topop101
Well-known member
LOL , if you are like me , that is an ever growing list!
The VISES of Garage Journal
- Thread starter mjozefow
- Start date
LOL , if you are like me , that is an ever growing list!
Hello All, Just joined and discovered the wealth of information on GJ including the vise section which I did not know much about. So thank you all in advance for all your advice to others and knowledge you have shared.
I had a friend give me an old Littlestown 140, I know that this is just a entry level home owners vise with an exposed screw and not of much value but it was a labor of love to turn it around.
It was not completely toast but had a good bit of rust on it and a layer of red paint that was put on somewhere along its existence.
Which I promptly restored over the memorial day weekend, using an electrolysis bath, wire wheel, and polishing.
Cant wait to find my next one
I had a friend give me an old Littlestown 140, I know that this is just a entry level home owners vise with an exposed screw and not of much value but it was a labor of love to turn it around.
It was not completely toast but had a good bit of rust on it and a layer of red paint that was put on somewhere along its existence.
Which I promptly restored over the memorial day weekend, using an electrolysis bath, wire wheel, and polishing.
Cant wait to find my next one
scooternut
Well-known member
Nice job on the Littlestown!
Looks great! Good job.
Hello All, Just joined and discovered the wealth of information on GJ including the vise section which I did not know much about. So thank you all in advance for all your advice to others and knowledge you have shared.
I had a friend give me an old Littlestown 140, I know that this is just a entry level home owners vise with an exposed screw and not of much value but it was a labor of love to turn it around.
It was not completely toast but had a good bit of rust on it and a layer of red paint that was put on somewhere along its existence.
Which I promptly restored over the memorial day weekend, using an electrolysis bath, wire wheel, and polishing.
Cant wait to find my next one
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Thanks Mike; Yeah I keep thinking some day I'll find a mother lode of them mixed in with a bunch of junk!
I still can't believe this was the first one I ever found. I've seen dozens upon dozens of the empty holes, and bought close to!two dozen of the homeowners exposed screw vises they commonly show up on, but to quote Highlander, I guess "There Can Be Only One"
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Hurt, that Littlestown came out great!
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Hurttin: WELL DONE on the restoration of the little Littlestown vise and great first post. also thanks from all of us for the KUDOS because at times i'm sure all of us wonder if our posts are actually being read and helping others. sounds like you might have a vice for vises so fair warning that there are a lot of very cool old vises to buy and bring back to life. also I hope your new handle doesn't mean that you are in pain and if you are all the best with that.
BP: here's the link to Vintage Nut's Morgan 160 restoration in case you might have any questions. also if you have any questions I know he's still around and just doesn't have time to post much anymore because of school and work so send him a PM if you might need some help. on post #1302 in the vise repair 101 thread there are a lot of pictures, but he also made a few improvements to his so I barely recognize it and I used to own it.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252830&highlight=morgan+160&page=91
BTW I have only worked on a few of the BIG UNS, but I've moved around a lot of them and just letting you know to be prepared for sore arms. good luck
Dutch: is your Morgan a 6 inch wide jaw and what # because I can't quite make it out? Did Americans think bigger was better since it appears we made a lot bigger vises or did we really NEED those BIG UNS to do some of the work we were doing that England couldn't because of the wars being in your backyard? or maybe all the HUGE vises that were made in England in the early 1900's were used to make tanks and airplanes so there isn't many around for you guys to find?
BP: here's the link to Vintage Nut's Morgan 160 restoration in case you might have any questions. also if you have any questions I know he's still around and just doesn't have time to post much anymore because of school and work so send him a PM if you might need some help. on post #1302 in the vise repair 101 thread there are a lot of pictures, but he also made a few improvements to his so I barely recognize it and I used to own it.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252830&highlight=morgan+160&page=91
BTW I have only worked on a few of the BIG UNS, but I've moved around a lot of them and just letting you know to be prepared for sore arms. good luck
Dutch: is your Morgan a 6 inch wide jaw and what # because I can't quite make it out? Did Americans think bigger was better since it appears we made a lot bigger vises or did we really NEED those BIG UNS to do some of the work we were doing that England couldn't because of the wars being in your backyard? or maybe all the HUGE vises that were made in England in the early 1900's were used to make tanks and airplanes so there isn't many around for you guys to find?
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mike_paxton
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2013
- Messages
- 905
Hello All, Just joined and discovered the wealth of information on GJ including the vise section which I did not know much about. So thank you all in advance for all your advice to others and knowledge you have shared.
I had a friend give me an old Littlestown 140, I know that this is just a entry level home owners vise with an exposed screw and not of much value but it was a labor of love to turn it around.
Cant wait to find my next one
Hurttin:
You did a great job on the Littlestown 140 restoration.
Littlestown made good vises.
BTW, I tell folks who buy vises from me that I use a little 4" jaw vise over 90 percent of time. However, I do keep a large No. 4 old junk yard dog Prentiss when I need to hold something too big for the jaw width of the little one.
Mike
Craptain
Well-known member
My first restoration was a Littlestown. They are good vises whilst inexpensive.
But now my go to vise is usually a 3 1/2 Wilton, then a 3 1/2 Craftsman and lastly a 5" Columbian. Big is not always better.
Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk
IHmachinery
Well-known member
Craftsman 5152: 1937-42 still has much of the original blue paint. 4" jaws, 41 lbs. No decal. Jaws tight and moved easily. Gonna have to clean this one up! $40.
That craftsman looks in very good condition - just a bit of surface rust, but looks like it has not had a hard life. Should clean up very nicely!
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IHmachinery
Well-known member
Hello All, Just joined and discovered the wealth of information on GJ including the vise section which I did not know much about. So thank you all in advance for all your advice to others and knowledge you have shared.
I had a friend give me an old Littlestown 140, I know that this is just a entry level home owners vise with an exposed screw and not of much value but it was a labor of love to turn it around.
It was not completely toast but had a good bit of rust on it and a layer of red paint that was put on somewhere along its existence.
Which I promptly restored over the memorial day weekend, using an electrolysis bath, wire wheel, and polishing.
Cant wait to find my next one
You did a beautiful job!
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Very nicely done!
va.grouseman
Well-known member
Great first restoration Hurttin.---Now that you have had a taste, it's time to wade out into the deep end.---Find you a monster, break it down, and do as good a job on it as you did on the Littlestown.---Remember lift with your legs.
va.grouseman
Well-known member
Here's pics of a Grand Quickset that was made in Chi Town that I hadn't seen before.
Plus the other 2 that I did know about.---Well as it turned out the pics of my first 2 Grands came up first, but that's not how I entered them.---The newest one is the last 6 pics.
And the Grand Master.
Plus the other 2 that I did know about.---Well as it turned out the pics of my first 2 Grands came up first, but that's not how I entered them.---The newest one is the last 6 pics.
And the Grand Master.
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Jarhead0408
Well-known member
Here's a large Prentiss SJ with 6" jaws for sale here in NC. Price is steep at $275 but it looks to be in good shape.
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/5620562178.html
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/5620562178.html
dutchgray
Well-known member
Drives
Mines a 45
View media item 61189I think its partly Americans having to have things bigger and partly that the American style opens quite a lot more than the British style for a given size, which requires a heavier slide.
I don't think us Brits ever had more than a few very large vices here and our standard patterns are certainly strong enough, they don't break unless you abuse them.
Mines a 45
View media item 61189I think its partly Americans having to have things bigger and partly that the American style opens quite a lot more than the British style for a given size, which requires a heavier slide.
I don't think us Brits ever had more than a few very large vices here and our standard patterns are certainly strong enough, they don't break unless you abuse them.
Morgan's color is blue. There is some speculation they also used black, I have a Morgan Chicago 145 that's black and looks original to me. I live in Milwaukee, here is a pic from the plant, so you can see the color
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bagged89s10
Well-known member
Finally got a vise in the etank. Replaced the rebar Anodes. A Parker 2x a gentleman dropped off for restore which his grandfather owned. Staying all original with a new paint job.
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bulletpruf
Well-known member
Morgan's color is blue. There is some speculation they also used black, I have a Morgan Chicago 145 that's black and looks original to me. I live in Milwaukee, here is a pic from the plant, so you can see the color
Thanks!
joe.striper
Well-known member
TTA89
Well-known member
I was telling my Dad how I wanted to find a nice USA made vise for my garage. He told me to come over and get his as it's too big and he wants a smaller one. I'd never really looked close at what he had but I unbolted it today and it looks like a good one. I'll need to read up about it. I assume it's probably worth a few hundred bucks?
It looks like an Atlas 924 1/2 and it's in good shape. I think I'll take it apart and clean and paint it and figure out where to mount it in my garage.
It looks like an Atlas 924 1/2 and it's in good shape. I think I'll take it apart and clean and paint it and figure out where to mount it in my garage.
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
TTA: I can't tell you the value of that vise, but I can tell you it's one of the nicest 4.5 inch vises ever made if that helps. WELL DONE and KUDOS TO YOUR DAD for buying that quality and letting you have it. take care of it and don't beat on it with a BFH and you should be able to see that vise in use 100 years from now when you look down on your great grand kids.
Dutch: as big as the 4.5 inch Morgan is I bet it's only half the size of the Morgan 160 Bulletproof just bought. it's also only about a 1/3 the size of the pallet of 80's that JRobb posted of the new 8 inch 200+ pound Morgans he forgot to pick up when he was at the Morgan factory. good thoughts on the Americans vs. the English sizes.
Dutch: as big as the 4.5 inch Morgan is I bet it's only half the size of the Morgan 160 Bulletproof just bought. it's also only about a 1/3 the size of the pallet of 80's that JRobb posted of the new 8 inch 200+ pound Morgans he forgot to pick up when he was at the Morgan factory. good thoughts on the Americans vs. the English sizes.
joe.striper
Well-known member
I was telling my Dad how I wanted to find a nice USA made vise for my garage. He told me to come over and get his as it's too big and he wants a smaller one. I'd never really looked close at what he had but I unbolted it today and it looks like a good one. I'll need to read up about it. I assume it's probably worth a few hundred bucks?
It looks like an Atlas 924 1/2 and it's in good shape. I think I'll take it apart and clean and paint it and figure out where to mount it in my garage.
Dont paint that beauty! Just clean it up with simple green an wire brush the bare metal, and this is coming from a guy who LOVES to refinish.
I was telling my Dad how I wanted to find a nice USA made vise for my garage. He told me to come over and get his as it's too big and he wants a smaller one. I'd never really looked close at what he had but I unbolted it today and it looks like a good one. I'll need to read up about it. I assume it's probably worth a few hundred bucks?
It looks like an Atlas 924 1/2 and it's in good shape. I think I'll take it apart and clean and paint it and figure out where to mount it in my garage.
Out in the wild it's probably a $150 score, but that paint job looks nice. You'll never recreate that factory finish which is the best one used from any manufacturer IMO. I agree, leave it alone. Clean and lube and enjoy.
TTA89
Well-known member
Thanks guys, I'll clean it up and lube it in a few weeks and post back when it's mounted in its new home. 
zoomieport
Well-known member
dutchgray
Well-known member
Drives
Yes mine is only a small ish Morgan.
Hopefully one day I will find one of the really big 8" 250 to 300 lb or more American lumps around here somewhere.
Yes mine is only a small ish Morgan.
Hopefully one day I will find one of the really big 8" 250 to 300 lb or more American lumps around here somewhere.
IHmachinery
Well-known member
bagged89s10
Well-known member
Finally got a vise in the etank. Replaced the rebar Anodes. A Parker 2x a gentleman dropped off for restore which his grandfather owned. Staying all original with a new paint job.
This thing cooks fast.
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topop101
Well-known member
One more lil one for the weekend. This one is an old pat pending Grand "QUICKCET" 3" bench clamp vise. It has really great texture on the jaw faces . Both screws turn freely but the slides are frozen. Maybe an E bath will help? It's been used but not abused. No way I was leaving this one behind for a buck!
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joe.striper
Well-known member
Nice find Joe, that is one vise that has eluded me in the larger jaw size...
Email me....
oldldh
Well-known member
What he said. That vise is in excellent shape. Finnish wise too. Do not paint it!!!!!!!!!!
John
bagged89s10
Well-known member
dkroth
Well-known member
Outlawmws
Well-known member
bagged89s10
Well-known member
Look at the design for a Parker vise stand by empire fabrication. I hope he ends up building it.
