The VISES of Garage Journal

[CwazyWabbit]

5 quid! You stole that ...... Not seen the M before :-/

Edit: I wonder if the M was added just to indicate it's Malleable ?

 

[KMScott]

This American Scale #25 was a rusted piece of junk that I couldn't turn down because it was so cheap. It took a lot of effort to get it apart because of the rust and the broken bottom track acting like a wedge holding the slide from moving. A bad casting in the rear not allowing the nut to pass through caused the broken track. The ball peen hammer marks on the rear of the nut were to drive it pass the high spot in the casting. When you attempted to open the vise all the way the nut would ride up on the high spot in casting and eventually breaking the track. I put J B weld on the two pieces and hope the weight of the slide won't allow them to move. I cut a piece of 1/2" metal and it serves as nut pin and a stop for the broken pieces. New lock down handles, a bunch grinding off high spots in the casting, removing seven broken off jaw screws, and some paint. Another one saved from the scrap yard

Nice fix and pulling one from the grave Getridone. It is amazing the casting made it through inspection. I have a couple with the same issue where the dovetails broke where yours did and I might have a idea on how to repair without welding. Just need time to work on vises. I'll share my idea after I try it. Great job on the restore.

 

[Screwdriver]

5 quid! You stole that ...... Not seen the M before :-/

Edit: I wonder if the M was added just to indicate it's Malleable ?

I did too. The shaper was £60 (!). There's also a 12x18 cast iron surface plate among a fair few other goodies. Like these matched parallels (?)

...and a decent set of internal micrometers.

Plus a few other vices (leg vice and a pair of cramps)

I am embarrassed to say how much I spent, not because it was so much but because every time I said "a fiver?" the seller said yes!

S.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Wow, was it the owner selling or a relative? You should do the lottery this week see if your luck holds

 

[Craptain]

Has anyone here ever seen one of these vises before? It's the largest exposed screw vise that I have ever come across. The owner claims that the jaws are about 6" wide and the vise weighs well over 100 lbs. It appears to be welded around the jaws, and may have some other issues as well. It was manufactured by the General Fire Extinguisher Company in Providence Rhode Island if I read the letters on it correctly. The owner is asking $80. Thoughts?

Maui

I would consider it just for the "Cool" factor. But I would also try and get the price down to a more realistic level. Maybe 40 or 50.

 

[Maui]

Drivesitfar and Craptain, I should be stopping by to see it in person later on this week. I'll let you know what happens.

Maui

 

[drivesitfar]

Maui: since Cap and others here don't NEED a vise and you might not either just take their pricing as what they might find from months of searching. no way is a vise over 100 pounds not worth $100 if it doesn't have any welds and cracks. now if you get it for less great, but value on a big vise is a lot more than a small one unless it's under 2 inch jaws and then you're talking huge money in some cases. you might want to unscrew the dynamic out all the way to inspect the vise nut and screw's threads and also to carry it home in 2 parts if it's heavy.

Screwed: don't you love sellers like that?? cool tools and if you can figure out how to put that Record in a suitcase and show up at my door in Seattle i will have some old US gem to send you home with. WELL DONE

GET: are you fully retired yet or still consulting. it looks like you have a little more time to fiddle with your old vises. i love the fix you did with the holder for the vise nut. did you tap that hole and then find or cut that small piece of aluminum to size? also how did you put the broken vise nut back together. please show more pictures if you have time on the 101 thread if you want to. i'd love to replace a lot of my non collectable type vises vise nut holder with something similar to make cleaning or working on a vise much easier than than knocking out that pin all the time.

thanks for saving it and looks great now.

 

[Fretters]

I did too. The shaper was £60 (!).

You lucky, lucky b*stard. That's a steal at that price. Still something on my wishlist is a shaper.

 

[slow_runner]

Slow: Sounds like you still have a mystery vice so maybe post up pictures from all sides and bottom and somebody around the world might have one like it to say what it is. how does it work?

Good morning Drive. Are we talking the Woden(?) or the smaller 2 1/2" vice?

I am hopeful that some information on this small vice will surface.
It is a good one with negligible wear on the sliding surface and a few hammer/filing/hacksaw marks as per a tool that has been used.
Cast on one side is ' No 0 ', and that is all folks.
Both vices are in the soup for few days before a wash down, dry, prep and paint.

The Woden(?)
I know of another one but at twice the money; also I have seen what i believe is another, attached to a workbench listing. So as with most things, once you own one, you notice others.

PS. is there a total data load limit on attached images?

Screwdriver I like that shaper, cool.
It is very similar to my baby ( aren't they all? )

 

[joe.striper]

Finally bought that Fisher Norris vise I've been chasing for 6 months. This is my third Fisher Norris vice in the last 12 months . While there I also found this 2.5 inch Athol vise which belong to the sellers grandfather. It was bolted to the bench the grandfather built new in the 1920s. I couldn't get him to part with it I understand why but it was such a nice clean 2.5 inch vice I really tried to get my hands on it.

 

[Screwdriver]

Wow, was it the owner selling or a relative? You should do the lottery this week see if your luck holds

There's a LOT more but I won't bore you. Lottery sounds like a good plan tho.
It was the sellers deceased uncles workshop and he was a Bentley aficionado.

 

[GETRIDAONE]

Drives, I am Re-retired since Thanksgiving.
The main nut was not broken, only the bottom track that it sits in. The stop is made of 1/2" steel plate. I drilled a hole through the plate and tapped a 5/16' thread from the bottom.

Kevin, I had thought of making two angle shaped pieces to serve as the slide support and nut hold down. Drill a hole from the bottom, thread the two pieces and bolt from the bottom. I would have to flatten the bottom somehow ? Hard to get in there with a grinding stone. I opted for the easier way on a borderline vise.

Joe, You only got half a vise.

 

[slow_runner]

There's a LOT more but I won't bore you. Lottery sounds like a good plan tho.
It was the sellers deceased uncles workshop and he was a Bentley aficionado.

You picked up a Bentley for 5 quid too ?

I hope my stuff goes for better money when I shuffle off.

 

[joe.striper]

Drives, I am Re-retired since Thanksgiving.

Joe, You only got half a vise.

Get all it's missing is the chain and the 2nd cog. Since i have everything else I will have my buddy who is a machinist make me 2 new cogs. Probably will cost $200 for the pair but then it will be complete. Chain is a common chain. I only paid $75 for the vise.

 

[Fretters]

I hope my stuff goes for better money when I shuffle off.

Our Gert knows that I'll come back and haunt her if she sells my stuff off for what I paid for it. I just hope one of the lads will have any interest in keeping most of my gear instead of flogging it.

 

[KMScott]

Kevin, I had thought of making two angle shaped pieces to serve as the slide support and nut hold down. Drill a hole from the bottom, thread the two pieces and bolt from the bottom. I would have to flatten the bottom somehow ? Hard to get in there with a grinding stone. I opted for the easier way on a borderline vise.

Get, I was thinking of drilling a hole deep in the Static support (might need a long drill and I have them) then add a dowel pin to the nut, the hole in the Static can be oversize but fairly close. The nut only needs to be kept from lifting and the dowel pin pressed into nut should do this. Just a idea I had.

Get all it's missing is the chain and the 2nd cog. Since i have everything else I will have my buddy who is a machinist make me 2 new cogs. Probably will cost $200 for the pair but then it will be complete. Chain is a common chain. I only paid $75 for the vise.

Joe, look on McMaster Carrs site Look HERE and I bet you can find what you need for your vise. You can have your machinist bore the hole to fit your vise and buy the chain too. Good luck.

 

[Reversepolarity]

picked up this little gem in a job lot yesterday.

for five quid. I am beginning to feel a little guilty! It's mint.

I'll give it a quick wipe down with an oily rag and take some nicer pics.

S.

 

[drivesitfar]

SLOW: i like the terms you gents Down Under come up with and Shuffling off sounds less dreadful so will have to keep that one to memory for another time.

Fretters: you've been teaching me OLD ENGLISH ever since you arrived about a couple years ago FLOGGING IT is another gem.

ALL: Did i mention my wife has wanted me to sell my STUFF for maybe years now? well her requests come and go and i just found out why. it's not that she doesn't share my love for old tools and cool stuff it's just she has no idea what anything is worth. she's actually went with me when i've went to buy some spendy stuff and she sees (not on purpose) or hears (again not on purpose) some big dollars going out of my pocket for a trailer or a Honda full of STUFF. so sound familiar?

anyway she was in a good mood so i happened to ask if i was to price some of my STUFF would she then maybe not bring up the subject again would that help. Guess what? The only reason she bugs me is because she doesn't have a clue on the value to divide up between the kids (3 boys and a son in law and maybe a second son in law on the way) or to sell some of it and not feel like she wasn't dumb or cheated.

i'm going to start a thread in FREE PARKING so if any of you might have the same issues and a solution please post them there. i'm still going to sell a few things that i don't really NEED, but not because my wife is in my ear now so peace has maybe been made in my household.

 

[Screwdriver]

What you need to do is appoint a few mates, probably off this or similar forums you frequent, to be part of the process in the unfortunate event of your demise. Agree with them to correspond with your benefactors so that your tools don't end up being "given away" to people like me or (I've seen it done!) lobbed in a skip!

S.

 

[Fretters]

Glad to hear you've finally found the secret to keeping your missus content DIF. Just tippex a number on everything and keep a numerically ordered price list of what you paid. Leave the list with a mate though, and give him instructions only to hand it to your wife if you pop your clogs, otherwise your current peace may go out the window sharpish if she sees the list early.

Fortunately, either the wife or the youngest know what I've paid for pretty much everything of mine, and the youngest has a decent sense of price on the type of gear I collect, so I'm fairly safe on the earache front.

 

[drivesitfar]

Screwed and Fretters: i don't think that would be too nice to do to a mate (or friend) to have to sort all my STUFF so i'm still looking for options. i almost had a thread started in Free Parking and my laptop crashed (again because of windows 10) so i'll need to re write it and get it started.

I'm not sure i'd be able to help some more of your widows, but i know a few members that have me as a person to call if they pass and they need some help. NO NOT BECAUSE I WANT FIRST DIBS EITHER.

ALL: good point Fretters about the pricing it and finding a tool or something gone since she would now know the value to get for it. I wonder if that is her plan. A WOMAN is a tough bird to figure that is for certain.

cheers all and i thought i had the answer and now not so sure.

 

[topop101]

SLOW: i like the terms you gents Down Under come up with and Shuffling off sounds less dreadful so will have to keep that one to memory for another time.

Fretters: you've been teaching me OLD ENGLISH ever since you arrived about a couple years ago FLOGGING IT is another gem.

ALL: Did i mention my wife has wanted me to sell my STUFF for maybe years now? well her requests come and go and i just found out why. it's not that she doesn't share my love for old tools and cool stuff it's just she has no idea what anything is worth. she's actually went with me when i've went to buy some spendy stuff and she sees (not on purpose) or hears (again not on purpose) some big dollars going out of my pocket for a trailer or a Honda full of STUFF. so sound familiar?

anyway she was in a good mood so i happened to ask if i was to price some of my STUFF would she then maybe not bring up the subject again would that help. Guess what? The only reason she bugs me is because she doesn't have a clue on the value to divide up between the kids (3 boys and a son in law and maybe a second son in law on the way) or to sell some of it and not feel like she wasn't dumb or cheated.



Aw, don't worry drives, I love going to those sells where the widow doesn't know the value of the husbands STUFF....

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: in case any of you want to chime in on the new thread i started here's the link for

WHO GETS ALL OUR TOOLS WHEN WE DIE?? how do we price for our widow??

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=316825

TOP: NO KIDDING

 

[Outlawmws]

Going back a page: Maui, yes those big extra heavy duty exposed screws vises have come up a number of times. some even bigger...

If the condition is not compromised, the 100 is OK, not a usuck deal but your not overpaying IMO. but you can always come back to the original price. do check the thing closely however especially around any welds.

On the Wife Topic: the other option is not to die first! It's not a race guys! I have NO PLANS for it any time soon...

 

[Fretters]

On the Wife Topic: the other option is not to die first! It's not a race guys! I have NO PLANS for it any time soon...

Aye, but have you not noticed that women seem to have a habit of generally outliving their husbands. Wonder why....

 

[Outlawmws]

IMO its for one of 2 reasons:

• They (the men) lose it after retirement and have nothing to do, not even run the house.
• or their work killed them slowly, due to exposure to bad stuff...

I'l keep busy with any number of things after I retire. Those with no life but work...

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: i could die tomorrow trying to get HEALTHY or haven't any of you read my weight loss thread? that said i think i've found a way to make it peaceful until I (or she) DIE. as some of you know i do have some STUFF and not that i NEED to keep it i don't want to HAVE to sell it.

cheers all and thanks for the responses, but still looking for answers because i'm not an ACCOUNTANT nor do i want to put a number on everything.

 

[topop101]

ALL: i could die tomorrow trying to get HEALTHY or haven't any of you read my weight loss thread? that said i think i've found a way to make it peaceful until I (or she) DIE. as some of you know i do have some STUFF and not that i NEED to keep it i don't want to HAVE to sell it.

cheers all and thanks for the responses, but still looking for answers because i'm not an ACCOUNTANT nor do i want to put a number on everything.

$.60 per pound! or come up with your own number. It's the easiest to apply to iron stuff. anvils ... $3.00 per pound-100lbs $5.00 over a hundred.
$$ per pound what ever the rate would be the best method IMHO

 

[nine4gmc]

ALL: in case any of you want to chime in on the new thread i started here's the link for

WHO GETS ALL OUR TOOLS WHEN WE DIE?? how do we price for our widow??

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=316825

TOP: NO KIDDING

It's bad enough they have to deal with losing you, you don't want to burden them more by leaving them a pile of tools to sell. It's even worse if you put a price on every little thing. Prices are what someone is willing to pay. Time and location makes it even more complicating. All I can say is if you have something really, really valuable, let them know they should research that item at the time they sell. Some widows will sell everything immediately, some wait years and even decades before they sell their spouses things. Time changes everything, and what you pay now has no reflection on what it could be worth next year, or 5 years from now, or decades from now. I think if it's not worth a thousand or more, it,s not worth the hassle of having someone else deal with it when I'm gone.

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk

 

[Sonofamachinist]

Was wondering if anyone had any info about my vise. I bought it at a yard sale about 15 years ago for 10 dollars. I'd like to clean it up and repaint it. It's a Parker Model 000. Anyone out there know how old it is? What color it should be?

I noticed in the thread that someone had a similar one. Except mine doesn't have any of the Patent Dates on it. Could it be that it was built before the patents were granted?

Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

[drivesitfar]

Son: nice find and you didn't over pay for that one. i think most of the patent dates are on the main screw's holder that yours is missing and a replacement was made. the patent if i remember correctly was 1867 so your vise is one of the oldest Parkers which is a good think especially in it's decent condition.

i'd strip it and put BLO on it unless that is the original color on it and then i'd just clean it up and put BLO (boiled linseed oil) on it to preserve it and use it.

good luck and welcome to Garage Journal

NINES: good point about updating the #'s if i do end up putting prices on a few of my tools and vises every few years up or down.

TOP: not sure a by the pound figure works much on any real quality old tool, but it's a place to start i guess. i do know values or fairly close on a lot of stuff.

 

[Outlawmws]

There were three early patents for Parker, in one 1854, and two in 1867. Yours has "Parker Co" on it, so likely after the 1876 incorporation as the Charles Parker Co.

The rounded screw had was in use from the early days through the 1920's and it looks like it has the screw in the head that holds in the handle tensioner.

Hard to say what the color was. Parker had "economy" vises that were originally painted green, close to John Deer green. Other vises were commonly black, probably flat or semi gloss.

There was an economy (Green) series like that one in the late 1800's that were numbered 0000, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, with 3-1/4", 3-5/8", 4-1/4", 4-3/4", 5-3/8", and 6-1/8" wide jaws respectively.

I have nothing on a model No. 000 however.

The date of manufacture could be anywhere from 1876 to about 1930 when they went to a cylindrical screw head.

What is your Jaw width?

 

[Mr_P]

Guess who bought a double swivel Parker today?

 

[Mr_P]

This guy...

 

[G20-Budo]

Guess who bought a double swivel Parker today?

Mr. P - I'm looking forward to seeing that double swivel Parker restored..that looks cool. I don't think I've seen one of those Parkers like that before.

 

[drivesitfar]

P: even if you don't restore that double swiveling Parker and just rub some BLO on it i'm happy for you. that is a sweet looking vise and Ebay or local find?

Outlaw and ALL: i don't really know Parkers all that well and i've sold almost every one that i've found so just asking for clarification. or maybe another member has the answer. i could have sworn i've seen patent dates on the retainers that were 1867, but i might have seen 1876 and thought it said 1867. so what are the oldest Parker patents??

or were you just saying that the 0000 model was the later patent?

 

[Mr_P]

It was a local find at $63. So at 50lbs that's $1.26/lb

 

[drivesitfar]

P: did you try to pay more??

 

[bagged89s10]

Guess who bought a double swivel Parker today?

Awesome pickup. You deserve a you ****! What's the condition on the jaws?

 

[Mr_P]

Believe it or not the sticker price was $180

I asked for wiggle room, and they pointed out that this tag also read "1/2 off"

How I came to $63 you ask? That's all I had in cash on me. I'm good with that price.