The VISES of Garage Journal

[Smitty]

The drought has ended, finally a new vise. This is my new Wilton 6” vise, they won’t give it to me until tomorrow but I can’t wait to welcome it to the family.

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[thin_concrete]

The drought has ended, finally a new vise. This is my new Wilton 6” vise, they won’t give it to me until tomorrow but I can’t wait to welcome it to the family.

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Very nice - I’d love to find a 6” Wilton! Do you get the base too?

 

[Smitty]

Thanks
That’s the whole enchilada. I took pics of the model #’s to see if it originally came with a base.
Edit: After reading I’m thinking that you meant the tool base. Yes that came with it. It looks to me that it’s a pedestal grinder stand. It looks kind of retro so I can’t wait to check it out.

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Thanks
That’s the whole enchilada. I took pics of the model #’s to see if it originally came with a base.
Edit: After reading I’m thinking that you meant the tool base. Yes that came with it. It looks to me that it’s a pedestal grinder stand. It looks kind of retro so I can’t wait to check it out.

I have a Grizzly 20” disc sander with that base. I think most of the import sander of that size used that stand.

 

[ale]

Here’s a pexto

 

[twertsy]

So I've been huntin' an old, preferably camel back, drill press. Came across this one this morning and immediately thought of you folks when I looked closer at the pic. Looks like some bigguns there........

 

[Strouty]

Yes, those buses look very large, unless that is a really small drill press.

Damn auto correct. Vises.

 

[twertsy]

Yes, those buses look very large, unless that is a really small drill press.

Nope, she's a floor stander.....

 

[va.grouseman]

Twerst, looks like you done hit the mother load.

 

[trijeff]

Yeah, that appears to be a Prentiss 58

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[Asport]

Not mine..... found on eBay

I've never seen this one before. Looks like a Wilton made bullet vise for Wards. Anyone else have one of these?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Wa...mCondition=2000|2500|3000|4000|5000|6000|7000

 

[gman007]

Not mine..... found on eBay

I've never seen this one before. Looks like a Wilton made bullet vise for Wards. Anyone else have one of these?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Wa...mCondition=2000|2500|3000|4000|5000|6000|7000

Asport
There have been posted and seen on GJ before and in fact as per usual no matter how rare a vise is, our own Mr. VA has one. See the post below

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5372776&postcount=373

Edit
But then again what vise(s) VA does not have? I am sure there are a few but I believe this list is a lot shorter than the list of all the vises that he does have

 

[Asport]

Thanks for the link gman! Of course VA has one!

 

[Lucid Moments]

My craigslist acquisition. Picked it up today. I don't have a place for it yet, but they poured the concrete for my shop floor today.

 

[Smitty]

I just picked up the Wilton 600 and it’s in pretty good shape. The key way stamp says 6 87, it weighs in at 133lbs. I was pretty happy with the stand that it was bolted to, it’s all cast iron.

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[va.grouseman]

Smitty, that's a righteous stand man.

 

[gman007]

I just picked up the Wilton 600 and it’s in pretty good shape. The key way stamp says 6 87, it weighs in at 133lbs. I was pretty happy with the stand that it was bolted to, it’s all cast iron.

Smithy
Yet another great find (both the nice 600 and impressive stand)

 

[Smitty]

Smitty, that's a righteous stand man.

Thanks, it appears to be an old Apex style but there aren’t any markings on it. It weighs about 140 lbs.

 

[Smitty]

Smithy
Yet another great find (both the nice 600 and impressive stand)

Thanks Gman, you seem to be very knowledgeable regarding Wilton vises. Do you think this vise originally came with a swivel base?

 

[gman007]

Thanks Gman, you seem to be very knowledgeable regarding Wilton vises. Do you think this vise originally came with a swivel base?

Smitty
In my my life I have been accused of many things but being a Wilton or for that matter any vise expert is absolutely not true

Having said this I believe originally the bullet vises which many here agree were originally based on the Czech York vises had swivel base and in fact I have a number 3 bullet Wilton with patent pending that is probably earliest bullet and that has a base.

Later on I believe Wilton produced the N (no base) and S (swivel base) versions. So your 600 might very well be 600 N which did not have a base. And my limited understanding is that the in fact N and S are the same vise except that former is sold without the base and in principle you can buy a base for it and it will fit perfectly. I would not be surprised if One of the members Autopts, who is an absolute Wilton expert has a base for your 600 for sale.

Again this is based on my limited knowledge and there are many Wilton experts here that can answer this question much better.
(Now you have put me on the spot and Wilton experts will be all over me. I think I have to dig a hole somewhere and hide for a while )

 

[Smitty]

Don’t cut yourself short, you seem very knowledgeable that’s why I asked. I’ve seen a swivel base on eBay from another poster here but I’m not sure it will work.


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[Fierljeppen]

Smitty
In my my life I have been accused of many things but being a Wilton or for that matter any vise expert is absolutely not true

Having said this I believe the bullet vises which many here agree were originally based on the Czech York vises have always had swivels base and in fact I have a number 3 bullet Wilton with patent pending that is probably earliest bullet and that has a base.

Later on I believe Wilton produced the N (no base) and S (swivel base) versions. So your 600 might very well be 600 N. And my limited understanding is that the N and S are the same vise except that former is sold without the base and in principle you can buy a base for it and it will fit perfectly.

Again this is base on my limited knowledge and there are many Wilton experts here that can answer this question much better.
(Now you have put me on the spot and Wilton experts will be all over me )

Sounds right to me, attached catalog scans are from the late 1980's.

 

[Smitty]

Thanks, you truly are the Columbo of Garage Journal.

 

[gman007]

Don’t cut yourself short, you seem very knowledgeable that’s why I asked. I’ve seen a swivel base on eBay from another poster here but I’m not sure it will work.


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Thank you but honestly what I said about my knowledge is true. In any case, if you are interested in a base for your 600, personally the first person I would contact would be Autopts! He not only knows his stuff inside out but also has a large and quality inventory. More over my understanding is that his prices are more than fair and from what I have seen here since I have joined he has in fact helped many members way beyond the normal seller and buyer relationship.

Again that is just my humble opinion.

 

[racin72charger]

Here are my two new additions a Samsonia “perfect vice” model J and a Craftsman 5183. I’ve researched the Craftsman but I haven’t looked into the Samsonia.

 

[gman007]

thanks, you truly are the columbo of garage journal.

Always give credit where credit is due!

 

[Smitty]

So I guess that makes this a stationary base vise.

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[Perrorojo]

Here are my two new additions a Samsonia “perfect vice” model J and a Craftsman 5183. I’ve researched the Craftsman but I haven’t looked into the Samsonia.

Love the Samsonia vice. Never seen one.

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[MayerMR]

Thank you but honestly what I said about my knowledge is true. In any case, if you are interested in a base for your 600, personally the first person I would contact would be Autopts! He not only knows his stuff inside out but also has a large and quality inventory. More over my understanding is that his prices are more than fair and from what I have seen here since I have joined he has in fact helped many members way beyond the normal seller and buyer relationship.

Again that is just my humble opinion.

I've personally purchased from Autopts a couple of times, once from eBay before I knew he was a member, and once from messages through GJ. I'll second that he's an extremely knowledgeable, fair priced, and just a great guy to boot. If bet he's got your base or prob knows where to find it!

So I guess that makes this a stationary base vise.

No I'd say it's still inconclusive. I believe it unlikely that they cast the N and S into the vise itself since the only real difference was in what components went into the box for shipping.

 

[Fierljeppen]

So I guess that makes this a stationary base vise.

The Wilton machinist vises have a universal base. They can be stationary or swivel. Contact autopts if you're interested in getting a swivel for your vise.

 

[gman007]

Here are my two new additions a Samsonia “perfect vice” model J and a Craftsman 5183. I’ve researched the Craftsman but I haven’t looked into the Samsonia.

Racin
Both are very nice vises.

Looking at your Perfect Samsonia, while I see some familiar features which resemble other English vises, the one thing that I find curious is in fact the spelling of the word vise on the dynamic jaw! Is this perhaps an export version and hence instead of the English spelling vice they used the North American spelling

 

[dkroth]

Abom79 tours Adam Alexander's shop in Dallas. 700 vises, 500 anvils. And not just the little piddly ones:

Part 1 - anvils and vises.

Part 2 - old equipment.





.

 

[BeardedOne]

Longtime lurker thought I would put up photos of my first resto. This is a Craftsman 506-51810. I stole the color scheme from some other member on this thread so my thanks/apologies.

I've seen that vise before, Samurai84. I believe on a site we both know as home of the BR.

 

[Fierljeppen]

Here are my two new additions a Samsonia “perfect vice” model J and a Craftsman 5183. I’ve researched the Craftsman but I haven’t looked into the Samsonia.

Your Columbian Craftsman is nice, but the Parkinson Samsonia is a legendary design that lasted as long as any model I'm aware of. I've dropped you some information about it, since you don't have any yet. Thanks for posting!

 

[chrisnazzy]

Smitty

I picked up the same vise in January from a FB Marketplace ad. It also came as an "N" model and mine is dated 1986. Here's mine as found:

That thick black slathered on paint was nasty to get off so I chose to have it media blasted.

I've researched adding a swivel base to it also and I'm pretty sure autopts has one listed on eBay continuously. There are 2 styles though. The one he has listed now has just the base, 2 cleats and 2 lockdown handles. The other style, which I think my 600 and yours actually take due to the center hole in the underside, has a metal inner ring with the centering pin and integrated cleats. He'll be able to let you know if either will work. He'll probably chime in but if not and you do end up getting some info on the subject, report back because I'd like to know also.

Here are a couple pics I saved of a 600N that was restored by Gman-bart. He painted his Rustoleum Hammered Verde Green. This was my original plan also but my inability to choose a color and decide if I'm going to add a swivel base has caused mine to not even be put back together yet!

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[gman007]

Abom79 tours Adam Alexander's shop in Dallas. 700 vises, 500 anvils. And not just the little piddly ones:
.

Wow! Just amazing! So Norse mythology is true! There is Valhalla of heavy metal where all tools guys want to go when they die.

Thanks for posting these

 

[Smitty]

Re: MayerMR

Thanks, I’ll give him a shout. Word of mouth is the best advertising.

 

[racin72charger]

Your Columbian Craftsman is nice, but the Parkinson Samsonia is a legendary design that lasted as long as any model I'm aware of. I've dropped you some information about it, since you don't have any yet. Thanks for posting!

Thank you for posting the information for me. A friend of mine has one with the quick release dynamic jaw and I’ve always wanted one of my own. I stumbled across tis one and pounced on it. I’ve mounted it to my bench this evening and it will be my primary vice. The Craftsman Columbian is now mounthe to the opposite side of my bench and will be used as well. At some point the Samsonia will have to come apart for a thourough cleaning and cosmetic restoration.

 

[Smitty]

Re chrisnazzy
Yeah, they look identical. I’ve got to look into that media blasting it really seems to enhance the surface of the vise. The funny thing on my vise is there isn’t a N or S stamped anywhere. I agree with what you’re saying about the swivel base with the center pin, I’m not sure how well the other style would work.
Edit: looking closer at the pics of your 600, the vise looks super clean.

 

[Smitty]

The Wilton machinist vises have a universal base. They can be stationary or swivel. Contact autopts if you're interested in getting a swivel for your vise.

Thanks again for your spec shts. It might sound silly but I was relieved to know that my vise was originally sold as a stationary vise. I wouldn’t feel as satisfied knowing that it had missing parts.