REED R Series. Post your Reed date stamps.

[KMScott]

Reed 103 R. Date code of 1 59. Put some new jaws on it got it back to working order.

 

[KMScott]

Reed 103-1/2 R. Date code of 9 51. Fixed this one up too.

 

[chrisnazzy]

Re: The Office Reed Vise Date Thread. Post your Reed date stamps.

AB will have to chime in to be sure, but even though the title of his thread is Reed "R" series date stamps, I believe it's evolved into more of a general Reed date code thread.

Between all the Reed's that AB's had and all the other contributers dates provided in this thread, I believe he's been able to come up with a pretty comprehensive timeline of when many different Reed changes occurred.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[AngryBeaver]

Re: The Office Reed Vise Date Thread. Post your Reed date stamps.

AB will have to chime in to be sure, but even though the title of his thread is Reed "R" series date stamps, I believe it's evolved into more of a general Reed date code thread.

Between all the Reed's that AB's had and all the other contributers dates provided in this thread, I believe he's been able to come up with a pretty comprehensive timeline of when many different Reed changes occurred.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

I'm no expert.

the older non R series will have two types of stamps. first one is always heavier stamped and usually prior to the patent dates. these I personally believe are assembly or mold stamps. Parker used to mark their static, dynamic and jaws with numbers so they all met back together at final assembly. I believe reed did the same. The second stamp on the non R us usually the date. they are almost always very lightly stamped, and almost always on the non logo side. They are stamped so lightly, they are often missed, or filled in if a wire wheel is used on them.

Wrench guys 207 is a prime example of that. the 1 5 0 is stamped very deeply and easy to recognize. the upside down 221 I believe is the date of feb 1921...

I've had over a dozen Pre R model reeds and most of them were before I started really paying attention to them and before using electrolysis and couldn't definitely distinguish dates on half of them after wire wheeling them. That is why I didn't really add them to this post when I started it. Since then, I've been stuck on the R series. It's one of, if not my favorite, brand and series of vise. they are truly indestructible, they are robust and have so many features that other brands don't have or offer. adjustable nut? score. split nut to tighten up backlash? score. replacable jaws on the C series? score. I just wish the 104's, 204's etc of the machinist series got the replacable jaws.

The one thing I haven't messed with a lot is the A series. My skin crawls when I hear people talk about a transition reed... talking about the meatball R series. the A series was the transitional model..

I've been busy working, but have a couple nice C series to post. in fact, just need a 1C with replaceable jaws to complete the C series, and a 105R to complete the 100 series. not sure if I will start on the 200 series or not. I'm not really a collector. I am a using collector... lol. I also like to bring things back to life and let them live another 100+ years.

 

[chrisnazzy]

Re: The Office Reed Vise Date Thread. Post your Reed date stamps.

AB, I picked up a Reed a couple years back for a friend that will really throw you for a loop!

It was a Reed 406A. Had the round nose as expected but standard retaining collar. No split collar but did have the adjustable pin for the main nut. Here are a few pics.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[wrenchguy]

Super "7-52" 134 1/2 R Reed, Meatball screw.




Nice strong date stamps on stationary and slide(left side), best i seen on this thread, NO mold numbers found.




Best original pinned inserts i seen.


Nice fit.



Now for this "7-50" 134 1/2 R Reed. Hockey puck screw. .
7-50 date stamp on static body, extremely light like others in this thread. Mold 23? These on left side.


The slide tower is stamped on the right bottom "1064", I assume a replacement slide and puck screw. No other markings found.


Bad fit between slide and static.


Side by side.

 

[KMScott]

Nice Reeds Wrench, like you I am digging those shoulder jaws on the 134-1/2. Never seen any like those.

 

[wrenchguy]

Nice Reeds Wrebch, like you I am digging those shoulder jaws on the 134-1/2. Never seen any like those.

shoulder jaws???? i thought C's. Please explain when u can.

 

[Productbob]

Angry- I have a 204R meatball and it's right at home with the rest of it's 'R' brethren
Chris nice 406A, looks like a beast!
Wrench nice pair of Reeds, especially the 134 1/2!

 

[KMScott]

shoulder jaws???? i thought C's. Please explain when u can.

I guess I need glasses, it looked to me like Starrett and Simplex jaw styles, I did have to use my magnifier. Still a nice vise for a open screw vise.

 

[wrenchguy]

(7-52, 134 1/2)
Regrets i didn't put better effort towards photos of the inserts yesterday, they deserve better. Here u go.



Lets make some waffles!

 

[KMScott]

There, a better view. When you can't stand, or hold on to stuff and can't see then it is time to retire. This is the first C style jaws I seen with straight serrations like Starrett and Desmond Stephan (Simplex) I am sure there is more straight serrations out there that has not shown up yet. Interesting how all Reeds seem to have a date stamp somewhere. Thanks Wrench for clearing up the pic.

 

[wrenchguy]

Interesting how all Reeds seem to have a date stamp somewhere.

What do u think of my theory about vises having dates, IMO, when stamp dated, it was for warranty reasons. I believe these extremely light stamped reeds were stamped when sent out the door. Extremely light stamped on purpose so that a customer wouldn't see it and inquire a replacment when there was a failure.
I got a differnt thought on Athol and how they warrantied without stamping. But thats 4 another thread.

 

[wrenchguy]

204R Strong stamp, looks 2b dated 6 67 on the right side of static and slide.

Static.

Slide.

I haven't noticed stand off swivel base pads b4.

 

[AngryBeaver]

204R Strong stamp, looks 2b dated 6 67 on the right side of static and slide.

I haven't noticed stand off swivel base pads b4.

I haven't noticed an R series without them....

 

[wrenchguy]

I haven't noticed an R series without them....

Thanks, its a great day when a geezer gets information i wasn't aware of. Its the only swivel "R" i have, the open screw "R"'s i have aren't like that... of course they not swivelers.

 

[davethorik]

My 205R has a flat bottom...

View media item 91476

 

[Outlawmws]

403-1/2 R with the stand offs

 

[Dlavallee22]

Reed 4C date stamped 10/66 with replaceable jaws. Had to wire wheel gray, black, blue, green, yellow, and red paint (6 layers) off to find the date stamp which is on the right side. Can’t make out the date stamp on the static and date stamp on the dynamic was hit by grinder but still pretty ledgable

 

[dct55]

I got this 204R a few weeks ago. It's date stamped 12/42, the same month my stepdad landed on Guadalcanal with the 25th Infantry Division. The vise was US Navy property. From its condition, it saw less action than my stepdad in the Solomons and Phillipines.

 

[AngryBeaver]

I got this 204R a few weeks ago. It's date stamped 12/42, the same month my stepdad landed on Guadalcanal with the 25th Infantry Division. The vise was US Navy property. From its condition, it saw less action than my stepdad in the Solomons and Phillipines.

awesome piece of history right there!!!

 

[EricVW]

Hi Everyone,
Brand new to the forum, name's Eric. I was recently introduced to the exciting world of bench vises and thought I'd take the opportunity to chime in on the subject and also ask a few questions.

I just restored my great grandfather's vise that had been a rusty mess sitting in a corner of my garage for a number of years. It's a Reed model 31, swivel base. Interesting in that it has this long bolt that screws into the bottom of the static piece, goes through the toothed base, then the work bench itself, and has like a giant, horned wing nut that clamps everything in place. To swivel the vise, you loosen the wing nut underneath the bench, lift, rotate, and lock it back down. Anyhow, when I stripped everything down, prior to painting, I noticed a very faint stamp on the left side, below the static jaw that says "912". I assumed that this actually read "1912" at one time, with the "1" now being too faint to see. But now having read this thread, it looks like it's actually Sept. of 1912? If this is true, that's pretty neat. That makes it a 108 year old vise. By the way, right above this 912 (and also in the same place on the dynamic jaw) stamped much deeper and in a larger font is "388". What does this mean? Also, how rare, or maybe scarce is a better word, are these model 31's? From what research I've done, it appears that it would have originally included a set of removable pipe jaws that fit in just below the normal ones and are secured with square headed bolts. The 2 bolts below the static jaw (on either side) are still there, but the one for the dynamic is missing. And obviously the pipe jaws themselves are long gone. Anyhow, any additional info on this vise would be appreciated. It sure doesn't seem very common.

And now on to subject #2. At a friends house a couple of weeks ago, I noticed another rusty, neglected old vise sitting on the side of his house. Upon inspection, wouldn't you know it, another Reed! This time a model 204. He let me have it and I decided to start cleaning it up and restoring it as well. Took the grinder to it today and once I got all the rust off, I began looking for the date code. In the same place as my model 31, also extremely faint, there appears to be a "710". Could it be that this one is even OLDER than my great grandfather's model 31? I think its plausible and here's what makes me think so. On practically every Reed vise I see online, the model number is preceded by a "No." Both of mine don't have this. The model 204 says just that, 204. Perhaps prior to a certain year Reed didn't put the "No." before the model number? Can anyone confirm? Also, other models of the 2XX series that I see online have I think 3 patent dates. This only has one. It reads "PATENTED NOV. 8 1908".

Any information from any Reed experts out there would be greatly appreciated. And if there's any interest, I'll certainly snap some pics of both vises and post them when I have a little more time tomorrow.

Thanks everyone,
Eric

 

[EricVW]

Oh and one more quick question: What does the "R" in the R series indicate? What's the difference between a 204 and a 204R, for example? I can't seem to figure it out researching online.

Thanks again!
Eric

 

[AngryBeaver]

Oh and one more quick question: What does the "R" in the R series indicate? What's the difference between a 204 and a 204R, for example? I can't seem to figure it out researching online.

Thanks again!
Eric

No one knows for sure. I personally believe it stands for Revised. the spindle (main screw) is held in on the R's by an adjustable collar so slop can be taken out over time. They also had a forged steel Main nut instead of cast, they also had an adjustable main nut retaining pin. these were all improvements over the older non R series. The R series will also have a toothed engagement on swivel models, where as the non R models just use a tapered wedge fit. the swivel bases will have 4 feet on R models, and only 3 on non R models.

your 204 will have a shaft collar on the inside of the dynamic jaw that holds the main screw (spindle) in. there is no adjustment, other than by adding machine washers or bronze washers. the main nut on the vise is held in place by a fairly small pin.

as far as your 31, its the predecessor to the 1C ( which is basically a 31R, if they made one). Later model 31's had conventional bases that bolted to a bench, yours being the earliest through bolt design. post some pics, as it is very possible it is a 1912 model. the older models always had two stamps. one was a date, and one was for final assembly. obviously if it has patent dates of say 15' for example and then a 7/10 stamp, it can't be older than the patent date.

so your 204 could be a 7/10.... that could also be one of the assembler marks... the older reeds pre R series were ever so lightly stamped and usually no visible after a grinder is taken to them. so yes, please post pics.

And welcome to the site. check out the big vise thread and the vise info threads also

 

[AngryBeaver]

Reed 204R dated 3/53
Reed 214R 7/56, filers vise
reed 224-1/2R 9/54 pattern makers or coach makers. Opens up 11"
9/63 Reed 2C with kevins jaws...

not many people to get see the 214 and 224's so I figured I post them here for size comparison.

 

[EricVW]

Angry Beaver,
Thanks for the reply! Man that was quick! Thanks for the info on the R series. In fact, the one thing you mentioned that I did notice being a difference was that the R's had 4 feet on the base instead of the usual 3.

In the opening post, you emphasised that this little exercise was mainly for later model Reeds and R series in particular, but you weren't sure (or saw no definitive evidence) that the light stamp had anything to do with production date on the older vises. Well, I think I may have just proved that it does and they've been using that system since at least the 1910's.

So on any model 3

 

[EricVW]

Whoops, must have pressed enter a little prematurely there...finish the post momentarily...

Sorry!

 

[EricVW]

Where was I? Oh yeah, any model 31's I've seen photos of have 2 patent dates. They're Dec 24th of 1912 and Aug 11th of 1914. Mine has neither. Apparently, when mine was made the patents hadn't been issued yet. It just reads "PAT. PENDING". So with the faint stamp of "912" on the left side, this would make perfect sense. The theory being that my vise was cranked out of Erie, PA in September of 1912. The patent office hadn't yet issued the patent so Reed legally has to mark it "Patent Pending", then boom...3 months later the patent is issued on Christmas Eve and from that point on, that's what they put on the vises. What do you think? Seems to fit...

Another interesting side observation is that after the patents are issued, all model 31's have the big, bold REED MFG. CO., ERIE. PA. U.S.A. This is the large font that seems to be on most Reed vises, whether earlier or later production. They're maybe 3/8" or 7/16" letters. But on mine, it's much smaller. The letters are about 1/4" tops. Anyhow, I found that interesting.

I'll post some pics tomorrow for sure. On the 31, the problem with the production date stamp isn't that I ground it off or anything, but that I put so many coats of paint that it may be difficult to photograph. We'll see. The "710" stamp on the model 204 shouldn't be a problem as the vise is bare metal right now.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Dlavallee22]

Here is a Reed 104R I picked up recently and just cleaned up with a wire wheel. It’s got the meatball spindle but has the split nut collar and the split pin for holding the main nut in place. It has the 1/8” small date stamp on the left side of the vise which is 3/44

 

[motorhead1977]

Here is a 103-N that I just restored. The date stamp is 872.

Not sure what it means. I'm doing a 403 1\2 R next. I'll check there code also and post when I get it going.

 

[AngryBeaver]

Here is a 103-N that I just restored. The date stamp is 872.

Not sure what it means. I'm doing a 403 1\2 R next. I'll check there code also and post when I get it going.

8/1972...

august 1972....


Which is significant because 75 was the easlierst date I had seen on an N series...tells us when the N series started...

 

[Vises1958]

Hi All
Have been a member of the site for a couple of years now, big interest is in vintage vises (vices in the UK) I have a Reed 106Y and a Yost, can't remember the vise No.
I have a question on the 106Y, does anyone know anything about the Y models? and also my vise has a 4 hole base pattern, the vise is currently in storage but I will take some snaps of it and post on the site soon.
I am intrigued by the Y designation as I cannot find any reference to another Y model on the web, I did contact Reed vise company by email to ask but they stated they had nobody there who knew about them.
I cannot recall whether the vise has the U style jaws or not, will take the pics and load up soon.

Regards
Steve

 

[seastone74]

Restoring this old Reed 104 vise with the 1912 & 1914 patent dates. There’s a date stamp of 328 on both the static and dynamic jaw. Additionally, there’s a slightly larger “26” stamped into each jaw. To the left of the date stamp there’s a small diamond with a number 6 inside of it. Not sure what these other numbers refer to. In any event it’s a nice vise!

 

[AngryBeaver]

I would venture to say that is march of 1928. looks like its in nice shape. i've never seen that diamond stamp before.... possibly a identification mark from the plant it was in? who knows

 

[AngryBeaver]

Hi All
Have been a member of the site for a couple of years now, big interest is in vintage vises (vices in the UK) I have a Reed 106Y and a Yost, can't remember the vise No.
I have a question on the 106Y, does anyone know anything about the Y models? and also my vise has a 4 hole base pattern, the vise is currently in storage but I will take some snaps of it and post on the site soon.
I am intrigued by the Y designation as I cannot find any reference to another Y model on the web, I did contact Reed vise company by email to ask but they stated they had nobody there who knew about them.
I cannot recall whether the vise has the U style jaws or not, will take the pics and load up soon.

Regards
Steve

I am intrigued by this. post pics when you get a chance. I've have a long standing hunch that Hollands, Yost, and early reads were all cast in the same place, either Erie castings (the EC stamp on most reeds) or by hollands. I can't find definite info on this, though. The early yost, hollands and reed 4 bolt stationary models are all identical as far as castings go. the spindles, and hardware were brand specific from the handful of each I've seen. And lastly, they were all located within 25 miles of each other. Therefore my initial hunch is that the 106Y might stand for the yost casting..... look at yost combo vises from the mid century to the 80-90's.....before yost changed the casting slightly and added an anvil. They are a spot on copies of the reed 31-34C's.. I'm talking about the castings. Yost jaws were bolt on, and the pinned pipe jaws are single pins vs the pre 1940's reeds that were threaded and a square headed jam nut held the pipe jaws in place. Again just speculation at this point.

 

[fullthrottle24]

I’m adding this here to help date the transition to the R models. My as found probably original paint Reed 404 A. It has 4 hole base, meatball spindle with no splint ring. Date on left side of dynamic is just 44. Date on stationary looks like 6 43? I know they did not make the 404 during the war per catalog Carla posted from 1943. All catalogs after the war do not list 404 being an option. Date stamps in attached images.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246410&page=2

 

[AngryBeaver]

I’m adding this here to help date the transition to the R models. My as found probably original paint Reed 404 A. It has 4 hole base, meatball spindle with no splint ring. Date on left side of dynamic is just 44. Date on stationary looks like 6 43? I know they did not make the 404 during the war per catalog Carla posted from 1943. All catalogs after the war do not list 404 being an option. Date stamps in attached images.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246410&page=2

Any Links to any of those catalogs?

Does your 404A have the large pin with a threaded bolt in it to adjust slop in the main nut? I had a 2C that had a 1/44 stamp and it was the split ring with adjustable pin.

 

[fullthrottle24]

Any Links to any of those catalogs?

Does your 404A have the large pin with a threaded bolt in it to adjust slop in the main nut? I had a 2C that had a 1/44 stamp and it was the split ring with adjustable pin.

Yes, it has large pin with adjustment screw.

Here is where the Reed scans came from.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=354117&highlight=Reed+scans

Even the brass soft jaws on mine are original Reed factory ones, stamps on top outermost edge. I’m suspecting mine was made before the War Production Board ended the 404 for good. I sure wish we could figure out if the “A” series was a test bed for newer “R” version, but it might also have something to do with war effort, maybe different foundry or different materials being used.

 

[fullthrottle24]

Sorry it was sonoronos who posted those scans, need to give credit where credit is due.

 

[Jamie in wv]

Just dragged a Reed 106R this morning from FB marketplace, 8 miles from the house, can't see any date stamps as of yet but will keep looking when paint comes off, got it and bench on casters, a 130lbs vise on a 20lbs bench.