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MayerMR

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Feb 13, 2018
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Well guys, I finally received my unknown "British Make" vise from Canada! Took long enough. I thought for sure I'd be able to find some semblance of a maker's mark on it, but nuttin'! Sure looks like a Record..the original paint was blue at one point as well.

That said, I couldn't be happier with it. It's a stout little vise and it doesn't appear to have had much use at all check out dem jaws!

I don't plan on restoring it - I like how it looks so I'll just clean it up some, re-grease it, and spray it with Rem Oil now and again to keep it from rusting up.

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If anyone has any thoughts on the maker or era of make that'd be cool!
 
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Razorhunter

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Apr 25, 2013
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393
Veeps I've never bought a Parker to this day. Too in love with the Reeds. You got a pic to post of the swivel design on these Parkers? I can't recall if I've seen one torn down before.
 

va.grouseman

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gman007

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+1, I want to see a Reed/Parker showdown!

The Parker brake mechanism is akin to a car drum brake. The older ones have a single piece shoe and the newer ones have ring that has a hing (more efficient).

The first two photos are from my 204 and the last two photos are from the newer 974.
 

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Fretters

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The Parker brake mechanism is akin to a car drum brake. The older ones have a single piece shoe and the newer ones have ring that has a hing (more efficient).

The first two photos are from my 204 and the last two photos are from the newer 974.

That single piece ring is similar/same as the setup on the Parkinson swivel base I have here.
 

trijeff

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Jan 21, 2015
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Northern Cali
I'd like to throw the Prentiss split ring base into the Reed/Parker showdown ... it locks around the sides of the base as versus mostly up on the bottom of the base with only a pin and/or swivel nuts stopping the side to side motion.

 

bagged89s10

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I'd like to throw the Prentiss split ring base into the Reed/Parker showdown ... it locks around the sides of the base as versus mostly up on the bottom of the base with only a pin and/or swivel nuts stopping the side to side motion.




I haven’t played with too many prentiss. What does the locking mechanism inside the base look like?
 
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trijeff

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Bags, the locking mechanism is what you see right under the slide support ... in the video the nut/bolt/handle combo isn't installed. But just a big hunk of metal sticking down underneath the static (the Wilton swivelers have that little indexing ridge, this is the same but almost as thick aa the base itself. So the bolt/nut go thru that hole, it is two tabs on either side of a split ring base. When you tighten the nut it pulls the sides of the base around that inner cylinder. 100% contact. The up/down motion when unclamped is held by a couple of big bolts and washers (as if the weight of the darn bise doesn't nearly hold it down lol)
 

Razorhunter

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Apr 25, 2013
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393
Yep, it's like greased lightning!


Tri,

So you used a needle roller stack meaning several. Not a typical thrust roller bearing with spherical balls. I'd be interested in seeing the exact bearing you used and how close in size it is as compared to the bore. Any pics of the bearing you used?
 
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Outlawmws

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RH, do a search for Dr Scott's thrust bearings. I believe he's done both needle rollers and bronze.

The issue with round rollers is space. It gets thick fast. If you have the space, Great! But generally space is at a premium...
 
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chrisnazzy

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Apr 20, 2013
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Arizona
I got my Wilton 600 back from my friend last week. He owns a powdercoat business but I just had him media blast it for me. It had a heavy black paint on it that had baked on out in the AZ sun for who knows how many years and my light duty wire wheels were no match.

The night before I took it to him I decided to try my hand at taking it completely apart. Of course I've read tips and tricks on here bunches of times but there really isn't any substitute for hands on experience and this was my first Wilton. To say I was proud of myself for carefully coaxing this big boy to come apart would be an understatement but everything went pretty easily though.

I removed the dynamic and re-threaded the spindle into the nut and used it to push out the dust cap which was already badly dented. The pins were obviously the biggest challenge but after some careful perusing I was able to drive the first one into the vise and luckily the holes lined up and a long pin punch reached through to push the other pin out. Once the nut was out a sacrificial 2 foot length of 1x2 and a dead blow to knock out the tail piece. Overall pretty easy but then again patience played a part and I find myself with a bit more of that the older I get.

Probably gonna paint it Rustoleum hammered light blue or verde green but not 100% yet. GJ member 2slow was very gracious and has sent me the extra brand new spindle/handle assembly and retention collar he had which will give it a nice brand new look. Just need to pick up some stainless socket head bolts for the jaws, find a new dust cap and maybe one of those reproduction Wilton stickers. Someday maybe I'll add a swivel base assembly but it's difficult to justify at nearly 3 times more than I initially paid for the vise. 20180109_212000.jpg20180329_221305.jpg20180408_135208.jpg20180410_183238.jpg

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 

trijeff

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Tri,

So you describe that as a needle roller stack or something. Not a typical thrust roller bearing with spherical balls. I'd be interested in seeing the exact bearing you used. Its dims, specs etc as compared to the bore size. Any pics of the bearing you used?
Razor, I think I am doing the link correctly:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4793514&postcount=28421

Like Outlaws mentions, not too much room in there for spheres

EDIT: read a few down from that post and you can see the exact ones I got, and why. Hope this helps!
 
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chrisnazzy

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I've also got this Prentiss 53 down to the final steps. To me, this one is the perfect candidate for a bare metal look. My idea is to pick a color for the letters and then coat it in BLO. Any suggestions on a color for the letters that will look really good under the BLO and maybe still honor the age of this guy.

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MayerMR

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Feb 13, 2018
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Dallas, Texas
Well fellas, I decided to restore that Reed 1C vise that I posted awhile back that had suffered a catastrophic assault at some point in its past. I just couldn't bear the idea of breaking it down into parts. I may do a build thread on it tomorrow, but I just wanted to show how she turned out!

Before:
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After:
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I used this vise to teach myself the in's & out's of cold-bluing for the slide and other moving pieces - after the bluing was buffed out with some steel wool, I sealed it with Johnson's Paste Wax. Also took a chance and used a faux-sandstone paint over to bring back the "fresh out of a mold" casting look to it. Pretty happy with it how it turned out!
 
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gman007

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May 17, 2017
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West Michigan
Bags, the locking mechanism is what you see right under the slide support ... in the video the nut/bolt/handle combo isn't installed. But just a big hunk of metal sticking down underneath the static (the Wilton swivelers have that little indexing ridge, this is the same but almost as thick aa the base itself. So the bolt/nut go thru that hole, it is two tabs on either side of a split ring base. When you tighten the nut it pulls the sides of the base around that inner cylinder. 100% contact. The up/down motion when unclamped is held by a couple of big bolts and washers (as if the weight of the darn bise doesn't nearly hold it down lol)

TJ
I am assuming you are referring the mechanism as shown in the photo (that is my Prentiss Bull Dog 524 ) .

If so, personally I find the locking mechanism works well but operating the handle up and down a is a bit cumbersome, specially if the lock handle is not positioned quite right with respect to mounting surface. On the down stroke it can hit the surface the vise is mounted on and also disengaging/engaging the arm from the nut to do the next tightening cycle is a bit of hassle.

So frankly I find the operating the arm a bit of PIA. But that is just my experience and I believer there are plenty of fans of this locking mechanism here.
 

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gman007

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Well fellas, I decided to restore that Reed 1C vise that I posted awhile back that had suffered a catastrophic assault at some point in its past. I just couldn't bear the idea of breaking it down into parts. I may do a build thread on it tomorrow, but I just wanted to show how she turned out!

I used this vise to teach myself the in's & out's of cold-bluing for the slide and other moving pieces - after the bluing was buffed out with some steel wool, I sealed it with Johnson's Paste Wax. Also took a chance and used a faux-sandstone paint over to bring back the "fresh out of a mold" casting look to it. Pretty happy with it how it turned out!

Turned out great, well done!
 

gman007

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To say I was proud of myself for carefully coaxing this big boy to come apart would be an understatement but everything went pretty easily though.

I removed the dynamic and re-threaded the spindle into the nut and used it to push out the dust cap which was already badly dented.

find a new dust cap

Chris Great job disassembling the beast. Now I can not see the end/dust cup in any of the photos so I do not know how badly it is dented. But a lot of time one can pound out the dents out. Here are some before and after photos of a dented cap that I fixed.
 

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gman007

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Hmm, I'm not seeing the before and after photos?

Are you referring to my post above:dunno::headscrat
I see them:

PS
I saw Get's post, it seems you might be referring to MayerMR's post which is also odd as I see them
 

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drivesitfar

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Outlaw: i didn't see Matt's Reed 1C pics either until 007 posted them. they still aren't showing on MR's post for me.

Matt: nice work on the Reed 1C and how are you posting your pictures or can you try to post again and try a different method so we all can see them and I think we need more than just one or two if you have time. thanks and WELL DONE!!

TJ: that 330 Prentiss probably makes you smile as much or more than any of those shiny masterpieces you post doesn't it?
 

MayerMR

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Wow! Incredible transformation Matt ... bravo sir

Yeah, someone call the cops cause Matt just stole the show! Great job!

Turned out great, well done!

Outlaw: i didn't see Matt's Reed 1C pics either until 007 posted them. they still aren't showing on MR's post for me.

Matt: nice work on the Reed 1C and how are you posting your pictures or can you try to post again and try a different method so we all can see them and I think we need more than just one or two if you have time. thanks and WELL DONE!!

Thank you fellas for the kind words I really appreciate it! It was a fun project to bring'er back from the brink.

My apologies for the photos not showing up; apparently the site I hosted them with has had an issue with their domain name and I had to update the links - hopefully they'll get it fixed so we don't have another Photobucket catastrophe on our hands - so many useful threads in thousands of websites rendered useless. Please let me know if they still aren't showing up. I've attached them to this message as well, for a backup.

I'll post up some more photos tonight after work on what all I did to get the vise restored.
 

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