The VISES of Garage Journal

[Smitty]

I picked up this Craftsman 5162 today. It’s a bit rusty but is should clean up pretty well. It sure looks like a Reed to me.


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[davethorik]

Rock Island
Looks like a beaut!

 

[Smitty]

Thanks Dave.

 

[chrisnazzy]

Nice Craftsman Smitty! Could that really be your first Rock Island built vise? If so you'll find they are very nice, well built vises. I've accumulated 5 Rock Islands but none are the Craftsman 516x series.

Fun fact: the Craftsman 516x series included the 5168 which was an 8" jaw 345lb monster that opened 14"! Pretty sure an example of that vise hasn't surfaced yet. I guy can dream though!

Hey on a side note, do you have a pending vise pickup in Fountain Valley? Saw a Prentiss combo for sale and figured you'd be all over it and sure enough it got bought quick style.

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[Smitty]

Thanks Chris. Good call, it is my first Rock Island vies and I’m pretty happy with it. That 8” unicorn is next on my list, lol. I was on eBay when that 353 1/2 popped up and placed a bid right away. I spent the next twenty minutes pouring through the photos when I realized that the vise has had a catastrophic break.i believe the vise to be welded on both sides where the slide joins the dynamic. I expect to see the vise up for parts shortly.
Here’s another 353 1/2 for comparison.


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[rusty65]

Thanks Chris. Good call, it is my first Rock Island vies and I’m pretty happy with it. That 8” unicorn is next on my list, lol. I was on eBay when that 353 1/2 popped up and placed a bid right away. I spent the next twenty minutes pouring through the photos when I realized that the vise has had a catastrophic break.i believe the vise to be welded on both sides where the slide joins the dynamic. I expect to see the vise up for parts shortly.
Here’s another 353 1/2 for comparison.


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Yes that vise has definitely been welded for sure. If not I would seriously be surprised.


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[Shiftless]

$225 plus shipping on eBay!
But it was “best offer accepted” so who knows what the final deal amounted to.
No doubt less than two and a quarter!

 

[Smitty]

Rusty, once I came to that conclusion I just rolled over and went to sleep. I was surprised to see it as sold in the morning.

Shift, surely there must be some recourse for the the person that spent full price for a welded vise. Hopefully they read here and can cancel the sale before it’s too late.

 

[Smitty]

Shift, sorry for the confusing content. I just spent the last three hours in a sports bar full of Raider fans watching the Game, these people are heathens. The Prentiss that came up last night was “For sale” with a Best offer option. I made an offer before I realized that the vise had issues. The seller obviously had higher offers so they didn’t bother to contact me.The fact that I was involved in the process allows me to get a sorry you missed it email. The vise sold for $215.



The original asking price for the vise was $225

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[kenc184]

Jeez, that's a lot of money for a 3-1/2" vise.
combo or not.

I'm feeling better about the $195 or whatever it was I spent on that 4-1/2" Athol combo now. Hmmm, need to refurb that sucker.

 

[bastel]

Interesting vise on the classifieds (190€):
Super swivel tilting bullet vise
I think I saw something similar on the thread here, I just can't remember.
The orange handle says "Kipp", which is a company making handles but also clamping devices. But googling for "Kipp Schraubstock" doesn't work because "kipp" means "tilt", so you get all kinds of tilting vises.
jaw width: 120mm (almost 5")
opens: 160mm (a bit over 6")
weight: 28 kg (heavy)

would be nice to own, but yeah, price and location (no shipping)

 

[Shiftless]

bastel:
Thanks for posting that very unusual vise.
I would grab it in a second for the equivalent price ($210) if it was near me.

 

[bastel]

Says no shipping.. they could probably ship it with 3.5kg left for packaging, but it's just so much work for most people, got to have the right box, styrofoam etc.. I'd whip that out quickly, since I do have access to packaging from work.. so I can understand. Well for that price, let's wait, there is either a ******** collector out there in the region. Or... I coaxed the VS2 owner in Frankfurt to send it to me by sending him a prepared parcel.
(gotta get them Zeuses.. that missed Zeus4/VS6 still weights heavily on my mind).

That said I located another VS4.. Trip is gonna be a tad long, 2*200km, but mostly highway, so it wouldn't take long. Though I wonder if anyone would be interested. I already have one VS4 that I can give away (since I have the Zeus3, and I don't think I need both, well my heart says I do, my mind says otherwise). It's in very good shape, the one I could get looks decent, too. Shipping would be... not cheap. And two parcels (which I don't like). A VS2 would be better to ship, but a VS4 looks way more impressive

 

[chrisnazzy]

Thanks Chris. Good call, it is my first Rock Island vies and I’m pretty happy with it. That 8” unicorn is next on my list, lol. I was on eBay when that 353 1/2 popped up and placed a bid right away. I spent the next twenty minutes pouring through the photos when I realized that the vise has had a catastrophic break.i believe the vise to be welded on both sides where the slide joins the dynamic. I expect to see the vise up for parts shortly.


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Good eye Smitty! I missed that damage but admittedly just quickly clicked "watch" and moved on. I didn't even scroll through the pics. I figured I was just watching it to see how long it would take you to snag it. Congrats on your offer not being the highest.


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[Smitty]

The plot thickens


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[Vise]

The plot thickens


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I'm gonna say it: this vise is ugly. The design is poor and to it just doesn't come together for me...

 

[Smitty]

Wait, What?


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[bastel]

wow, these prices are crazy seen from over here....

 

[davethorik]

Got my $17 eBay Stanley in today.

Someone who owned it went drill happy, there is a dimple on the top of the slide less than 1/16" deep, and a half drill dimple straight in from the face of the static jaw...still scratching my head how someone could even manage to do that...lol

The clamp pad is missing. Handle is there, but bent. Some rust, green and red paint overspray. Some other saw marks. Somebody was kind enough to pre-sand the rear of the slide for me.

Now, the good: for being 100-111 years old, overall it isn't bad. It looks like the brown asphaltum is partially still there. The cast iron clamp wing nut is tweaked but unbroken!

Victor Jersey no. 744
Stanley Rule & Level
1908 patent
2-5/16" jaws, opens 2", weighs about 4 lbs.

 

[chopsaw84]

Howdy,

Posted this over in the vise info thread just now, posting here to double my chances of finding out more info about this one.

It's about 28" long closed and about 36" extended. Only stamping on it is "Patented Sept 22 1914". 3.5" jaws.

The lead screw is hollow and the handle turns a shaft that has a "bit holder?" inside the jaws.

Thanks,

--Chopsaw84

 

[RBarnes]

I'm gonna say it: this vise is ugly. The design is poor and to it just doesn't come together for me...

I can see both points of view. Certainly rarer than most baby bullets, neither one has that much value to use in a shop. Problem with most good vises that you think you are going to use (and justify the price), once you pay a lot of money for one, you tend to baby it and use the beater you had in the first place so as not to ruin your investment.

On the other hand, it is weird and unusual and most people are not against a little strange at some point in their life. I like weird and unusual. After all, how often do most people really swivel a vises base, let alone actually use a swivel jaw? This is probably shown by how many swivel jaw vise jaw pins are frozen/stuck. The swivel jaw was just not used much if ever.

I hold some weird antique stuff in my shop doing restorations, so the swivel base and jaw help me once in a great while. Usually if you need to, you can make a shim out of wood to hold something at an angle in the vise. In all honesty, unless it just won't work, I just grab a piece of wood and stick it in the end of one jaw side to hold something with an angle. A piece of wood is a lot cheaper than breaking a rare vise. I know wood burns, but probably not a good idea to be heating up your rare vise anyway. Especially after you restore and paint it!

 

[MrDayne]

Had to take apart the 9-600 to modify the workbench a bit yesterday. Good time to check for lubrication.

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[galdy]

Just got this fpu for 50$ in Riverside. I drove an hour and a half to get it.

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[Shiftless]

That’s a good deal on an FPU as long as the gibs and ways are unbroken. I have seen a few of those with broken bits no doubt from somebody thinking that they had a heavy duty vise that would withstand hard use.

 

[galdy]

I just checked it and everything is in really good shape. The guy I got it from was and older guy that got it from an even older guy. He was a VW mechanic and this was an extra vise he had

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[exmaxima1]

I am really curious about production year of the paramo one, as i am sure its a very very old made vise as the design is looks simpler compared to many paramo vise pictures on the net...
if anyone here can help me with an info about the manufacturer or anything about this vises that would be great,
thanks...

Your Paramo looks much NEWER than mine. Those angular jaws look like the modern forged vises from Ridgid and Yost. My guess is that you have a different model Paramo than the classic "Hi Duty".

 

[Mark in Indiana]

I picked up this Craftsman 5162 today. It’s a bit rusty but is should clean up pretty well. It sure looks like a Reed to me.


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Smitty: I'm currently restoring a C-Man #5160 that had some interesting repairs (will post about when it's finished). Can you show a picture of the jaw faces on your vise? Mine has Phillips head screws. Never seen them used on jaw faces. Thanks.
EDIT: Never seen them used on older vise jaw faces.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Just got this fpu for 50$ in Riverside. I drove an hour and a half to get it.

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You did great! Is there a date code on the front jaw?

 

[Macneil]

What kind of vise do I have here? Bought it from an old neighbour awhile ago.. works good and it’s well built from what I can tell. Good for small stuff.


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[Shiftless]

You have a Record No. 3.
4 inch wide jaws right?
Those like yours that were made in England are quite well made.

 

[AmptGuy]

Afternoon all. Been following this thread for a long while and finally summoned up the courage to post my small collection from my shed! Nothing like some of the monsters above but certainly in keeping with the scale of my shed workshop.

A small Woden 186B/1 and a slightly larger Record No. 2

My Fortis Steel No. 9 with quick release.

The Record and Fortis have been cleaned up and repainted, the Woden is on the to-do list and will probably go to a new home with a modeller friend of mine. I'm keeping an eye out for either a Parkinson F 6 or 7 or maybe a Samsonia if one rears its head.

Is that green the original Woden colour?

 

[galdy]

You did great! Is there a date code on the front jaw?

No date code, I saw your restoration on a similar vise. Maybe once I take it apart I'll find something

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[Mark in Indiana]

No date code, I saw your restoration on a similar vise. Maybe once I take it apart I'll find something

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In my experience, Date codes are a hit & miss with FPU vises.
You should find a model number on the nut.

 

[slowtwitch73]

That’s a good deal on an FPU as long as the gibs and ways are unbroken. I have seen a few of those with broken bits no doubt from somebody thinking that they had a heavy duty vise that would withstand hard use.

They are heavy duty but you can't be ham fisted with them. Gibs need to be adjusted properly. Don't bang on the anvil flat with the moveable jaw too far open..

 

[Smitty]

Mark in Indiana


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[Fierljeppen]

After looking at Smitty's Craftsman 5162 4" jaws and comparing them with a Craftsman 5191 4" jaws, like others have said in the past, those jaws seem to be made by the same mfg. The spacing, irregularities and even the hardware all look to be the same.

My $ is starting to lean a lot heavier to the Craftsman 519X vises being mfg. by the Rock Island Mfg. Co...maybe?

 

[chrisnazzy]

Smitty: I'm currently restoring a C-Man #5160 that had some interesting repairs (will post about when it's finished). Can you show a picture of the jaw faces on your vise? Mine has Phillips head screws. Never seen them used on jaw faces. Thanks.
EDIT: Never seen them used on older vise jaw faces.

Mark

I've acquired three Rock Island 571's which are the same 3" jaw 28lb vise as your Craftsman 5160. All three had Phillips head screws for the jaws and two were manufactured in 1944 and the other in 1951.

My Rock Island 853 (4 1/2" swivel jaw) dated 1958 also had Phillips jaw screws.

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[txlonghorn1989]

Mark

I've acquired three Rock Island 571's which are the same 3" jaw 28lb vise as your Craftsman 5160. All three had Phillips head screws for the jaws and two were manufactured in 1944 and the other in 1951.

My Rock Island 853 (4 1/2" swivel jaw) dated 1958 also had Phillips jaw screws.

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Just checked my Craftsman 5160 with 3" jaws. It's dated "4 46" and also has phillips head screws for the jaws.

 

[Tools85]

I have a real nice 5 inch columbian I got for $10. I need to figure out how to post pictures later.

 

[Macneil]

You have a Record No. 3.
4 inch wide jaws right?
Those like yours that were made in England are quite well made.

Yes sir, 4” jaws. Seems to work quite well. $10!


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