Nice find Justin, this is from an 1895 catalog.
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The VISES of Garage Journal
- Thread starter mjozefow
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Justin, the name and model number would have been casted here. Its not uncommon for them to be hammered flat over time. It looks to me like there is a 2 where the model no. Would be.
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AndrewH
Well-known member
Hey guys.. been a couple years since I’ve been around. Took some time away from collecting vises to work on building up my home machine shop. Well.. I randomly came across the holy grail (for me!) a Wilton 800 in like new condition. 4 states later and a 800 mile round trip and it’s sitting next to my Morgan 80! Not sure if any of the old crew is around but I couldn’t resist sharing my find!
Edit: When I scored my Morgan 80 I was amazed at just how large it is. This Wilton is massive, even having experience with other 8” vises I still wasn’t ready for just how large this big boy is. Can’t wait to set it next to my Wilton 600S, it’s going to dwarf it!
Edit: When I scored my Morgan 80 I was amazed at just how large it is. This Wilton is massive, even having experience with other 8” vises I still wasn’t ready for just how large this big boy is. Can’t wait to set it next to my Wilton 600S, it’s going to dwarf it!
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va.grouseman
Well-known member
Real nice Andrew, looks like it's been setting on a shelf for years.---You can still get swivel bases for those if you are a mind to.---But seems like most people preferer stationary.---Nice Morgan too.---Good to hear from you.
Mr. Wonderful
Well-known member
Here is the Morgan 160 in its final form. I am pretty happy with how it came out. I am going to be sad to see it go but it needs a new home. Its come along way from the few pounds of blue paint the previous owner was so proud of.
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
JUSTIN: great looking (and huge) swivel jaw coachmaker's Prentiss vise. it looks a lot bigger than my 4 inch Prentiss #26 so can you post up the jaw width and weight too? also how long is the dynamic slide cause i bet it's longer than my REED 4c?
Justin, the name and model number would have been casted here. Its not uncommon for them to be hammered flat over time. It looks to me like there is a 2 where the model no. Would be.
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Smitty, they don't always have the number. My #3 only has "Prentiss, NY" back there.
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sandman54
Well-known member
yep i have that vise , VA it is a rock island 544B ... a magnificent foot repair
AndrewH
Well-known member
Yes sir, the story I was told was that the company he worked for never used it as they had smaller ones that served their purpose better so one day they decided to throw 2 of Wilton 800’s away and they said he could have them. Unfortunately the guy only saved 1 of them and the other one went to the scrap yard. So basically it’s been sitting collecting dust for years.
I’ve already contacted Wilton and got the part number for the swivel base, on backorder until 4/23 so I’ll pick one up after they come back in stock! Same thing with the Morgan, just waiting to hear back about part numbers for what I need for the swivel base.
Just wish I could get some of the exact paint that Wilton uses, the paint is so nice on most of it that I don’t want to strip all of it off for another color!
I just scored this vintage German vise on CL. The guy said it was pre war made in Bessey Germany. It took a while but once I got him down to $250 I pulled the trigger. I might just flip this one on EBay.
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MissileBear
Well-known member
The current Chinese made Bessey vises look identical to that - I just ran across one in box at a estate sale last week.
Wonder if they sold the molds? Does it have a "Germany" casting anywhere?
MissileBear
Well-known member
Eh. It's 4/1.
Guess I'm the doofus. Well, I guess I'll make a worthwhile post then.
Here's a Wilton 350S I picked up last week. Has 4" jaws on it for some reason....going to have to get a 3.5" set of replacements from Dr. Scott. This one is going to get a restore and be part of a wedding present for a friend of mine. I'm building a whole laminated Douglas Fir workbench, and this will be bolted to the top.
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Why not just cut them down?
MissileBear
Well-known member
Because I like sending business to the Dr.
New jaws look pretty nice too, being that it is a gift.
Also, I can put the old ones on the fleabay...surely somebody with 4" will need a good set of replacements.
That’s a nice gift!
To cut them, you would likely need to use an abrasive cut off wheel and may ruin the temper. I like your plan. I kinda purchased my Parker so I could buy jaws from KMS... I really like what he is doing.
To cut them, you would likely need to use an abrasive cut off wheel and may ruin the temper. I like your plan. I kinda purchased my Parker so I could buy jaws from KMS... I really like what he is doing.
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By all means, buy the cool jaws from Dr. Scott. I don’t think it’s crazy having 4” jaws on a 3.5” vise as it can provide clearance for certain work holding. Photo of our 3.5” Wilton which is the most used in our shop. Specialized for sure but I am surprised how useful it is for other things it was not designed for!
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Nothing looks broken on the base, these lugs come to a point too, not rounded like the others I’ve seen. Front of screw looks like a flattened meatball, like others I’ve seen. How do you post pics? I don’t have photobucket or anything.
va.grouseman
Well-known member
Sandman, you didn't happen to save the post where KMS did that repair by any chance.---I don't know if he made a YouTube vidio of the process or not, but it sure would be a gem if he did.---Yep, it was darn pretty work.
I'm usually the doofus many places I frequent, I'm just glad today wasn't my day [emoji39][emoji39]
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justin.d.richards.9
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That would be perfect for motorcycle fork rebuilds!!
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justin.d.richards.9
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It is currently the largest vise that I have purchased weighing 67lbs. Here are some pics of measurements
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All kidding aside on April fools day I did manage to get a beautiful little Prentiss today. This is a circle side Prentiss no. 522 with 3” jaws that weighs in at 28 lbs. The Lines on the slide are extra crisp and the handle it straight as an arrow. It barely has any hammer marks and the coco brown patina is the icing on the cake.
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KMScott
Well-known member
Hey VA, gonna do another foot repair on a Prentiss 210 2-1/2" jaws. Here are the pics of Sandmans vise repair, OH sandman just picked up a Rock Island 541b a smaller one like yours that will finish as nice as yours.
First I cut out the underside and added three screws to hold it in place, gave .003 clearance for the Silver Solder. I used a donor vise to make the foot so both pieces were cast material, did a little hand work to match the other foot. I used a .005 Silver Solder (EZ-FLO 45 Silver Solder). I coated everything with Harris Stay-Silv white brazing flux. Used my torch and gently heated everything till it was a very dull red and the Silver Solder shim material started melting and added more from the top side till I was happy. Took about 10 minutes to clean it up after it cooled and hot water made the flux disappear. I was happy with the finish job and it should be about 85% as strong as the original. I forgot to mention machining the base flat so no stress is on the foot when clamping to a bench or stand.
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davethorik
Well-known member
Thanks Dave, I got this little Prentiss off of eBay last week and it just got delivered today. The original photos were a little fuzzy so I was a bit nervous. Once I took it out of the box I could tell it was in great condition. I will state your the record that I probably paid full price but I just had to have it.I dont care if it is a jokeOh man that's a nice little example. Great pickup!
va.grouseman
Well-known member
That's the one KMS.---Thank you for refreshing the thread with that play by play.---I've got a couple with broken feet and I know that there are a lot of fellows out there that were wondering if a broken foot could be fixed and if so, just how would you go about it.---I will be filing this info back because I know this will come up again.---Might pretty work Kevin.
va.grouseman
Well-known member
Smitty, that is a real beauty.---And I am real partial to those split swivels.---Nice catch.
Thanks VA, yeah the split base is really an interesting design. Appearance wise it streamlines the look of the vise without having to look at the swivel locks. I also like the Prentiss stamped wrench.
I worked on my educational “Parker” vise and fixed a few things but I have a whopper jawed vise. It’s going to take some thinking a about how to fix this issue.
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I just scored this vintage German vise on CL. The guy said it was pre war made in Bessey Germany. It took a while but once I got him down to $250 I pulled the trigger. I might just flip this one on EBay.
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Not falling for that one twice. [emoji23]
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oneoldboot
Member
I think that is the most elaborate foot repair I have seen thus far. Well done!
Any chance you will be moving to Wisconsin so we can hang out?
austin870
Member
Here is an interesting one. This is some kind of Wilton Bullet clone thingy with 4” jaws. It has the same weight within a couple ounces and strangely appears a very similar build quality. There is absolutely zero writing on it anywhere. Probably had a sticker that is long gone.
My mother in law bought it at a garage sale back in the 1960’s in Pennsylvania. Some possibility it is Taiwan but 60’s is a bit early for that. She put it in a box in the shed and forgot about it. I found it during spring cleaning the other day. She gave it to me so I took it apart, cleaned, painted and gave it a little dry lube.
My mother in law bought it at a garage sale back in the 1960’s in Pennsylvania. Some possibility it is Taiwan but 60’s is a bit early for that. She put it in a box in the shed and forgot about it. I found it during spring cleaning the other day. She gave it to me so I took it apart, cleaned, painted and gave it a little dry lube.
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va.grouseman
Well-known member
Austin, check out this link and then scroll down and see if any of these vises resembles yours.
https://www.google.com/search?q=pic...KHetxDp0Q9QEwA3oECAgQCA#imgrc=TxXrx-bQkknRSM:
https://www.google.com/search?q=pic...KHetxDp0Q9QEwA3oECAgQCA#imgrc=TxXrx-bQkknRSM:
Shiftless
Well-known member
va is right. To my eye it most closely resembles Taskmaster. They were made in India. I don’t know all the details but I’m pretty sure there was a lawsuit by Wilton for patent infringement. A copy of the Wilton Cadet. I don’t know the time frame of the Taskmaster production. I’d guess later than the 60’s. They were dated on the bottom of the tubular slide but I don’t know the earliest. Mine is way later than that.
I have a Taskmaster in my collection. But “TASKMASTER” was cast into the vise body...not a paper label. One tell is the front “horseshoe” is marked INDIA but the mark might be on the back of it. Remove that piece, clean and check both sides.
I have a Taskmaster in my collection. But “TASKMASTER” was cast into the vise body...not a paper label. One tell is the front “horseshoe” is marked INDIA but the mark might be on the back of it. Remove that piece, clean and check both sides.
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This is a No3 Record vise, but the jaw is broken. Is it easy to fix this?
The yellow in there looks like bronze? The vice really isn’t hurt to where it won’t work fine so leaving it is an option. If I were going to try to fix it, I would tig braze it with silicon bronze and grind it to shape.