Lol. Yeah, I’m like a kid in a candy store when I get a new vise.Definitely in the front, had to make sure he was still safe
I took a couple of snaps...but I was doing good. I think I only caused 2 or 3 multi-car pile ups in my wake.
The VISES of Garage Journal
- Thread starter mjozefow
- Start date
gman007
Well-known member
Just to pile on, when I was restoring my Wilton 1750, it had one remaining original jaw, the other had been replaced by a piece of flat stock. The remaining jaw was going into the trash, but I decided to throw it into my box of chunks of scrap metal to use as a drift or to protect a vise slide if I ever needed to. Well fast forward a couple of weeks and I grabbed it to use as protection for a slide and after I finished my work (it wasn't anything abusive) I removed the work piece and found it cracked in half. I didn't even realize I had put pressure on it. Anyway, long story short, I put on a set of Kevin's jaws and they basically put the rest of my restoration to shame as the shining star of the end product
Mayer
Thank you for sharing your experience with the powdered steel jaw.
gman007
Well-known member
chrisnazzy
Well-known member
I had to look up where Somerton is, lol. I went and checked the ad out. $60 seems like a fair price but I already have a 53 with the graffiti script like your new 21. I live in AZ but about 4 hours north of there so quite a drive for me. Funny thing is though, if it was a little 50/51 or a larger 55/56 I'd probably be more interested in trying to figure out a way to get it.
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
Further to the discussion on the tradesman vise, when if ever it was made in China, and sintered metal vs tool steel jaws I found a fascinating conversation between autopts and robrace10 - a wilton employee for 27 years.
It's not 100% clear to me from the thread whether the tradesman was NEVER made in China or if it was for a few years after the mid nineties - either way mines an 88 so I'm good.
Interestingly, Robrace10 prefers the tradesman to the machinist vise for the average user. Said he has a 1755 and 1760 and could've chosen any wilton vise he wanted.
********************************************************************
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86615&page=8
********************************************************************
I'll try to answer a few questions:
None of us are sworn to secrecy about the questions being asked, but the same basic group of people ran Wilton for decades, and all of that knowledge is now gone either at competitors or retired. It was a great place to work for a lot of us, but the business changed and the family atmosphere disappeared. I was involved in and personally came up with some of the improvements to the Wilton round channel vises over the years and fought hard for keeping those made in the USA.
1) Wilton started bring product in from China to compete in the retail market I would say around 1997 or so. It was simply impossible to compete with the China products with a made in USA when you talk to the big box stores. They (the retailers) want price and brand names not necessarily the highest quality.
2)Early tradesman vises were never made in China. Up until the mid to late 90's There were no Wilton vises coming from China or components. There were some knockoff tradesman vises come in from China and or India, I can't remember which, but Wilton has a Trademark on the bullet shape and that is what has kept others from copying them as the patents ran out decades ago, but Trademarks never expire unless you don't actively go after infringements. The infringing companies were told to cease and desist.
3) As far as I know the USA vises are made entirely in the USA. There may have been a few small parts screws etc that came from other sources, but all the main parts for sure were USA.
4) Up until the sale of Wilton to HTII then the merge with Jet (owned by WMH), there was absolutely no relationship with JET as Wilton was a competitor and we sold against them. The Machinery division had been working for many years with other sources (Taiwan and Europe) many years before any vises were made over seas. .
5) The Wilton Combination vises are still the best for many reasons. The vises that Ridgid sells (Peddinhaus) are probably next in line against a Tradesman vise. They Ridgid vises aren't perfect, but they have large openings and use forgings in the front and back clamping portions which are stronger than castings.
It's not 100% clear to me from the thread whether the tradesman was NEVER made in China or if it was for a few years after the mid nineties - either way mines an 88 so I'm good.
Interestingly, Robrace10 prefers the tradesman to the machinist vise for the average user. Said he has a 1755 and 1760 and could've chosen any wilton vise he wanted.
********************************************************************
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86615&page=8
********************************************************************
I'll try to answer a few questions:
None of us are sworn to secrecy about the questions being asked, but the same basic group of people ran Wilton for decades, and all of that knowledge is now gone either at competitors or retired. It was a great place to work for a lot of us, but the business changed and the family atmosphere disappeared. I was involved in and personally came up with some of the improvements to the Wilton round channel vises over the years and fought hard for keeping those made in the USA.
1) Wilton started bring product in from China to compete in the retail market I would say around 1997 or so. It was simply impossible to compete with the China products with a made in USA when you talk to the big box stores. They (the retailers) want price and brand names not necessarily the highest quality.
2)Early tradesman vises were never made in China. Up until the mid to late 90's There were no Wilton vises coming from China or components. There were some knockoff tradesman vises come in from China and or India, I can't remember which, but Wilton has a Trademark on the bullet shape and that is what has kept others from copying them as the patents ran out decades ago, but Trademarks never expire unless you don't actively go after infringements. The infringing companies were told to cease and desist.
3) As far as I know the USA vises are made entirely in the USA. There may have been a few small parts screws etc that came from other sources, but all the main parts for sure were USA.
4) Up until the sale of Wilton to HTII then the merge with Jet (owned by WMH), there was absolutely no relationship with JET as Wilton was a competitor and we sold against them. The Machinery division had been working for many years with other sources (Taiwan and Europe) many years before any vises were made over seas. .
5) The Wilton Combination vises are still the best for many reasons. The vises that Ridgid sells (Peddinhaus) are probably next in line against a Tradesman vise. They Ridgid vises aren't perfect, but they have large openings and use forgings in the front and back clamping portions which are stronger than castings.
Mr. Wonderful
Well-known member
You have got to be kidding.
.
One thing about this site is that it really keeps me humble. Outstanding job! It give the rest of us a higher bar to aim for
trijeff
Well-known member
MayerMR
Well-known member
Mayer
Very nice score.
Thank ya!
Shiftless
Well-known member
Regarding the above comments from robrace10, the retired Wilton employee...
When he mentioned the superiority of Wilton’s combination vises, do you guys think he was speaking of the Tradesman line or the C series?
I have just one Tradesman and one C series vise and to me, the C series is clearly superior. (Mine is a C1)... and my Tradesman is a 1745. Both with 4 1/2 inch wide jaws.
When he mentioned the superiority of Wilton’s combination vises, do you guys think he was speaking of the Tradesman line or the C series?
I have just one Tradesman and one C series vise and to me, the C series is clearly superior. (Mine is a C1)... and my Tradesman is a 1745. Both with 4 1/2 inch wide jaws.
Last edited:
Waking up, I saw this post this morning. I realized I am one of "the old men" who reads this section.
I have such great respect for America and the attitude of life I grew up with.
I cannot help it, when I watch football games, my eyes even get a little watery when they play the National Anthem.
I am so saddened by the current attitudes and how America has let Communist and Socialist countries take over in production of almost all items. The irony being that despite what they tell you, both of those political systems now depend on Capitalism to survive and flourish by providing products to us and benefiting from the money they make. How people have let this happen makes no sense to me, since I am from a time when a lot of people could think for themselves and were encouraged to make up their own minds about things.
I go out of my way in almost all situations not to buy anything from these countries and will pay more for items that are legitimately made in the USA. Maybe that is old fashioned and "stupid" in modern times, but I am not giving up on America and accepting this junk.
<b>I applaud everyone that seeks out these American made vises. THANK YOU for reminding me that there are other people out there who still respect America and American made items. </B>
gman007
Well-known member
And any other product made in USA (even though unfortunately it is harder and harder to find them)
Asport
Well-known member
And any other product made in USA (even though unfortunately it is harder and harder to find them)
If people keep buying this junk they will continue to make and sell low quality items. I like to think I am a small part of the solution every time I look at a label on something at the store and put it back when it says "Made in China"
In turning the discussion to new/modern vises, I have a question I'm curious if anyone can weigh in on. As an owner of an Italian made FZA forged steel vise, and two Ridgid (Peddinghaus) forged vises, I see they have higher tensile strengths than cast, they're welded together and they could probably be repaired alot easier than brazing iron. They still clamp like any other vise of course, and otherwise behave the same. None of these vises were particular expensive either. The FZA Italian made vise goes for around the 200 euro range (No swivel base), and the 4 1/2 Ridgid cost me about 200 bucks, and the 5 1/2 Ridgid cost me around 275.
My question is in modern times is there still a benefit of making a ductile iron vise instead of forged steel? Is the production cost a significant difference? Are there any benefits of ductile iron that I'm unaware of?
My question is in modern times is there still a benefit of making a ductile iron vise instead of forged steel? Is the production cost a significant difference? Are there any benefits of ductile iron that I'm unaware of?
gman007
Well-known member
So this is one of my head scratchers. I found it as an antique store a while back. It has 3” jaws and weighs in at 16 lbs. 245 is the only marking. Any help would be appreciated.
Sent from my iPad using The Garage Journal mobile app
Sent from my iPad using The Garage Journal mobile app
Attachments
gman007
Well-known member
Smitty
The "eyebrow" or "fin": at the front reminds me of Prentiss. And even though the nose meat ball is a bit more substantial than normal Prentiss meatballs, it still somewhat resembles oval shaped Prentiss meatball.
PS
Plus since you are Prentiss magnet, this must be another Prentiss that found its true home and resting place.
Last edited:
I wish it was a Prentiss but I had to rule that out. I’ve seen a few old Reed vises that came close but nothing that was spot on.
Asport
Well-known member
What kind of collar holds the screw to the slide?
MayerMR
Well-known member
I'm feeling a bit like Smitty this week...I lucked out and was able to see this post about 45 seconds after it was posted and I shot down (if 35 miles one way can be considered "shooting down") at lunch and picked it up.
Here is the photo from the ad; it looked like one of those Pinterest pictures so much that I even did a reverse image search to see if the picture popped up elsewhere on the interwebs. Nothing. Still wasn't super comfortable, but the fellow turned out to be a very nice guy who had just lost his father. I gave him an additional $30 over his asking price and I still walked away with a steal, in my opinion.
Dr. Scott is going to be hearing from me before too too long though
Here is the photo from the ad; it looked like one of those Pinterest pictures so much that I even did a reverse image search to see if the picture popped up elsewhere on the interwebs. Nothing. Still wasn't super comfortable, but the fellow turned out to be a very nice guy who had just lost his father. I gave him an additional $30 over his asking price and I still walked away with a steal, in my opinion.
Dr. Scott is going to be hearing from me before too too long though
I'm feeling a bit like Smitty this week...I lucked out and was able to see this post about 45 seconds after it was posted and I shot down (if 35 miles one way can be considered "shooting down") at lunch and picked it up.
Here is the photo from the ad; it looked like one of those Pinterest pictures so much that I even did a reverse image search to see if the picture popped up elsewhere on the interwebs. Nothing. Still wasn't super comfortable, but the fellow turned out to be a very nice guy who had just lost his father. I gave him an additional $30 over his asking price and I still walked away with a steal, in my opinion.
Dr. Scott is going to be hearing from me before too too long though
That’s the spirit, nice pick up.
Sent from my iPad using The Garage Journal mobile app
drivesitfar
Well-known member
ALE: thanks for sharing that cool old parker on the even more amazing stand. WOW!!
also nice looking shop and I hear you about your stuff taking control of your time. hope you can post up that stand on the vise stands thread cause it's a show stopper. here's the link:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252799&highlight=vise+stands
Smitty: i'm guessing your old 245 vise might be an ATHOL cause they look very similar and they liked using those big #'s. any chance you can tell us the jaw width and weight?
also nice looking shop and I hear you about your stuff taking control of your time. hope you can post up that stand on the vise stands thread cause it's a show stopper. here's the link:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252799&highlight=vise+stands
Smitty: i'm guessing your old 245 vise might be an ATHOL cause they look very similar and they liked using those big #'s. any chance you can tell us the jaw width and weight?
Fierljeppen
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2018
- Messages
- 1,159
Smitty...The meatball looks like a vise made in Lowville, NY. It's either an unbranded Fulton Machine & Vise Co. or the later Lowville Machine & Vise Co. Both companies produced many generic "Peerless" model vises with just the model # cast.
Really enjoying all the vise photos you've posted, however winter has come early to Chicago and the palm tree in the background of your photos is starting to annoy me.
Attachments
hitthewall79
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2018
- Messages
- 196
Alright guys, I'm kinda at a loss on this one... I'm working on it for a customer and it's stuck. I've got it out this far by unscrewing it, and then the set screw sheered on me. I put another set screw in, and it moved a little and then sheered on me again... I even tried to tie a ratchet strap to each jaw and pull it apart to no avail. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
davethorik
Well-known member
Alright guys, I'm kinda at a loss on this one... I'm working on it for a customer and it's stuck. I've got it out this far by unscrewing it, and then the set screw sheered on me. I put another set screw in, and it moved a little and then sheered on me again... I even tried to tie a ratchet strap to each jaw and pull it apart to no avail. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Are there hammer marks/mushrooming on the rear of the slide? If so, might wanna file/stone that area.
GETRIDAONE
Well-known member
Take the set screw back out and remove the main screw. Knock the slide back to the closed position. The top of the slide has probably been beat on and expanded on the outer edges. A file should clean those up easily.
hitthewall79
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2018
- Messages
- 196
I'll look into that. When I was pb blasting it to maybe break up some of the rust inside, I noticed the top of the slide had clearence for spray, but the sides did not. I've got it soaking in a mix of acetone and cutting fluid, so maybe that will help
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
drivesitfar
Well-known member
MrW: take a few pics of the sheared pin and the back of static. If it’s totally unscrewed id maybe put vise down on floor on a moving blanket and maybe hit a piece of soft wood on dynamic (filing dynamic and cleaning it up first might be best). Good luck
Fier: I was going to say something similar on Smiity’s post as it’s raining almost 24/7 here lately. My LMV vise has a hub like an old columbian and not a meatball. I’ll have to check my Fulton’s but their numbers were usually smaller and Athol liked the big FONT.
Fier: I was going to say something similar on Smiity’s post as it’s raining almost 24/7 here lately. My LMV vise has a hub like an old columbian and not a meatball. I’ll have to check my Fulton’s but their numbers were usually smaller and Athol liked the big FONT.
hitthewall79
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2018
- Messages
- 196
Loydski29
Well-known member
Smitty. I also have a mystery vise it has no markings but shares Similarities with Athol. 
Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
The problem seems to be that it has traits from quite a few vises from its era. The fact that the only writing is the 245 makes me think that it’s from a smaller company worried about patent infringement.Smitty...The meatball looks like a vise made in Lowville, NY. It's either an unbranded Fulton Machine & Vise Co. or the later Lowville Machine & Vise Co. Both companies produced many generic "Peerless" model vises with just the model # cast.
Really enjoying all the vise photos you've posted, however winter has come early to Chicago and the palm tree in the background of your photos is starting to annoy me.
I see what you’re saying about the Athol sized numbers, they do look similar.
Smitty. I also have a mystery vise it has no markings but shares Similarities with Athol.
Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
The underside of that base looks really distinctive.
Got this one last week and finished it up today.
Nice! What color is that?
Fierljeppen
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2018
- Messages
- 1,159
Maybe, but it sure looks like and has the same jaw width, opening and weight of a Peerless 245.
Either way, I'm sure someone here will figure it out. I enjoy vise puzzles.
Attachments
Wow, you nailed it. I’ve done quite a bit of searching and couldn’t get that close. Great job, thank you so much. How are you on post vises?Maybe, but it sure looks like and has the same jaw width, opening and weight of a Peerless 245.
Either way, I'm sure someone here will figure it out. I enjoy vise puzzles.
Last edited:
