The VISES of Garage Journal

[IHmachinery]

Nice vice and restore! I will see your 12" and raise you 2".

This one is 14" tall and I think it is 22" long. It is heavier than I will pick up, when assembled.

Before:

It was covered in many layers of paint and some tough rust. The handles for the base were rusted in place, so I welded 1/2x13 nuts on them and hit them lightly with the impact, and then ground the nuts off. This one has been beat up with hammers and other tools, in the past (before I got it). I used coarse glass bead to blast it.

This one was in much better shape and the rust was not too hard to remove. Fine glass bead cleaned it up quite well.

Both of these are painted with Rustoleum Universal Hammered Rosemarry and the bare steel/iron was coated with boiled linseed oil.

Now I have to figure out where to mount them, in my small space. The big one might go outside, but will be covered to protect it. They almost look too nice to use. The 2000's wilton will stay on my main bench (not the fab table) where I use it for welding parts or grinding. It has been a great vice and is likely an import, but I try not to beat it up either.

Did I really need these two vices..................no, but GJ wore off on me and I had to have them.

They both look really nice! There is an almost universal dilemma here: one gets hooked on finding and restoring old vises, and then struggles with where to put them, whether they are now too nice to use, whether to get some more beat up vises to have as 'users', only to fix them up so nicely that they also join the too-nice-to-use collection, which just means scouring Craig's list some more ...

There should be some kind of help line or support group ...


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[3200fps]

Does anyone know what this vise could be? I am going to hopefully go see it next week. It's a pretty far drive and I have no info on the vise but it looks like it could be worth it! Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Boatman53]

I think you are with the support group but I guess that isn't the kind of support you are talking about.
Jim

 

[sandman54]

Hi here is a bit more eye candy a couple of ole Barnes drill presses and a vertical mill. Do not use force, just get a bigger pipe wrench, a couple of pics of the 800 lb. Fisher getting its bottom cleaned. I Strained my back turning that Fisher over!!! gotta bounce Sandman

 

[vintage nut]

3200fps that vise looks very similar to a reed that lives under IH machinery's bench. One I've been unsuccessfully trying to pry from his hands for a long time!

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[honza.vosalik]

Love the restoration, but i'm a sucker for a lady in red.

Is that swivel handle original?

It's the handle that came with the vise when I got it. so I assume it is original.

 

[drivesitfar]

IH: good points all INDEED. so since you've found the HELP thread for vise (vice) alcoholics just post what it is that is bothering you and we'll surely have a fix. sorry filling your wallet back up so you can buy more vises is on your plate. PROBLEM SOLVED??

HONZA: WELL DONE!! now you just need to learn how to make some pipe jaws. VA made some by hand and some the guys have a machine they use that can have one made in a few minutes. it's a cool old vise and HOLLAND'S is one of my favorite brands, but i still wouldn't beat on that cast iron anvil that is for light duty at best.

CGT: WELL DONE SIR!! looks like you've got gold in your vises.

OUTLAW: the person i mentioned IS A MEMBER OF GJ and all you have to do is watch a few what's my vise worth threads to see his posts that are ridiculous. i don't ban anybody's posts from my view, but there are a few that are not worth reading that is for certain. i also don't have a book on who are the great, good and not so good GJ members, but i do tend to read and post more than most here so i probably should keep one.

i'm not a huge Wilton Bullet fan, but it was the only decent vise in my garage for years before i found there were others. I can say Wilton might have the best marketing of any vise company and probably why they are still in business. Wilton bullets are a good vise and their C series vises are right up with any other company's vise in my opinion.

Sandman: thanks for the candy again. also get yourself an inversion table for those old back aches and pulled muscles. it really works and i haven't taken an advil for back or shoulder pain in about 9 years since i bought mine.

 

[G-ManBart]

Does anyone know what this vise could be? I am going to hopefully go see it next week. It's a pretty far drive and I have no info on the vise but it looks like it could be worth it! Any help is greatly appreciated.

That looks a lot like one of the earlier Reed combination vises....something like a 31, 32, 33 or 34.

 

[G-ManBart]

There should be some kind of help line or support group ...

There is....with regional coordinators and everything! The problem is that to prove you want help, you have to ante up a rare/valuable vise

 

[autopts]

Does anyone know what this vise could be? I am going to hopefully go see it next week. It's a pretty far drive and I have no info on the vise but it looks like it could be worth it! Any help is greatly appreciated.

I wouldn't drive more then 10 miles unless I got better photos of that base. Something looks really funky there.

 

[vintage nut]

I wouldn't drive more then 10 miles unless I got better photos of that base. Something looks really funky there.

Didn't even catch that.... Good eye!

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[IHmachinery]

I wouldn't drive more then 10 miles unless I got better photos of that base. Something looks really funky there.

Yeah I was about to say the same ... I'm sure it's a Reed, but something a bit odd about the base. Here is a photo of my Reed 32 (the one VN covets). It looks very much the same aside from the base.


I thought I had an old catalogue page showing this series of Reed vises, but I can't seem to find it just now ...


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[IHmachinery]

IH: good points all INDEED. so since you've found the HELP thread for vise (vice) alcoholics just post what it is that is bothering you and we'll surely have a fix. sorry filling your wallet back up so you can buy more vises is on your plate. PROBLEM SOLVED??

Yeah, I realized after I posted, that this is in fact the 'help line' -- but it does more to support the vise habit than it does help with the vice ...




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[Outlawmws]

Bigger pics for the ID of the vise 3200's after:

When did Reed start doing oil holes? or maybe that on the other side...

That base is funky because someone mounted a fixed base visr to a swivel base... A certain old guy will be screaming "Vee vil haff you Shot!"


Hmm a closer look and that plate may be fabricated...

 

[vintage nut]

I'd bet money that's a reed. As for the oil holes I'm not sure when they started them, but I know the old style combination vises (like the one IHmachinery posted) predated the oil holes.

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[drivesitfar]

Outlaw: nice picture. i didn't make a call on the vise earlier because i couldn't figure out the base and glad Autopts agreed it has issues. i saw a # on the side of the vise and guessing it might be a #32 which might be similar to IH's, but that swivel base is UGLY.

IH: just know you are among friends here and if you need spousal, drinking or money issues we'll listen and probably not provide a fix for any of those either. somebody asked why we like vises and i can't really put my finger on it, but i just moved maybe 30 or 40 of mine and enjoyed every minute of doing so.

EDIT: i just noticed an H on the side so maybe a HOLLAND'S?? and not a REED?

 

[3200fps]

Thanks for all the input guys. I tend to agree that there's something wrong with the base. It doesn't look right. Another thing that has me worried is the line on the dynamic jaw that could be a cracked repair or could be just dirt (seems more like dirt from the shape). Big vises like that are EXTREMELY rare around where I live, haven't seen one in years. It's 125 miles away round trip and I can probably get it for 50 bucks. I wonder if it's worth it but the curiosity is getting the best of me. Looks like a beast of a vise.

 

[Boatman53]

This is a big one I had to let go. I was doing a basement clean out for a childhood friend, I just had no room in my shop. No name that I could find. The haws were 9" across and I forget how wide open t opened, but a lot.

This was the real treat. The base was one square of wood with a date. Check out those growth rings. The top has so much grime I did not realize it was one piece.

Jim

 

[Outlawmws]

You passed... on a 9" vise...

 

[Outlawmws]

Yeah, that looks like an "H" on the side, and the line on the slide is grime/swarf I'm sure...

 

[Boatman53]

Crazy I know, but yes. I just had no room for it and now we are planning a move so it just wasn't to be.
Jim

 

[va.grouseman]

Sandman, thanks for the sweet candy.

800 lb. anvil,,,Lift with your legs!


, on the inversion table Drive mentioned.---I have one and I wouldn't take a, well you know.


Sure would like to see a swivel base on the big green monster.


Oh, you know what complements a 48'' Proto, a 96'' cheater pipe.

 

[IHmachinery]

EDIT: i just noticed an H on the side so maybe a HOLLAND'S?? and not a REED?[/QUOTE]


Drives: Wow! Your eyes are better than mine!

And yes I understand the subtle distinction between support for one's addiction and addiction support

And while my numbers are still in single digits (an appallingly small number compared to many of the folks here, I know), there is something about a vice ... Er, vise ... that is just very satisfying.



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[IHmachinery]

Thanks for all the input guys. I tend to agree that there's something wrong with the base. It doesn't look right. Another thing that has me worried is the line on the dynamic jaw that could be a cracked repair or could be just dirt (seems more like dirt from the shape). Big vises like that are EXTREMELY rare around where I live, haven't seen one in years. It's 125 miles away round trip and I can probably get it for 50 bucks. I wonder if it's worth it but the curiosity is getting the best of me. Looks like a beast of a vise.

Gotta do what u gotta do ...
And for $50 and a road trip ... How far wrong can u go?


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[IHmachinery]

[QUOTEThis was the real treat. The base was one square of wood with a date. Check out those growth rings. The top has so much grime I did not realize it was one piece.

Jim[/QUOTE]


Very cool! I love stuff like that ... Thinking about the guy that made that stand back in 1927 - I'm sure he wouldn't have imagined that vise would still be in use nearly a century later.



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[drivesitfar]

Boatman: PM me if you are within 400 miles of the PNW so i can give your friend some benjamins. even though it doesn't have a name on it i like that it isn't abused. i also would have kept the cool wood stand for it. my gramps was a logger and here's one of his logging trucks loaded and heading to the mill back in the 1950's.

IH:

3200: worst case scenario you'll get a pair of pipe jaws that you or one of us could definitely use, plus a screw and vise nut and for that price it's worth a look especially since he might have some other cool old stuff he wants to sell.

good luck

 

[IHmachinery]

Drives: Great pictures! Some incredible logs there ...


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[Boatman53]

That vise is now on Cap Cod. A long drive to NJ where the house was but they went back with a truck loat of tools for free.
Jim

 

[trijeff]

but i just moved maybe 30 or 40 of mine

Seriously sounds like the next "it" million-dollar workout ... "Visearobics" or "Old Iron". Oh, you're not on the Old Iron yet?!?!


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[drivesitfar]

Boatman: in case you want to put your area under your handle just go in to your GJ profile and do so either city/state or area like i did because i DRIVE A LOT. also if you have a favorite picture you want to come up under your name click on AVATAR and download one. the Bison i have now is made of scraps and tools by a very handy guy that lives in South Dakota. yep i'd drive a ways for a vise like that, but maybe Cape Cod is a bit too far. I hear Joe Striper is looking for an 8 incher though and he's not far.

IH: i took cell pics of my mom's photo album a few months ago when i was there visiting. i actually sat on Gramp's lap while he cut in new logging roads with his little D9 that was on a constant tilt. i was 4 to about 7 or 8 before my mom heard he was taking me out to work so I didn't get to go after that until i worked with him a little in my late teens and early 20's. talk about a tough guy at 5'10" and 160 he could carry a 40 inch chain saw and a 100 pound block up a hill with fallen logs all over the hill at 77 years old and beat me up the hill when i was 22 just walking up the hill with nothing on my shoulders.

he retired from logging at 87 and lived to 93, but passed in 2003.

TJ: yes my daily activities some days are plenty of exercise.

 

[G-ManBart]

Bigger pics for the ID of the vise 3200's after:


When did Reed start doing oil holes? or maybe that on the other side...

That base is funky because someone mounted a fixed base visr to a swivel base... A certain old guy will be screaming "Vee vil haff you Shot!"


Hmm a closer look and that plate may be fabricated...

The early Reed combination models didn't have an oil hole, but later models had it on the other (left) side.

Here are a couple of pictures of a Reed 34 I looked at a while back:

 

[bulletpruf]

IH: good points all INDEED. so since you've found the HELP thread for vise (vice) alcoholics just post what it is that is bothering you and we'll surely have a fix. sorry filling your wallet back up so you can buy more vises is on your plate. PROBLEM SOLVED??

Yeah, I realized after I posted, that this is in fact the 'help line' -- but it does more to support the vise habit than it does help with the vice ...

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This the enabling group, not the support group...

 

[Filson]

Drives - nah, new post vise I picked up. The one on my table is a 6" Columbian, this is a 7". Haven't cleaned her up enough yet to find a name.

 

[mike_paxton]

Fellow yard sale buddy helped me out, as he picked up and then sold to me a Simplex 33S by The Desmond Stephan Mfg Co of Urbana Ohio. 3-3/4" jaws, max opening of 5" and total weight at 30 lbs. Pics 1 & 2

 

[Jim Johnstone]

Fellow yard sale buddy helped me out, as he picked up and then sold to me a Simplex 33S by The Desmond Stephan Mfg Co of Urbana Ohio. 3-3/4" jaws, max opening of 5" and total weight at 30 lbs. Pics 1 & 2

Very nice I've got one as well, still need to get around to restoring it.

 

[Bcom]

The early Reed combination models didn't have an oil hole, but later models had it on the other (left) side.

Here are a couple of pictures of a Reed 34 I looked at a while back:

Those pics were taken in ravenna ohio werent they?

 

[yaidunno]

Here's the C2 I recently finished up. New jaws, handle, horse shoe, end plug, and swivel nuts were made for it.

 

[jimreed2160]

The FedEx lady just rolled this into my garage. It was packaged well on its side in newspaper. No cracks or bruises. Thank you previous owner!

This Reed 1c seems to have lived a charmed life. It is in great shape and the action is slick. Much of the original black paint is present but it is as greasy as a summertime ham. Musta been on the back bench in some machine shop. At least that saved it from a life of abuse and rust. My plan is to take it apart and invite Mr. SG over for a visit. A simple coat of BLO should get it going. Most of my tools have a healthy patina (like me) so it should fit in nicely.

The handle has a kink so I might work on that gently and then polish it a bit.

It is nice to have a tool in the shop with my name on it.

 

[IHmachinery]

Here's the C2 I recently finished up. New jaws, handle, horse shoe, end plug, and swivel nuts were made for it.

Looks good as new!


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[72highboy]

Here's the C2 I recently finished up. New jaws, handle, horse shoe, end plug, and swivel nuts were made for it.

Did these come with the bushing for the handle or is that modified?.. I like the idea, just not sure how well it'll hold up over time..

Also looks great!

Cheers

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