The VISES of Garage Journal

[Boatman53]

I also turned a shaft and fitted it to my Pow-R-Arm. The cap screw that fastens it on also acts as a stop to support the vise.

Jim

 

[Shiftless]

boatman:
That's a fantastic feature to be able to just slide your VV into any location you want and go right to work.
And a fantastic job on the vise restoration too. Nice work!

 

[Boatman53]

Thanks, I still need to put the sticker on, went to visit the inlaws so not home yet.
Jim

 

[BeardedOne]

My next 2 projects are going to be these guys:

The green one was purchased at an antique mall in Ohio back in September for $17. It is very similarly constructed to the Sears vise I just painted, and I can see very few markings on it telling me what it is. I have recently read back to page 2950 and seen a couple similar styles, and think it might be a Vindex? There was a remnant of a label on the left side but I haven't seen anything else giving away it's pedigree. The base does have a few numbers engraved on the bottom but they're hardly visible.

The large black one was found at a peddlers mall here in town and I paid $47 for it. I'll have a specific use for it whenever I get my new bench built but that's going to be a few years away unless business really picks up for me in 2018.

I can find no markings on it either. I imagine I'll find something like it as I go back through the pages here and hopefully get a little more info on it's whereabouts.

This is fun

 

[Boatman53]

BeardedOne, can post some more pics of the one on the flat rate box? I'm trying to wrap my head around how that one is used and mounted.
Jim

 

[bhydro]

My 185 was broken then brazed on the dynamic jaw near the handle. It functions fine, but i’d Like to have a pro redo it sometime. It was too rare to pass up. I recently picked up a 182 in very fine condition. I may use it as my go to vise.

 

[Bcom]

If anyone was wanting a deal on a new Tradesman with Bash hammer, here you go. I just ordered one myself



https://m.ebay.com/itm/Wilton-63200...200814&rvr_id=0&ul_noapp=true&epid=1264810578

 

[Bcom]

Heres a nice video showing the Wilton vise factory in Illinois machining pieces and assembling vises

 

[gman007]

Heres a nice video showing the Wilton vise factory in Illinois machining pieces and assembling vises

Boom
Thanks for posting the link, very enjoyable ( well if one is a vise nut ) video!
007

 

[trijeff]

That ding dong doesn't even use the pipe jaws.

 

[BeardedOne]

BeardedOne, can post some more pics of the one on the flat rate box? I'm trying to wrap my head around how that one is used and mounted.
Jim

Thank you Jim.

It weighs about 30lbs and the gold tint on the top of the jaws is only because I ran a wire brush over it when I was removing the old paint off my little red Sears. I can remove the dynamic jaw from it but I have no idea on how to get the screw out of the front. It is also a finer thread than anything else I have.

Thanks very much Sir.

 

[Shiftless]

My 185 was broken then brazed on the dynamic jaw near the handle. It functions fine, but i’d Like to have a pro redo it sometime. It was too rare to pass up. I recently picked up a 182 in very fine condition. I may use it as my go to vise.

Maybe I just missed the post you are referring to. I am in a bit of a haze with the T-day leftovers.
What 185 vise do you have? As a general rule, major breaks of the jaw towers are the kiss of death for a user vise. Repaired or not, they are hardly ever as strong as new. Unless it has sentimental value you should consider getting a different undamaged vise. There are lots to go around. I have 5-10 I would be happy to sell you so others closer to home probably have the same or even more!

 

[Bcom]

That ding dong doesn't even use the pipe jaws.

I thought the same thing while I was watching it. Got a pipe in the main jaws when there's obviously a set of pipe jaws on the vise Well I guess the vise was good enough to hold the pipe with the main jaws then

 

[bhydro]

Maybe I just missed the post you are referring to. I am in a bit of a haze with the T-day leftovers.
What 185 vise do you have? As a general rule, major breaks of the jaw towers are the kiss of death for a user vise. Repaired or not, they are hardly ever as strong as new. Unless it has sentimental value you should consider getting a different undamaged vise. There are lots to go around. I have 5-10 I would be happy to sell you so others closer to home probably have the same or even more!

Shiftless. I was commenting on a Prentiss 180 and mentioned a 185. The price was right and I don’t think many of these 240lb’rs are around. I agree with your statement.....more than ever.

 

[MissileBear]

Cool little vise I found today. Desmond Stephan Simplex 500. I walked away from a Simplex 400 a few weeks ago that was pretty beat. I questioned whether I made the right choice, and then this popped up last night. It's hardly been used and has the original cutoff hardy, and the guy knocked off $10, which made it a fair deal.

I was surprised to see that it weighs just south of 29 lbs....pretty light for a 5" vise. It is very similar to to the Columbians with the steel slides, but has a lot more meat by the jaw faces and a completely different swivel locking mechanism. Going to clean up really nice....thinking gloss candy red w/ white lettering.

 

[Outlawmws]

There is something to be said about a smaller vise with wider jaws if well built! Invaluable for some jobs...

Nice find on the Desmond!

 

[Outlawmws]

That ding dong doesn't even use the pipe jaws.

I thought the same thing while I was watching it. Got a pipe in the main jaws when there's obviously a set of pipe jaws on the vise Well I guess the vise was good enough to hold the pipe with the main jaws then

Pipe jaws generally mar the pipe. I didn't watch the Vid (YouTube is the kiss of death for my Ltop in its current state...), but he may have not wanted to mar the pipe?

 

[02superduty]

Great haul today. The iron Gods were watching over me like I was the big guy from Massachusetts. (Joestriper)
No. 11 American Scale 4" jaws 28 lbs.
No. 65 American Red Seal 5"
No. 3 Fisher anvil 27 lbs.
plus this awesome lathe stand
I had to drive to the big city of queens, but well worth it. The guy said I was like a kid in a candy store. He has been cleaning out his families place for 3 years. Imaging what he sold before I was there.

 

[va.grouseman]

02, that's a really nice RED SEAL.---And a nice little anvil to go with it.---Good scores.

 

[MrDayne]

Great haul today. The iron Gods were watching over me like I was the big guy from Massachusetts. (Joestriper)
No. 11 American Scale 4" jaws 28 lbs.
No. 65 American Red Seal 5"
No. 3 Fisher anvil 27 lbs.
plus this awesome lathe stand
I had to drive to the big city of queens, but well worth it. The guy said I was like a kid in a candy store. He has been cleaning out his families place for 3 years. Imaging what he sold before I was there.

Candy store is right haha, nice work man.

 

[drivesitfar]

02: that does look like a JOE'S haul and WELL DONE!

ALL: speaking of Joe did he stop buying vises and I think i saw he was having a huge sale so maybe he sold all his vises (vices)?

 

[jimreed2160]

I recently replaced the import swivel vise in my grinding room with a vintage Parker. BUT the Parker is fixed and sometimes I need to hold stock in a different orientation. So my Prentiss pipe vise came to the rescue. With a 2x4 mounted to its bottom, it fits in the Parker and happily holds bar stock for cutting operations.

So much for pipe vises being less than useful in the workshop. They are good for more than just pipe.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

I had a little time with the Thanksgiving holiday and was able to finish the paint on a Wilton 600 SJ I picked up last summer. It needed plenty of repair and had been treated pretty poorly so it got a spindle thread upgrade as well as a new fabricated nut. Also quite a bit of work required to repair the nut dovetails which had failed. I documented the repairs in the vise repair thread, (pg 254 starting at post 5070.)

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6821710#post6821710

Here are a few pics after the paint and polish. There where no marks on this vise of any type which would help date it. It's sitting by a 5" bullet I painted with the same paint for some reference to size. Ed.

 

[BeardedOne]

Really nice work Oregon rock crusher.

 

[trijeff]

Holy schnickies! Great work on that Wilton, Ed! DANG!!

 

[drivesitfar]

Ed: well you know i'm a fan of BLO or a NAKED VISE, but DAMN that color looks great on your big RARE Wilton. what color is it? also i know you are used to moving around heavy items, but i bet your arms are still a bit sore after dealing with the parts on that 180 pounder?

Jim: nice option for if you don't have a pipe or chain vise mounted and i like the looks of that old Prentiss too.

 

[02superduty]

Thanks guys. It was a fun morning. Does anyone know about when this style Parker was made? I posted it a few days back.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Thanks Beard, trijeff, and Drives. I like naked vises most the time too but this 600 SJ really needed paint to look good. The paint is a textured multicolor paint in seafoam green. Two cans of the textured paint (four coats it goes on thin,) cured for a day with heat followed with a can of clear over the top. The clear seals it up so grime wipes right off. I painted the 5" bullet this way over a year ago and the paint seems pretty tough and has held up really well. No chips yet. Ed.

 

[Shiftless]

Here's another for that Seafoam green color. Valspar?

I too like the naked look with just some BLO to retard rust and give some sheen to the surface.
But in some cases there is just too much pitting or ??? and the spray can is the only alternative.

 

[Bcom]

I had a little time with the Thanksgiving holiday and was able to finish the paint on a Wilton 600 SJ I picked up last summer. It needed plenty of repair and had been treated pretty poorly so it got a spindle thread upgrade as well as a new fabricated nut. Also quite a bit of work required to repair the nut dovetails which had failed. I documented the repairs in the vise repair thread, (pg 254 starting at post 5070.)

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6821710#post6821710

Here are a few pics after the paint and polish. There where no marks on this vise of any type which would help date it. It's sitting by a 5" bullet I painted with the same paint for some reference to size. Ed.

Oh wow! That vise is MAD COOL! A standard square slide Wilton swivel jaw?!? That's unheard of! Very cool!

 

[Bcom]

I really like how they show how the pins are drilled on these Wilton vises since they never seem to be perfectly right across from one another.They also show and say it has a lifetime lubricant which Id really like to know what grease they use so i never use it myself since it never lasts a "lifetime".

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Here's another for that Seafoam green color. Valspar?

I too like the naked look with just some BLO to retard rust and give some sheen to the surface.
But in some cases there is just too much pitting or ??? and the spray can is the only alternative.

Thanks Shiftless. It's actually a rustoleum textured paint and does help hide minor casting blemishes. Some vises, like most people, just don't have what it takes to go around naked.

Oh wow! That vise is MAD COOL! A standard square slide Wilton swivel jaw?!? That's unheard of! Very cool!

Thanks Bcom. There are not many of these "Wilton" 600 SJ vises around but I know of at least one other that lives with VA grousman. From all appearances it seems they share a casting mold with the American Scale #78 vise which looks nearly identical. Ed.

 

[GETRIDAONE]

Thanks guys. It was a fun morning. Does anyone know about when this style Parker was made? I posted it a few days back.

https://books.google.com/books?id=Q...UjpAuU4bhDoAQgxMAM#v=onepage&q=vulcan&f=false

This is from Tool Archives, 1902 catalog Look at page 342

 

[Bcom]

https://books.google.com/books?id=Q...UjpAuU4bhDoAQgxMAM#v=onepage&q=vulcan&f=false

This is from Tool Archives, 1902 catalog Look at page 342

I cant seem to get to page 342 without scrolling for an hour. Can anybody else pull this page up quick? The google books has a glitchy layout today

 

[drivesitfar]

ED: still wondering if that BIG WILTON caused you any pain moving that huge vise around or is that about the normal size vise you work on now?

I love this line you posted and it's SOOOO TRUE.

Some vises, like most people, just don't have what it takes to go around naked.

BCom: while I agree that your BRAND NEW Wilton purchase was a decent deal i see several vises on your shelf that were easily as good of a vise to use or did you just really want a DEAD BLOW HAMMER and a brand new vise?

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

ED: still wondering if that BIG WILTON caused you any pain moving that huge vise around or is that about the normal size vise you work on now?

I love this line you posted and it's SOOOO TRUE.

Some vises, like most people, just don't have what it takes to go around naked.

Thanks Drives, You know the big Wilton wasn't all that bad too work on while it was in pieces. I definitely didn't hold the main castings out from my body but still pretty manageable. What I noticed was just how immobile it got after assembly though. I had one of my sons help with the final fit and was glad to have the help....definitely a handful now. I do have plenty of overhead and mobile lift equipment just for these bigger projects though. .

 

[Woodtick]

Just spotted this on Etsy......thought it was pretty awesome.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/487819354/engravers-jewelers-vise
Rich

 

[Woodtick]

Added a screenshot for those not on Etsy.

 

[FMC1959]

I really like how they show how the pins are drilled on these Wilton vises since they never seem to be perfectly right across from one another.They also show and say it has a lifetime lubricant which Id really like to know what grease they use so i never use it myself since it never lasts a "lifetime".

That lifetime lubricant is based on the bullet vises being sealed, so no dirt or crud gets into the grease. Any kind of grease that does not dry over a short period of time could be "lifetime" if it is in a sealed environment.

Just spotted this on Etsy......thought it was pretty awesome.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/487819354/engravers-jewelers-vise
Rich

Someone had posted that about a year or so ago. I agree, it is a really cool looking vise, not $2000 cool, but still pretty cool.

 

[lis2323]

Just spotted this on Etsy......thought it was pretty awesome.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/487819354/engravers-jewelers-vise
Rich

I only have a tablet to view, but it looks pretty cool from what I can tell. I would like to reserve final judgment only after viewing in person. Sometimes when I actually get to see something the design just doesn't work for me (aesthetically).

Workmanship looks pretty good. No matter what, he certainly isn't making any money at a $2K asking price for a "one off".

Not that I would ever buy it though...[emoji1]