The VISES of Garage Journal

[scooternut]

It's been awhile since I picked up a vise. This one came from a retired machinist who was selling a heritage era Craftsman tool box on CL. I saw it on his bench and asked him if it was for sale. He asked what it was worth and I replied "About $150.00" - so he offered it to me for $50. SOLD!

Yost 105. It's an oldie and it is in excellent condition.

Brian

Nice grab Riley! Such a resemblance to Reed all the way around, haven't seen a Yost like that personally. Meadville, is aaaaawfully close to Erie, PA.

 

[G-ManBart]

G-Man and 6pony, A well rounded family usually has a father, a mother, teens, tweens, and babies.---The Wilton's.

You mean like this?

Top row has a 4.5" swivel jaw, 3" on top of a 5", and 3.5" on top of a 6", then 4.5" and 4" on the lower level. I never added up what retail would be on that, but ouch!

 

[scooternut]

Nice display G-Man. Wondering if VISEs thinks.... I used to have walls like that!

 

[Provincial]

I had the acquaintance of an Eron vise made in Japan in the early 1980's. It was new at the time and was a copy of an English Record or Paramo, and a very good copy at that. It was very rugged and the fit and finish was excellent.

One rarely sees Eron items, but all the ones I have seen have been very good quality.

 

[VISEs]

Nice display G-Man. Wondering if VISEs thinks.... I used to have walls like that!

Ha!


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[06 DIESEL]

Found another deal on a vise, at least I think it is. I can see damage to the jaws as well as the replaceable pads are missing. Not sure of other damage that the pictures do not show. I can not seem to find anymore information on this one, I think it might be a Record vise, but there is no makers mark stamped on any of the pictures I have received of it. Here are the four pictures of the vise, what say you guys on getting it for a second one to go with my Rock Island 577? It is about 70 miles one way from work, or 120 miles one way from my house, through DC traffic, so a good two hour drive from work and three from home.

https://scontent.**.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18740078_1444955678858919_2888410026290147783_n.jpg?oh=73d0f9d82c860e80f29b739174886122&oe=59B99902

https://scontent.**.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18740077_1444955755525578_6501201888628888068_n.jpg?oh=b13eade6aeae20241f66a616592f8766&oe=59ACDF4D

https://scontent.**.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p180x540/18664639_1444858745535279_3763411673533556987_n.jpg?oh=2f00778b7e06f4b91a15133ffe8cfb42&oe=59B5F323

https://scontent.**.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p180x540/18622306_1444858748868612_3617489407648048422_n.jpg?oh=9cf1f825abcdd5d063f3c3027ba847ce&oe=59AB6796

 

[GETRIDAONE]

I think that is a Parkinson's vise. It looks well worn and it is up to you if you want a project ?

 

[06 DIESEL]

Guy is asking $10 for it...

If anyone is in Southern MD and wants it let me know and I will pass his information on.

 

[drivesitfar]

Mike: very nice looking Athol. i can't recall if ExMaxima thought of the idea of the pipe with the slot on it to hold the spring on Athol vises while you pull or replace the pin or if he copied it from another person, but it really has helped a lot of members. I remember when you bought maybe one of your first vises that was a broken old one you were trying to repair and i see you buy a lot of them so any chance you might have a nice family photo of the vises you own now or have you been spiffing them up and passing them along? is your finish on your Athol BLO? WELL DONE!!

TWERTSY, JKB & OUTLAW: nice work on the old vise patents and old vise companies and keep up the great progress tracking all these down. one of these day's i'll start reading these posts and Twertsy's TOOL ARCHIVES WEB SITE more and hopefully learning even more about these well made tools. WELL DONE!!

CARLA: thanks for your post and i always like how you put things. i'm not sure we have any members here on GJ from TAIWAN, JAPAN or CHINA and not sure why unless the GOOGLE TRANSLATOR doesn't work well for them. we have members all over the world that i post and chat with on a daily basis so hopefully we'll get some more ideas on the history of vises made in ASIA. of course they could have just said why re invent the wheel and just bought England's, Germany's, USA's and a few other countries quality vises until the importers showed up and asked them to make CHEAP JUNK. like you said an i have a good idea of those Asian countries do know HOW TO MAKE QUALITY STUFF and have and still do make the best items in the world of some things. THANKS!!

Eddie: does that Craftsman vise have BLO on it? i agree with others that these models were made by Columbian and are somewhat hard to find. they might not be quite as well made or as big as the 519x's, but they are good vises. don't you agree? great looking vise and nice job on the decal.

Joe: your racks are getting beefier and wondering if you are maybe ready for a road trip to Michigan or Canada to get a little more variety than those same old vises and anvils you find daily. thanks for sharing and any idea how many vises you've actually bought and or maybe own now?

GMan: do you ever just buy a vise and set it on the shelf or floor or do you always get it home and spiff it up immediately? your stuff always looks great and most of the time the ones you buy are in pretty good shape too. nice Wilton family photo. is any Wilton vise your favorite that has KEEPER WRITTEN ON IT or what is your favorite vise?

Riley: great find on that OLD YOST and that is a great size for your garage if you want to keep it or i'd trade you for something if you don't like it cause i like that look. it's got Holland's lines which in my opinion they should have kept that also are very similar to REED. it also has that CRAFTSMAN LONG C look if you might want to do some research to go with all the Craftsman stuff you own. i'm guessing your yost was made in the 1930's, but i can't recall exactly when they took over Holland's vise business. nice find!!

Provi: i agree the Eron vices are built pretty well and curious when they actually started production of them in Japan.

Diesel: jaw support damage is usually from a user beating on the vise with a BFH, but i've seen a lot of nice repairs to fix that if you have some brazing and milling skills. I personally pass on those vices unless i need a few parts off of it, but it probably still works.

ALL: here's the pipe with the notch Mike mentioned when pulling pins and replacing them on Athol vises. pretty damn nice thinking otherwise I've heard it's a PITA without it.

cheers and hope you all have a great weekend.

 

[vintage nut]

Drives, I've got the Rock Island 851, 3.5" swivel jaw. Don't think I've seen the 853.



As far as Chicago Morgan's go, the research I've done says they were made from 1929 (or 1921, there is some conflict as to when they started) until 1947. The move to Milwaukee was in the early 1960s

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[twertsy]

Guys, as I mentioned yesterday I'm working catalog references. Here's a link to Parker catalog references where you can choose a model number (or several by using the Crtl key) and hit apply. It will bring up the particulars of the vise as documented in the catalog, and even provide a link to the catalog.

I welcome any feedback. I can set these up to search by weight, jaw size, etc.

 

[G-ManBart]

GMan: do you ever just buy a vise and set it on the shelf or floor or do you always get it home and spiff it up immediately? your stuff always looks great and most of the time the ones you buy are in pretty good shape too. nice Wilton family photo. is any Wilton vise your favorite that has KEEPER WRITTEN ON IT or what is your favorite vise?

Hey Drives,

If I find a vise with a lot of the original paint I try to just clean them up and let the next person decide what to do with them since I'm not keeping all that many for myself.

Right now the only three that have keeper written on them are the 450SJ, 2" Baby with original paint/stickers, and the C3. If I find another C2 like the one I posted above, I might just keep it. For some reason I like the looks and size of the C2 a lot....one heck of a lot of vise.

Here's one a minion found for me lately....all I did was take it apart to inspect, clean, lube and reassemble. I can't see messing with something this original.

 

[PghJKB]

You were right - Victor Jersey 772, Stanley Tool & Co. Stampings were under some gunk on the top of the slide.

I see mention of this one in the 1914 Stanley Catalog.

MissileBear

If you are trying to determine the year of production you can find some info on them here:
http://kesterhouse.com/specs/planes.html

Just keep on scrolling down and you will hit a section on Stanley Vises.

There was a site called http://virginiatoolworks.com/ that had an explanation of how to determine the age of Stanley Sweetheart Tools, it seems to have went **** - the Wayback Machine has nothing, my PC times out when I try to connect (could be a Facebook thing as I have trouble connecting to Facebook.

I have some incomplete info, will try to get the full scoop. Just need to do some more online digging.

JKB

 

[drivesitfar]

JKB: great stuff as per the norm. thanks

Gman: i agree not to mess with vises that haven't been abused or used much. i also agree that other than Wilton's baby bullet and power arm the Wilton C2 at 100 pounds is maybe the best vise they made/make.

ready to loan me your magnet yet?

 

[dutchgray]

06DIESEL
It is a Parkinsons Handy, the 3A is 4 1/2" jaw width and 40lb.
Worth the $10 but probably not the drive as well, unless you really want it.
Pretty easy to make a set of jaws though, as they are only plates with a couple tapped holes in, a set of soft jaws out of some alloy or brass bar stock would be very easy.

 

[mike_paxton]

Mike: very nice looking Athol. i can't recall if ExMaxima thought of the idea of the pipe with the slot on it to hold the spring on Athol vises while you pull or replace the pin or if he copied it from another person, but it really has helped a lot of members. I remember when you bought maybe one of your first vises that was a broken old one you were trying to repair and i see you buy a lot of them so any chance you might have a nice family photo of the vises you own now or have you been spiffing them up and passing them along? is your finish on your Athol BLO? WELL DONE!!
.

Drivesitfar:

The Athol info found in GJ, including the two pics of the pipe, was very useful in getting the coiled spring and two washers put back onto the main/lead screw.

On the finish, I just clean them naked and put Johnson paste wax. That way, people can see both the good or bad on them.

Mike

 

[jreb10]

I was riding my bike down a road I don't normally travel and spotted a garage sale. I looked things over and was about to leave when I saw a Wilton Shop King. It had the pipe jaws and the hardy so I asked the owner how much.

He said it was a heavier duty vise and he would need to have $15 for it.

I paid him and went back later to pick it up. At that time I bundled a 3 1/2 inch Ace vise with a 36 inch Trimont pipe wrench for $30.

 

[Fretters]

I think that is a Parkinson's vise. It looks well worn and it is up to you if you want a project ?

It is a Parkinson. It's their Handy model.

 

[G-ManBart]

JKB:

ready to loan me your magnet yet?

What Wilton magnet?

 

[Mister J]

Hey everybody. Longtime lurker and fellow vise nut here. I hate for my first post to be a question with pics of somebody else's vise but I didn't know where else to ask. I'm up in the frozen wastelands of Ontario and came across this ad http://www.kijiji.ca/v-hand-tool/kingston-on/heavy-duty-vise/1267600784?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true. Anybody ever heard of the manufacturer "ELESCO" and "CM&T"? 4 incher with a swivel base, 100 Canukistani pesos. Looks like a solid vise.

 

[BrettJ74]

Picked up this little 3.5" Craftsman today for & 10, it doesn't appear to have been used. And this odd little Aluminum Add+Vise from England for $5

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[va.grouseman]

Previously posted by Mister J.

Anybody ever heard of the manufacturer "ELESCO" and "CM&T"? 4 incher with a swivel base, 100 Canukistani pesos. Looks like a solid vise.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I've heard of an EMCO, PAGE 33.
I've heard of a BABCO, page 35.
I've heard of a PEXTO, page 219.---Picture is gone now.
I've heard of a ZEECO. page 959.
I've heard of a FORJADO IRIMO, page 1203.
I've heard of a SEVO, page 1228.
I've heard of a PARKO, page 1295.

But never an ELESCO.

 

[Mooreag47]

Elesco never heard of them. But While I'm here I'll drop off a picture for y'all

 

[drivesitfar]

Moore: did you make an adjustable height mount for you 3 swiveling masterpiece? WELL DONE!!

Mr. J: i'd say it looks a lot like a Parker or a Desmond Stephen or Simplex so it might be your country's version. it doesn't look very big and is that slide the original or has a new slide been welded on?

not sure it's worth $100 CDN, but i can't say i've seen one.

also welcome to the fray and glad you finally joined so you can post some vises and stuff you DO OWN and you can always ask questions.

cheers

GMAN:

ALL: i picked up a couple little ones today and maybe something a bit bigger later. I've got to get the pictures of little ones off my phone and one is a Gyro vise that is very similar to a Versa vise and the other little one is a clamp on Grand vise that looks like it might have some sort of quick release, but i'll have to get a closer look unless somebody owns one they might comment on it's action.

 

[RHJO51]

I've been looking for one of these tall Parker vises for a while now, and finally got one. Hard to read the casting but looks like 434 1/2 A or 484 1/2 A. It does have 4 1/2" wide jaws. Can anyone tell me about this vise - the age? Also it's missing the Parker bolt ans wrench for the swivel base. Anyone got one or know where I can find one? I'm really looking forward to cleaning this one up and refinishing it. Standing next to my Parker double swivel 449. Thanks - Jim

 

[Provincial]

Here is a reference to Elesco steam boiler superheaters from 1921. Perhaps Mister J's vise was made for for them by "C M & T".

https://books.google.com/books?id=-SBHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA804&lpg=PA804&dq=elesco&source=bl&ots=3JKTV08Rg7&sig=usUHaUz-CU3R-1ukI92du_ohz5Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ2vWq9I7UAhXG7YMKHWtbADQ4ChDoAQhHMAk#v=onepage&q=elesco&f=false

 

[joe.striper]

JOe: your racks are getting beefier and wondering if you are maybe ready for a road trip to Michigan or Canada to get a little more variety than those same old vises and anvils you find daily. thanks for sharing and any idea how many vises you've actually bought and or maybe own now?

Drivesit, over 200 vises now. Completely out of room. Most big vises I've ever had before.

 

[eddieK]

Finished the Athol 714 restoration today

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[eddieK]

Drives - That Craftsman does have a BLO finish. Baked it is the sun (San Diego).

 

[RG Rude]

Really nice Eddie. I love the Athol and Athol/Starrett vises. What shade/brand paint did you use?

 

[eddieK]

Something looks funky with that slide Mr J...

 

[eddieK]

Really nice Eddie. I love the Athol and Athol/Starrett vises. What shade/brand paint did you use?

I used burgundy valspar rattle can.

Finished a small one as well Athol Starrett 923 - used rust-oleum hammered copper

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[Mister J]

Thanks for all the replies. The steam engine thing was the only thing I could find too.

I was infected with the sickness not too long ago, so my vise collection is not nearly as impressive as some of yous guys', and we have mostly Records and a few RAE and Henry vises up here, not too many big American ones.

I only have three what I would call "good" vises and all are in pieces in various stages of restoration at the moment. When I finally get one mounted I'll be sure to post a pic or two.

Edit: Here is the one I plan to put on my bench, a 4 inch RAE. It's gonna get some really red paint and some new jaws. Other than the missing jaws and a few scars she's in great shape.

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[CrotalusAtrox]

Found a 3 inch Parker today it's soaking in simple green, love these C Parkers

 

[RG Rude]

Found a 3 inch Parker today it's soaking in simple green, love these C Parkers

I've brushed on simple green and scrubbed. What dilution do you use to soak in Simple Green??

 

[Outlawmws]

I use SG full strength.. Buy it in gallon jugs...

 

[drivesitfar]

Eddie: you guys down south have FREE ovens cause the BLO looked like it was baked on. your Starrett made a nice transformation too.

Joe: thanks for the count and feel free to post pictures of the ones in the tent when you have time (if you want to). cheers and hope you find more during the 3 day weekend.

Mr. J: thanks for sharing and we love RAE vices from Canada (or at least most of us do).

ALL: what is the story with GYRO VISE and VERSA VISE. are they different manufacturers using the same patent? well i own a nice one with original paint and wish it had that extra piece to add more directions of the swivel. for you guys that have never seen one of these in action here's the video and my reason for now owning 3 of these.

also have this clamp on GRAND vise and guessing that lever is some type of quick release cause i have one of Grand's big clamps that is a quick release clamp too.

 

[RG Rude]

ALL: what is the story with GYRO VISE and VERSA VISE. are they different manufacturers using the same patent? well i own a nice one with original paint and wish it had that extra piece to add more directions of the swivel. for you guys that have never seen one of these in action here's the video and my reason for now owning 3 of these.

also have this clamp on GRAND vise and guessing that lever is some type of quick release cause i have one of Grand's big clamps that is a quick release clamp too.

That is a neat vise. Good Youtube vid too!!

 

[eddieK]

Versa vise...added to my list...and I just found out about H B vises, adams diamond vises and hansons..and on and on the addiction goes

 

[Mooreag47]

Drive yes and no on the adjustable hight base it will be adjustable height will also serve as a lockable swivel for things such as a bench grinder that dose not have said feature and any vise that I may happen a cross that dose not have a swivel feature will not be out of the question for me cause I'll make it a swivel and the base will be a means to store them when not in use as I wil be building a rack for them