The VISES of Garage Journal

[drivesitfar]

Outlaw: Gman seemed to think he figured out the colors, but he hasn't posted in awhile. maybe Autopts knows if you want to send him a PM. as you know i don't paint my vises so I don't keep written notes on actual colors or paint. if it wasn't Grabber Green my other favorite color might be the blue on the old Craftsman 519x's as colors for me.

or maybe the Wilton stamp dating thread might have a few good examples to shed light on your answer?

 

[SAA44-40]

Drives- thank you for being so helpful. I enjoy your knowledge and kind responses. Tonight after putting the youngun’s down I spent some pleasant time in the shop. I broke down the Dunlap- it’s in really nice shape. I’ll hit the shiny parts and put on some lube and call it good. I’ll get my 2 boys involved in the process tomorrow. They love wrecking shop in my...shop

 

[Shiftless]

I think the Green may have came later than 47? About what time frames was Wilton doing grey, green or blue? Surely someone knows here?

Outlaw, I think you might be right. This is my oldest bullet... a model 3 HD date coded 9-45.
The color seems to be a pale grayish cream. I don’t see any traces of old green paint. Who knows for sure if this is original paint but I suspect it is. Note that the old style jaw faces with the horizontal linear serrations are still in place.

 

[bagged89s10]

Picked this 6” Rock Island 577 today. Need to find a swivel base for it but it’s in very clean shape under all the black. And the rust is just slight surface rust. If anyone has a lead on a swivel let me know.

 

[454ragtop]

Nice looking 577, looks like you and jrobb will be duking it out for a swivel, luckily mine already has one. Wonder if that particular swivel is more fragile than most?

 

[Outlawmws]

I think the Green may have came later than 47? About what time frames was Wilton doing grey, green or blue? Surely someone knows here?

I'm WAY too tired, tonight (12 hr work day)... I forgot my '47 baby still had a few bits of the GREEN still on it.

 

[drivesitfar]

454: I've owned 3 577's and still own one and i bet that swivel base weighs 20 pounds or more. it's not the weak point on that vise like the bases for the old Wilton C3's were, but as you know the old owners were told (or maybe they just didn't care) that they could beat the **** out of their vises.

my guess is that the swivel bases were welded to steel tables and the person grabbing the vise before it went to scrap left that base on the table.

BAGGED: great find and good picture of a big vise holding that 577 which isn't any little thing.

SA: you're welcome. hope you and the boys have a good time in your shop tomorrow.

 

[bagged89s10]

Nice looking 577, looks like you and jrobb will be duking it out for a swivel, luckily mine already has one. Wonder if that particular swivel is more fragile than most?

I was told the base might have been on the workbench that was scrapped at a firehouse which was being renovated. It came with the center bolt and swivel lock assembly so I don’t know what the deal was with the swivel base. Maybe it was welded to the bench or broken.

 

[bagged89s10]

454: I've owned 3 577's and still own one and i bet that swivel base weighs 20 pounds or more. it's not the weak point on that vise like the bases for the old Wilton C3's were, but as you know the old owners were told (or maybe they just didn't care) that they could beat the **** out of their vises.

my guess is that the swivel bases were welded to steel tables and the person grabbing the vise before it went to scrap left that base on the table.

BAGGED: great find and good picture of a big vise holding that 577 which isn't any little thing.

SA: you're welcome. hope you and the boys have a good time in your shop tomorrow.

Drives, it’s crazy that the 6” rock island weighs 130lbs without the swivel base. It’s also twice the size of that Parker 974 I put it in to take the picture.

 

[drivesitfar]

BAGGED: if you weighed yours without the swivel base at 130 pounds then the swivel base does weigh 20 pounds cause mine with the swivel base weighs 150 pounds. i'll double check that cause i'm moving it maybe this weekend.

another member in California needs a 577 base too for a friend of his so you JRobb and he all need one at the moment. if you happen to see another big Rock Island that is beat to ****, but has a good swivel base the # on the base you'll need is 77C.

here's mine when Balane spiffed it up for me several years ago.

 

[jrobb316]

Luckily I do have the swivel base it's just missing an ear. So a repair can be done in my case.

 

[royce]

I can see why.

It's muchest, more betterer than mostest...

Which makes it most unbad...

And on top of that, the leastest swiveling, which makes it mostest unbadest.

Royce

 

[royce]

Love it! Great job with building that bench Royce!!!

Thank you Sir,
They are hell for stout.

Royce

 

[royce]

Hollands made an offset too.---Posted by Mazak Mark on page 67, post 1327
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And here's the left to Mark and Royce's rights. One of my everyday users.

Way cool vise and work bench.

Royce

 

[bagged89s10]

I’m moving my bench which is up against a wall where I used to store half of my vises. I’m going to build a shelving unit out of 2x10s I already have. I’m thinking only 4 foot wide. I have thought of a simple design but I would like to see what everybody else has built.
Can you guys post pictures of your vise shelves made from wood?

 

[Outlawmws]

Concrete block stacked and the heavy wood shelves. if you get too high, Anchor it to the wall...

This could also be used as a "room divider", albeit at the cost of floor space... BUT you can then alternately slot vises in from both sides and get them denser...

 

[hitthewall79]

I’m moving my bench which is up against a wall where I used to store half of my vises. I’m going to build a shelving unit out of 2x10s I already have. I’m thinking only 4 foot wide. I have thought of a simple design but I would like to see what everybody else has built.
Can you guys post pictures of your vise shelves made from wood?

What about something like this, just beefier to hold the weight?

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[Outlawmws]

My mostest, favoritest vise ever.

Royce

I can see why.

It's muchest, more betterer than mostest...

Which makes it most unbad...

And on top of that, the leastest swiveling, which makes it mostest unbadest.

Royce

 

[oldldh]

I wondered if you folks were talking a nap...

 

[BlueBomber]

Fresh from an estate sale this morning: my first Wilton bullet, a 9300 dated Jan 1973.

 

[bagged89s10]

What about something like this, just beefier to hold the weight?

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Concrete block stacked and the heavy wood shelves. if you get too high, Anchor it to the wall...

This could also be used as a "room divider", albeit at the cost of floor space... BUT you can then alternately slot vises in from both sides and get them denser...

It’s going to go up against the wall. Here is a poor attempt at a sketch on my phone of the idea I have using cut offs from the stair stringers I cut recently. I hoping to keep space underneath for tools and have 2 shelves above for shelves. Maybe and 8 foot wide shelf with a center support.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Fresh from an estate sale this morning: my first Wilton bullet, a 9300 dated Jan 1973.

Congrats! Mind sharing what it set you back? Always good to know what the market is and better when guys get a good deal. Understand if you don't want to share.

Mike

 

[Shiftless]

I’m moving my bench which is up against a wall where I used to store half of my vises. I’m going to build a shelving unit out of 2x10s I already have. I’m thinking only 4 foot wide. I have thought of a simple design but I would like to see what everybody else has built.
Can you guys post pictures of your vise shelves made from wood?

Bagged:
I built this one 30 years ago for books and display down in the walkout basement room. Here is a shot of it empty before I repainted it. It is now filled with vises and hasn’t collapsed
3/4 inch MDF supported in dadoed verticals trimmed and strengthened with 1x2 front face frames. The whole unit is a bit less than 8 feet wide. Screwed to wall studs of course. If I did it again, I would probably use 2x10s but it is so hard to find straight ones that won’t warp. If money was no object, I would use oak stair tread material.
My latest build looks identical but I used melamine coated MDF and put the shelves closer together.

 

[Shiftless]

Congrats! Mind sharing what it set you back? Always good to know what the market is and better when guys get a good deal. Understand if you don't want to share.

Mike

Until he answers, let me just say that except for ebay there is really no established blue book value for vises. I bought a 9300 in good shape for $80 a few years ago. Other guys probably got restored ones for four times that amount and thought they got a fair deal. Others paid a quarter of that amount at a garage sale and earned a “you ****”.
Although it is interesting to see what individuals paid for a vise at one certain time and place, that information can only vaguely inform our buying decisions.

 

[hitthewall79]

Stumbled up this, guy says it's 25 years old, but I don't see any markings on it... He says it's a wilton bullet but only wants 50 for it, anybody got an idea if it's a Chinese knock off or a real deal?

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[Shiftless]

Looks like a Wilton Tradesman from where I sit. Easily worth the $50 unless there is major damage.

 

[hitthewall79]

Looks like a Wilton Tradesman from where I sit. Easily worth the $50 unless there is major damage.

Idk how easy it would be to fix... Guy said he snapped the screws off in the bolt holes for the Jaws...

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[Shiftless]

Idk how easy it would be to fix... Guy said he snapped the screws off in the bolt holes for the Jaws...

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Just about all of us have had to deal with that problem at some time. Buy it and try to remove the screws. Post on the vise repair pages for specific suggestions after we see close ups of the affected area.
If you can’t fix it, I bet you can get your $50 back from one of us.

 

[drivesitfar]

Hit: that looks like a Wilton Tradesman. Wilton did make a few of them in China, but I'm pretty sure they make the new bullets and tradesman vises in the USA now. with the chip out of the jaw tower and the jaw off I'm wondering if the threads might be stripped. the jaws on those vises are not made from very high quality material either, but it is a Wilton so if the price is right it probably needs to be bought.

pull out the dynamic jaw to check out the insides since it took that blow to the top of the vise and while you have it apart you can check out the date stamp on the keyway that is sometimes hidden in grease. I think the made in China Tradesmans have an open bottom in the swivel base's design, but not 100% positive on that.

SHIFT: i think you needed to post up the picture with your shelving unit full of vises?

BAGGED: i've got this STOUT shelving unit that I've had 2500-3000 pounds of gym weight plates on each shelf, but I've got a little 4 foot wide shelving unit with 3/4 inch pressboard on it's shelves that holds a fair amount of vises too. i know you own the 2x10's, but a metal framed shelving unit can be found fairly cheap and use the wood for another project.

 

[bagged89s10]

Hit: that looks like a Wilton Tradesman. Wilton did make a few of them in China, but I'm pretty sure they make the new bullets and tradesman vises in the USA now. with the chip out of the jaw tower and the jaw off I'm wondering if the threads might be stripped. the jaws on those vises are not made from very high quality material either, but it is a Wilton so if the price is right it probably needs to be bought.

pull out the dynamic jaw to check out the insides since it took that blow to the top of the vise and while you have it apart you can check out the date stamp on the keyway that is sometimes hidden in grease. I think the made in China Tradesmans have an open bottom in the swivel base's design, but not 100% positive on that.

SHIFT: i think you needed to post up the picture with your shelving unit full of vises?

BAGGED: i've got this STOUT shelving unit that I've had 2500-3000 pounds of gym weight plates on each shelf, but I've got a little 4 foot wide shelving unit with 3/4 inch pressboard on it's shelves that holds a fair amount of vises too. i know you own the 2x10's, but a metal framed shelving unit can be found fairly cheap and use the wood for another project.

I know you can find cheap metal shelving but I’ve only found ones that are too deep for my space. I’m going for 16” or so deep.

 

[hitthewall79]

Hit: that looks like a Wilton Tradesman. Wilton did make a few of them in China, but I'm pretty sure they make the new bullets and tradesman vises in the USA now. with the chip out of the jaw tower and the jaw off I'm wondering if the threads might be stripped. the jaws on those vises are not made from very high quality material either, but it is a Wilton so if the price is right it probably needs to be bought.

pull out the dynamic jaw to check out the insides since it took that blow to the top of the vise and while you have it apart you can check out the date stamp on the keyway that is sometimes hidden in grease. I think the made in China Tradesmans have an open bottom in the swivel base's design, but not 100% positive on that.

SHIFT: i think you needed to post up the picture with your shelving unit full of vises?[emoji106]

BAGGED: i've got this STOUT shelving unit that I've had 2500-3000 pounds of gym weight plates on each shelf, but I've got a little 4 foot wide shelving unit with 3/4 inch pressboard on it's shelves that holds a fair amount of vises too. i know you own the 2x10's, but a metal framed shelving unit can be found fairly cheap and use the wood for another project.

How hard would it be to get a tap and dye, and make new internal threads? Ive done this before, but never with cast-iron

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[Shiftless]

Drives: OK, here it is with vises in it. I have a shelf unit on each side of the door leading into my garage. One shelf section holds my garage stereo receiver... 4 speaker wires go up and through the wall. Another section holds my FIL’s machinist chest, an homage to a great man.

( Sorry...I am still trying to figure out how to post higher res photos from my new iPad... at least these low quality shots are not upside down )

 

[BlueBomber]

Congrats! Mind sharing what it set you back? Always good to know what the market is and better when guys get a good deal. Understand if you don't want to share.

Mike

No problem, Tex, since I already revealed the number on the GJ Garage Sale thread. The vise was marked at $40 on the opening day of an estate sale and I didn't try to bargain.

 

[Shiftless]

No problem, Tex, since I already revealed the number on the GJ Garage Sale thread. The vise was marked at $40 on the opening day of an estate sale and I didn't try to bargain.

BB:
$40 for that bullet will put you well into the “you ****” territory!

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: thanks. check out 1/2 Cup's thread and he just posted how he takes and posts his pictures. here's the link:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=225061

Hit: guys tap new holes all the time so check out the vise repair 101 thread. that said you'll probably have to make new jaws (or buy some). usually what the guys do is just make a little bigger holes if the original holes aren't blown out. or if your studs are still in the holes the threads might still be ok.

Bagged: my stout metal shelving unit is 16 inches deep. the other ones i mentioned i think are 14 inches. unless you are setting some of your big vises on the shelves sideways some of their slides are 24 inches long and longer.

good luck

BB: yep a good vise and a good price. WELL DONE!!

 

[dkroth]

Best I can say is I have access to one. My FIL has one that he inherited from his dad who bought it from the factory.

So he gave you his daughter but he's keeping the vise....

Smart man.






.

 

[BlueBomber]

Thanks, gents! Been waiting a long time to find one in the wild at any price, so to find one at such a bargain is even better.

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[va.grouseman]

Idk how easy it would be to fix... Guy said he snapped the screws off in the bolt holes for the Jaws...

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Hitt, if he snapped the screw off, then the original threads are still there like Drive said.---You just have to be real ginger about getting the broken stud out so as to not damage the original threads.---Don't get in any kind of a hurry which will result in a screw-up.---Take your time, use some penetrating oil, let soak, drill a hole in the center of the stud, insert easy-out, heat the surrounding jaw a little to expand the outer cast, then tap the easy-out lightly.---Repeat process until you get results which may take days.---Again, take it slow.

 

[hitthewall79]

Well, it's not pretty by any means, but I think I got this one, it's all minor stuff that I think I can handle... I think I did pretty good for $50. It's a wilton 1750, and it's missing one pipe Jaw, and what I assume to be the dust cap.

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[E.E.]

I just got this Palmgren 000. I don't know much about them, but I wanted something for my "new" Craftsman Drill Press. Quality seems very good.

[/url]Palmgen 000 Vise - 1 by e.estern, on Flickr[/IMG]