The VISES of Garage Journal

[bastel]

How much should I offer
Not really interested, though.

 

[akasrick]

How much should I offer
Not really interested, though.[/COLOR]

The name itself is worth a lowball.

akasrick

 

[va.grouseman]

As little as possible, as much as is needed short of a second mortgage.

 

[M635_Guy]

How much should I offer
Not really interested, though.

I don't know, but that's fantastic patina...

 

[Shiftless]

If I could get it for $1000 I’d have already paypalled the guy half and be in my car already. The Shelter In Place order exempts “essential” trips.

Seriously... just about any number paid would still earn some suckage here. Some regulars on this thread would gladly pay something well above that number. But don’t ignore the advice from va.

Who among us would NOT consider picking up a bargain Bugatti vise “essential”?

bastel:
Please don’t say you wouldn’t be interested. Heresy!
How much is shipping to the U.S. ?

Some reading this might not know that you can buy a replica. Cost is 5000 Euros. (That’s about $5000) You pay half in advance and wait 12 weeks for delivery.


.

 

[Vise]

Nice find on that jewelers vise Smitty. Your collection of those vises is enviable.

I feel compelled to counter balance your post with an update on my 286lb Rock Island 67. After getting the jaws milled out and fitting new KMScott jaws on, ive finally got this thing primed and ready for final painting.








Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[bastel]

Ha, he answered on a 1000$ offer. Says the last sold originals were 7000$, cites Bonhams & Sothebies (when I google that I don't see these fantastic 7000$). Well we can guess: He wants more. Does he want 7k+? I don't know. No Idea why he is not selling it via Sothebies then and on some mom and pop classified page. Maybe googled and is dreaming big monies. I can increase the offer, shipping would probably be UPS or fedex and the vise doesn't look too heavy. But I guess a 200/300 bucks shipping at least. I don't know if there are hardcode german collectors. European collectors would have it easy, too... Don't think he has any other offers yet, would sound different. (I remember very expensive stuff is getting funny with customs, dunno if UPS/Fedex handle that for you but I sense paper work.)

 

[Shiftless]

Thanks for the follow up.

Something just doesn’t add up there. Like you said, why isn’t he using a prestige auction house rather than a free classified? Is it even on European EBay?

Plus his display photos are no better than millions of other pieces of junk posted on free classified sites around the world.

Imagine seeing a 300SL gullwing listed for sale photographed all dirty sitting on flat tires in a muddy field.

 

[Shiftless]

Vise:
We need revised pictures with the obligatory bottle or can of beer for scale. That RI is a monster! And you’re well on the way to a beautiful restoration.

 

[bastel]

Thanks for the follow up.

Something just doesn’t add up there. Like you said, why isn’t he using a prestige auction house rather than a free classified? Is it even on European EBay?

Plus his display photos are no better than millions of other pieces of junk posted on free classified sites around the world.

Imagine seeing a 300SL gullwing listed for sale photographed all dirty sitting on flat tires in a muddy field.

Oh, almost everything is being sold on ebay-kleinanzeigen.de. But if I quote some prestige auction house, why not sell it there. Germany's vise collector circle is small and that site is german only, not like ebay.de (ebay bought that classified site [trying to sell it now], so don't get fooled by the name, they have no ties with each other). So he is limiting himself to get maximum profit? But kleinanzeigen is incredible simple, and there are no fees at all. It's probably the site he is using for all his sales. I have no idea what the high rolling german vise collectors would pay. Because, unless it is a super vise, you can get all high profile vises there are (Leinen, wilton C3) for max 200 - 300 euro.
I believe he got his hands on this vise being lucky somehow and now wants maximum profit.

 

[Smitty]

Thanks Bob and KMS
Thanks Vise. When you one up somebody you don’t mess around. That RI is a beast, I can’t wait to see it finished.

 

[Vise]

Thanks very much Smitty. Not trying to one up, just an attempt at adding some ballast to our thread.

Vise:
We need revised pictures with the obligatory bottle or can of beer for scale. That RI is a monster! And you’re well on the way to a beautiful restoration.

Thank you Shift. No beer cans, but here’s a pic of the static with a full sized can of Rustoleum primer.






Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Shiftless]

On behalf of many of us who enjoy vise pics, thanks Vise

Ballast indeed!


And who among us doesn’t have a can of Rustoleum spray paint somewhere at home?

 

[steaks&anvils]

How much should I offer
Not really interested, though.

Cool vise.

I wonder what the deal with the New Jersey license plate in the back ground is?

Also, how does this vise attach to the bench? Just curious.

 

[mikeswrenches]

After seeing all the great vises on here I thought I post a few of mine.
This is part of the Prentiss family, just the little ones.
For whatever reason I’ve never had any of the fixed base ones in the small sizes just the swivels.

Note also the two different types in the 2 inch size. The one with the meatball has the same drive screw retention setup that is used on the 1 3/4 inch size, while the two with the cylindrical ends have a rather cheap light weight retainer. These two also have the tower for the swivel base pin cast as part of the tower, rather than a separate piece like on the meatball one and the 1 3/4 ones. Looks like Prentiss was trying to save a nickel on production costs.

 

[Smitty]

Mike
That’s an impressive collection of Prentiss jewelers vises you have there. The two on the far right appear to be nickel plated. Some side shots would be great if you get a chance.

 

[Dlavallee22]

Vise - that RI is coming along great! Can’t wait to see the finished product with those new jaws and paint all together

Mike - that is an awesome collection of prentiss jewelers vises right there! You and Smitty have some kind of membership to a prentiss jewelers watering hole that someone needs to fill me in on here... lol

 

[rusty65]

After seeing all the great vises on here I thought I post a few of mine.

This is part of the Prentiss family, just the little ones.

For whatever reason I’ve never had any of the fixed base ones in the small sizes just the swivels.



Note also the two different types in the 2 inch size. The one with the meatball has the same drive screw retention setup that is used on the 1 3/4 inch size, while the two with the cylindrical ends have a rather cheap light weight retainer. These two also have the tower for the swivel base pin cast as part of the tower, rather than a separate piece like on the meatball one and the 1 3/4 ones. Looks like Prentiss was trying to save a nickel on production costs.

Prentiss actually made a transition model of the swivel base fixed jaw with the cylinder meatball. It was made with the regular castings and old style retainer rather then the ring clamp prentiss switched to. I believe that model with the ring clamp was made for the military to work on equipment in the field. Wilton baby bullets were sent in field boxes to help set up communication lines during ww2.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mikeswrenches]

Mike
That’s an impressive collection of Prentiss jewelers vises you have there. The two on the far right appear to be nickel plated. Some side shots would be great if you get a chance.

Smitty, Thanks for the kind words. They are indeed nickel plated. I was inspired by what you did with yours. I used Blue Magic on both, one by hand and the other with a small felt buff on my Dremel at 5000 rpm. The Dremel one came out better. Much brighter.

DV22, thank you!

 

[Dlavallee22]

My god... Rusty is a member of this watering hole too, very very nice Rusty!

 

[mikeswrenches]

Mike
That’s an impressive collection of Prentiss jewelers vises you have there. The two on the far right appear to be nickel plated. Some side shots would be great if you get a chance.

Here are a couple more shots.

 

[mikeswrenches]

Here are a couple shots of the painted ones. The one with the cylindrical meatball is painted a very dark maroon, but has no gold pinstripes. The other one is bare metal.

 

[KMScott]

Wow, just to much eye candy in one day. Guys you three have a fine collection, just need zoomie to chime in with his. I am to embarrassed to show my single stationary swivel jaw I purchased to measure and make swivel pins for. Smitty, Mike and Rusty keep the pic;s coming.

 

[rusty65]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Serrat Yasargil]

How much are they asking for the Bugatti?

 

[mikeswrenches]

While I like, and collect, most all the small vises under 3 inches, the Stephens lever vises are my favorites. The jewelers vises came in two sizes, 2 inch and 2 3/4. While an anvil was an option on the 2 inch version, it appears to be standard on the 2 3/4 inch version as it is cast into the rear housing.

There were many options for these vises, primarily the 2 inch ones. Nickel plating was available for both, although as a very expensive option. Also available was an anvil, a spring return for the front jaw, different jaw attachments, 2 types of swivel bases, table clamps etc. It’s what makes these vises so interesting.

Two of the pictured vises are plated, the others are bare metal. The one with the round anvil was missing its original square one when I got it, so I made a round one for it.

 

[mikeswrenches]

Here are a couple more Stephens lever vises, this time the 2 3/4 inch version. The one on the stand is a very uncommon nickel plated version. The jaws on it are actually 2 11/16 inch rather than the standard 2 3/4 in. It came with the patented cast brass jaw covers, a set of wooden jaws, and a swivel jaw. It has a swivel bench mount that goes through the bench in a single hole and is then secured with a big forged wing nut.

The second one is a bare iron version with a fixed base. Both have a cast in anvil on the rear corner.

 

[mikeswrenches]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Rusty, nice collection. What size is the Prentiss(?) by the press. It looks larger than a regular 2 inch jewelers vise.

 

[Smitty]

Mike
Thanks for posting the additional pics of the 36’s. You don’t see those very often and yours seem to be in great shape. You did a great job on the restorations and I look forward to seeing more pics of your collection in the future.

Rusty
That’s the best photo of your Prentiss jewelers vise collection that I’ve seen. It really gives a good representation of the size difference between the various models. The 37 is the missing link to my collection, it seems to bridge the gap between the jewelers swivel jaw vises and the Machinist swivel jaw vises. I like to see a pic of a 37 next to an 18.

 

[rusty65]

Rusty, nice collection. What size is the Prentiss(?) by the press. It looks larger than a regular 2 inch jewelers vise.

That’s a no 37 2in swivel jaw swivel base.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rusty65]

Mike
Thanks for posting the additional pics of the 36’s. You don’t see those very often and yours seem to be in great shape. You did a great job on the restorations and I look forward to seeing more pics of your collection in the future.

Rusty
That’s the best photo of your Prentiss jewelers vise collection that I’ve seen. It really gives a good representation of the size difference between the various models. The 37 is the missing link to my collection, it seems to bridge the gap between the jewelers swivel jaw vises and the Machinist swivel jaw vises. I like to see a pic of a 37 next to an 18.

That would be a interesting comparison.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mark Garrett]

A quick Comparison
Record No1 & Parama No1 - both made in England

For me the Record is the favourite every time!

Record & Paramo No1s by K Garrett, on Flickr
Record & Paramo No1s by K Garrett, on Flickr
Record & Paramo No1s by K Garrett, on Flickr
Record & Paramo No1s by K Garrett, on Flickr

 

[Miller72]

My new favorite...

Woden
186B/2
27lbs
3½" Jaws

 

[Mark Garrett]

[/QUOTE]

You have done a great job - beautiful example!

 

[Dlavallee22]

Here’s a new one for the spreadsheet. I’m very impressed with it seeing as it was cast in Japan. It’s a Craftsman 4 1/2” jaw No. 391.5197 that opens 5” and weighs in at 59.5 lbs

Vise is in awesome shape and jaws are basically perfect as the vise came with brass jaw covers. No slop or movement anywhere and machined with very tight tolerances

 

[Smitty]

Vintage vises in their natural habitat.


Sent from my iPad using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Eric827]

I don't think I've seen a comment in this thread regarding this YouTube vise project. This is not mine; just something I stumbled upon. A very big Emmert 10A restoration with quite a few newly machined parts.

I've seen a few of the smaller Emmert vises on this forum with a J-shaped channel to allow repositioning of the vise orientation. This one in the video doesn't have the channel. Instead, there is a spring loaded indexing pin to allow just a few preset positions. The big GJ vise spreadsheet has a 10A listed, but the photo is of a catalog page with the channel style adjustment.

Thought a few of you might be interested. I think there are 3 long YouTube videos in this guy's series. The first one is linked below.

 

[Smitty]

Here’s something you don’t see every day. This is a Leavens Jersey vise no. 40, it has 1 1/2” jaws, opens 1 3/4” and weighs in at 3 lbs. this is one of the original Jersey vises that were made before Stanley bought the company in 1911. This will only be the second one in the spreadsheet for the numbers 40-53.


Sent from my iPad using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Shiftless]

Lovin’ that brown patina.
Do you think that is old paint or just ancient hardened oil and rust or ???

I have been experimenting with paint.
Here is a cast iron grate I picked up at a pre virus estate sale, really rusty, for $5

I soaked it in Evaporust overnight, pressure washed it, dried it with a heat gun, and brushed on English brown semi opaque acrylic paint while still warm. Single coat over the remaining blackened Evaporust residue.

(As found photo with the tape measure on the right)

 

[Smitty]

I believe it to be original paint. I have Stanley vises with the same color. I like that grate and your restoration is spot on.