yours and maybe we can help you date it. since the company has had a few locations we might be able to narrow it down even though Morgan doesn't stamp date their vises.

CRS: I wasn't trying to be critical and just being observant. I did like you answer which put a smile on my face for sure about the mess you were making.

 

[noisenormajean]

so does anyone on here have a new wilton vise that they have purchased. I really like the old ones but wondering if there are any new purchases

So she always tries to do me favors: plan my weekend for me, have the oil changed at the spiffy lube so I don't have to do it, and the latest one was buy me a brand new Wilton 450S for my birthday. She had my friend buy it online and had it shipped to his place about a month in advance before my cake day. They are not the easiest thing to hide.

If you are concerned about quality, do not worry so long as it is a bullet vise Made in the USA. They'll give you a hernia just as quick as the old ones.

The material is finished as well as you can ask for cast, but the only complaint is that the paint is a little light in some areas. I can see bare metal on back of the static jaw. Doesn't make much difference, the sides of the jaws and the anvil area are bare as well. Other than the aesthetics, some good news. Very desirable operation. You turn the spindle handle and you couldn't ask for smoother action with almost zero backlash. Jaw inserts are so sharp it will break skin. It's nice - in fact, too nice. I took it out of the box and must have gawked for about half an hour.

I can see the appeal of a new one - much less work than restoring (but that's half the fun!).

Vises are much different than other tools. A fifty year old vise can do the job just as well as a brand new one (sometimes, better). Value is retained and some come with some very cool stories. I imagine that the majority of brand-new-vise-purchasers are commercial/manufacturing outfits but I could be wrong.

I decided not to keep it - I have enough. But it turns out it was too late to return, according to the vendor. Plus it was shipped as freight - too heavy for UPS. What a headache. So I put it back in the box and moved it inside the house. Simply put, I just don't need it. So when I have some free time, I'll post it on CL and price it to move very quickly.

Meh, she did her best. Extra points for not going to Northern or HF.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hemi49]

Can you line those up and take more pics?

3200FPS
I'm going to be doing some rearranging over the next few weeks......I'll photograph and post the activities.....

 

[zkling]

so does anyone on here have a new wilton vise that they have purchased. I really like the old ones but wondering if there are any new purchases

Talk to Dr. Clyde, he recently purchased a new wilton bullet machinist vise.

Edit, link added

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=300255

 

[CRSINMICH]

Noise: I read your post last night and I was about to respond but I decided that I needed to take time to consider what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it.

First, whoever “she” is - wife, girlfriend, mother, auntie – she put thought and effort into your birthday present and she was thinking of you. It sounds like she does that frequently. You are a lucky man! I hope you showed proper appreciation. Since you say that you gawked at it for a half hour it seems like you did.

Second, I applaud you for being able to calmly and objectively come to the decision to return the 450. If you don’t need it then you don’t need it. If I was in that exact situation I don’t think I could have done it. Return a Wilton 450S???!!!

This brings me to the real reason for my reply. Were you able to pull it off without hurt feelings? If so, my hat is off to you. I can’t think of a much more delicate and potentially fraught situation. If she can understand and accept your choice without feeling hurt then you are even luckier than I thought. Way luckier!!!

And now, back to regular vise comments: Return a brand new Wilton 450S ??? WTF???

 

[vintage nut]

Got myself a few things yesterday. A big and very heavy sewing machine for knife sheaths, a few pounds of beeswax from my uncles hives, and a free vise. Nothing special, just a small open screw homeowners vise. My guess is its chinese. I'll probably clean it up and use it as a either a paperweight/door stop, or as something to hold parts for soldering.

Sent from my C1904 using Tapatalk

 

[xxaler]

I emailed about what model it was. No definitive ID on who made it but the lack of a garter, wrong jaw shape make me think it looks more like a Rock Island. It'll be gone in a day with a table thrown in.
Thrumcap

Lasted more than a week, and definitely a Rock Island. Now my first Rock Island.

Found a brochure for it, and it's very much one in the same. Jim is a good guy, brought me around to show me the rest of the collection, and seeing that C3 in person, I can see why it's priced how it is.

 

[drivesitfar]

**: nice purchase especially with some of us talking about it while it was still for sale. Does it weigh 150 pounds because it looked as big as my 577's? Also for what you paid for it i would probably paid that much or more for just the cool stand. Since you have the hadle off do the balls screw on or was it cut off?

Vintage: bookends for an old open screw vise that has maybe too many issues or too small to use?

NJ: id keep the brand new 450 and thank God i have a great gal and maybe sell the C3. The swivel bases on the C 3's are a weak point so be carefull how you use it if you keep it. Ive seen more than a few broken or repaired bases.