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The VISES of Garage Journal

autopts

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Been awhile since I posted a vise, here's a half way decent little Morgan 87
I picked up and probably one of the first with the pipe jaws still in it, this was filthier then heck when I got it all I did was cleaned it up with some totally awesome have not used no stripper or wire brushed it yet, first Morgan I have owned I am keeping this one, the tolerances are unbelievably close not sure if I want to paint it or leave it naked.
Please forgive the quality of the pics there from a $70 tablet my Macbook broke
The jaws are in good shape just need cleaned up

Ted, they don't get much nicer then that. Great Patina. What a nice find!!
 
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autopts

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Back to the Wilton 800s, what is the slide diameter on those? Or does anyone know for certain if the machinist series bullet vises are a consistent scale between the sizes?

zkling My dial caliber could not go down to the actual OD. It measured 4 1/8" so I had to get primitive with my eye and yardstick and it looked to be about 4 1/4".
 

tedsters

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I have the 88 they look nice painted but bare steal looks good also. Here is mine painted red, jaws came out great. I may have it sold it will be tough to give it up.

Back to the Wilton 800s, what is the slide diameter on those? Or does anyone know for certain if the machinist series bullet vises are a consistent scale between the sizes?

Ted, they don't get much nicer then that. Great Patina. What a nice find!!

On my break right now, what's the BLO the guys are putting on these to keep the natural look, no paint
 

GETRIDAONE

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Auburn, GA
Boiled Linseed Oil. Put it on with light coats and wipe it off good. If you put it on thick it will take longer to dry and will be sticky.
 

Shiftless

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....And you aren't on your way to get it?????? :3gears:

Edit: I've seen those here previously. IMO, that's an exceptional price.

Unfortunately I am seriously away from home in CA right now...(Tokyo) and don't know anybody near there to run over and pick it up.
Anybody reading this live near Bakersfield, CA?
 

drivesitfar

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Shift: i'm with Mark that if you can somehow have the guy hold it if it isn't too far to drive and pick up when you are back in the area it's worth easily that much. I haven't had my hands on those style vises because they seem to be more of an across the pond design, but the guys over there seem to like them a lot. I think I've seen that vise for sale before so guessing the seller is either not answering his emails or getting them or is hard to reach because it should be gone.

hope you are having fun and not spending all your vise funds for a room in Tokyo.

Chilang: yep, I guess we forgot to give you the warning that I (we) used to give new members showing up with cool old vise purchases. I had stopped because we thought we had it under control, but you've got it pretty bad just by looking at that one picture of your workbench. It's not curable once you get it, but it's a lot better than having a JONES for hot rods, lathes or many other more expensive things. good luck with that and just a hint if you post on this thread asking if you should by a vise that is in good shape and reasonably priced you probably will never get a NO answer.

cheers and your new finds look great BTW
 

drivesitfar

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Tedsters: nice to see you posting again and hope you get the glitches worked out.

JC: good post and too funny about how big a 8 inch old US vise really is. I have yet to actually see one in person, but I've flown in the grand canyon on a helicopter so know exactly what you mean. :thumbup:

Ex: yep I agree it's a Paramo design and have never heard of Derby. Maybe it was a small company in Canada?
 

PghJKB

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Tedsters: nice to see you posting again and hope you get the glitches worked out.

Ex: yep I agree it's a Paramo design and have never heard of Derby. Maybe it was a small company in Canada?

Yup. agree about Paramo.

Drives a small company in Canada that made their vices in England? (Take a closer look at the image.)

JKB
 

tedsters

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****&get
Thanks for the tip I think I have part of a can at home from an auction

drives
I got a couple nice vises to post, one at a time I ain't posting no more till this one is done
 

drivesitfar

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JKB: I saw that and had a Senior Moment when posting made in Canada. just wanted to see if you were paying attention like you usually are. thanks

VA: have you or your magic searching skills ever seen the Derby vice? or is it being shipped to Virginia while we are talking about it. :dunno:
 

exmaxima1

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Re: Derby Vices?

I seen that when he posted it, looks like a darn nice vise I am surprised it is still there

It looks nice but I think $150 is too much for a No. 4 vise. I paid less than that for my No. 6 Paramo (though no much less). I probably should take a walk over there and see if he'd like to barter......
 

Mark in Indiana

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Shift: i'm with Mark that if you can somehow have the guy hold it if it isn't too far to drive and pick up when you are back in the area it's worth easily that much. I haven't had my hands on those style vises because they seem to be more of an across the pond design, but the guys over there seem to like them a lot. I think I've seen that vise for sale before so guessing the seller is either not answering his emails or getting them or is hard to reach because it should be gone.

hope you are having fun and not spending all your vise funds for a room in Tokyo.


Shift,
Can you contact the seller and see if he would hold it? Kick in a few extra bucks for his trouble and pay via PayPal?
$30 is usually what I get for an open screw, working, unrestored, Asian vise.
 
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drivesitfar

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Mark: I think that $30 vise is also a 3 or 4 hour drive for Shift even if he was home. it also has been listed before so i'd be leery of why it didn't sell the last time. there have been more than a few nice old vises seen in that area of the country almost similar to Joe's Vise heaven area he keeps showing us examples of.

Dutch: that is a cool vise and always like seeing pictures of it.
 

FMC1959

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Back to the Wilton 800s, what is the slide diameter on those? Or does anyone know for certain if the machinist series bullet vises are a consistent scale between the sizes?

zkling My dial caliber could not go down to the actual OD. It measured 4 1/8" so I had to get primitive with my eye and yardstick and it looked to be about 4 1/4".

I figured either Autpts or Zoomie would have an answer for you, both being Wilton experts and owning 8" bullets.

If ZK or anyone else wants any other specs on an 800S (but not the slide diameter), there are some if you scroll down on this page.
http://www.mile-x.com/wilton-800s-8-swivel-base-machinists-vise-free-shipping/
 

FMC1959

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Didn't feel the need to start a new thread.

I'm looking into getting a new Wilton vise. Might do the GJ honorable thing and restore one later down the road, but that's not my intention right now. I'm looking for their smallest bullet vise and the 300S is it. I like that it's only 28 lbs. The biggest drawback I see is that it only opens to 4 3/4". My Irwin opens to 6" and I like that I can clamp 2x6's in it laying flat. So I'll keep it around.

But I'm leaning toward their Tradesman vises even though their smallest one of that series is larger than 300s. The 4 1/2" tradesman weighs in at 42 lbs, however it only opens to 4". But it has the pipe clamp. Nice!
And I'll add that size for size the Tradesman vises are much cheaper that their machinist vises even though the Tradesmans do come with the pipe clamp. Not sure why, anyone want to explain why? Either way, I'm leaning towards the tradesman series for those reasons.

Then I came across this Wilton special edition 5 1/2" black tradesman vise.

http://www.wiltontools.com/us/en/p/...esman-vise-b-a-s-h-20416-sledge-hammer/63200A

I'm a sucker for special editions, especially when they come with the extra goodie being a 4lb BASH hammer. This one opens to 5", so that's a plus and it has the pipe clamp, another big plus. But the darn thing weighs 53 lbs. I think I'd want to beef up my bench just for piece of mind.

So this brings up my question. Is there any love for a black Wilton special edition amongst vise enthusiasts? On the screen I think it looks a little weird, but it could grow on me and it would be unique if anything.

As long as you like it, who cares what others think. Personally, I like it and would not hesitate getting it. There was a thread on GJ on this Special Edition
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315955

Someone on the thread found it for $339 on this site...
http://www.coastaltoolsupply.com/product/WIL-63200A.html

Your question as tow why do Tradesman cost so much less than the Wilton Machinists vise; it is mainly the heft or density. The Tradesman have more hollow areas and weigh much less. An 8" Tradesman is about 100 lbs, the 8" Machinists is almost 240 lbs. If you check the specs on the other models, you will see the Machinists (and combo C Series) weigh substantially more than Tradesman vises within given sizes.

The Tradesman vises are still great made in the USA vises, and much better than similar sized imports that go for $50 to $200. The SE Tradesman with the free Bash hammers is a great deal and the vise will last a lifetime and more.
 

exmaxima1

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The Tradesman vises are still great made in the USA vises, and much better than similar sized imports that go for $50 to $200. The SE Tradesman with the free Bash hammers is a great deal and the vise will last a lifetime and more.

I have to crack up when I read that, as so many vises that should have lived forever seemingly were destroyed by abuse/accidents/rust/etc. It really depends on the owner....
 

FMC1959

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I have to crack up when I read that, as so many vises that should have lived forever seemingly were destroyed by abuse/accidents/rust/etc. It really depends on the owner....

I figured people with a bit of reasoning would read it, I didn't think it was necessary to put a disclaimer. There are people (morons) that can destroy anything, including an 8" Reed or Wilton 800S. Under normal usage, it should last a lifetime...much better than a cheap import.
 

PureLeaf

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I'm surprised to see the new tradesman are still made in the USA. I know Wilton has gone to China for some of their cheaper things. So nice to see.
 

FMC1959

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I'm surprised to see the new tradesman are still made in the USA. I know Wilton has gone to China for some of their cheaper things. So nice to see.

Somewhere in the 80's or 90's, the did make tradesman in China, then brought them back to the US. All the bullet models; Machinists, Combo (C Series) and Tradesman are US, everything else is made in China.
 

zkling

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I saw a couple of those great big Wiltons a few months ago. And the scale of them is hard to describe. I had only seen photos of an 8" vise up to that point, and I was not prepared for how massive they are. A friend summed it up, "pictures don't describe the Grand Canyon either"....

zkling My dial caliber could not go down to the actual OD. It measured 4 1/8" so I had to get primitive with my eye and yardstick and it looked to be about 4 1/4".

I figured either Autpts or Zoomie would have an answer for you, both being Wilton experts and owning 8" bullets.

If ZK or anyone else wants any other specs on an 800S (but not the slide diameter), there are some if you scroll down on this page.
http://www.mile-x.com/wilton-800s-8-swivel-base-machinists-vise-free-shipping/

Thanks guys, yes I've seen that site and a few like it, but it unfortunately doesn't cover what I am looking for. Specifically slide diameter, base diameter (without swivel base), screw size, handle diameter, screw eye size, handle length, etc.

From the few that I have measured IIRC there was a relation that slide diameter was ~5/8 of jaw width. Just wondering if they kept a scale (or proportion) between the different vise sizes :headscrat
 

Shiftless

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Interesting post from zk

"From the few that I have measured IIRC there was a relation that slide diameter was ~5/8 of jaw width. Just wondering if they kept a scale (or proportion) between the different vise sizes."

In my own small bullet collection, I have a 3 inch, 3 1/2, 4, and 5.
Unless somebody else is quicker to gather data, I will measure slide diameters, do the math to get the ratios, and report back after my flight home this weekend.

Drives:
You're right. Round trip distance for me from home would be 560 miles.
 
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drivesitfar

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Shift: if there was a member close to pick it up and ship it I might go that route if you want to own it otherwise like I said that vise has been listed this cheap before and I think even mentioned on this thread. only VA has the skills to find that post though and maybe not even he can because I think it was last year.

hope you are having some fun and I've never been to Japan so take a few pictures and maybe start a thread in Free Parking. it's not on my bucket list, but maybe a massage and spa there should be.

cheers
 

Shiftless

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[QUOTE=drivesitfar;5681886]Shift: if there was a member close to pick it up and ship it I might go that route if you want to own it otherwise like I said that vise has been listed this cheap before and I think even mentioned on this thread. only VA has the skills to find that post though and maybe not even he can because I think it was last year.

hope you are having some fun and I've never been to Japan so take a few pictures and maybe start a thread in Free Parking. it's not on my bucket list, but maybe a massage and spa there should be.

cheers[/QUOTE]

Thanks Drives!
As far as I know, there is no way to search GJ for active members who live in a particular city. Is there a way? Anybody know how?
Eating sushi and drinking beer with my son at 5:00 AM in the old Tokyo Fish Market was one of the highlights!
 

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zoomieport

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Top: WELL DONE and great find with the old coachmaker's Parker with swivel jaw. I just moved my Simplex 420P Coachmaker's vise last night from it's prior resting spot and took out the dynamic and i'm thinking it opened up almost 2 feet and maybe 18 inches with it still sticking out the static jaw. I bet yours will open up a ways too.

Joe: do I need to cut and paste and show what you just posted elsewhere? you don't have any more ROOM for vises or tools. or are you planning on building a 40 x 120 on your neighbor's lot after you burn down his house? that York might fit in a flat rate USPS box so a local sale isn't required. :beer:

P: nice find and does look homemade. you've been gone for a bit so don't make yourself a stranger even if you stopped buying a vise a day.

Zoomie: welcome back to you too. did you manage to get a few of those power arms for $60? too good of a deal to pass up if they were in decent shape.

Thank you!
I grabbed 3, didn't want to take them all, but I thought about it.
They looked good in the pictures, we'll see...
 

scooternut

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f5d1bb0013cba4d154f33dcda45dd350.jpg76d0a76e9c6611d06eaef8600f86083e.jpg

Picked up this very good condition Hollands 14 (4 inch) today.
Ok, what is the relationship with Reed here. As an owner of 3 Reeds, this thing is ALL Reed with the exception of the main screw end. That 4 hole base, those cast in jaws, the larger than normal balls on the handle (though not reed large), just everything about it, and both from Erie, Pa.Did a few minutes of searching and didn't find anything.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

va.grouseman

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Previously posted by Drivesitfar.


VA: have you or your magic searching skills ever seen the Derby vice? or is it being shipped to Virginia while we are talking about it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Nope Drive, I checked the index and no entries for the Derby.---Looks like it might be a first cousin to the Paramo, Record, and the Rae if it had a swivel base, and some English 2nd cousins to.---Nice find he made.---Lot of copying going on it appears.


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=545801&d=1460988965

http://www.sr20forum.com/gallery/data/1058/3_26_08_010.jpg

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/millerea/Photos/Garage/IMGP0742-2.jpg

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=74938&d=1282706718
 

Jarhead0408

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Who knows?
Just picked up a Charles Parker 956.

I'll have to post some picks up soon. Weighs about 130 and has 6 inch jaws. Biggest one I've bought so far.
 

CrotalusAtrox

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The Great Southwest
IMG_1494_zpsekfxpql1.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Jaws Cleaned up really nice took about two hours to get it ready for BLO
 
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joe.striper

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agawam, ma
I'm surprised to see the new tradesman are still made in the USA. I know Wilton has gone to China for some of their cheaper things. So nice to see.

I wonder if 100% of the Tradesman are US made. I was recently informed that Tradesman jaws are made overseas from powdered metal. It came up because I recently purchased 3 of these with broken jaws. Turns out they break if they are overtightened.
 

autopts

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I wonder if 100% of the Tradesman are US made. I was recently informed that Tradesman jaws are made overseas from powdered metal. It came up because I recently purchased 3 of these with broken jaws. Turns out they break if they are overtightened.

Joe, I doubt if 70% of that Tradesman is made here. The base, cleats, bolts, swivel handles, top jaws and pipe jaws and even the spindle for that matter I would wager comes from the land far, far, away. The differences between the Tradesman and machinist are like comparing apples to oranges. The spindle out of the 350S fits the 1750 & 1755, spindle out of the 400S fits the 1760 & 1765 and the 1780A takes the 500S spindle and had the C0 pipe jaws, but I still think the Tradesman's are great user vises though.
 

autopts

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IMG_1494_zpsekfxpql1.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]Reed 203 cleaned up. Going to go with BLO on this one.

IMG_1496_zpsr8hjkqaa.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Jaws Cleaned up really nice took about two hours to get it ready for BLO

Frank, you do some kick *** restorations. 5 Stars bud!
 
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