The VISES of Garage Journal

[Shiftless]

Unless that vise has sentimental value, I wouldn’t try to straighten it with that method. I see a significant risk of making it worse rather than better.

Does this fairly minor misalignment really interfere with your uses for this vise?

I’m sure you know that this is a light duty Homeowner grade vise. What other vises do you have? I bet one of them can step in and be your user.

If it bothers you having it in your shop, you can probably just sell it for 10-20 bucks and move on. That’s what I did with a Japanese Craftsman that had a bent slide. I showed the buyer the slide and for the price, he got a less than perfect but certainly quite useable vise.

 

[BFBOB]

Yep, it's a light duty exposed-screw cheapie. This is one I picked up planning to do a quick refurbish, repaint, smooth the worst of the gashes and send it on. I have other vises that I use; one of them is a nice 4" Reed that has the jaws misaligned in the same way, but much less. It is very annoying to clamp something in and have it see-saw because it's only held tightly at one side. I have to really bear down to get pressure all the way across.
I wouldn't want to sell that kind of problem to someone else, even a mere Homeowner.

But, yeah, it is kind of usable as is; break the slide out and it's scrap. I didn't pay much for it, could probably break even on evilBay as is- with proper disclamers, of course.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

RB Interesting vise. That's definitely a MONSTER!

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I like that TX! very coo DP vise! I can't help you, but I want one ! 4 jaws and instantly accessible! Very unique!

Thanks Outlaw. I like it too. I think it could come in handy for the right job.

I'm in shock that it hasn't been identified. I didn't think there was a vise on the planet that these folks didn't know every detail about! What the heck is going on?!!!

 

[Outlawmws]

RB, clean the head of the main screw and look for MF markings. It could be a Millers Falls, but many companies made that style.

 

[RBarnes]

RB, clean the head of the main screw and look for MF markings. It could be a Millers Falls, but many companies made that style.

I'm not that lucky, it has part of a Millers Falls emblem/sticker on the side.

 

[rusty65]

I was doing a little cleaning on that reed 2c I recently picked up. I found the date stamp which is 10-43 meatball spindle. Also to my surprise I found some sort of marking on the back part of the vise MO 352. I payed 140 for the vise and 22 dollars for the metal table.






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[BlueBomber]

I picked up a pair of Indian Chief post vises today. The smaller one is a No. 40 with 4" jaw, Aug 1903 date stamp and weighs 34 lbs. The larger one has 6" jaws, is missing only the pivot bolt and weighs about 140 lbs.

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[MayerMR]

Am I the only one not seeing any photos of RB's monster vise??

 

[Outlawmws]

I see em fine...

 

[MayerMR]

I see em fine...

Oh heck, I'm seeing them now. They are attached rather than placed right in the response and I blew right past them.

 

[RBarnes]

Oh heck, I'm seeing them now. They are attached rather than placed right in the response and I blew right past them.

Sorry about that, started out as a joke posting the Millers Falls vise and it got a little out of hand. If one of you guys would trade me a great 8" swivel vise for all the vises on my list and some cash, maybe I could actually post a monster some day...
It would be a little rough getting rid of the Millers Falls, since it is one of the cornerstones of my collection, but sometimes you have to give up something good to get something good.

 

[RBarnes]

On a more serious note, I just read on the internet that the brand name "Millers Falls" now belongs to a corporation in China. Not as disgusting as years back when I found out that Milwaukee brand tools are no longer made in Milwaukee, but that's just wrong when they sell the name of your town to a corporation in China !

 

[RBarnes]

Have you guys seen this photo on ebay?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-indus...h=item3647a6c65f:g:~mUAAOSwIApcOmm9:rk:1:pf:0

 

[rusty65]

In that photo check out that slop in that prentiss vise.



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[GETRIDAONE]

Sorry about that, started out as a joke posting the Millers Falls vise and it got a little out of hand. If one of you guys would trade me a great 8" swivel vise for all the vises on my list and some cash, maybe I could actually post a monster some day...
It would be a little rough getting rid of the Millers Falls, since it is one of the cornerstones of my collection, but sometimes you have to give up something good to get something good.

I have one of those "monsters" also. I keep him in the box so not to scare any of the other vises.

 

[RBarnes]

I have one of those "monsters" also. I keep him in the box so not to scare any of the other vises.

Someone suggested that they come in handy when trying to sell other vises -since they make the other vises look larger.

 

[RBarnes]

In that photo check out that slop in that prentiss vise.



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Found it interesting that they had a swivel base and a standard base practically on the same bench.

 

[Ryan_340]

I built this stand over the weekend for my salvaged Parker vise.

 

[gman007]

I built this stand over the weekend for my salvaged Parker vise.

Ryan
That is one good looking stand, well done

Your Parker looks very nicely restored as well! I am trying to guess it size based on objects around it and I am thinking it is something like a 973-974.

 

[Ryan_340]

Ryan
That is one good looking stand, well done

Your Parker looks very nicely restored as well! I am trying to guess it size based on objects around it and I am thinking it is something like a 973-974.

It is a 974 that was badly abused by a previous owner. Hammer marks all over it, missing collar, loose jaws, and even a chunk missing on the rear of the main body by the slide. I just ground the missing area to the shape of the rest of the body, built a new collar for it, and re-fastened the jaws.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Got a problem with this little Littlestown. It's had a fairly rough life, but is still usable, except for one little problem: Jaw alignment.
as you can see from the pix, the jaws fail to meet squarely-they're off laterally about 1/16", and vertically much less - several thou.
Putting a sqare on it, it's obvious that the slide is bent in two planes, evidently from trying to bend something too tough clamped into the right side.
It looks like the bend is right at where the slide is cast into the dynamic jaw.

Following auto body principles, you start the straightening by applying force in the opposite direction of the force that caused the problem. That would be as I've shown by clamping it in my mighty Columbian woodworking vise. I know better than to abuse my vise trying to use it as a press; this is just to illustrate the idea. I would do the actual pressing in my 20T press.

Am I begging to break the dynamic jaw away from the slide? I can measure the progress accurately and make sure I don't over-press it.

Probably the safest course would be to machine the jaw perches to be square with each other, but let's face it - this is a $50 vise at best. I don't have a mill, and hiring it done would be waaayy too expensive.
The other alternative that I could do is taper the jaw faces. I could do this accurately enough on a belt sander, though it would leave them pretty thin.

I've read several posts here about straightening slides, bun none quite address my situation Any/all thoughts welcome!

Sorry I'm late on my reply. To fix your vise without bending the bar, you can sand down the jaw faces on the back side and/or shim them. I did that with a Wilton mechanic's vise a few years back.

 

[ARFLY]

Over the weekend I picked up this Craftsman 6 1/2" for $20. It will clean up nicely. Can you all tell me anything about it such as maker, age and what the machined groves in the jaws are for?
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[kenc184]

The grooves are an owner modificaton - and a very useful one too - for holding bolts, bar stock, tube etc vertically.

 

[454ragtop]

The grooves are an owner modificaton - and a very useful one too - for holding bolts, bar stock, tube etc vertically.

I think those grooves are OEM on more recent vises, like this one.

 

[ARFLY]

If the grooves are after-market, someone did a great job. They are even and symmetrical all the way through. Definitely wasn't bubbad.

 

[PacificaVette]

The grooves are an owner modificaton - and a very useful one too - for holding bolts, bar stock, tube etc vertically.

I have a 5" Craftsman of similar vintage. It has the same grooves in the jaws. The jaws are reversible, so you can have them oriented as smooth or with ridges.

 

[ARFLY]

I have a 5" Craftsman of similar vintage. It has the same grooves in the jaws. The jaws are reversible, so you can have them oriented as smooth or with ridges.

Good to know. Thank you

 

[sandman54]

A little eye candy for V A from me...

 

[va.grouseman]

Sandman, Jackie Gleason said it best, ("How Sweet It Is"!)

 

[NKlamerus]

Any help here? Found a stamped number under the swivel plate.

Ecvaporust is done, it was in pretty bad condition that's for sure.

Plan to paint it with that hammered paint, but we'll see.

 

[DarkMonohue]

I dragged this miserable POS home last summer. Must not be any good, because it doesn't look like the jaws ever held anything harder than a ham sandwich. Other than the considerable patina, she's cherry one owner.

Had to take this old junk welder along for the ride. That power cord is indeed lengthened with several feet of Romex. Grandpa's Garage strikes again.

 

[honza.vosalik]

Did Wilton make vises for Craftsman?

 

[honza.vosalik]

I dragged this miserable POS home last summer. Must not be any good, because it doesn't look like the jaws ever held anything harder than a ham sandwich. Other than the considerable patina, she's cherry one owner.

Had to take this old junk welder along for the ride. That power cord is indeed lengthened with several feet of Romex. Grandpa's Garage strikes again.

Gotta love the patina

 

[DarkMonohue]

Gotta love the patina

Guess so. The bright plated parts are now dark brown/rust color, and the paint is looking a little spotty, but I'm torn on whether to strip and refinish the whole thing or just wipe it down with Hoppes No. 9 and run it as-is.

 

[Fordriver6]

Did Wilton make vises for Craftsman?

Here is a thread discussing that particular Craftsman vise.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142872

There are links early on to other threads discussing who made it but I haven't gotten very far into reading them yet.

Edit: appears to be a Chinese copy, but one guy said every dimension including the mounting base matches a Wilton 1745 exactly.

 

[MayerMR]

Any help here? Found a stamped number under the swivel plate.

Ecvaporust is done, it was in pretty bad condition that's for sure.

Plan to paint it with that hammered paint, but we'll see.

What help are you looking for?

 

[NKlamerus]

What help are you looking for?

What the serial number means, possibly the year of make

Id also like to order the replacement Wilton sticker but need the model? Just go by vise size?

 

[Heavymetal]

My lineup so far. Athol ,Parker , Reed, 2 USA Craftsman,and a cool little Colombian. Have a nice little western auto wizard not in pic

 

[454ragtop]

My lineup so far. Athol ,Parker , Reed, 2 USA Craftsman,and a cool little Colombian. Have a nice little western auto wizard not in pic

The Wizard isn't the only one not in the pic...…….