The VISES of Garage Journal

[mali]

Okay vise fans: The mystery deepens. I checked the Parker 239X and the dingus. First, I took the dingus out. (No off color jokes please.) The only thing unusual about it is that it has been filed flat at the tip. Next, I examined the vise. There is no play in the slide. None! Up or down or side to side – no play. I looked at the top of the slide where the dingus hits it and there is only one circular spot. I expected to find a scratch pattern along the slide as wide as the dingus or a series of circular spots. One spot only. Next, I looked at the jaws and jaw inserts. Here is where it gets interesting. With or without the dingus they fit together perfectly across the top and on either side. The faces of the inserts are even more amazing. They are smooth and dead flat. I mean bagged smooth. With no attempt at clean up, I could see reflections in the faces. When the jaws come together the faces meet without the slightest gap anywhere. No gap!

The mystery continues. The garage shop where we found this vise was a woodworker’s shop. He had a nice bench with a Columbian woodworker’s vise. One possible clue to the Parker may be that the owner had a large collection of wooden hand planes many of which were user made and of GOOD quality. I suspect that he needed to do fairly precision work to make the planes. However, that still doesn’t explain the dingus. Maybe it just served as a lock for when the vise was not in use. What do YOU think?

Similar solution with adjustment screws you can find in Dolex vise http://www.dolex.fr/en/
Unfortunately it is not the answer in your case.

 

[hondacivic247]

I went and got the wilton I'm in the process of cleaning it up with my stringer wire wheel. Some of the vises the guy had were huge like the one wilton bullet, I checked out the monarch qnd it didn't seem as nice as the wilton and I prefer it to be totally inclosed. This guy cleans out people's places then sells stuff so that's how he got them for nothing qnd yet wouldn't budge on the $85 bucks but still it's in very good shape just rusty. No gouge marks or anything crazy the jaw inserts arnt beat to ****. I'll post some pictures tonight, the only thing it needs are the rods for the swivel base to loosen it but for now a socket will do.

 

[topop101]

Top: you totally had the Christmas spirit at that auction. sounds like a friendly auction where you might know a few of the regulars? i go to a few sales just to see how the guys are doing that i don't see often because they don't live close to me.

hope you have all the vises finished that were bought for Christmas presents.

ALL: have a great holiday everybody

Drives It was a great sale. The auctioneer is a young guys that jokes around with the old guys and the old guys really let him have it when he screws up. Lots of joking around but still serious when the money is on. It makes an 8 hour sale worth it.
As for my quest to do 12 vise's for Christmas... 9 of the twelve sold.

 

[zkling]

All,
Yesterday, I picked up a mill vise at a flea market for 16$. It has the usual battle scars. However, it operates smooth after oiling, jaws are parallel, and doesn't have the usual Chinese vise sloppy movement. The jaws are 6". Opening is 3 1/2". Depth is 1 1/2".
It has no identification or numbers on it.

Does anyone know who made it?
Country of origin?
How old it is?

Thanks in advance.

Pretty sure that is a drill press vise that was sold by many of the large mail order machine tool companies back in the 80s. :

 

[hondacivic247]

It's not a Wilton LOL. If it's an import I would think Europe, not Asia. The front jaw the support ledge is broken off under the jaw insert. I would like to see more pictures of that vise what's the jaw width?

I went and looked at this one it didn't look broken to me and it worked fine it needed to be greased I'm sure but it wad small maybe 5-8lbs not worth $20 bucks in my eyes so I left it

 

[bagged89s10]

I went and got the wilton I'm in the process of cleaning it up with my stringer wire wheel. Some of the vises the guy had were huge like the one wilton bullet, I checked out the monarch qnd it didn't seem as nice as the wilton and I prefer it to be totally inclosed. This guy cleans out people's places then sells stuff so that's how he got them for nothing qnd yet wouldn't budge on the $85 bucks but still it's in very good shape just rusty. No gouge marks or anything crazy the jaw inserts arnt beat to ****. I'll post some pictures tonight, the only thing it needs are the rods for the swivel base to loosen it but for now a socket will do.

Nice man. Did you happen to look at and ask the price on the large Wilton without swivel? Pic looks like it might be a 5" Wilton.

 

[bagged89s10]

Is it just me, or do you never see a Parker vise handle bent. I always see Reed, Wilton, and Columbian handles bent. I have yet to see a Parker with a bent handle.

 

[hondacivic247]

Here's the wilton I've been speaking of along with the number off the bottom. It's cleaning up well can't wait for it to be painted.

 

[hondacivic247]

When was my vise made roughly back in the 60's?

 

[dkroth]

When was my vise made roughly back in the 60's?

There is a date stamp on the bottom of the dynamic jaw - on the key itself.

Remove the dynamic jaw and flip it over to see it.

Then post up a pic here!

 

[Mark in Indiana]

All,

Thought you guys would get a kick out of this CL ad.


http://evansville.craigslist.org/tls/5368556496.html

 

[topop101]

Not a bench vise but a drill press vise. An older Wilton with 3 hole base. Amazingly it only had the 1 over drill hole in it.

 

[jakemac]

All,

Thought you guys would get a kick out of this CL ad.


http://evansville.craigslist.org/tls/5368556496.html

That vise must have a really bad cold. I see boogers all over it.

 

[zkling]

Not a bench vise but a drill press vise. An older Wilton with 3 hole base. Amazingly it only had the 1 over drill hole in it.

O... that be nice, really like the underside red. Reminds me of the time I foolishly spent painting the mill table slots red.

 

[Evergreentree]

Mark-it's like the adds that say, cracked and welded, but doesn't affect performance...

Rusted out, but should pass inspection...

 

[oldldh]

That vise must have a really bad cold. I see boogers all over it.

Are you insinuating that that is a...

(Wait for it!!!)

Snotty Welding Job???

 

[hondacivic247]

The wilton listed 12-50 so I'm taking it as the 12 month of the 50th year so it was produced in the 50's

 

[topop101]

O... that be nice, really like the underside red. Reminds me of the time I foolishly spent painting the mill table slots red.

All the Wilton drill press vise's I've done had factory paint on the underside. Some red some green. This one was green but I like the red I did my last one in . I kept the nut green though.

 

[bagged89s10]

Not a bench vise but a drill press vise. An older Wilton with 3 hole base. Amazingly it only had the 1 over drill hole in it.

Nice job. I really like the red underside.

 

[drivesitfar]

Civic: yes it left the Wilton factory December 1950 so 65 years old and still should work great.

Mark: you can post up that Reed over on the broken vise thread if you want. heckuva weld and looks like even though the value of the vise has declined the usefulness might still be ok.

Top: i have a small Wilton drill press vise and i think it's got 2 inch wide jaws.

 

[topop101]

Civic: yes it left the Wilton factory December 1950 so 65 years old and still should work great.

Mark: you can post up that Reed over on the broken vise thread if you want. heckuva weld and looks like even though the value of the vise has declined the usefulness might still be ok.

Top: i have a small Wilton drill press vise and i think it's got 2 inch wide jaws.

That is sweeeet Drives. It looks brand new!

 

[Mark in Indiana]

All,

Drives is right. The Reed vise is likely functional. However, it's worth waaaay less than the asking price. I wonder how many good quality weld repairs on vises were finished so you couldn't tell that they were welded.

Please show them if you got them.

 

[zkling]

Civic: yes it left the Wilton factory December 1950 so 65 years old and still should work great.

Mark: you can post up that Reed over on the broken vise thread if you want. heckuva weld and looks like even though the value of the vise has declined the usefulness might still be ok.

Top: i have a small Wilton drill press vise and i think it's got 2 inch wide jaws.

That's actually a higher end grinding/milling vise.

 

[Evergreentree]

Just finished cleaning off the rusty little p.s&w after the e tank. Not done, but good Sunday night project progress. I'll probably put it back in the soup a while, but I like this look to.

If anyone is interested in a small little back story of the company, here's a link with a touch of info. Check out the factory pictures at the very bottom of the page. Way cool!

http://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioPeck.html

 

[Evergreentree]

Before

 

[trijeff]

Wilton C3, needs to finish curing prior to final assembly. Have swivel base and all hardware.

 

[bagged89s10]

Wilton C3, needs to finish curing prior to final assembly. Have swivel base and all hardware.

Shiny! Can't wait to see it all together with the hardware.

 

[va.grouseman]

Trijeff, that's arrest me green!---You won't need lighting in your shop, You got that covered.


Beautiful job so far.---Nice crisp edges.

 

[autopts]

All,

Drives is right. The Reed vise is likely functional. However, it's worth waaaay less than the asking price. I wonder how many good quality weld repairs on vises were finished so you couldn't tell that they were welded.

Please show them if you got them.

Mark, do you remember this one? It was brazed completely around it. It held the bricks up well. Have a nice holiday.

 

[hondacivic247]

Nice man. Did you happen to look at and ask the price on the large Wilton without swivel? Pic looks like it might be a 5" Wilton.

I seen it in the pile it looked in good shape I think I tried it and it worked fine he wanted $150 it was a 5" jaw and weighs 68lb's didn't have the extra cash to buy it and I feel like it's not as wanted cause of it being stationary.



Does anyone have the swivel nuts with the bars they could hook me up with? Not sure the size or if you can just use any vises? Would make the wilton I got look better qnd be nice not to have to use a socket to loosen it everytime I need to move it

 

[bagged89s10]

I seen it in the pile it looked in good shape I think I tried it and it worked fine he wanted $150 it was a 5" jaw and weighs 68lb's didn't have the extra cash to buy it and I feel like it's not as wanted cause of it being stationary.







Does anyone have the swivel nuts with the bars they could hook me up with? Not sure the size or if you can just use any vises? Would make the wilton I got look better qnd be nice not to have to use a socket to loosen it everytime I need to move it

Hit up KMScott on here. Www.Wiltonviseparts.net

 

[06GMC5.3L]

Picked this up last week for $20

 

[Evergreentree]

This mornings flea market/auction finds.

Really nice light duty shop King, really nice. Doesn't look used at all.

Pv co monarch no 218. I've been looking for a lions head! Sweet find, but will need repairs. I'll post in the vise repair for advise. The hole in the slide was not original right? Crs, maybe the Parker dinglehopper will fit in it?

I also tucked a harbor freight rotating beaut behind. Haha. I needed a beater. This will do just fine.

 

[drivesitfar]

EG: the first time i wire wheeled a vise to naked steel i was HOOKED. i really like the look. did you put on some BLO on yours for the picture? can you take a few more pictures of the Monarch vise and show that hole in the slide? a lot of them have cracks on the top of the slide and not sure where your hole is, but they weren't made with cracked slides or holes in them AFIK.

TJ: your skills painting that bright GREEN are improving with every vise you do. I'm sorry that you had to paint that twice after removing the first process, but you did the right thing because that C3 POPS.

TOP: i'm not sure how old my little Wilton vise is that i use on my old Walker Turner Drill press, but it does old things nicely and looks pretty good just sitting their too. It might of been made for a mill or lathe like ZK mentioned and not sure, but since i don't own one it has found a home on one of my DP's. i do own a nice XY table with jaws on it sitting on another member's shelf that will go on the WT and i'll move the Wilton over to my little Canedy-Otto DP. thanks for the good words.

 

[Loydski29]

This mornings flea market/auction finds.

Really nice light duty shop King, really nice. Doesn't look used at all.

Pv co monarch no 218. I've been looking for a lions head! Sweet find, but will need repairs. I'll post in the vise repair for advise. The hole in the slide was not original right? Crs, maybe the Parker dinglehopper will fit in it?

I also tucked a harbor freight rotating beaut behind. Haha. I needed a beater. This will do just fine.

Nice score with the monarch! Congrats

 

[Evergreentree]

Drives-here's a shot of the hole. Otherwise the slide is aces. There is a matching on the other side.

Yes, I put a thin coat of blo on the ps&w. You had sent me another link for naked vise finishing, but I can't find it. I'd like other ways to finish a naked vise...

Thanks loyd-so far I've purchased this monarch, Wilton 60, and a 973 1/2 Parker from the same vender. I told him to keep bringing them in, and I will buy what he has!

 

[CRSINMICH]

Evergreentree: I tell you what, why don't you ship that Monarch to me and I'll see if the dingus fits in the hole. I'd be happy to do that for you. This was a pretty good score. The Shop King is probably the most prized exposed screw vise. Cool deco styling. Congrats.

EDIT: Fretter's new finish that Drives talks about below starts on pg. 109.

 

[drivesitfar]

EG: maybe a prior owner liked the Reed vise's method of the hole in their slides to oil or grease the main screw, but it wasn't standard on any Monarch i've owned or seen. good to hear the slide is in great shape other than the hole and the hole shouldn't hurt anything.

as far as naked finishes i've used Johnson paste wax and BLO. Fretters tried shoe polish with success and in the vise repair 101 thread i think maybe around Thanksgiving Fretters made up a recipe with Beeswax and a few other ingredients that i think he likes and we talked about in on a few posts.

other members might have other methods i can't remember at the moment and maybe they will share if they see your post.

AutoPts: did you get a decent price for that old Parker with the welded dynamic. nothing like showing off the weld and the strength of it. thanks for posting that picture with the bricks.

 

[Evergreentree]

Crs, hate to tell you the shipping weight on the monarch is 600lbs. You'll have to cover shipping, but I'll give you the vise! I couldn't pass up the shop King. It was complete and it just needs a wipe down.

I'll give you a great deal on the harbor freight vintage!

Thanks drives! I thought reed immediately when I saw it, though I didn't think it came that way either..
Why someone would drill a hole that big is beyond me. Unless they were putting grease on with their fingers! Hmm, maybe that's really why!


All-what are some good ways to cover a naked vise?

 

[CRSINMICH]

All-what are some good ways to cover a naked vise?

Throw a towel over it? Check out Fretters' method on page 109 of the Repair thread.