The VISES of Garage Journal

[chrisnazzy]

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.

They wouldn't be stamped N or S so there really is no way to tell if it originally had a swivel base. You could look carefully inside the 2 mounting holes for signs of scoring that could be a result of loosening and then swiveling the vise on the 2 lockdown bolts but I'd speculate that both of our vises were more likely originally sold as 600N's.

As far as the media blasting goes, I've had a total of four vises stripped that way. It certainly brings the vise all the way back down to it's bare casting and is great if there's a ton of heavy paint or rust. I prefer wire wheeling them but it's obviously alot more work and on some it's just not the right method.

Here are before and after shots of my Prentiss 53. The red paint and rust on this one were no match for my usual first step of a few days in the Simple Green bath. As a side note, I don't media blast the spindle, removable jaws or small parts and I have them stay away from the slide.

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[chrisnazzy]

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.





.

That's awesome. Can't wait to see all those vises set up on display again. He has an amazing collection. He must have moved everything to that building recently because so many of them are piled in those metal bins. I'm pretty sure that's member "Vises" collection and he's posted on here for years.

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[kwhunter]

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.
.

Isn't that GJ member VISES?!

 

[Smitty]

So...it was 7pm, I’m tired and dirty from a long days work and I see this on CL. Well needless to say I couldn’t let somebody else get it so here it is. A Prentiss 53 with a broken back. Hell the smooth jaws alone are worth twenty bucks easy.

Rust never sleeps.


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[chrisnazzy]

So...it was 7pm, I’m tired and dirty from a long days work and I see this on CL. A Prentiss 53 with a broken back.
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That's funny. I'm starting to wonder how many vises we own in common.

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[MissileBear]

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?

I've seen several of them come up for sale....in fact, there was a smaller 3" (I think?) model that was on CL nearby last week. I skipped because the seller wanted $150 for it.

The others I saw were both listed as Wilton bullets but clearly said "Wards" on the side. I wasn't that interested and really didn't look to see if they had the same parts/casting numbers/etc.

 

[MayerMR]

I've seen several of them come up for sale....in fact, there was a smaller 3" (I think?) model that was on CL nearby last week. I skipped because the seller wanted $150 for it.

The others I saw were both listed as Wilton bullets but clearly said "Wards" on the side. I wasn't that interested and really didn't look to see if they had the same parts/casting numbers/etc.

I'm jealous of you guys that live up in the NE where there was all that industry in the past. A $150 bullet around here is extremely uncommon, regardless of size. I luck into one now and again, but most folks list them for >$200 for a clapped out 3.5"er.

 

[kenc184]

I'm jealous of you guys that live up in the NE where there was all that industry in the past. A $150 bullet around here is extremely uncommon, regardless of size. I luck into one now and again, but most folks list them for >$200 for a clapped out 3.5"er.

Where's "around here" for you?

 

[MayerMR]

Where's "around here" for you?

Dallas, Texas. Just realized my profile was basically empty. Trying to rectify that. Vises turn up, but they are expensive and you need to be quick.

 

[MayerMR]

Wrapped up the little eBay find Trojan 702 restoration the other day.

Before:

After:

Granted I didn't have the main nut inserted in the "after" photo, but that's because I was waiting on a new collar. I also "modified" it by including a spring inside the dynamic jaw to remove the backlash in the mainscrew - worked quite well!

Also picked up a nice little Reed 103 this past weekend as well; had to drive 60 miles one way to get it, but it's pretty nice, should clean up nicely:

 

[thin_concrete]

Dallas, Texas. Just realized my profile was basically empty. Trying to rectify that. Vises turn up, but they are expensive and you need to be quick.

You have to that here in MA too, at least for the good ones.

 

[va.grouseman]

I'm jealous of you guys that live up in the NE where there was all that industry in the past. A $150 bullet around here is extremely uncommon, regardless of size. I luck into one now and again, but most folks list them for >$200 for a clapped out 3.5"er.

Mayer, the reason there aren't any vises in the South West is because VISEs and the Sandmann have scarfed them all up.---They,ve cornered the South West market.---Anvils too.

 

[MissileBear]

I'm jealous of you guys that live up in the NE where there was all that industry in the past. A $150 bullet around here is extremely uncommon, regardless of size. I luck into one now and again, but most folks list them for >$200 for a clapped out 3.5"er.

Anything Wilton is usually pricey - there was a $600 Snap-On tradesman listed for a while that actually sold recently. Bullets generally go for a few hundred, and they go quick. A 5", NIB, newer style Wilton fixed base sold the other day...for $1000. I called the guy because he had another vise I was interested in, but not for $500.

I didn't buy any vises for over a year because there just wasn't anything reasonably priced. There are some deep pocket folks nearby that gobble up anything worthwhile, even if the prices are insane. There were a handful of Union Parkers, some Hollands, and a few smaller Reeds that all got pulled the same day. Now the only thing nearby are 4-5 D44 Columbian vises...those grow on trees it seems, and people still want $75-$100 for one.

---Anvils too.

And don't get me started on Anvils....oy, I just want 1, and that's like a quest for fire.

 

[rusty65]

I've seen several of them come up for sale....in fact, there was a smaller 3" (I think?) model that was on CL nearby last week. I skipped because the seller wanted $150 for it.



The others I saw were both listed as Wilton bullets but clearly said "Wards" on the side. I wasn't that interested and really didn't look to see if they had the same parts/casting numbers/etc.

Well you missed out wards sold some of the earliest bullet vises and are definitely worth 300 bucks a piece as long as there aren’t any broken pieces.


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[MissileBear]

Well you missed out wards sold some of the earliest bullet vises and are definitely worth 300 bucks a piece as long as there aren’t any broken pieces.

Bummer. I'm not too upset though...still wouldn't be anything I would keep myself. The bullet vises aren't my favorite design *GASPS!* and I really get so tired of flipping stuff.

 

[IdahoMan]

Well, I found one: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7563188&postcount=7822

Morgan Chicago 145, $50

Couple quick questions:

1. How fragile are these vises? One of those clamps in the pic is bent upward and I was thinking of using the vise to squeeze/bend it back into shape.

2. The jaws. Why are they hardened steel, wouldn't that mar what you were working on? What I love about replaceable jaws is I can make my own.. tire-tread, brass, melted-milk-jug, etc..

My first vise and I intend to put it to use, but I want to take care of it.

 

[454ragtop]

Couple quick questions:

1. How fragile are these vises? One of those clamps in the pic is bent upward and I was thinking of using the vise to squeeze/bend it back into shape.

2. The jaws. Why are they hardened steel, wouldn't that mar what you were working on? What I love about replaceable jaws is I can make my own.. tire-tread, brass, melted-milk-jug, etc..

My first vise and I intend to put it to use, but I want to take care of it.

If you don't put a cheater on the handle, the vise should be fine for straightening the clamp. You get in trouble when you add a cheater. Jaws are hardened for wear resistance, make whatever jaws work for you.

 

[zoomieport]

Hello All!

I got lucky enough to pay up for another 350SJ the other day, LOL!
Anyway... 2 x 350SJ and 2 x 450SJ, life is good!

TAKE CARE!
ZOOM

 

[MayerMR]

Hello All!

I got lucky enough to pay up for another 350SJ the other day, LOL!
Anyway... 2 x 350SJ and 2 x 450SJ, life is good!

TAKE CARE!
ZOOM

Wow! What a collection. Beautiful and nice shape too!

 

[Outlawmws]

If you don't put a cheater on the handle, the vise should be fine for straightening the clamp. You get in trouble when you add a cheater. Jaws are hardened for wear resistance, make whatever jaws work for you.

This: I do it all the time in a 4" Parker. I also clamp a twisted clamp in the vise and put a 12 or 15" Crescent on the other end of the clamp an un-twist it. For standard clamps not a problem.

Bridge clamps on the other hand...

 

[chrisnazzy]

Well I walked over and met my neighbor this afternoon and got a chance to check out his poor vise. As suspected it might just be one of the most broken and in turn crudely modified vises out there.

It is indeed a 6" swivel jaw. It's so heavily modified I can't even tell just yet if it was originally a swivel base (no. 22) or stationary base (no. 5). The big metal plates on either side appear to be bolted and welded to the body and the whole thing is welded to another heavy plate with holes for mounting. He says it does open and close so there is hope that maybe the screw/handle assembly and nut might still be okay. The handle is straight and in suprisingly good shape. The slide appears to be in okay shape so maybe the whole dynamic might be salvageable.

He explained that he had saved it from going to scrap at some point but really didn't have any attachment to it anymore and offered it to me if I could use it. I let him know that I could tear it down and investigate if there were indeed any donor parts that could be offered to help fix other vises like it. I'll go over in the next day or two and put it on the dolly and wheel it over to my garage. I'm really having mixed emotions about it because I feel like it's lived on for so long like this and now I'm going to be the guy to scrap it and maybe part it out. Is it silly that makes me sad?


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[Outlawmws]

Diagnosis first!

 

[MayerMR]

Well I walked over and met my neighbor this afternoon and got a chance to check out his poor vise. As suspected it might just be one of the most broken and in turn crudely modified vises out there.

It is indeed a 6" swivel jaw. It's so heavily modified I can't even tell just yet if it was originally a swivel base (no. 22) or stationary base (no. 5). The big metal plates on either side appear to be bolted and welded to the body and the whole thing is welded to another heavy plate with holes for mounting. He says it does open and close so there is hope that maybe the screw/handle assembly and nut might still be okay. The handle is straight and in suprisingly good shape. The slide appears to be in okay shape so maybe the whole dynamic might be salvageable.

He explained that he had saved it from going to scrap at some point but really didn't have any attachment to it anymore and offered it to me if I could use it. I let him know that I could tear it down and investigate if there were indeed any donor parts that could be offered to help fix other vises like it. I'll go over in the next day or two and put it on the dolly and wheel it over to my garage. I'm really having mixed emotions about it because I feel like it's lived on for so long like this and now I'm going to be the guy to scrap it and maybe part it out. Is it silly that makes me sad?


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Chris,

If it's free then you have nothing to lose by taking off the crude "repairs" and seeing what the original damage actually was. Perhaps it was a crude "make it work for now and fix it right later" type of repair that no one every actually got around to doing right? Maybe you can salvage it?

And I know what you mean about feeling sad about being a "breaker" - I get the same way sometimes, but then I ask myself, "What's better? Breaking this down so that someone else might be able to make another vise whole again that otherwise would likely go to the scrap yard or leave it "whole" but essentially useless?"




Nothing overly special, but I did get a little Wards-branded exposed screw vise the other day - bought it because I like the "art deco" design and that it looks barely used.

 

[BeardedOne]

That's a cool vise MayerMR. Reminds me of the Wilton Torco a little.

 

[Shiftless]

Diagnosis first!

Yep,
First diagnose. Some problems like huge cracks and splits in the castings are the kiss of death. Then part it out. Or make it into a pair of super heavy duty book ends.

 

[Perrorojo]

Well I walked over and met my neighbor this afternoon and got a chance to check out his poor vise. As suspected it might just be one of the most broken and in turn crudely modified vises out there.

It is indeed a 6" swivel jaw. It's so heavily modified I can't even tell just yet if it was originally a swivel base (no. 22) or stationary base (no. 5). The big metal plates on either side appear to be bolted and welded to the body and the whole thing is welded to another heavy plate with holes for mounting. He says it does open and close so there is hope that maybe the screw/handle assembly and nut might still be okay. The handle is straight and in suprisingly good shape. The slide appears to be in okay shape so maybe the whole dynamic might be salvageable.

He explained that he had saved it from going to scrap at some point but really didn't have any attachment to it anymore and offered it to me if I could use it. I let him know that I could tear it down and investigate if there were indeed any donor parts that could be offered to help fix other vises like it. I'll go over in the next day or two and put it on the dolly and wheel it over to my garage. I'm really having mixed emotions about it because I feel like it's lived on for so long like this and now I'm going to be the guy to scrap it and maybe part it out. Is it silly that makes me sad?


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Would still be cool to practice your wedding/brazing skill on. I love free junk to experiment on.

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[va.grouseman]

Chris, it's like the demise of an unfortunate heart donor.---The demise is a very sad thing, but the preservation of another life is a joyous thing, and it takes some of the sting out of a tragic loss.

Same holds true with that vise if any of the organs are salvageable.

Kinda looks like the PO was shooting more for weight than repair.---Looks like they wanted desperately to break the 200 lb. barrier, and piling on was the only way.

 

[Smitty]

Re: Chrisnazzy
It looks like I’m eating crow by the plateful. A Bull Dog it is not.

 

[chrisnazzy]

Chris, it's like the demise of an unfortunate heart donor.---The demise is a very sad thing, but the preservation of another life is a joyous thing, and it takes some of the sting out of a tragic loss.

Same holds true with that vise if any of the organs are salvageable.

Kinda looks like the PO was shooting more for weight than repair.---Looks like they wanted desperately to break the 200 lb. barrier, and piling on was the only way.

I guess I'm just hoping there are some salvageable parts to pass on so another can live on! We shall know soon enough.

Re: Chrisnazzy
It looks like I’m eating crow by the plateful. A Bull Dog is is not.

I think we were all thrown off by how it sat in relation to the ground. Couldn't have figured the whole thing was welded to a metal plate too.

Makes that second Prentiss 21 you recently bought as a donor look pretty good huh?

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[gman007]

I guess I'm just hoping there are some salvageable parts to pass on so another can live on! We shall know soon enough. I think we were all thrown off by how it sat in relation to the ground. Couldn't have figured the whole thing was welded to a metal plate too.

Makes that second Prentiss 21 you recently bought as a donor look pretty good huh?

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Chris
This is like an Irish wake and we should celebrate a life instead of mourning its death. If this vise has even a single good part it can help resurrect another damaged vise. The main screw and handle look decent, the dynamic jaw and slide might be OK. The main nut could also be intact.

In fact how about what initially might appear like a crazy idea of parting a perfectly intact vise and treating it as a donor. Let see, even a simple stationary vise can offer a dynamic jaw/slide, static jaw/housing, main screw, screw handle, main nut, collar, possibly jaw inserts. If the vise has a swivel in addition to the above, it can offer swivel base, swivel lock. If it has a swivel jaw, it can offer the swivel jaw and pin as well.

And I pretty much guarantee that for every single one of the those parts there is one or many damaged vises out there that need those parts. So instead of having one good vise and whole bunch of damaged ones, we could end up with one donor and many good vises.

There is a great guy on ebay who goes by the name oldtoolnut59 . Initially when I noticed what vise parts he was selling, it looked like he is in fact parting a good vise and selling the parts individually. While I could see that possibly the sum of the parts might be financially worth more than the intact vise, it was upsetting to me as what he was doing appeared like sacrilege.

But then when I needed some parts myself and he was trying to help me (and he is a really nice and great guy) I realized that as a service to the vise community (not just financially) the sum of the vise parts could have greater value than having a single good vise. Now I am not advocating that we all run and part good vises but rather emphasis how valuable a donor is in general and specially if it is a damaged donor.

 

[wrenchguy]

i collect broken vises too.

 

[va.grouseman]

Gman, I've bought from Oldtoolnut59 too and he is a real good go-to sourse for hard to find parts.---I bought a swivel base for my Morgan Arora #4 1/2 Star for $35.00 and shipping, around $12.00, and Milwakee Tool & Equipment wanted $250.00 for the same.---Now I don't know if Oldtoolnut dissected a good Morgan in order to make my day, I didn't ask, but it sure beat retail.---He sells a lot of vise parts of all different brands of vises.


I know what you mean, I have mixed feelings too, about dismembering a perfectly good vise.---But it's because we have an affinity and a deep respect for one of the shops most valuable tools.---He's a business man, and as you stated, he's has figured out that the sum of a vises parts are worth more than the whole.

 

[Smitty]

I guess I'm just hoping there are some salvageable parts to pass on so another can live on! We shall know soon enough. I think we were all thrown off by how it sat in relation to the ground. Couldn't have figured the whole thing was welded to a metal plate too.

Makes that second Prentiss 21 you recently bought as a donor look pretty good huh?

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You must mean this little gem I scored a couple of weeks ago. I got it for $45 for the swivel base. I just might have the ugly vise of the year award all locked up.


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[Maui]

The pin is still there. Why would somebody weld the swivel jaw in that vise??

 

[drivesitfar]

Maui: vises used to be so cheap that some guys used them for WELDING PRACTICE. also i've had 70 & 80 year old handy guys almost get mad to the point of yelling once i told them the vise they had in their family since they were little that was a Prentiss or other brand swivel jaw vise cause they never saw their dad pull the pin and they never used it that way.

ALL: yep I pick up 60+ year old vises for parts and i've fixed a few good vises by doing so. i've driven a ways to get a good old broken vise to save it from the scrap yard.

 

[Smitty]

Alrighty then, let’s kick the tires and light the fires. This was my best Craigslist day of all time. This was about six months ago. 668 lbs of vises found the same day at the same location. Wilton 800, Columbian cat. no. 206, Ridge Tool co 61CP and a Chas Parker 436. It took three days to get the smile off of my face. Granted some of the vises have issues but I got all four for $350


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[Smitty]

Alrighty then, let’s kick the tires and light the fires. This was my best Craigslist day of all time. This was about six months ago. 668 lbs of vises found the same day at the same location. Wilton 800, Columbian cat. no. 206, Ridge Tool co 61CP and a Chas Parker 436. It took three days to get the smile off of my face. Granted some of the vises have issues but I got all four for $350



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[gman007]

Alrighty then, let’s kick the tires and light the fires. This was my best Craigslist day of all time. This was about six months ago. 668 lbs of vises found the same day at the same location. Wilton 800, Columbian cat. no. 206, Ridge Tool co 61CP and a Chas Parker 436. It took three days to get the smile off of my face. Granted some of the vises have issues but I got all four for $350

Smitty
I am surprised it took only mere three days to get the smile off your face! There is a lot to smile at. Great score

 

[Loydski29]

Damn Smitty

 

[Smitty]

Smitty
I am surprised it took only mere three days to get the smile off your face! There is a lot to smile at. Great score

Yeah, when he said one hundred bucks a piece I almost passed out. I couldn’t get the wallet out of my back pocket fast enough. I initially passed on the Parker because it has more issues than sports illustrated so I got him down to$50 on that one.