The VISES of Garage Journal

[Tomthumb717]

GET - What color did you wind up painting the Prentiss? Really looks nice.

 

[ptgarcia]

Another very fine vise pulled from the fire Razor.---I love the Starrett vises.---My second favorite brand.---Excellent quality vises.---Someone had to give some real mean treatment to that one to do that.---Beautiful job.

I bet it was dropped.

 

[GETRIDAONE]

GET - What color did you wind up painting the Prentiss? Really looks nice.

GM dark blue metallic. Acrylic Lacquer with a clear coat .
It sprayed fine but when doing the lettering it dry to quick for me.

 

[dutchgray]

Whoa! That's quite a bit larger list than I expected, but thank you much!

I'm real intent on figuring out who made this "British Make" vise so I can try to date it...definitely old, but the seller said "1800s"...which I happen to think is a bit too old, but what do I know at this point?

I too think "1800s" is to old, those are the two part bolted together bodied vices.
This one,
View media item 65391is a "1930s" ish Parkinson Handy, which is obviously different to yours and is also rare, the designs were pretty much set after WW2 until some lighter versions started appearing in the 70's
Yours has Record like qualities, but that doesn't mean they made it, there was a lot of copied design elements.

 

[va.grouseman]

Previously posted by Razorhunter.

VA, I gotta ask, whats your #1 preferred vise then??? Reed?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


Yep, you nailed it.---Now I got to ask.---Do you hunt those razors with gun or bow and/or dog?

 

[Itsjustdirt]

Quick question for you vice nerds (I say that in a positive sense)!

I have 2 Record no. 6 vices and one no. 8 vice that appear to be brand new and are about 10-15 years old. Are these any good or junk?

The MAIN question is... Is there a way to make a swivel base for these? I REALLY hate using a fixed vice (and honestly don't know why they exist?) and would love to make these swivel.... ideas?

Thanks guys!

 

[Tomthumb717]

ITS - I humbly disagree with your stance on fixed based vises. Yes, I know that depending on the project at hand or your hobby/profession, that a swivel based vise could come in handy, but the overall strength and stability of a fixed based cannot be matched in my opinion. It seems that 99% of the time at least in my use, I can position myself and the material comfortably working around the vise.

 

[dutchgray]

Quick question for you vice nerds (I say that in a positive sense)!

I have 2 Record no. 6 vices and one no. 8 vice that appear to be brand new and are about 10-15 years old. Are these any good or junk?

The MAIN question is... Is there a way to make a swivel base for these? I REALLY hate using a fixed vice (and honestly don't know why they exist?) and would love to make these swivel.... ideas?

Thanks guys!

Not junk, should be some of the last English ones (Made in England on the side), not as nicely made as one from the 60's or earlier and not as heavy and strong as good American made vises, but still a great vice that ought to do a lifetime of service.
The current Chinese Irwin Record swivel bases should fit, but I wouldn't bother, 6" is bigger than a typical bench vice and 8" definitely is, best mounted on a stout steel post solidly bolted to the floor, such that you can work from all sides.

 

[Razorhunter]

Hey VA,
I am primarily a bowhunter, and that is my true passion, but occasionaly I break out the boomstick as well. Never used dogs before, but I'd certainly love too. Nothing more enjoyable than watching a well trained bird dog go to work, that's for sure.

 

[Evergreentree]

Just put this d. Simplex 500 on my wood chipper today. Good all around little run of the mill vise. Mounted on white oak and walnut wood. Vise and wood coated in diesel/old oil mix. Why are all my photos upside down?

 

[gman007]

Why are all my photos upside down?

are you using iPhone or iPad to take and post your photos?

 

[Evergreentree]

Yea, iPhone . Didn’t do this flip flop a while back. I even flipped the photo over upside down in my phone , and it still did it?’��

 

[Itsjustdirt]

Not junk, should be some of the last English ones (Made in England on the side), not as nicely made as one from the 60's or earlier and not as heavy and strong as good American made vises, but still a great vice that ought to do a lifetime of service.
The current Chinese Irwin Record swivel bases should fit, but I wouldn't bother, 6" is bigger than a typical bench vice and 8" definitely is, best mounted on a stout steel post solidly bolted to the floor, such that you can work from all sides.

Awesome, thanks for the reply! Maybe these aren't as old as I thought? No mention of England on the vice any where. NOW are they ****? Lol

 

[MayerMR]

Gman, The RAE, the GRAY, and the HENRY have to be Canadian first cousins.---Looks like a lot of style fudging went on back then.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=74938&d=1282706718

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=74939&d=1282706733

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=74943&d=1282706812

No kidding, I guess companies didn't really go after each other for copying back then like they do these days.

I too think "1800s" is to old, those are the two part bolted together bodied vices.
This one,
View media item 65391is a "1930s" ish Parkinson Handy, which is obviously different to yours and is also rare, the designs were pretty much set after WW2 until some lighter versions started appearing in the 70's
Yours has Record like qualities, but that doesn't mean they made it, there was a lot of copied design elements.

That's a neat vise too!

So I'm really looking forward to getting this vise and combing over it to see if there are any identifying marks or anything. I'm hoping there is something that I'm not seeing in the photos...maybe an imprint on the side of the slide or something. It's surprising that there is nothing on it...most of the oldest vises I've seen generally have some sort of identifying markings cast into them. Most manufacturers seemed to start the re-branding/decal branding in the late '70s as far as I've seen so far.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Yea, iPhone . Didn’t do this flip flop a while back. I even flipped the photo over upside down in my phone , and it still did it?’��

Have you rebooted your phone lately? Also, the default mode for iPhone camera is landscape. That means the "shoot" button will be on the right with the phone turned sideways.

Good luck.

 

[dutchgray]

Awesome, thanks for the reply! Maybe these aren't as old as I thought? No mention of England on the vice any where. NOW are they ****? Lol

Those are the Chinese made ones, still not junk but not as good as the old ones, I would use them since you have them, look up how much Irwin wants for them now for a shock, not cheap for a Chinese made, still the same design as the last of the English made Records. Thinking about it it was mid 2000's when they switched to china but I cant remember the exact year.

 

[Unruh]

Hey everyone. I’m going to go look at this Rock Island vise today. He said it has crack in the tail slide and sent these pics. He also said it opens and closes fine and the crack does not interfere with usage. What are some opinions? Can I fix it? If I don’t fix it do you think the crack will spread?

 

[gman007]

Hey everyone. I’m going to go look at this Rock Island vise today. He said it has crack in the tail slide and sent these pics. He also said it opens and closes fine and the crack does not interfere with usage. What are some opinions? Can I fix it? If I don’t fix it do you think the crack will spread?

Unruh The photos are nearly microscopic and is hard to see anything, specially if one wants to see detail of the crack.

Now in general and stating the obvious any crack in a vise is not a good thing but if the price is really good and has been discounted to account for the crack, and you really want the vise then it might be worth fixing.

Several talented GJ members have fixed cracked slides (which not only includes brazing but also countersunk bolts etc to reinforce the fix) and the one that has stuck in my mind for sure is by Dr. Scott. These fixes are detailed in the vise repair thread
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252830

You will have to search through the thread to find them (someone else might have a better memory than me and might point you to the exact posts)

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Unruh:
A while back I restored a Prentiss vise with a cracked slide. It's an easy enough repair that makes me wish I hadn't turned down other vises with the same damage.

Here's the thread on the restoration. See posts 4, 5, & 6 for the slide crack repair:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=358095

Good luck

 

[trijeff]

I think I recall someone here was recently looking for one of these huge rigger's vises, here's one on eBay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rigger-s-Forming-Vise/132562449674?hash=item1edd56750a:g:774AAOSwyTdavnh9

 

[Unruh]

Unruh:
A while back I restored a Prentiss vise with a cracked slide. It's an easy enough repair that makes me wish I hadn't turned down other vises with the same damage.

Here's the thread on the restoration. See posts 4, 5, & 6 for the slide crack repair:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=358095

Good luck

Excellent! Thank you. Looks like I found myself a new project.

 

[bigredrig]

if anyone is interested in this looks like a Parker vise for $20.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-tool-other/...ch/1343453155?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

to far for me this weekend but looks like a great deal!

 

[Z3K3Y]

can anyone help me out on some info about this wilton.. its 2.5 inch jaws

 

[ALLFAST]

That's an interesting one my friend. Give it time and the Wilton experts will be chiming in !

Nice vise !

Shawn

 

[Evergreentree]

Thanks longhorn.

 

[mgmlvks]

Littlestown 140 for not much money near Ada, Oklahoma. Missing swivel base. Goal is to play with some restoration techniques. Questions are

1. Anyone have a swivel base that needs a good home?
2. What time frame would this be from?

 

[Unruh]

So I went out to pick up that Rock Island Vice. While I was out there I saw some other vices as well. The Fisher Leg Vice is dated 1903.

 

[trijeff]

And did they come home with you, too??

 

[Unruh]

And did they come home with you, too??

No. He was pretty fond of them.

 

[MayerMR]

Well I made some progress on that used & abused Reed vise tonight. My arms are sure sore from maneuvering that thing all over on the wire wheel on my grinder. I need to get a wire wheel for my angle grinder before I restore my Athol 624 1/2...that sucker is a beast..ugh.

Oddly enough, it doesn't appear that there was even a crack in the static body jaw post. It's almost like they continued the weld onto the main body of the vise for "aesthetic" (and I use that term very loosely) reasons.

Before:

Removed some of the ugly weld beads and splatter:

Did the same on the front jaw, but did quite a bit less as the dynamic jaw as it had clearly been broken:

And then used some JB Weld to help hide the ugly repair and smooth it out some:

I found four layers of paint...bottom layer appeared to be a red primer, then the odd part was that I found both grey as a second layer in some areas and green as a second layer in some areas. Both on the main body of the vise. I assume that whichever color was original could have chipped off and the second layer was just the new top coat. Were these things ever painted green from the factory? Grey seems much more likely to be the original color, no?

 

[trijeff]

Here's my later Reed 1C (earlier 1C is underneath, clamped up in the Prentiss 98), think it is the original green paint but not certain ... same shade as you saw?

EDIT: on closer inspection I think you are right about gray, I see just a little bit here and there, plus I don't think the factory would have painted the slide and handle.

 

[MayerMR]

Here's my later Reed 1C (earlier 1C is underneath, clamped up in the Prentiss 98), think it is the original green paint but not certain ... same shade as you saw?

EDIT: on closer inspection I think you are right about gray, I see just a little bit here and there, plus I don't think the factory would have painted the slide and handle.

Well, yes, that does appear to be a match to the green I found! I'm wondering if the red was some sort of primer they applied to stop them from rusting before shipping to a finishing factory where they could have applied a fresh primer before whatever topcoat color they were doing. I mean, is that less likely than two random people choosing the same green color?

 

[gman007]

Well, yes, that does appear to be a match to the green I found! I'm wondering if the red was some sort of primer they applied to stop them from rusting before shipping to a finishing factory where they could have applied a fresh primer before whatever topcoat color they were doing. I mean, is that less likely than two random people choosing the same green color?

Mayer As TJ mentioned above normally manufacturers did not paint the handle, swivel arm and specially the entire slide bar. Now I suppose it is still plausible that the original color was green and at some point the owner wanted to refresh the paint and in keeping with the original color picked a similar green color! However he painted not only the usual vise parts but also the handle and slide bar too.

Or may be it is just a happy coincidence that two people choose to repaint their vises green!

 

[MayerMR]

Mayer As TJ mentioned above normally manufacturers did not paint the handle, swivel arm and specially the entire slide bar. Now I suppose it is still plausible that the original color was green and at some point the owner wanted to refresh the paint and in keeping with the original color picked a similar green color! However he painted not only the usual vise parts but also the handle and slide bar too.

Or may be it is just a happy coincidence that two people choose to repaint their vises green!

How dare you come here and use logic and common sense against me

 

[jpickar]

So I went out to pick up that Rock Island Vice. While I was out there I saw some other vices as well. The Fisher Leg Vice is dated 1903.

I haven'r seen a rotory dial phone in over 40 years!

 

[Unruh]

So I went out to pick up that Rock Island Vice. While I was out there I saw some other vices as well. The Fisher Leg Vice is dated 1903.


I haven'r seen a rotory dial phone in over 40 years!

Ha!

It wan’t the Only one he had there either. He actually had two full sized phone booths in his garage. He said they we pull out of an old bus station in the 40’s. He had them hooked up and operable.

 

[gman007]

Ha!

It wan’t the Only one he had there either. He actually had two full sized phone booths in his garage. He said they we pull out of an old bus station in the 40’s. He had them hooked up and operable.

Who knows, just like vintage vises are in vogue now, pretty soon eBay will be listing rotary phones for hundreds of dollars. I guess I should scramble and stuck up on rotary phones before prices become ridiculous.

 

[drivesitfar]

Here's my later Reed 1C (earlier 1C is underneath, clamped up in the Prentiss 98), think it is the original green paint but not certain ... same shade as you saw?

EDIT: on closer inspection I think you are right about gray, I see just a little bit here and there, plus I don't think the factory would have painted the slide and handle.

TJ: I hadn't thought of storing my putty knives like this, but not sure I can afford that fancy holder.

 

[Razorhunter]

Hey Mayer and Trijeff,
Could you guys tell me what is the diameter of your Reed 1C swivel bases? I need the major diameter, where it mates to the workbench. If anyone else has Reed 2C, 3C and 4C mahor dia of swivel base, I'd be super appreciative guys!
Now, for anyone here who has fought with a Starrett/Athol anti backlash spring in the main spindle of the vise, I actually encountered this for the first time this morning.
Here was my solution.... Aircraft safety wire the spring at two opposing points, 180 degrees from each other. The key here is that you must also file a little groove for the wire to give the damn thing clearance to slide over the leadscrew (or acme spindle I should say) -NOTE- This is only if your little thrust bearing washers fit as tightly as mine did originally. YMMV.
Kind of a PIA if you ask me, but becomes easy as pie with safety wire.

 

[hemifalcon]

Hemi falcon,
That little Verdi Green Wilton is sure pretty ! I sold my swivel base 1953 3 inch bullet to super cool fellow GJ member for 140, and it had the derelict original faded to dust pea green lead paint on it. Good luck on the auction....it shoud do well.

Thank you—
It sold for $280 to a guy locally and he ended up buying my unrestored 4-1/2” Wilton for $280 as well, good money made!!


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