The VISES of Garage Journal
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Loydski29
Well-known member
Smitty your killing it now I know why I can’t find any vises near me anymore lol at least I know they are going to a good home!! Keep up the good work!
Oregon rock crusher
Well-known member
Well, if locating a big 8" vise is half the challenge of actually obtaining one I may be making progress. Just located a Yost 208. Now to plot a strategy for actually getting the current owner, a company, to part with it. Will definitely take some finagling, possibly even boot licking and bribery. Hopefully I'm up for the task.Ed.
Rock Crusher, you need to snag that 208 anyway at all, short of stealing or a killing.---That's only the second one I've ever seen.---You won't be disappointed.---They're the same size and weight as the Reed 208R, and that's no slouch.
Yost still makes the 208, but they shrunk it a 100 lbs.---And they run about $2000.00 now.
The closest Yost to your 208 is the #99, posted on page 463 by Old, brought over from Practical Machinist.---Purported to weigh in at 285 lbs.---Click these links.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=271206&d=1374954888
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=271207&d=1374954888
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Here's another 208.---They weigh 291 lbs.
Well it's been over two years since I first spotted a big Yost 208 still in service in a crusher shop just South of Corvallis. I was getting close to giving up on it as the shop manager had designs on it as well.... So today we were having the last of several employee appreciation lunches and near the end a few of the other managers told me they wanted to talk to me about something outside. As we reached the parking area they went to lean on my PU box as if to discuss some serious issue and what do you know. What a nice surprise!!! I guess I get to join the 8" club now!!! Ed.
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MayerMR
Well-known member
Well, due to the pretty serious repairs on the above vise, I have passed, however, I still have Dave to thank for pointing that ad out. He had another vise that I *did* pull the trigger on:
Meadville Vise Co. No. 1:
twagler
Well-known member
Picked up a rather sadly abused vise this weekend, but of interest to me because: (a) it’s my first from a UK manufacturer, (b) it’s the oldest vise that I own – probably about 100 years old, and (c) the first vise I’ve owned with a quick release mechanism.
It is a Parkinsons Model F, No. 7, “Perfect Vise” trademark, with 4.25” wide jaws, opening of 6“, and weighing in at 60 lbs. I’ll be honest – I had never heard of Parkinson as a vise manufacturer prior to buying this example. They are extremely rare in Canada (where I live), probably never seen in the USA, but I believe fairly common in the UK. It was interesting to research the company history and go through the catalog info available on this website. It was from these catalogs that I’ve been able to roughly determine its age since its style of jaw matches that shown in the 1913 catalog but not the 1923 catalog.
The quick release is a clever design – it looks robust and is certainly convenient. It was interesting to learn that this feature was invented and patented by Parkinson in 1884, but then copied almost exactly by Record and Woden years later which are the versions much more commonly seen. This quick release design uses a buttress screw, rather than a typical vise square thread. The buttress thread has an undercut wedge design that allows the half nut to lock on and keep engaged.
Another surprise was to see that the original paint colour is what I would call a plum red, especially from the era noted for “you can get any colour that you want as long as it is black”. This colour can be seen in the pictures where the top black layer of paint is peeling off as well as a section where they were too lazy to remove the dynamic jaw and paint properly.
Sadly there is a rather large chunk broken off the one corner of the dynamic jaw and some pretty extreme grinding damage to the static jaw. An attempt was made to screw and braze the missing section on at some point, but it obviously broke again and has since gone missing along with the jaw insert. Does anyone have any recommendations on the best method of repairing this damage? I’m thinking along the lines of milling off the insert notch completely and then bolting on a thicker and higher jaw insert completely facing over what I’ve removed and then tapping 2 more jaw holding screws.
It is a Parkinsons Model F, No. 7, “Perfect Vise” trademark, with 4.25” wide jaws, opening of 6“, and weighing in at 60 lbs. I’ll be honest – I had never heard of Parkinson as a vise manufacturer prior to buying this example. They are extremely rare in Canada (where I live), probably never seen in the USA, but I believe fairly common in the UK. It was interesting to research the company history and go through the catalog info available on this website. It was from these catalogs that I’ve been able to roughly determine its age since its style of jaw matches that shown in the 1913 catalog but not the 1923 catalog.
The quick release is a clever design – it looks robust and is certainly convenient. It was interesting to learn that this feature was invented and patented by Parkinson in 1884, but then copied almost exactly by Record and Woden years later which are the versions much more commonly seen. This quick release design uses a buttress screw, rather than a typical vise square thread. The buttress thread has an undercut wedge design that allows the half nut to lock on and keep engaged.
Another surprise was to see that the original paint colour is what I would call a plum red, especially from the era noted for “you can get any colour that you want as long as it is black”. This colour can be seen in the pictures where the top black layer of paint is peeling off as well as a section where they were too lazy to remove the dynamic jaw and paint properly.
Sadly there is a rather large chunk broken off the one corner of the dynamic jaw and some pretty extreme grinding damage to the static jaw. An attempt was made to screw and braze the missing section on at some point, but it obviously broke again and has since gone missing along with the jaw insert. Does anyone have any recommendations on the best method of repairing this damage? I’m thinking along the lines of milling off the insert notch completely and then bolting on a thicker and higher jaw insert completely facing over what I’ve removed and then tapping 2 more jaw holding screws.
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
Mayer, is that Meadville missing a jaw support? Or was it designed without one?
MayerMR
Well-known member
trijeff
Well-known member
CONGRATS OR Rock Crusher!!! Wow, that's really something to give thanks for
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
mgmlvks
Well-known member
thin_concrete
Well-known member
Now that’s pretty darn cool! Congrats!
Oregon rock crusher
Well-known member
Thanks trijeff, mgmlvks and thin concrete. I am really looking forward to finding the perfect place for this Yost in the shop. It was a very nice thing my co-workers did today and I am very appreciative of them. Ed.
Rare Style Union/Parker 794A
I think this would make a great user vise that wouldn't break the bank. I saw one listed several months ago sell for over $300
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-794...EAAOSwx5hbv-R-&LH_ItemCondition=3000#shpCntId
I think this would make a great user vise that wouldn't break the bank. I saw one listed several months ago sell for over $300
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-794...EAAOSwx5hbv-R-&LH_ItemCondition=3000#shpCntId
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Restoremore228
Member
Hello all. This is a Athol 714 pre 1920’s. I’ve been in the fire service for 20+ years. This vise came out of a firehouse that once had horse drawn fire pumpers and was used by the department ferriers for shoeing and shoding. I saw it sitting in the basement many years ago and didn’t really give it any thought till the house was decommissioned which means everything gets dumped or the slugs cleaning house keep whatever they can. Like the 125 year old brass poles that went from the apparatus floor to the third floor bunk rooms. So I liberated the vise from an uncertain and unloving fate. Like most of our marriages lol. It turns out once I caught my breath, it’s really heavy and I was parked a ways off, some
Dope did something horrid to the dog clutch. Here are the pics. I’m to disturbed to write what was done.
Dope did something horrid to the dog clutch. Here are the pics. I’m to disturbed to write what was done.
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454ragtop
Well-known member
Ouch, that's cruel and unusual punishment. What are your plans for it?
What are your plans for it?Actually I was in Hesperia last month chasing a Prentiss. The guy wanted too much.
Loydski29
Well-known member
SmittyIm pretty sure I know the prentiss your talking about! Lol
Picked up a Reed 214R today. I don't know why, guess I wanted a "filer" Vise. So I placed the 214 next to my Morgan 138 "sheet metal"/coachmakers vise. I don't see any difference in the angle that would make this unique or offer some benefit over the coachmakers. This Vise is in very good shape with sharp jaws though. Please enlighten me!
Congrats on the Yost 8"! Still on the hunt myself.
Congrats on the Yost 8"! Still on the hunt myself.
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Yeah, an hour and a half one way seems to be my limit. I’ve seen some great vises come up in the Bay Area but I just can’t justify driving that far.
I figured you did. He wanted $200 for the little Prentiss and the Prentiss no. 23 was really a beat to death no.22 with issues. Needless to say I left empty handed.
Was it worth the trip?
va.grouseman
Well-known member
[B said:
Well Rock Crusher, was I exaggerating?
Congrats on snagging that one, but I'm very upset about what you paid for it.
That is now the third one I've seen.---The other one was posted on this thread also, about 150 pages back.---But it lacked a swivel base.---I don't know where a person would start looking for a swivel base for one.
tool_scrounge
Well-known member
Interesting. I have a Parker 595A which looks to me to be the 5" non-swivel version of that vise. I think there are late vintage it appears due to no external screw retainer. I an really curious how old are these Union Parker vises.
Link with more photos:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=245705
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Walked away with a 4 inch Morgan for 40 bucks. Was that worth 4 hours of driving and half a tank of gas, i dont know. Maybe. Fixed it up, gave it to my mom's husband who has been struggling to learn how to fix things around their place for them, it's his first bench vise.
I really hate that dude who is buying up all the vises and listing them at premium prices though.
Maybe we should just start a So Cal Vise buying carpool
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va.grouseman
Well-known member
I think that the one on eBay would be priced higher if one of the mounting feet wasn't broken off.---I'm sure it's a pricing factor.
va.grouseman
Well-known member
Here's a nice little specimen that's doing very well.---It does need a spanner wrench though.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-No-20...n-Pat-1854-1867-Antique-Tool-Box/323550444367
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-No-20...n-Pat-1854-1867-Antique-Tool-Box/323550444367
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dutchgray
Well-known member
twagler
Parkinson is a nice vice to find, especially over there, here they are more common but still a rare find over a Record, I have 3 No7 myself and plenty of others. Shame its a bit broken but it can still be made perfectly useable which you will find they are very nice vices to use. The quick release is for adjustment, not for releasing the tension in the vice, thats how the quick releases get broken.
Parkinson is a nice vice to find, especially over there, here they are more common but still a rare find over a Record, I have 3 No7 myself and plenty of others. Shame its a bit broken but it can still be made perfectly useable which you will find they are very nice vices to use. The quick release is for adjustment, not for releasing the tension in the vice, thats how the quick releases get broken.
Shiftless
Well-known member
Walked away with a 4 inch Morgan for 40 bucks. Was that worth 4 hours of driving and half a tank of gas, i dont know. Maybe. Fixed it up, gave it to my mom's husband who has been struggling to learn how to fix things around their place for them, it's his first bench vise.
I really hate that dude who is buying up all the vises and listing them at premium prices though.
Maybe we should just start a So Cal Vise buying carpool
Interesting idea...
Although I live in the SFO Bay Area, I drive down to west Los Angeles every couple of months. I have picked up vises in Long Beach for example and delivered and traded a few down south as well.
I assume you’re talking about the Bell Gardens guy who sells a lot on Craigslist.
I haven’t met him but I can say he’s been doing it for years.
Restoremore228
Member
I want to restore it but she’s pretty beat up and parts might be an issue.
Oregon rock crusher
Well-known member
Well Rock Crusher, was I exaggerating?
Congrats on snagging that one, but I'm very upset about what you paid for it.
That is now the third one I've seen.---The other one was posted on this thread also, about 150 pages back.---But it lacked a swivel base.---I don't know where a person would start looking for a swivel base for one.
No you weren't exaggerating VA.. Even though it took over two years to acquire this vise I did get to visit the shop and look at the big Yost fairly often. I've gotten used to seeing and using 6" vises over the years but an 8" is such a step up in size it left an impression every time I saw it.
The story at that site is that the Yost was found on the side of a mine road in Alaska many years ago by a plant man who eventually went to work at this S&G company.
Apparently he managed to load it up and bring it back to Oregon when he returned. When he went to work here he brought the vise into the new shop and it's been there until now. Hard to imagine a time and conditions where you had to lighten the load just to get out alive but that may be why it was left in the brush on the side of an Alaskan road way back when. Ed.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
ORC: that HUGE VISE GIFT couldn't happen to a nicer guy. maybe i'll finally get to see a big old 8 inch made in USA vise in person now when i stop by again for a visit.
not that you needed it cause you've already got so many cool things, but if you were amazed i bet it's SOMETHING.
CONGRATS!!
did you happen to mention how much the big Yost 8 inch vise weighs?
not that you needed it cause you've already got so many cool things, but if you were amazed i bet it's SOMETHING.
CONGRATS!!
did you happen to mention how much the big Yost 8 inch vise weighs?
MayerMR
Well-known member
Pics?
gman007
Well-known member
ORC:
Congrats, you have hit the equivalent of the Jackpot in the vise world
Drives
I remember when I had just joined the GJ you were giving me a crash course on vises, you said 8" vises do not grow on trees. You also mentioned some of the members with 8" vises had offered to show you theirs but you were not sure what exactly they meant by this!
. Well you might have one more offer now 
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MissileBear
Well-known member
So, I didn't die, but it is an interesting story.
For many years Rochester had the highest homicide per capita in the US.
When I go out looking at tools, people always know where I am going and I'm always armed. It helps that I'm fair sized and look intimidating. If things look questionable, I bail.
So I meet the owner, who is about 75 years old with a big white beard & overalls. We go into his very poorly lit garage which is stacked with car and lawnmower parts, boxes of broken tools (cheap stuff...80's Ryobi/Skil/HB kind of stuff), thousands of glass bottles and cans, and just general junk littered everywhere. He leads me back to a bench and I see a 1980's Columbian D46 on the bench, beat to hell with a large crack in the anvil area.
"That's it?" I ask - he responds "yup, made in USA...probably older than I am, and so heavy I can't move it!"
Turns out he couldn't move it because it was still bolted to the table. He only took out 2 bolts from the swivel base - the third bolt under the slide was still in place. lolololololol
Not a great use of my time....nothing else in the garage was worth buying, so I came home empty handed.
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gman007
Well-known member
It is good to hear that it turned out to be a funny experience and not funny business. It is a pretty funny story
As I get older what I used to previously consider being very old does not seem that old (in my early 20s, I used to think that at 40 one is a dinosaur) . Now while I am no where near 75 years old, we have a lot of members here that of that age or even older but are as fit and sharp as a fiddle. I can only hope that when I hit 75, I will have enough wits left to remember to take out all the bolts.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
MB: sorry to hear you didn't find a gem. reminds me of the time I drove 3 hours to see a HUGE VISE according to the seller. once I got there it was only a 6 inch REED, but it had 3 or maybe 4 huge braze welds on it. the seller said it works better now with the brazing cause he kept breaking it before his brazes FIXED IT in his mind.
yep there are a few shady or tough parts of towns we have to go to find some of these old beasts, but to date I've been able to avoid any issues without packing. there are some places i won't go at certain times unless I already know the seller.
007: yep once the conversation started on the 8 inch on this thread in the past i'm not entirely sure the subject matter stayed on vises.
that said ORC has some pretty cool and huge things at his place so if he's impressed i have to tell you i'm anxious to see it in person when I get a chance to stop by again.
yep there are a few shady or tough parts of towns we have to go to find some of these old beasts, but to date I've been able to avoid any issues without packing. there are some places i won't go at certain times unless I already know the seller.
007: yep once the conversation started on the 8 inch on this thread in the past i'm not entirely sure the subject matter stayed on vises.
that said ORC has some pretty cool and huge things at his place so if he's impressed i have to tell you i'm anxious to see it in person when I get a chance to stop by again.
Josh C
Well-known member
Greetings All. Haven’t had the time to post for way too long, funny how life can make you feel like a mule being led in circles 
. Have spent some time reading here, although I’m about twenty plus pages behind at the moment. Hope at some point to pass along some pictures of the vises I’ve been fortunate enough to acquire this summer, along with the interesting stories (that are can be quite humorous due to my naively over exuberance desire to obtain them) when I get a chance. Until then I wanted to pass along an add on Craigslist I just found, and seems appropriate with all the discussion about 8” vises I noticed while trying to get to the last page of this thread. I’m hoping that I’m able to paste it. Josh in VAhttps://tricities.craigslist.org/tls/d/rock-island-vise/6753958573.html
. Have spent some time reading here, although I’m about twenty plus pages behind at the moment. Hope at some point to pass along some pictures of the vises I’ve been fortunate enough to acquire this summer, along with the interesting stories (that are can be quite humorous due to my naively over exuberance desire to obtain them) when I get a chance. Until then I wanted to pass along an add on Craigslist I just found, and seems appropriate with all the discussion about 8” vises I noticed while trying to get to the last page of this thread. I’m hoping that I’m able to paste it. Josh in VAhttps://tricities.craigslist.org/tls/d/rock-island-vise/6753958573.htmlRestoremore228
Member
The Odin vises were drop forged with alloy steel. They took a billet of steel and heated it red then hammer pressed the part into a mold.