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The VISES of Garage Journal

dkroth

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Mar 11, 2010
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3,067
Location
Rochester, New York
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.


Whoa, that's nice. At $300 it was all-in, but I would have stared at it with my finger on the trigger, that's for sure...
 
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sscooter

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Feb 9, 2011
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6
ha...my wife laughed at the pair of dogs.

has anyone ever published a comprehensive list, including a "photo library" of all known vise manufacturers?.... Or is particular thread we are currently posting in THE largest known?


oh, and the vise is not brass. Just the weld-repairs are (brazed).
 

topop101

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Jan 1, 2015
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1,688
Location
NW Missouri
What does the one you have look like from the front? The one I seen the jaw inserts were pinned on horizontally and stick out through the back side of the jaw. And there was a hole all the way through the dynamic jaw and slide. I don't remember off hand what it weighed but it was a beast . The biggest open screw vise I have ever seen
 

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Shiftless

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Mar 9, 2014
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East Bay SFO
Beautiful work, Jeff!
You and Bagged really have the polishing bit down.
Do you use a tiny artists' brush or the paper towel method for your lettering?
 

sscooter

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Feb 9, 2011
Messages
6
ahhh..what the heck. You guys of all people will get a kick out of this.

A couple of years ago I acquired a pile of woodworking vises as part of a deal to buy some old growth 6"x6"x16' vertical grain douglas fir posts. In restoring this old barn, I want to use as much "old" lumber as possible.
I am a G.C. by trade, and my lumber guy had quoted me $320.00 a piece:shocking: if I were to buy "new". The "used" lumber was substantially less, but there was a lot of it (had to rent a 20' trailer, and then GROSSLY overloaded it..lol)

These Doug fir posts were used as "sleepers" on the floor of the wood storage building (school district cabinet shop from the 1920's through the 1960's) to keep the hardwood (cabinet wood) off of the concrete. Amazingly, there was very little rot, so at least 75% of them are straight as an arrow, perfectly dry and now that I've installed a few, look like they were part of the barn when built.

Anywhoo... they were going to "scrap" all of the metal in this basement including the vices!!!!!... and I told the guy that I'd take em for scrap value. I figured with a bit of sweat equity, was a good way to recoup as much of the cost of the wood as possible.

I think I ended up with about 30 usable vises (out of maybe 40 or 50?).. After giving about 10 away to friends and family, I sold the remainder (including all of the "parts" to some guy that trickled them onto craigslist. I recouped my lumber $ almost to the dollar!

I ended up keeping one of each, including one really cool "odd ball" that is much older than the abarnathy, columbian, morgan 10a, etc. Once again, it has no markings

Here are a few pics. (the odd/old one is not in the pile)




 
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Craptain

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Apr 18, 2013
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Location
Tampa Bay FL
I picked this little fella up today. Don't need it but like it and that's good enough for me. It cost me $25 and though it may be a little high, I bought it from a guy I know quite well. It's a Columbian "Pennypincher" 3 1/2" it is clean and will not be renovated. I doubt I will use it as I have plenty of vises mounted and ready. I really like the deco style. It actually seems pretty strong as well. There is no nut and the screw is threaded directly into the body of the static. Cast in pipe jaws. The jaws are smooth and show no signs of any checking. Also not replaceable. It's well used but last picture shows the only damage I found so far.

bcd4c931705354f53646cc6cd0a6be57.jpga098e825e528435601bc192a91acd607.jpge6adf5743db34d797ebc6ef03922e34e.jpg71b3cd07728aacdde50a83701f7a7b99.jpg

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trijeff

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Jan 21, 2015
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Location
Northern Cali
Beautiful work, Jeff!
You and Bagged really have the polishing bit down.
Do you use a tiny artists' brush or the paper towel method for your lettering?

Beautiful work!

:thumbup: Nice work!

Nice work again! You sure love your extreme green.

Thanks guys! This one took quite a bit of work and I'm glad it's done.

Shift: I use a paint pen and touch up with a small brush

Bagged: While the green is growing on me a bit, every one you have seen me do has been for sale. The SO guys seem to love that new green and the sales prices usually reflect that. I'm almost afraid to do a Wilton bullet in a different color for fear of leaving money on the table ;)
 

trijeff

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Jan 21, 2015
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1,359
Location
Northern Cali
Nice job Jeff. Sharp corners on the anvil, and the jaws look unused. Those 6 x 1-1/4 jaws? How is the big Prentiss coming.

Thanks, Kevin! Yes, you guessed the jaw size correctly, and they were largely unabused, albeit extremely dirty/greasy.

The Prentiss is basically done, just a few last pesky details. The stand however is not close at all and the vise won't be really usable until it is complete - there is no way my present bench could come close to holding it!! I think me and the Ms. will be getting a new house sometime in the near future, I really think that is where/when everything is finally going to be complete. I have three more Wilton C1s to restore plus a few other stragglers laying around.
 

jakemac

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May 21, 2013
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9,035
Location
New England
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.

IMG_20151226_191047_577_zpsjeyy6feu.jpg


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!

I don't know about the "T", but that vise has similar lines to the old Walworth vises.

attachment.php
 

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joe.striper

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Sep 13, 2013
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Location
agawam, ma
Went to my great niece's baptism today. Afterward a friend of the family gave me these two vises. Good one is a custom machinist vise. Second was found UNDER the cement in his basement when he went to repair a drain pipe and had to dig it up. Probably beyond tecovery but I will try....
 

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Outlawmws

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The Badlands
Wow Joe, you and your minions...

I think that second one can be recovered, if not for really precision work...

Start with an Etank bath...whole...
 

Jcrapola

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Mar 12, 2013
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147
Location
North of Detroit
So I took my wife to Chicago for a romantic getaway. Since we are going to Chicago anyway, I gotta stop and look at a vise (actually , I saw the vise and it prompted the entire trip). I have wanted a Reed Combination since I started on GJ, and I found a nice one only 4.5hrs from home! The only damage to it is the small chip in the third pic. Outside of that it appears to have hardly been used. The machining marks are still visible on all 4 sides of the main slide.
While I was carrying it to the car, I saw a craftsman 5" in the dirt next to the garage. I bought that one also ($14. 2C was $160).
Can anyone walk me through the disassembly of a Reed 2C? Specifically, are there any pitfalls to avoid with the split nut on the screw? And how are the pipe jaws retained? The pins appear to have been driven in from both sides?
 

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exmaxima1

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Midwest
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's the exact model vise my dad had when I was a kid. Built mucho go-karts, mini-bikes, and other toys with it. My sister has it now, and she offered it to me, but it's so beat up (my fault) that I have no use for it. They sure look cool though!
 

drivesitfar

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Oct 23, 2013
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JC: plenty of Reed restorations over in the Vise Repair 101 thread if you want to do a search. or post up your questions over there as you get your new Reed 2C taken apart. the pins holding the pipe jaws in place are solid so just push through and i think you can do so from either side. the split nut might need a little PB or Kroil and some coaxing to get it to move, but i haven't heard of anybody not being able to get their's off. nice find and i like planning trips around tool finds myself. here's my 4C taken apart to show you the pins and split nut. your 2C is in my top 5 or close to that. nice find
 

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exmaxima1

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.
Can anyone walk me through the disassembly of a Reed 2C? Specifically, are there any pitfalls to avoid with the split nut on the screw? And how are the pipe jaws retained? The pins appear to have been driven in from both sides?

The pins are one piece, and you drive them out from either end. The split collar should come out with a drift pin and hammer, ideally a soft drift so you don't mash up the collar too much. Make sure you remove the locking setscrew first, and soak it with penetrant.
 

bagged89s10

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Mar 13, 2005
Messages
4,607
Location
CT
So I took my wife to Chicago for a romantic getaway. Since we are going to Chicago anyway, I gotta stop and look at a vise (actually , I saw the vise and it prompted the entire trip). I have wanted a Reed Combination since I started on GJ, and I found a nice one only 4.5hrs from home! The only damage to it is the small chip in the third pic. Outside of that it appears to have hardly been used. The machining marks are still visible on all 4 sides of the main slide.

While I was carrying it to the car, I saw a craftsman 5" in the dirt next to the garage. I bought that one also ($14. 2C was $160).

Can anyone walk me through the disassembly of a Reed 2C? Specifically, are there any pitfalls to avoid with the split nut on the screw? And how are the pipe jaws retained? The pins appear to have been driven in from both sides?


Nice find!!
 

Jcrapola

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Mar 12, 2013
Messages
147
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North of Detroit
Wow! Thanks everyone! I don't expect that many responses that quickly! This is like the vise expert hotline!!!
I am going to go and strip that ***** naked right now! (The reed!):D
 

sscooter

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Joined
Feb 9, 2011
Messages
6
Machinery page 3 August 1911books.jpg



That is it!! To a "T"... (no pun intended)

Thanks guys.. That is so cool to have found an original ad for it as well.


so Oswego and Walworth are one and the same then (merger) ???? (One being from New York and the other from Boston, Mass?
 

Evergreentree

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Nov 24, 2015
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452
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Montgomery County PA
So I was given a ?mill? vise today. I found an old hing pin I'm going to use for the lead handle. It's unmarked, but heavy for its size, and super precise. 2 1/4" jaw. Can some enlighten me on how it's attached? Maybe It's missing a base piece? I'll post a pic of the bottom.
 

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Craptain

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Tampa Bay FL
So I was given a ?mill? vise today. I found an old hing pin I'm going to use for the lead handle. It's unmarked, but heavy for its size, and super precise. 2 1/4" jaw. Can some enlighten me on how it's attached? Maybe It's missing a base piece? I'll post a pic of the bottom.
That would be a Yankee from early 1900's. Give me a few minutes and I think I have a catalogue page. Meanwhile here is mine. 99cfab30418896e3377a317497fbaec2.jpg

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Outlawmws

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EG, it's more of a drill press vise unless you clamp it to a mill table, but even then its not as precision as a mill vise. still a nice find. those are meant to be able to be clamped flat or on their side.
 

Craptain

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I can't remember right now but I will be in my shop later. I recall it being quite straightforward.

The catalogue BTW is from 1919.

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