The VISES of Garage Journal

[Nuts]

When you need more pressure than just the handle will produce, a cheater enters the picture and that's all she wrote...

Correct Outlaw.---And if vises were designed for that, they would come from the factory with 48'', 60'', and 72'' handles.---Never have to look for a cheater.

Nuts: when you are using the vise as a press you don't stop once the piece is being held in place like a 3rd hand. the extra pressure pressing a part in place is where the vise can get broken in several ways. some guys have used their vises as presses for years without any problems and others keep breaking and welding and repairing or buying another vise after it breaks.

Gears or hydraulics verses screws.... Gears and hydraulics win every time . screws stretch, bend and break. Not saying that the pinion of a press can't be broken but it can certainly take much more pressure than a screw.

Why I asked the question the way I did, was because I see many a post saying don't use your vise as a press. When a more correct answer is don't be using BFH's and cheater pipes on the handle.

I'm thinking a better response would be to say the reason why not, rather than just don't. Specially to the new guys. Sometimes we forget that not everyone has the base knowledge that some of us do.


Nuts

 

[jrobb316]

Re: ENDING TODAY! Selling my Parker #436 vise - all 187 pounds of it

I thought I had it sold, but the guy backed out.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231784150300

So, my Parker #436 is up on Ebay:


I forgot to mention the re-posting, so it closes pretty quick here today, sorry.

It's currently at $400 or so...

Looks like it sold for more the second time around anyways I have one of those, great vise and a massive beast. I don't believe mine will ever be sold.

 

[AFChief]

My "new" little guy.

 

[Youngguns]

My "new" little guy.

I picked up almost the same exact "vice" recently. I couldn't make out anything along the side, but I could read "Germany" on the side of a jaw.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: Merry Christmas to all of you and maybe a few of you will get that big or little vise from Santa.

I'm not closing the Vise of the 2015 thread anytime soon in case some of you have or remembered another members vise to post up or voting. once we have the categories set maybe one of you can set up a poll.

so far we have been talking about the following:

1) Big vises (vices)
2) small (vises) vices
3) best transformation
4) best repair
5) best accessory
6) most unique

there might be a few others and if you can think of any just post on that thread. of course if you are making a post try and post pictures because it needs more color.

cheers all

 

[454ragtop]

Cheap Reed on Ebay, pick up only in NC http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Ant...255491?hash=item51dd116443:g:yogAAOSwfZ1WacO0

 

[Evergreentree]

Regarding the small hand vises- what is their intended use? Yes yes, I know to hold things while its in your hand...

But what was their intended specific purpose? I've passed on a few unmarked this last weekend.

 

[S4cruiser]

Cheap Reed on Ebay, pick up only in NC http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Ant...255491?hash=item51dd116443:g:yogAAOSwfZ1WacO0

I'm close to this but that sucker looks beat? Maybe it's just the horrible pics?

Thoughts?

 

[drivesitfar]

EG: You can use those small vises to hold items and either push a piece into a spinning grinding wheel or in a bigger vise to do some other type of filing or work to the part.

 

[Evergreentree]

Drives: ahhhh...could have used one yesterday grinding down a washer on a bench grinder.... I'll have to get one! Hot hot

 

[joe.striper]

Merry Christmas to everyone on GJ. In 2016 may you find your dream vise at your dream price...so long as it isnt driving distance for me!

 

[joe.striper]

BTW. ..off topic, but Costco has their led 4' shop lights for $20 right now. Bargain of the decade!

http://m.costco.com/4’-LED-Shop-Light-with-Pull-Chain,-2-pack.product.100223617.html

These are the lights. You can buy them singly. $30 normally but an instore $10 per light discount. I'm picking up 5 tomorrow.

 

[Outlawmws]

BTW. ..off topic, but Costco has their led 4' shop lights for $20 right now. Bargain of the decade!

Link? I'm not finding it on line...

 

[bagged89s10]

This is what happens when you over tighten a vise, or improperly use a vise as a press. I just got off the phone with someone who was cranking away and sheared the main screw on a Parker 383-1/2. Lucky for him I have an extra main screw for him.

So the guy that broke the screw just came by and got the replacement screw for his vise. He said he used a cheater pipe that added about a foot to the handle to tighten up a tie rod he was trying to repair. Bad bad bad idea.



Trying to salvage a $10 part cost him $30 to save his vise. He should have just bought a new tie rod. He at least learned his lesson.

 

[zkling]

Lucky he didn't pull any threads in the nut.

 

[dkroth]

I stumbled upon a series of videos on YouTube - a guy restoring a Wilton 1780. He built an interesting rig to free the stuck dynamic jaw from the static jaw using an I-beam and a 20 ton press.

I'm wondering how close he came to:

1) Breaking the vise
2) Blowing the seals on the jack
3) Impaling a large chunk of steel or iron in his face

The lead up is good but things start to get interesting at about 10:00.

 

[zkling]

With the nice rig he built he couldn't have welded on a few legs and put sand bags over them for stability?

 

[Screwdriver]

Bit of heat on the vice body would go a long way to loosening it off. You can heat cast iron up to red hot without causing too much change in the material properties. Takes a while with big iron though, even using oxy kit and it has to cool slowly.

As for the danger involved, I would imagine as soon as any fracture forms or if the body casting gave way, there would be an almighty crack but all of the pressure will dissipate within a few mm. There's nothing really springy that could wind up and release a lot of energy. Hardened steel would be a different matter entirely since that might shatter and fragment.

I have no idea how true my opinion is mind!

S.

 

[MikeF2316]

Bit of heat on the vice body would go a long way to loosening it off. You can heat cast iron up to red hot without causing too much change in the material properties. Takes a while with big iron though, even using oxy kit and it has to cool slowly.

As for the danger involved, I would imagine as soon as any fracture forms or if the body casting gave way, there would be an almighty crack but all of the pressure will dissipate within a few mm. There's nothing really springy that could wind up and release a lot of energy. Hardened steel would be a different matter entirely since that might shatter and fragment.

I have no idea how true my opinion is mind!

S.

What surprised me the most was how little rust was actually in there, holding everything together.

I agree with the heat - I would have tensioned it a bit, then gone around it with a torch. But then the pop would have been less impressive.

 

[va.grouseman]

Another Parker Hump-back, on EBay.---Been a few pop up lately.---I like the big hump-back combos.---Seller has it as a #438, I think that is a misprint.---Don't think Parker made a #438.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Huge-Rare-V...574122?hash=item488798a8aa:g:v78AAOSwAKxWbbeK

 

[Pwaley]

Some absolutely beauties here. Nothing fancy to share here but I enjoyed the eye candy!

 

[Outlawmws]

VA, with 6" jaws it's a 436. and "only" 185 lbs not 200...

 

[oldldh]

Itsy bitsy 436...

Only 185...

Piffle, it's a watchmaker's clamper...

 

[bluebolt]

Picked up a Craftsman 3 1/2" wide jaw 5176 from an antique store today for $40. At 29 pounds it's 10 pounds heavier than the common 5180 3 1/2" utility vise that replaced it. I LOVE the art deco styling and have been on the lookout for this vise.

 

[Screwdriver]

Picked up a Craftsman 3 1/2" wide jaw 5176 from an antique store today for $40. At 29 pounds it's 10 pounds heavier than the common 5180 3 1/2" utility vise that replaced it. I LOVE the art deco styling and have been on the lookout for this vise.

That is a very nice looking vice. Looks like it has all original finish too. Are you going to restore it to keep it as original as possible?

 

[va.grouseman]

my Morgan 80 weighs a paltry 212 lbs

its name is BAD HOMBRE

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[topop101]

Picked up a Craftsman 3 1/2" wide jaw 5176 from an antique store today for $40. At 29 pounds it's 10 pounds heavier than the common 5180 3 1/2" utility vise that replaced it. I LOVE the art deco styling and have been on the lookout for this vise.

Agreed! I love mine . I think they look straight out of the jet era. Looks super sonic sitting still. 40 is a great price too.

 

[bagged89s10]

Another Parker Hump-back, on EBay.---Been a few pop up lately.---I like the big hump-back combos.---Seller has it as a #438, I think that is a misprint.---Don't think Parker made a #438.





http://www.ebay.com/itm/Huge-Rare-V...574122?hash=item488798a8aa:g:v78AAOSwAKxWbbeK

I asked the seller the reserve and its $550. He's telling me these rare finds usually sell for $1500-$2000. I bid low for the heck of it but My vise budget would probably be maxed out at $200. And yes it's a 436. You can see that it says 436 in one of the pictures.

 

[bagged89s10]

I stumbled upon a series of videos on YouTube - a guy restoring a Wilton 1780. He built an interesting rig to free the stuck dynamic jaw from the static jaw using an I-beam and a 20 ton press.

I'm wondering how close he came to:

1) Breaking the vise
2) Blowing the seals on the jack
3) Impaling a large chunk of steel or iron in his face

The lead up is good but things start to get interesting at about 10:00.

I like how he has his face right up to the vise while he's jacking it up. No face protection, and the whole setup is just wobbling around. Maybe he should have just payed the setup horizontal instead of vertical. That's about the most dangerous thing I've seen in a while. At least he didn't get killed and got the vise apart in one piece.

 

[sscooter]

howdy... new guy here! (a reader FOREVER, and have many friends on this site)
anyways, my wife and I bought an old farmstead which came with a (mostly) solid and straight diary barn.

In the barn was this vise.

The only marking on the vise is this:
(a circle with a "T" in it)

I have searched the entire internet trying to figure out what it is? Usually, a guy can figure it out, but kept being brought back to garage journal due to multitude of "Bench Vise" threads! (And no, I saw nothing close to resembling this vise in any of them.... and I believe I searched them all!)

a brief description...
It is VERY rough in it's casting, so I'm "guessing" that it's quite old. Overall has a few repairs including brazed-on jaws and dynamic jaw repair, but still works just fine.

Weighs about 70lbs, and has 4 7/8" wide jaws with an 8" opening.

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

[bl00]

Sawyer had a circle T, although the top of the T was bent like an umbrella and the circle was a bit more oval. Do some googling for Sawyer or Oswego vises.

 

[drivesitfar]

SS: that open screw vise you have looks stout sort of like my Vanderman. since Bl00 mentioned Sawyer i'm guessing that is the direction your search should go.

Can you take a picture of it's bottom and is it flat or is there a threaded hole for a bolt that would mount it through a bench?

welcome to the group

BB: I also like those old heritage branded Craftsman vises. it's one i need for my Craftsman shelf, but i've yet been able to talk anybody i know out of the ones they have on their benches because they also like them.

Cowboy: i agree we need pictures. there was another member named Wild Cowboy with that Avatar so is that you with a new name or are you a new member? both of you have that same vise.

 

[va.grouseman]

Sscooter, here's the Sawyer , circle T, B100 is referring to.---But your actual vise looks like a railroad vise B100 has, except for the recessed bolts in the jaw towers.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Bagged,
Thanks for sharing that video. I was on the edge of my seat, thinking that the vise body was going to bust, his contraption was going to flip down on him, or a number of other disasters. I'm glad it worked out for him, but I would have at least borrowed use of a BF press or paid to have it done.

 

[sscooter]

thanks for the replies guys.

well, that would make sense that it is a "Railroad" vise as the barn sits but 100 yards from a railroad.

The bottom of the vise is flat with a big hole in the middle...And while I didn't check, it would make sense that it was threaded.

I'd take a photo, but I put the beast away this morning and piled on a bit more cast iron.

I've been googling the heck (yuk) out of Sawyer (oswego) vises and nothing Ive found has that little webbed "flair" at the back of the vise like this one has.

For it's size, it's definitely STOUT. Big Screw (1"+ diameter), Big handle, etc.

The brazed on jaws don't bother me (original bolt holes are DESTROYED from who knows how many failed removal/install/cross-threading attempts), but the fact that the dynamic jaw is brazed to the main shaft would keep me from treating this like as rough as we some times need to to get a job done.

Still a cool piece of history. I'll keep searching, and if any of you guys come across something (even something similar!), I'd love to see it.

 

[topop101]

The only marking on the vise is this:
(a circle with a "T" in it)

My list of maker marks shows the circle T as unknown. The side ways T is associated with Caterpillar but this is clearly a circle T . Is this vise brass?

 

[topop101]

It has some similarities to a vise I ran across this summer. Rockwood sprinkler co.

 

[454ragtop]

Some pics of a Record SQ5 I picked up this AM, and a Columbian combo vise I picked up a couple weeks ago. The Record came out of an auto shop that was being liquidated, by far the dirtiest greasiest vise I've ever picked up, it was nasty. Cleaned up decent though, has the quick release feature, paint is decent, jaw inserts a little beat up, but probably be OK. This is my first Record.

I found the Columbian when I went to look at a bandsaw that was on CL, bandsaw wasn't as hoped, but saw the vise on the bench and asked if they wanted to sell. We struck a deal, so at least it wasn't a wasted trip. Other than the poor yellow paint job, it is in excellent, almost like new, shape.
Jim

 

[Shiftless]

Baby bullet for under $300
Which one of you guys just grabbed this "buy it now" deal on ebay?
Still has factory stickers!
It was a 30 day listing that was a done deal in just over one hour.

 

[va.grouseman]

Sscooter, here is two railroad vise with some similar features as yours.---Found on page 843, post 16845.

These belongs to an ex ConRail employee.


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=346802&d=1402326316

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=346803&d=1402326316