The VISES of Garage Journal

[Productbob]

Smitty another nice Wilton, good grab.

Kenc great patience as you work through that 518

Miller looks like a fun vise to play around with

 

[Smitty]

Smitty: You're amazing, I just don't know how you do it. Great price.

Got the screw out of my Prentiss 518, the collar arrangement is strange I am not sure how it was supposed to be located. Someone had globbed weld in there so I had to use a carbide burr to loosen it all up then the oxy and a cold chisel to cut off the two offending tabs. The tabs (that are left) are not all the same length which is also strange. Did Prentiss just bend down the tabs into the two "ramps" on the screw shaft?
Seems like a crappy arrangement?



Also got three of the four jaw screws out with my impact driver but shattered two bits trying to get the last one out. Had to drill out the last one.

Hey ken, it was just luck of the draw, I was the first caller to lock it up. I found a Frankenprentiss that will give you a run for your money. I’ll post pics this weekend.

 

[Smitty]

I recently brought home this fella here...

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7156769&postcount=18

I hope to get to it soon. Break it down, Check the screw, the box, check the spring action. If the screw and box are goo...and I hope they are good still...I will have a real gem.

Thank you for any thoughts, feedback or advice

The post vise looks really clean, the spring, bracket and wedges seem to be original. Will that pipe extension hammer off of the bottom?

 

[kenc184]

Hey ken, it was just luck of the draw, I was the first canker to lock it up. I found a Frankenprentiss that will give you a run for your money. I’ll post pics this weekend.

Looking forward to it Smitty.

My first Frankenprentiss has become a great user vise, I am happy with it.

 

[Miller72]

The post vise looks really clean, the spring, bracket and wedges seem to be original. Will that pipe extension hammer off of the bottom?

Thank you and I think the spring, wedges and the bracket are all original also.

Sadly the threaded pipe extension is welded. Not the end of the world, I will try cutting it away to see how much of the original leg is jammed into the pipe, so I hopefully dont lose any original leg by just cutting it off.

 

[Smitty]

It doesn’t really matter it’s a beautiful piece. I think the original height should be around 41”. I see New London stamped on the top, have you figured out its history yet?

Edit New London Connecticut

It looks like they just jammed the nub at the bottom of the post into the pipe

 

[Smitty]

Vise and Bob
The vise barely has a hammer mark on it. Like all Wilton’s it seems like most of the damage was done at the factory when they were grinding the castings. I found an old pic of a Wilton tech grinding down a baby bullet to illustrate my point.


Sent from my iPad using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Productbob]

smitty great pic!! what did you do at work today honey? not much, just sat at my desk holding on to the big pole between my legs

 

[Miller72]

Thanks @Smitty

I was very excited when the opportunity to rescue this vise came up. Huge bang for the not so many bucks!
All the Information I have found so far has come from the G.J. history thread, post #18 below.

Today's entry attempts to follow the Hyde family. This entity is listed under many names, and is very difficult to follow:

Joseph Hyde & Sons
New London Vise Works
Hyde Vise Works

The first picture below is an advertisement from an 1838 Hartford, CT newspaper. The second picture is from the 1898 New London City Directory. The rest of the pics are from a recent ebay sale of a New London Vise works post leg vise.

New London, CT -
Link to an 1897 Receipt on Toolmera.com - This receipt notes that the proprietors are Joseph Hyde, Sons & Co.

See Image 1 Below where we find an advertisement from the 3/20/1838 edition of the Hartford Courant for Hyde & Sons Vices.

Based on the 1880 census, Joseph Hyde (age 54) is listed as a blacksmith, as is his son Joseph Jr. (age 31). However, Joseph Jr.'s brothers Joshua (age 29), Samuel (age 23) and George (age 14) are all listed as "Vice Makers." In the 1870 census Joseph, Joseph Jr. and Joshua are all listed as "Vice Makers."

Just when we think we've gotten somewhere, the records throw a curve. The 1884 City Directory for New London lists the following (typed below exactly as seen)
Joseph Hyde, vise maker, h Chappell
Joseph Hyde Jr., vise maker, rear of Woodbridge
Joseph Hyde Sr., vise maker, rear of Woodbridge
Joshua Hyde, vise maker, bds Chappell
Joshua Hyde, blacksmith, h Fort Neck
Joshua Hyde, vise maker, bds r Woodbridge
Samuel Hyde, vise maker, bds r Woodbridge
Samuel Hyde, galvanizer, bds 158 Bank
Samuel Hyde Jr., blacksmith, h Fort Neck
William H. Hyde, vise maker, bds Chappell

It would appear to us that we possibly have 3 distinct families/operations making vises in New London, all named Hyde, and mostly having the same names! The family records do seem to support this theory since we find numerous records but they all seem like they are different families/households.

In the 1892 New London City Directory the New London Vise Works is listed as makers of Ship Clamps.

In the 1905 New London City Directory, the following information can be found:
- Robert Chamberlain is listed as an Engineer at Joseph Hyde & Sons;
- Joseph Jr., Samuel and Joshua Hyde are listed as Proprietors of "N. L. Vise Works";
- New London Vise Works (J. Hyde & Sons) are listed as manufacturers of:
- Jack Screws
- Machinists & Machinery
- Vises

We find references to this company, albeit scarce, up to 1925. They appeared to specialize (in terms of vises) in exclusively Post Leg Vises.

Joseph Hyde's obituary confirms that, along with his father and brothers, he founded the company. Mr. Hyde passed away 5/25/1932 at the age of 81. He was an English immigrant.

We are looking into the question as to whether the vise patents of John Lee and Isaac C. Tate, or perhaps Sidney Hubbell were manufactured by this company.

Here is a price list from the December, 1890 edition of Iron Age. The Iron Age advertisement mentions Hyde's Patent Vise on multiple occasions. It's interesting to note the various styles of vises represented in this list. As far as I can tell, we've only ever had post vises come up as examples.

Here is another old advertisement for a foot operated blacksmith's vise.

We also found British Patent #1361, 5/14/1857 by William and Joshua Hyde, vice makers in Dudley, Worcester, England for "Improvements in the construction of vices."

A great thread packed with some great and valuable information, right here at our finger tips. Thank you!

Though a member here already, I was directed to this G.J. thread from another forum when discussing post vises there. What a fantastic community of tool hounds when we can recommend and suggest other forums to better and more specifically aid in a quest of information for one another.
Reminds me of when your/my hardware store in town would call the hardware store in the next town over to find the part you needed when they were out of stock.

 

[va.grouseman]

Smitty, I read somewhere that the guy starts out with 800s and grinds them down to 820s.---Now that takes talent.


Oh, and the article said that each worker was issued a giant emery and when he ground it down to the axel, he could retire with pension.

 

[Smitty]

Lol
Yeah, you can just tell he was the baddest dude in the whole shop. Safety gear?
We don’t need no stinkin safety gear!

 

[Tgbrendoni]

Thanks for the correction @BFBOB

Colombia is the country. Columbian is the vise brand.

 

[larry4406]

I go to the Philly Art museum with the wife and see this neat vise!

 

[Tgbrendoni]

TGB:

If your restoration projects start to look like this, the above advice does not apply.

Would this vise be suitable for this scale of project? Seriously, is this thing even real?? I do have my limits.
Found pic on Pinterest

 

[Tgbrendoni]

Lol
Yeah, you can just tell he was the baddest dude in the whole shop. Safety gear?
We don’t need no stinkin safety gear!

Ah yes, the good old days...

 

[GETRIDAONE]

Would this vise be suitable for this scale of project? Seriously, is this thing even real?? I do have my limits.
Found pic on Pinterest

Here is the link to the build by royce & and a little help from kmscott
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=387992

 

[Productbob]

larry- that is truly a one of a kind. thanks for the photo & info.

 

[Tgbrendoni]

Here is the link to the build by royce & and a little help from kmscott

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=387992

Thanks GETRIDAONE for the link to this vise!
Totally blown away by the creativity and ingenious of it all. Excellent attention to details!
As one said, ‘now, there’s a vise I don’t covet...’. It is so massive! Lol

 

[honza.vosalik]

The Reed line up

 

[trijeff]

Hmmm, I think one might be missing Honza

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[zkling]

Been lurking around, trying to learn as much I can about bench vises. Have several Record vises, made in England, no. 100 (3”), a no. 4 and a no. 5 which I’ve bought recently. But now I have a couple chances to buy something real Made in America. One is a Colombian 504 that has been refinished. Seller is asking $150.

The other is a vintage Parker no. 69, from which I understand from here is a 5-1/2”, and weigh 129lbs.

I like them both, but I’m inclined more to the Parker because it’s bigger than what I have now. Only two things that make me hesitate; as you can see from one of the photos, it has a hole in the movable jaw at the top. Wondering if it worth repairing by filling by welding? The other thing is that the seller’s location is far and he hasn’t told me what he’s asking for it.

If you were in my place, would you be content with the Records as wife say, or should I go for one of the others??

By the way, I hope I posted this in the correct forum as I’m a little technologically challenged. Wasn’t able to included photos as I have not reached the required numbers of posts yet, just hope they haven’t been sold yet!

Cheers!

I'd pass on both. Your No. 5 record is a better use than both of those you are interested in. That Columbian was poorly refinished (in my opinion).

 

[Tgbrendoni]

I'd pass on both. Your No. 5 record is a better use than both of those you are interested in. That Columbian was poorly refinished (in my opinion).

Thanks zkling for your input. I heard back from the seller of The Parker 69 and he wanted $250. Decided against it as it is three hours drive from my place. May take a look at the Columbian just to see what he did to the vise. I guess I should be content with the Records after all. In fact, last week I passed a chance to acquire another Record no. 5 for $40. Seems Records are very common around where I live. American vises, not so much.

 

[12vx2]

My Daughter picked this 3" Woden up for me from Craigslist in Phoenix last month. I brought it home a week ago. It had a very recent coat of flat black paint on it, a little lacquer thinner wiped it right off. I have a couple Records, this is my first Woden. I like the blue English vises. This has a simple and quick way to lock swivel. 1 turn of the lock handle draws the dovetail wedge upward and forces the opposing 2 fixed cast dovetails tightly against the swivel base.

 

[honza.vosalik]

Hmmm, I think one might be missing Honza

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

It is, it was part of a trade for these Reeds I just got

 

[Productbob]

Cleaned up the small Erie Tool Empire 25. Turned out to be in pretty good shape after all the crud was taken off.

 

[zkling]

Thanks zkling for your input. I heard back from the seller of The Parker 69 and he wanted $250. Decided against it as it is three hours drive from my place. May take a look at the Columbian just to see what he did to the vise. I guess I should be content with the Records after all. In fact, last week I passed a chance to acquire another Record no. 5 for $40. Seems Records are very common around where I live. American vises, not so much.

For a user, I'd take the records any day of the week over that columbian or that parker.

The guy with the columbian did a flap wheel polishing job and rounded about every edge. May look good to some. The guy with the parker is dreaming for that price in that condition (in my opinion). Yes Records seem much more common in Canada. Down here in the US, they don't seem very popular.

 

[wsyk51]

Thanks for the advice, that's a great way to look at it.

 

[wsyk51]

I appreciate the information from all of you. The catalog page was very interesting. Have posted 3 more pics.

 

[va.grouseman]

Lol
Yeah, you can just tell he was the baddest dude in the whole shop. Safety gear?
We don’t need no stinkin safety gear!

Yea, we tar and feather OSHA Reps when they come around.---With all their demands, we can't get nothing done around here.

 

[Smitty]

Can you blame them, the guy had 820’s to grind.

 

[ken w.]

Who made this vise ??

 

[MiamiVise]

Hey all. Been lurking on here for a while now. Finally finished my "starter" vise, a Dunlap 5244. Learned a lot between working on this and the advice here. Now I've got a rusty project in my back seat and two more in the mail. Thanks for my latest <s>addiction</s> hobby.

Here's the album on imgur (I know I can't post links until I have 5 posts but the 'insert image' option isn't working):

imgur.com/a/Lb1Ozns

 

[Shiftless]

M.V.:
Welcome to our crazy little corner of GJ. Do you live in Florida?
With a screen name like that, are you going to paint one of your vises in pastel pink, turquoise, etc. to follow the color scheme of the show? Maybe some palm tree decals? A Ferrari Daytona?

Ken:
That’s a very unusual vise. It looks so rusty I have to ask...Was it recovered from a shipwreck?

 

[MiamiVise]

Thanks Shiftless. No I don't live in FL, I'm in NJ I just saw that the name was available.

I'll 100% paint one of my smaller vices coming next week the "Solo Jazz" pattern.

<img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/avatar_f343e976ad04_128.pnj">

 

[mpckd]

Thanks Shiftless. No I don't live in FL, I'm in NJ I just saw that the name was available.

I'll 100% paint one of my smaller vices coming next week the "Solo Jazz" pattern.

<img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/avatar_f343e976ad04_128.pnj">

I like it, that's something nobody would expect

 

[ken w.]

M.V.:

Ken:
That’s a very unusual vise. It looks so rusty I have to ask...Was it recovered from a shipwreck?

This vise is on CL or FB for $ 100.00 . I've never seen this one before.
Ad says " works good "

 

[Shiftless]

This vise is on CL or FB for $ 100.00 . I've never seen this one before.
Ad says " works good "

With such heavy rust, it’s truly hard to believe that it “works good”.
I should have added that I too have never seen that model. It’s hard to tell from that one pic but I’d guess that it is a small vise. I can only guess as to the function of that side lever. Is the static jaw face somehow adjustable?

 

[Productbob]

picked this up late last night. 'Large heavy vise, doesn't work, buyer must remove'. turns out to be a Prentiss 56 that won't turn (yet) and has lost the slide support from the static jaw. 40 minutes of wrestling with the bolts and got to bring it home for $35. Hopefully it's a fixable problem(s) and i can use it as an outdoor vise.

 

[Fierljeppen]

ken w. & shiftless...That's a very interesting patent vise that came in a few different flavors. The article below explains it better than I could.

Use the patent information to search for more details, if interested.

 

[steaks&anvils]

ken w. & shiftless...That's a very interesting patent vise that came in a few different flavors. The article below explains it better than I could.

Use the patent information to search for more details, if interested.

ken w.

On the restoration plus side, all those little BBs are probably all one block of rust now...