The VISES of Garage Journal

[Outlawmws]

Very cool Dr. Scott! Looking forward what all you can accomplish with your new toy!

 

[oldldh]

Reverend Scott...

I have only one comment...

HOLY SHEEP DIP!!!

Well, maybe two...

I like your "Snow plow Truck"...

Congratulations!!!!

 

[KMScott]

Reverend Scott...

I have only one comment...

HOLY SHEEP DIP!!!

Well, maybe two...

I like your "Snow plow Truck"...

Congratulations!!!!

Very cool Dr. Scott! Looking forward what all you can accomplish with your new toy!

WOW!!! Congratulations Kevin! That's really exciting

Thanks guys. I got ice on my sore knees and excited about getting this new girl up and running. All my vises without swivel bases, nuts and custom jaws now can be repaired. Yes I can machine acme and square threads with this girl. I'll leave the spindle threads to the lathe pro's.

 

[02superduty]

JOE & MEATSIS: while i know you two are friends i'm sure feelings could be hurt when dealing with 8 inch vises. usually the conversation heads a different direction every time we talk about jaw size if you know what i mean, but let's agree to not give each other a DIRT NAP and leave that old beat up Athol to somebody that really NEEDS IT.

I agree with Drives after all its in my back yard.

 

[joe.striper]

JP: since you already have a nice Bullet mounted i'd suggest mounting the Sampson after a little cleaning and greasing unless you really need a swivel. the Reed 203.5 is a fairly small vise so if it's missing a vise nut (is it?) it might not be the best spent money to buy parts to fix it. i know Chilang finds and restores vises near you that you could probably trade him something or buy one of his to free up some of his bench space. give him a PM and you two should meet if you have time. he can also probably take a look at your Reed in person and let you know what it needs.

JOE & MEATSIS: while i know you two are friends i'm sure feelings could be hurt when dealing with 8 inch vises. usually the conversation heads a different direction every time we talk about jaw size if you know what i mean, but let's agree to not give each other a DIRT NAP and leave that old beat up Athol to somebody that really NEEDS IT.

ALL: hope you all have a great weekend and i still haven't seen my friend with his 20 vises to sell, but maybe he'll decide not to sell any and i'll make it 4 weeks without buying one even though i'm touching several every day.

cheers all

Cant we all just get along??? NO!

 

[danstead]

Mr. Scott,

AWESOME, thanks for posting pics

 

[joe.striper]

JOE & MEATSIS: while i know you two are friends i'm sure feelings could be hurt when dealing with 8 inch vises. usually the conversation heads a different direction every time we talk about jaw size if you know what i mean, but let's agree to not give each other a DIRT NAP and leave that old beat up Athol to somebody that really NEEDS IT.

I agree with Drives after all its in my back yard.

You are too cheap to spring for that, I know you!

 

[KMScott]

Mr. Scott,

AWESOME, thanks for posting pics

Thanks Dan, I wish I got better pic's like a front shot. I was hands on today and did not get a chance . Wish one of my 8 grandkids wanted to learn a trade. I can use some help.

 

[02superduty]

Joe Joe you are correct too much $$ for mr. cheapo

 

[CrotalusAtrox]

Picked up a Reed 104 today in decent shape really want a 204R but just havent found one for a decent price yet. The buffer was to cheap to pass up so I bought it also, its a 1/4 HP but in like new condition.

 

[Shiftless]

Picked up a Reed 104 today in decent shape really want a 204R but just havent found one for a decent price yet. The buffer was to cheap to pass up so I bought it also its a 1/4 HP but in like new condition.

Chilang:
I'm having a great deal of trouble processing your posting. I am not accustomed to seeing the words NEW, BALDOR, and CHEAP all together.

 

[charliemoose]

I just picked up 2 Chas Parker vises one is a 79x 159 lbs and the other is a 249x 80 lbs I was trying to post some pics Can someone help

 

[bagged89s10]

It is a strange place to break. It only has to take the weight of the slide and that vise doesn't look rusty.

Yeah I would think the handle would be bent like a pretzel before that broke.

Bagged, it is threaded. The shaft has some braze on it, cannot tell if there was a hole. I am almost out the door to a car show this evening, I will get a couple of close ups in the morning.

This is what it should look like. And the missing split ring nut.

 

[bagged89s10]

And all the while you guys are flapping your jaws, Bagged is being silent. I bet he already reserved a round trip spot on the LI Ferry and is on his way home with it in his trunk.

On my way.

 

[jakemac]

I knew it !
It's always the quiet ones.

 

[j p smith]

Drives
Thanks, I will proceed with Samson

Bagged
Thanks for the pictures

Is the shoulder on the shaft a washer or is it part of the shaft?

You can see the washer is made of a couple of washers welded together and it might have been brazed to the shaft. I don't know if I should repair this or see if someone can use the parts and look for another one. I would really rather put the effort into getting the parts to fix the 405.
The 405 needs the nut stand and a shaft. The shaft is broke and the nut stand is missing.
The 405 came from an old tractor repair shop that was turned into an auto repair shop in the early 1950's. I have had it since the early 1970's and have never been able to let go of it.

 

[bagged89s10]

Drives

Thanks, I will proceed with Samson



Bagged

Thanks for the pictures



Is the shoulder on the shaft a washer or is it part of the shaft?



You can see the washer is made of a couple of washers welded together and it might have been brazed to the shaft. I don't know if I should repair this or see if someone can use the parts and look for another one. I would really rather put the effort into getting the parts to fix the 405.

The 405 needs the nut stand and a shaft. The shaft is broke and the nut stand is missing.

The 405 came from an old tractor repair shop that was turned into an auto repair shop in the early 1950's. I have had it since the early 1970's and have never been able to let go of it.

It's part of the shaft. Maybe you can find another Reed with a broken jaw or slide which you can take the parts off of. Or sell it for parts.

 

[bagged89s10]

I knew it !

It's always the quiet ones.

Looks like someone bid last minute, but it wasn't me.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

All,

Good day hunting the yard sales this morning. I pulled up to a house that had a 6" Rapid vise setting in the driveway. I ran out of my car to it. It was priced for 20$. Rapid brand vises are manufactured by Bison-Bial. My heart stopped!

I asked the seller if he had any wiggle room on the price. He said he paid 40$ for it and didn't want to come down. Can't blame me for trying.

So I grabbed it.

Conveniently, I'm starting on the restoration of my 150mm, Bison-Bial 1250-150. So now, I can restore both vises at the same time.



Drives,
I think the angels were singing "Alleluia" this morning.

 

[bluebolt]

KMScott, nice new CNC! What year is your Ford plow truck, 1966 F250? I can't quite see the grille.

 

[drivesitfar]

JP: put the money into the Reed 405 and ask for help if you need some. now that is a sort of rare bird with heft and options that the little one doesn't have. i have a 404.5 and maybe a 404 and 403.5 so maybe somebody else can get you some help with measurements or parts for yours if you need some.

Bagged: nice picture and are you on a boat and yours?

Mark: you just bought a few vises at an auction a few days ago too didn't you? or was that another ALLELUIA moment too? WELL DONE and you didn't pay too much for it as you already know especially if it's guts are in great shape. i see you still have the labels on it to so nice find.

G20: i'll survive, but i'm always looking. i was in a huge warehouse yesterday with 2 to 10 ton bridge cranes still in place ready to be removed and i was looking in the corners for some old gems and not one to be found. the company used to provide the steel to make some of the bridges so only guessing what vises used to rest inside. i did manage to save a 8 foot steel framed workbench that i have a new diamond plate steel top for.

KM: nice addition

ALL: hope you all have a great weekend

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

I had a pretty good week of tool buying too. This little Reed 404 popped up and I was able to get away long enough to pick it up. I love these 40 series Reeds and they are built like little pigs. Most of the original finish was still on it so it only took an hour or two to clean up. Can swing the back jaw into place without having to resort to the brass hammer so thats pretty good. Ed.



Oh, and as he cleaned up good and looks like a keeper I felt it was time to introduce him to his older brother who is a 405-1/2. I picked it up a couple of years ago and shamefully still haven't got a mount built. Still a ways to go on the Reed 40 series collection but here they are together for the first time. Ed.

 

[bulletpruf]

Birth announcement!

Mrs. and Mrs. Bullet Wilton of Schiller Park, IL, are pleased to announce the birth of the newest addition to their family - "Baby Bullet" Wilton (pictured with his parents below) was born yesterday, weighing in at 3.63 lbs and 6 7/8" long.

Mother and Baby are doing well.

Scott

 

[bagged89s10]

JP: put the money into the Reed 405 and ask for help if you need some. now that is a sort of rare bird with heft and options that the little one doesn't have. i have a 404.5 and maybe a 404 and 403.5 so maybe somebody else can get you some help with measurements or parts for yours if you need some.



Bagged: nice picture and are you on a boat and yours?



Mark: you just bought a few vises at an auction a few days ago too didn't you? or was that another ALLELUIA moment too? WELL DONE and you didn't pay too much for it as you already know especially if it's guts are in great shape. i see you still have the labels on it to so nice find.



G20: i'll survive, but i'm always looking. i was in a huge warehouse yesterday with 2 to 10 ton bridge cranes still in place ready to be removed and i was looking in the corners for some old gems and not one to be found. the company used to provide the steel to make some of the bridges so only guessing what vises used to rest inside. i did manage to save a 8 foot steel framed workbench that i have a new diamond plate steel top for.



KM: nice addition



ALL: hope you all have a great weekend

Drives, Not my boat. We went on a whale watch off of cape cod with my wife and son a couple weeks ago. We saw about 15-20 humpback whales. They come up there to feed in the summer.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Drives,

Yes. I had an Alleluia moment last week also. But the vise well had been dry for quite awhile before that. Not many guys want to cut loose of their vintage arn, and not very many old widow women around here that give away their husband's stuff anymore like in years past.

 

[drivesitfar]

ORC: i would have tried to buy that one if i'd seen it. nice find and another nice addition to your VERY COOL SHOP.

BP: congrats and since sending cigars that far might be illegal i'll just wish you and the family the best and hope the little ones grows a power arm and maybe a clamp some day soon.

Bagged: thanks for the cool pics and i'd go whale watching on calm days like that. looks like fun.

Mark: maybe our thread and all the information we are providing letting the youngins know the value and how to use a vise is passing more down from the widows to sons and grandsons so you (we) are doing our jobs. again nice finds.

Chilang: i'd like to find a 1/4 HP baldor buffer to put wire wheels on because i'm afraid if i put wire wheels on my 3/4 buffer i'll be shooting them through my arms. nice finds and see if you can PM JP to help him fix his Reed. his shop and skills are amazing so i'm sure he can do it himself, but since you spiff up a vise in about a day he might need a few pointers. i don't know how you both work in your shops with steel on 120 degree days. at least you can paint almost year round.

 

[wkndwarrior29]

I went to a sale today spying a rusty starrett athol 926. I bid until 450and let the other guy have it... now I am feeling remorse.

I bought this two pack for $40. I have no idea what the post vise is or is worth. The Parker is in worse shape than I had initially thought with a damaged base and damaged slide - maybe I'll rehome the screw and jaws to someone who needs them or maybe I'll see about making those bookends people post about.

How did I do? Does anyone know anything about the post vise? Can't see any identifiers under the paint and rust yet.

Update: finished with these two vises today, they took a while in the dip tank. Columbian post vise cleaned up and coated with shellac. The broken Parker was turned into a door stop and a gate stop - heavy coat of shellac, some rustoleum metallic, and a clear poly top coat on the paint.

 

[KMScott]

KMScott, nice new CNC! What year is your Ford plow truck, 1966 F250? I can't quite see the grille.

blue, it is 66 1 ton, has a dump bed and a 390, I took the duallys off. It is just for plowing and I fire it up on the worst days of the year up here and has never let me down. Had it since 89. It is a beast to drive but happy I have it.

I am still thinking about what Mark said (I asked the seller if he had any wiggle room on the price.) when $20 for that vise was asking to much... Wow.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

KM,
A poor little Picker's gotta make a living.
BTW: cool plow truck and awesome CNC. I hope you post some pictures of it making chips.

 

[Jim Johnstone]

I know this pic's are not a vise but this brand new CNC machine will only make vise stuff. I am pretty happy it is in the shop, still need to drop it 9" and trim some shields to fit in between the floor joist and move it back another foot. Had to use my plow truck to help push the forklift up my steep driveway. Yes it's tight but I have a machine with a tool changer and that is like hiring a employee. Gonna be fun to carving out all sorts of vise parts. My old machine will be for vises only, expecting a 8 incher from Kansas soon.

Nice. I've used a brand new haas recently, decent machine. You're right about the tool changer being like another employee. It's a huge advantage.

 

[KMScott]

KM,
A poor little Picker's gotta make a living.
BTW: cool plow truck and awesome CNC. I hope you post some pictures of it making chips.

I sure will, the Haas is more for all the jaws I make, up to 200+ different jaw models. My old machine will be for the custom stuff. Each pair of jaws takes 4 tool changes.

Nice. I've used a brand new haas recently, decent machine. You're right about the tool changer being like another employee. It's a huge advantage.

Thanks Jim, this one is not the top of the line model but I hope it just runs and runs. Got real tired of fixing my old machine like my Miltronics Partner. Plum wore it out building jaws. By the way the new guy was close to 40k, gotta make a bunch of vise parts to pay for this guy. But my health is worth all the dollars. I just can not stand in front of a machine with my 60 year old knees changing tools any more.

 

[G-ManBart]

Well, I finally finished the restoration of the Wilton 600 I picked up a few weeks back. I'm going to do a new thread on it because there were a few twists and turns that might help others. Hint, don't bolt a vise to diamond plate aluminum OR drop it on it's spindle! Here are the before and after pics:

 

[Mark in Indiana]

KM,
That's awesome. I only learned to use hand crankers. I wish that I learned more about CNC, but my career path didn't include it. All that I could claim is that my 1938 Cincinnati MH2 is a CNC...Crank-N-Cut.

G-man,
Nice restoration.

 

[Tejaas]

Drives

Thanks, I will proceed with Samson



Bagged

Thanks for the pictures



Is the shoulder on the shaft a washer or is it part of the shaft?



You can see the washer is made of a couple of washers welded together and it might have been brazed to the shaft. I don't know if I should repair this or see if someone can use the parts and look for another one. I would really rather put the effort into getting the parts to fix the 405.

The 405 needs the nut stand and a shaft. The shaft is broke and the nut stand is missing.

The 405 came from an old tractor repair shop that was turned into an auto repair shop in the early 1950's. I have had it since the early 1970's and have never been able to let go of it.

Where did you get the gray shelving units in the background of your first photo?

They don't appear to be the flimsy box store types...?

Are the shelves steel-topped, or plywood inserts?


~Tejaas~

 

[Jim Johnstone]

Thanks Jim, this one is not the top of the line model but I hope it just runs and runs. Got real tired of fixing my old machine like my Miltronics Partner. Plum wore it out building jaws. By the way the new guy was close to 40k, gotta make a bunch of vise parts to pay for this guy. But my health is worth all the dollars. I just can not stand in front of a machine with my 60 year old knees changing tools any more.

When you're doing production runs, how many jaws do you set on the table at a time?

 

[KMScott]

When you're doing production runs, how many jaws do you set on the table at a time?

Jim, I have two 4 inch Kurt DL 400 angle lock vises that clamps two jaws at the same time. One vise clamps the top side and the other vise clamps the back side. I finish one set per run. A set of Prentiss jaws takes 6 tools to make a pair after squaring and sizing the blocks. I looked and can not find a picture of how I make the standard jaws, the picture I added shows me using the 4" Kurt double making a set of 8" Parker jaws on my Bridgeport 8" sine plate. I keep one 6" Kurt for machining the over all lengths to the right and have two 4" Double Lock vises to the left. When I serrate the jaws I pull the two 4" Kurts and add my serrating fixture. You kind of get in a rut when doing production and tend to keep the same set up you started with. I have been making production vise parts since 2012. I now can look at improving my set up.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Here is my 2nd new vise this week....it may be an addiction. I have quite a few Wilton vises in the shop but this one I just picked up is already special to me. It's been popping up on C/L for what seems a year or so and I even price checked it once before and thought it was prohibitive. Today I went to look again and we made a deal.

It's an Early Wilton No. 6. Shows Pat Pending on the side in the beautifully cast letters. Has a clear date stamp of 2-46. That should add up to a 6" vise manufactured in Feb of 1941. All that and it's in fine shape. Seems to have come out of a local machinist shop. Glad I went back to look again. Ed.

 

[Jim Johnstone]

Jim, I have two 4 inch Kurt DL 400 angle lock vises that clamps two jaws at the same time. One vise clamps the top side and the other vise clamps the back side. I finish one set per run. A set of Prentiss jaws takes 6 tools to make a pair after squaring and sizing the blocks. I looked and can not find a picture of how I make the standard jaws, the picture I added shows me using the 4" Kurt double making a set of 8" Parker jaws on my Bridgeport 8" sine plate. I keep one 6" Kurt for machining the over all lengths to the right and have two 4" Double Lock vises to the left. When I serrate the jaws I pull the two 4" Kurts and add my serrating fixture. You kind of get in a rut when doing production and tend to keep the same set up you started with. I have been making production vise parts since 2012. I now can look at improving my set up.

Very nice work. I'm familiar with those double vises, I've used them before. Have you considered building a custom fixture plate to hold 8 or something like that? Assuming the operations are suitable for that.

 

[Outlawmws]

Here is my 2nd new vise this week....it is a complete addiction. I have quite a few Wilton vises in the shop but this one I just picked up is already special to me. It's been popping up on C/L for what seems a year or so and I even price checked it once before and thought it was prohibitive. Today I went to look again and we made a deal.

It's an Early Wilton No. 6. Shows Pat Pending on the side in the beautifully cast letters. Has a clear date stamp of 2-46. That should add up to a 6" vise manufactured in Feb of 1941. All that and it's in fine shape. Seems to have come out of a local machinist shop. Glad I went back to look again. Ed.

Fixed it for you!

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Fixed it for you!

Too funny. Thanks Outlaw.