The VISES of Garage Journal

[VISEs]

 

[72highboy]

Those are working for me ^^

Also, turns out I have thing for broken vises, luckily this looks like a decent repair..



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[drivesitfar]

ALL: I'm seeing the pictures so maybe it was a temporary thing. i know Imgur downloads have issues with GJ cause of the Classifieds or some reason like that , but maybe GJ worked that out.

VISES: great looking HUGE OLD REEDS. did you snag them up in Joe's backyard (yes he still want's a fee)?

i love the older versions of those Reeds and looks like your 4c is missing a swivel base so do you have an extra one or is that one something to make or order? also on the REED 107 does that version have a 45 degree angle under it's static jaw or is it flat to mount on a bench?

WELL DONE!!

ALL: well i tried for a couple and ending up taking a drive to pick up one. it' ain't no little thing and it's in pretty decent shape. i think this one might become my main user, but not certain about that. anybody have comments about a YOST 32C and any idea of the age of mine?

cheers and hope you are all having a great day.

 

[ptgarcia]

What do you guys think of this deal?

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/tls/6104297211.html

 

[KMScott]

The fifth vise from the swap meet Sat. is this Prentiss 4-1/2" swivel jaw swivel base. Pretty nice shape other than a couple issues, first being the back edge of the swivel jaw is chipped. Not sure how this would have happened, this area doesn't seem to really do anything. I'll probably grind it down to smooth the edge out, unless someone has a better idea. It's also missing the lever to pull the pin up to release the swivel, probably end up fabbing something unless someone has a spare they want to part with. Swivel jaw pin came right out after a light tap to the side of it with a brass hammer. Jaws are in pretty nice shape. No marks, model #, or ID on anywhere that I could see, not even on the static jaw behind the swivel jaw where they sometimes do.

454, The extra lip on your swivel jaw is to keep dust and grit out of the swivel jaw area. Looks like a Prentiss #20. I repaired one with my TIG welder. It was not perfect but will keep some of the grit out of there. The spring loaded plunger can be fit with a knob found HERE. The original might have been pinned on, if it is threaded then easier yet.

 

[drivesitfar]

PT: nice looking 6 inch Wilton bullet. price is more than a tad OPTIMISTIC if you ask me. it's a great vise, but you might be able to get a new one for about that much. or a C2 which i like better. keep looking and you'll find a better deal or ask and maybe a local guy that sees you need one will PM you with one he no longer needs.

good luck

 

[ptgarcia]

PT: nice looking 6 inch Wilton bullet. price is more than a tad OPTIMISTIC if you ask me. it's a great vise, but you might be able to get a new one for about that much. or a C2 which i like better. keep looking and you'll find a better deal or ask and maybe a local guy that sees you need one will PM you with one he no longer needs.

good luck

That vise is way more than I need and would waste away from neglect in my "shop." A basic American made 4" is all I need.

 

[bagged89s10]

Spent $190 on these 2 vises.
First is an Oliver Pattern Maker's Vise.













Second is a Starrett 924-1/2.









Both in excellent condition in my book.

 

[454ragtop]

454, The extra lip on your swivel jaw is to keep dust and grit out of the swivel jaw area. Looks like a Prentiss #20. I repaired one with my TIG welder. It was not perfect but will keep some of the grit out of there. The spring loaded plunger can be fit with a knob found HERE. The original might have been pinned on, if it is threaded then easier yet.

Kevin, thanks for the tips. I guess I'll try filling in the missing chip in the swivel jaw with my mig. I know you can't mig cast iron, but my mig doesn't seem to know, done it successfully on a few non structural cosmetic repairs. As to the plunger, I think there is a cross pin, suspect it was originally the rocker lever type. Need to get it apart and assess what's needed, a knob would be easier, could make one on the lathe, the lever might be a little trickier.

 

[Shop Dad]

Spent $190 on these 2 vises.
First is an Oliver Pattern Maker's Vise.




Both in excellent condition in my book.

Wow, nice score. I'll double your money on that Oliver vise.

 

[Shop Dad]

Picked up 5 vises at the swap meet Sat.

Great sweep. That Parker is especially nice.


Doug

 

[meatsis]

Here's a few I picked up last week from a local guy who does basement clean outs. A Parker 433 1/2 combo vise, a Parker 29X, and a 4 1/2" Standard vise. All in mint condition. Paid $120 for all 3. Best part is that he has a basement full of old vises. I would have came home with more, but I didn't have any more cash on me.

 

[Carla]

Kevin, thanks for the tips. I guess I'll try filling in the missing chip in the swivel jaw with my mig. I know you can't mig cast iron, but my mig doesn't seem to know, done it successfully on a few non structural cosmetic repairs. As to the plunger, I think there is a cross pin, suspect it was originally the rocker lever type. Need to get it apart and assess what's needed, a knob would be easier, could make one on the lathe, the lever might be a little trickier.

Remaking the earlier style swivel lock plunger and knob for a Prentiss is indeed an easy job. I re-did one on which the plunger was badly rust-pitted, some years ago.... I just ran a short SAE thread for the knob on the plunger shank. It took a couple of tries re-setting the compound to get the taper tip on the plunger 'just right' to fit the base.

A replica lever for the swivel plunger on the later style Prentiss could be cast in a bronze, if one really needed to do a 'restoration to original', but I'd think it would likely be a surprisingly time-consuming little project.

cheers

Carla

 

[vintage nut]

Spent $190 on these 2 vises.
First is an Oliver Pattern Maker's Vise.













Second is a Starrett 924-1/2.









Both in excellent condition in my book.

I like the pattern makers vise!
Probably the second biggest I've seen. And only looses by 1/4" or so

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[meatsis]

Here's one I picked up this weekend. I've been looking for one of these for a few years now to use as my main vise. I've found a few, but they were either way overpriced, or beat to hell. Or both. I paid more than I wanted to for this one, but it's in beautiful condition with absolutely no signs of abuse. Parker 386. Weighs 174 lbs. I can't wait to clean it up and get it bolted down. These are the only pictures I have at the moment.

 

[mike_paxton]

Meatsis and bagged89s10:

You both did well in the vises you just picked up!!!

Mike

 

[G-ManBart]

What do you guys think of this deal?

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/tls/6104297211.html

Too high and the seller knows nothing about vises...

That's a $650 vise around here tops and I've paid half that several times.

 

[454ragtop]

Great sweep. That Parker is especially nice.


Doug

Thanks Doug, if you didn't have to leave early, you might have beat me to a couple of them.
Jim

 

[bagged89s10]

Does anyone have more info on the Oliver Pattern maker's vise? Trying to find an ad/catalog page with model numbers.

 

[Shop Dad]

Does anyone have more info on the Oliver Pattern maker's vise? Trying to find an ad/catalog page with model numbers.

Here is one: http://www.vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=1612

And another: http://www.mprime.com/Emmert/forsaleCS.htm

 

[Outlawmws]

on the missing pics, certs and such:

The Admins were doing server upgraded (might be still ) as I could NOT get into GJ from any Email link (what I do the most), and messaged them about it. the response was as above. (No details)

 

[KMScott]

Remaking the earlier style swivel lock plunger and knob for a Prentiss is indeed an easy job. I re-did one on which the plunger was badly rust-pitted, some years ago.... I just ran a short SAE thread for the knob on the plunger shank. It took a couple of tries re-setting the compound to get the taper tip on the plunger 'just right' to fit the base.

A replica lever for the swivel plunger on the later style Prentiss could be cast in a bronze, if one really needed to do a 'restoration to original', but I'd think it would likely be a surprisingly time-consuming little project.

cheers

Carla

Jim and Carla, actually the handle and channel looks to be a fairly easy job to remake especially if you have a milling machine. This one I replaced the pin with a home made one because it was to sloppy. I forged a head on a 3/32 pin and re drilled the hole a little bigger and added a small C-Clip. But looking at the handle you can see that 3/32 channel could be made and with a welder a short hand made handle could be welded and formed to the original shape like these pic's I added. The handle is made to snap in place when pulled up,

Carla, I need to figure out how to cast bronze. I am clueless to where to start. Plastic Injection molds are no problem but clueless on Casting Bronze. Can you recommend a book on this subject. I would like to read about the different ways to cast. I would love to build a mold for casting the inner rings for the Wilton swivel bases, Wilton's break real easy and I get calls every week with people saying theirs has broken. I can see where a better cast material and thicker sections would help in keeping these from breaking. I have a foundry very close to me but want to know a little about this process before talking with them.

 

[scooternut]

Did a lower ball joint job in my busted up truck today, took her for a test ride tonight by one of my picking spots, found this Columbian out for scrap.

Got all of those shiny chrome and big inch number China clues, but i couldn't let it go. I'll clean it up for a cheap sale or giveaway.
Oh, never mind that work in progress wilton back there, it's not ready for this thread yet.


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[Locker537]

Picked up 5 vises at the swap meet Sun. First is a Bonney and a little 1-1/2" clamp on. Probably wouldn't have bought the Bonney if not for the recent post here, not really a fan of thru the bench vises. But the deciding factor was that it appears to have all the mounting parts, near as I can tell. Strange that the only piece that says "Bonney" is the plate that screws to the bench under the vise. I was afraid I already had an example of the little clamp on, turns out I was right, oh well, no biggie, it was cheap.

Next up is a sweet little Athol 623, really nice shape, nice checkering on the jaws.

And then there's the Parker 953, forgot to take pics before I started working on it. It was frozen solid, and I suspect some idiot broke the collar trying to force it open, will need to either source or fab a collar. Anybody have an extra, could buy or trade for it, have an extra #2 Parker wrench I'd trade, or maybe other parts/tools? Too bad, cause it really didn't take much to free it up, and it has some of the nicest Parker jaws I've ever seen.

Will show the Prentiss swivel jaw, swivel base in the next post.

What swap meet? Looks like the type of meet I should have attended!

 

[vintage nut]

Here's one I picked up this weekend. I've been looking for one of these for a few years now to use as my main vise. I've found a few, but they were either way overpriced, or beat to hell. Or both. I paid more than I wanted to for this one, but it's in beautiful condition with absolutely no signs of abuse. Parker 386. Weighs 174 lbs. I can't wait to clean it up and get it bolted down. These are the only pictures I have at the moment.

Very nice!
I've seen one of those, but it was thoroughly destroyed, and not for sale. Dynamic welded back on, swivel welded solid, ect

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[FMC1959]

ALL: well i tried for a couple and ending up taking a drive to pick up one. it' ain't no little thing and it's in pretty decent shape. i think this one might become my main user, but not certain about that. anybody have comments about a YOST 32C and any idea of the age of mine?

cheers and hope you are all having a great day.

Drives, I know it is just a typo, but that is a 34c....a real nice 165 pound beast. I am not great at dating, my guess would 1950's to 1980's. I have a 33c and can tell you it is an excellant vise. I have a couple of Reed's, an Athol, a few Parker's, Records and others, I put my 33c up there with any of them for top vise....solid, stout and easily squeeze the heck out of what you are clamping if you are not careful.

Never having had my hands on a Reed C vise, I am very curious to see what you think. I know you have, or had, a 4C, the 34C's direct competitor.

 

[454ragtop]

What swap meet? Looks like the type of meet I should have attended!

Lake Compounce down in Bristol CT.

 

[FMC1959]

What do you guys think of this deal?

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/tls/6104297211.html

Like Drives and G-Man stated, the seller is way over priced. Just as a reference for you, you can get one spanking brand new, shipped to your house for $1200
http://www.mile-x.com/wilton-600s-6-swivel-base-machinists-vise/

 

[vintage nut]

Drives, I know it is just a typo, but that is a 34c....a real nice 165 pound beast. I am not great at dating, my guess would 1950's to 1980's. I have a 33c and can tell you it is an excellant vise. I have a couple of Reed's, an Athol, a few Parker's, Records and others, I put my 33c up there with any of them for top vise....solid, stout and easily squeeze the heck out of what you are clamping if you are not careful.

Never having had my hands on a Reed C vise, I am very curious to see what you think. I know you have, or had, a 4C, the 34C's direct competitor.

I've seen his 4c... Damn thing weighs more than I do, and is by far the biggest 6" vise I have yet to see

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[twertsy]

Does anyone have more info on the Oliver Pattern maker's vise? Trying to find an ad/catalog page with model numbers.

Tons of info in the links on my Oliver page: http://toolarchives.com/node/3392

 

[Shop Dad]

Tons of info in the links on my Oliver page: http://toolarchives.com/node/3392

Twertsy - That's a nice resource. I was reading about Reed and how they were pretty quickly bought by the Wright family. I thought it would be funny if they renamed the company Reed & Wright.

 

[twertsy]

Twertsy - That's a nice resource. I was reading about Reed and how they were pretty quickly bought by the Wright family. I thought it would be funny if they renamed the company Reed & Wright.

Thanks much! By the way, I just posted a comprehensive list of every Vise Patent from 1790 to 1873: http://toolarchives.com/node/3526

After some thought, I thought I'd update this post to help you folks find these patents. The early ones are sporadic at best. Here's how I typically do it:

Go to patents.google.com; search "vise" (or anything at all for that matter); click on a patent that has the patent number format US#####A; replace the numbers between the US and the A in the URL (no commas) with the patent you're looking for and hit the return key.

This will bring up 95% of those old patents.

 

[mlisac]

Here's one I picked up this weekend. I've been looking for one of these for a few years now to use as my main vise. I've found a few, but they were either way overpriced, or beat to hell. Or both. I paid more than I wanted to for this one, but it's in beautiful condition with absolutely no signs of abuse. Parker 386. Weighs 174 lbs. I can't wait to clean it up and get it bolted down. These are the only pictures I have at the moment.

Nice. Those have great lines.

 

[Locker537]

Lake Compounce down in Bristol CT.

Thanks

I'm looking for future meets in New England.

 

[akasrick]

Did a lower ball joint job in my busted up truck today, took her for a test ride tonight by one of my picking spots, found this Columbian out for scrap.

Got all of those shiny chrome and big inch number China clues, but i couldn't let it go. I'll clean it up for a cheap sale or giveaway.
Oh, never mind that work in progress wilton back there, it's not ready for this thread yet.


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While trying to find out about my little monster
trademark
http://www.trademarkia.com/columbian-71668640.html

First Use Anywhere:
7/7/1952
First Use In Commerce:
8/15/1952

"WikipediA"... The essential function of a trademark is to exclusively identify the commercial source or origin of products or services, so a trademark, properly called, indicates source or serves as a badge of origin. In other words, trademarks serve to identify a particular business as the source of goods or services. The use of a trademark in this way is known as trademark use. Certain exclusive rights attach to a registered mark.

THE COLUMBIAN VISE & MFG. COMPANY
http://www.ohiocorporates.com/corp/234308.html


There is just a dearth of info on this co.

 

[wjamyers]

I bought my first vise!!

WJ: i've seen more than a few of those little vises on very handy guys and gals workbenches. it's a solid vise, but if you can afford $100-150 cause it will be your main vise i'd keep my eyes open for a 4-5 inch Rock Island, Reed, Athol or Starrett, or several of the other great old vises. i'm not sure if any members live close to you so you could avoid shipping, but if you were close to me i'd probably have something for you cause i'm trying to slim my collection down a bit. hope that helps you.

i just took a quick look at vises (vices) in your area and i'd probably buy this one today and i don't NEED a vise, but it's a great price for a 4.5 inch REED. sure it doesn't have a swivel base, but honestly i rarely use my swivel bases and you can build a stand for it to have 360 degree access. feel free to PM me if you might need help choosing a vise for your bench and just make sure they are not broken or cracked. if you buy a welded one make sure that you get a decent vise cause it might still work, but the value isn't there in most cases.

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/tls/6089325159.html

I managed to pick this up after the seller dropped the price!

ReedVintageVise by wjamyers, on Flickr

It's much bigger than I thought it would be. I'm a total noob, obviously. This weekend I will calibrate my torque wrench in style (not hanging it off a lug nut, lol)

The action on this bad boy is smooooooth, the jaws look almost new. I'm thinking it's a prime candidate for a restoration.

Thank you so much for your help, drivesitfar!

*heads over to the VISE REPAIR 101 thread*

 

[drivesitfar]

TWERTSY: thanks again for taking on this HUGE TASK of posting all the vise patents on your site. i'll help post pictures and catalog pages as i learn how to on your site. i might need a little help or maybe you have a help page for some of us that could use some to get started. a lot of us have a LOT OF PICTURES OF VISES either of our own or ones we saw in person or online.

keep up the great work.

FMC: the Yost 34C (thanks for catching my typo) and my Reed 4C are about the same size at about 160-170 pounds, but you can see the quality difference right away. the handles, casting flaws, pipe jaws, jaws, but the Yost isn't a low quality vise it's just not in REED'S class. the 4c is also more appealing to my eye or it is to me. there really isn't any comparison on QUALITY. the Reed 4c is miles ahead in that area, but they both are GREAT CLAMPERS. the differences in the quality of the cast is easy to see with they eyes and maybe that's just because of the 30+- year age difference in when they were made. my 4C has a set of KMScott jaws on it, but i think their regular jaws the vise came with were still higher quality than the ones on my Yost.

i'll post up more information as i get the Yost cleaned up cause i'm going to strip it and put a few coats of BLO on it and make it my daily user. it might be too tall for my steel bench so I might have to build a stand for it, but i do have a fairly tall chair and i'm not short at 6'2.5 so it might just be ok.

Vintage: nice visual when you said my 4c weighs more than you do. i wish i would have had it set up instead of sitting under a cabinet for you to see and maybe make a few turns with it. i know your Morgan 160 6 inch 140 pound vise isn't a little thing that sits on your bench in your shop, but the 4c really is bigger than most vises that is for certain.

ALL: hope you all find or see a vise today that makes you smile!!

 

[twertsy]

TWERTSY: thanks again for taking on this HUGE TASK of posting all the vise patents on your site. i'll help post pictures and catalog pages as i learn how to on your site. i might need a little help or maybe you have a help page for some of us that could use some to get started. a lot of us have a LOT OF PICTURES OF VISES either of our own or ones we saw in person or online.

keep up the great work.

ALL: hope you all find or see a vise today that makes you smile!!

Drives, if you hit a snag, email me or I think you have my cell #. If not, just ask.

 

[Carla]

Does anyone have more info on the Oliver Pattern maker's vise? Trying to find an ad/catalog page with model numbers.

Have a look, if you'd like, at the Oliver page on Carl Matthews's Emmert vise web-site.

http://www.mprime.com/Emmert/oliver.htm

The dark green one at the top of the page, and in the three photos of it in different positions, is mine, the one I restored for my own use some 20-ish years ago. I really didn't like the relatively flimsy original tilt-bar assembly, so I made up stronger one, to safely carry the weight of a door, or similar heavy part, when the vise jaws were set horizontal.

The Oliver works called it their 'Model 1 patternmakers' vise'. You can find a catalogue page about it on the vintagemachinery.org internet site.

There are some detail changes in these over the years it was in production, but I don't know the time frame in which the changes were done, except as a rough guess.

The early ones (1920's, til ??) used a buttress thread on the main screw, and the front jaw swivelling point was carried on pins threaded into the beam. At a later point in time, (1940's??) the main screw was changed to a double-lead Acme form, and the swivel pins were retained by square head set-screws.

The later (mid to late 50's??) style of Oliver vise, which was continued in production when the vise line was bought by the Kindt-Collins Co., used a swivel system similar to the later production of the Emmert vise.

That vise is still in low-volume production today, by Conowingo Supply, a woodworking machinery dealer in Pennsylvania, under the 'Hopewell' name. You could buy a new one 'off the shelf' for a bit over $2K. I'd suspect he doesn't sell very many of them, these days.

Conowingo also makes some Oliver and Emmert vise parts, which are a bit costly, to put it mildly, but do make it readily possible to restore the old patternmakers' vises.

cheers

Carla

 

[ALLFAST]

Re: I bought my first vise!!

WJA,
That is a cool score for sure !

Shawn