The VISES of Garage Journal

[Outlawmws]

Sweet!

 

[mikeswrenches]

Here is a nice Millers Falls 1 1/2 in bench vise in decent shape except for the rather deep pitting on the handle and end of cylinder it goes through.

 

[KMScott]

Here is an uncatalogued 1 1/2 inch vise by the Illinois Iron & Bolt Co. The only catalog I have found shows a 2 inch as the smallest.

Boy doesn't that look like a Miller's Falls. Nice stuff Mike.

 

[rusty65]

Here is an uncatalogued 1 1/2 inch vise by the Illinois Iron & Bolt Co. The only catalog I have found shows a 2 inch as the smallest.

That’s because that vise is a millers falls not Illinois iron and bolt company.


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[mikeswrenches]

Kevin & Rusty, Thank you for the correction! I have edited the original post.
Actually not a bad thing that it’s M-F as I don’t have any of their bench vises either, just the table mounts.

I was not aware that M-F used that nut and washer setup on the end of the slide. For whatever reason I thought that was unique to the II & B vises. Thanks

 

[Shiftless]

Kevin & Rusty, Thank you for the correction! I have edited the original post.
Actually not a bad thing that it’s M-F as I don’t have any of their bench vises either, just the table mounts.

I was not aware that M-F used that nut and washer setup on the end of the slide. For whatever reason I thought that was unique to the II & B vises. Thanks

ACCO also uses that nut at the end of the slide set up. Maybe others too.

Here is my ACCO #21 on the day I brought it home from a local estate sale. A middle aged fellow was selling his grandfather’s tools.

.

 

[Fierljeppen]

Kevin & Rusty, Thank you for the correction! I have edited the original post.
Actually not a bad thing that it’s M-F as I don’t have any of their bench vises either, just the table mounts.

I was not aware that M-F used that nut and washer setup on the end of the slide. For whatever reason I thought that was unique to the II & B vises. Thanks

You and me both. I think it was GJ member 454ragtop that enlightened me about Millers Falls having that feature as well.

I really like your vise!

 

[mikeswrenches]

Shift, Thanks for the additional information.

Fierijeppen, Thanks and another thank you for the ad picture.

I’ve always said that "you should try to learn something new everyday". I certainly managed to do that today.

Thanks to all!!

 

[Shiftless]

While the primer is curing on the Columbian 63 Red Arrow I’m working on, it threw this one into the SG stripping tank. It’s a 3HD, a rather rare model. The jaws have the horizontal parallel grooves. The 3 screws holding the horseshoe on are slotted.

From the looks of it, somebody must have had their airless paint sprayer revved up painting their house Navajo white and decided to hit this poor little 3 inch bullet. And then he or somebody else used it for more than a little while. I bought it from a Napa Valley vineyard worker who got it in lieu of repayment of a debt. That guy put it on Craigslist and that’s where I came in.

If I took a vote, I think all of you guys would say that there is room for improvement. Too bad I have no swivel base for it.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Happy Easter Vise Friends.

 

[va.grouseman]

Previous quote by Shiftless.

If I took a vote, I think all of you guys would say that there is room for improvement. Too bad I have no swivel base for it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Drop dime/PM to Autopts.

 

[Big mikey]

Hi guys I'm new to this forum,was reading some the post about vise..I just got this vice from my dad's shop..was laying under a bench...I know it's old it was there when I was a kid..lol..but was going to refurbish and put it in my shop. I posted pictures it's missing The casing nut and pins and the dust cap that goes on the end.. I know it's a bullet vice by wilton..thanks

 

[Shiftless]

BigMikey:
You’ve got a model C1.
That’s a great user vise. Out of the almost 100 that I own, my user is a C1

Yours has the earlier design 2 pin mounting system for the pipe jaws.
And you know that it originally had a swivel base too, right?

There is a date code stamped into the bottom of the tube shaped slider on the key. If you crank it almost all of the way out, you can see the metal “key” that fits into the slot in the under side. Clean it off and you can probably see the numbers for month and year.
Be prepared to open up your wallet for maybe $50 to get a nut for that vise. AFAIK, there were major changes to that model around 1998. I don’t know for sure if the later model nut is useable on the earlier model.
Look closely at the screw on that vise. If the nut is gone, maybe it broke and was never replaced. It takes a LOT of abuse to break the nut on a C1. Look for screw damage.

Let’s wait until some more knowledgeable guys show up here to add to what I’ve said.


.

 

[Smitty]

Big Mikey
That’s an older C1, I would say late 60’s. The vise is definitely worth bringing up to speed. Ereplacementparts has the main nut and cap for it.



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[Shiftless]

Smitty just added some good info.
Plus, according to the catalog page he just posted, I see that the part number for the nut is the same for the early C1s as the late model C1s.

Since you have that vise all apart anyway, know that some guys use threaded fasteners instead of drive pins to retain the nut. That makes it much easier to disassemble in the future for thorough cleaning and re-lubrication. Of course you have to drill and tap it yourself.

 

[mikeswrenches]

I made an exception to my self imposed rule of not keeping any vises larger than 2 1/2 inches, by keeping this 3 inch Woden. I bought it a couple years ago because it was in good shape and it came with the advertising calendar.

In the background is the perpetual advertising calendar that came with it. Amazingly, all the Month and date cards were still in the holder that keeps them ready for use. Condition is excellent considering that this is some kind of plastic coating over a cardboard like base.

Only thing the vice is missing is a swivel base. Weight is 14 lbs.

 

[Outlawmws]

I have a Woden 186-b/1 3" vise. also fixed base. Nice solid little vise!

Maybe I should make that one a traveler for camping and such Hmmmm.

 

[Dan8906]

Well the broken/repaired 103R cleaned up nice and still works. I’m giving it to a friend to be a user.

 

[Dan8906]

Got my hands on a Wilton C0 today. 3-1/2 jaws.Tell me more about it you know please

 

[va.grouseman]

Dan that 0 looks to be in real good shape except for surface rust and years of storage neglect.---Should clean up real nice.---You've got a good one to work with.---You'll be proud of the finished product.

 

[KMScott]

Got my hands on a Wilton C0 today. 3-1/2 jaws.Tell me more about it you know please

Well, you have an early model and the smallest Combination vise Wilton made. The earlier models had the double pin setup and later went to the single pin for the pipe jaws, and if your jaws are 3-1/2 x 3/4 then it is the first generation model. The date stamp on the Dynamic keyway will let you know when it was made. The end cap is 1-11/16 diameter and the swivel locks use a 1/2:13 thread connected to a carriage bolt. Early models did not have the inner ring on the swivel base, or cleats. The earlier models had a two slots cut in the base and just used a carriage bolt and did not rotate 360 degrees. It's a nice vise and should clean up nicely.

 

[Old Radar]

...it came with the advertising calendar.

"Vices and Cramps"

Those wacky Brits! Oh well, it is their language.

 

[dutchgray]

"Vices and Cramps"

Those wacky Brits! Oh well, it is their language.

We still use Vice over Vise, Parkinson's used to use vise though.
The use of Cramp over Clamp has almost disappeared now, which is a shame in my opinion, the English language evolves all the time.
Drill press is rapidly becoming common here over pillar drill, all those American car restoration shows to blame I reckon.

 

[Dan8906]

Well, you have an early model and the smallest Combination vise Wilton made. The earlier models had the double pin setup and later went to the single pin for the pipe jaws, and if your jaws are 3-1/2 x 3/4 then it is the first generation model. The date stamp on the Dynamic keyway will let you know when it was made. The end cap is 1-11/16 diameter and the swivel locks use a 1/2:13 thread connected to a carriage bolt. Early models did not have the inner ring on the swivel base, or cleats. The earlier models had a two slots cut in the base and just used a carriage bolt and did not rotate 360 degrees. It's a nice vise and should clean up nicely.

There was no date on the key way, not sure why?

 

[mikeswrenches]

Smart Mfg. Co. vise by J L Ware

We had one of these vises on here before but in a much larger size.This is a much smaller one at only 1 1/2 inches. Unfortunately I haven’t found any catalog information on these vises that shows the different sizes. The only mention was an article that showed 4, 5, and 6 inch sizes.

Considering the rather revolutionary design of this vise, these little guys may have been used as salesmen's samples. Trying to explain this vise to a hardware merchant of the day would have been difficult or impossible without something to show him.

Mr. Ware had 2 patents for this vise; no. 673,238 of April 30, 1901 for the actual vise, and no. 745,746 of December 1, 1903 for a method of manufacturing it.

 

[mikeswrenches]

A nice 2 inch Prentiss No. 160. Finish is bare metal and was in this condition when I found it. Weight is 4 lbs. 9 ozs.
This is not on the spread sheet.

 

[Dan8906]

A nice 2 inch Prentiss No. 160. Finish is bare metal and was in this condition when I found it. Weight is 4 lbs. 9 ozs.

This is not on the spread sheet.

Sure hope that’s not the price tag in the last picture!

 

[mikeswrenches]

Sure hope that’s not the price tag in the last picture!

I hope so too, since I can’t remember when I got it or how much I paid.

Actually it’s my inventory number.

 

[rusty65]

Hey Mike is there any way we could get a picture of how you have some of them displayed. That last two are of my old display.




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[mikeswrenches]

I like that display, especially the miniature workbench, good idea and nice collection.

I wish I could tell you mine were displayed that well...but they aren’t. I’m somewhere between your first picture and the other two, probably closer to the last two.

I’ll get some pictures up anyway.

 

[Josh C]

Evening all. Just back from a road trip to acquire some decent Reed’s and fulfill a desire for a 8” Vise for a buddy. While getting the behemoth and it’s smaller hefty 6” brother I grabbed another seven that were available and within my grasp price wise. Two of them I have some questions about and thought I would share some pictures in payment for some insight if y’all had any. If not hopefully you enjoy the pictures anyway. I picked up a Morgan Chicago 5” and it has a embossed shape that I am unfamiliar with Morgan’s having although it is something I have seen on other manufacturers vise’s.
The other question is in regards to the second vise pictured. I am unsure of the manufacturer as it is unmarked except for the embossed 441 A on the static body and the 441 B on the dynamic jaw. The tops of the jaws have a design that I associate with Rock Island but I believe that there may be some other manufacturers that have used that as well, possibly Littlestown which this is very similar to. Any thoughts or insights? Thanks for your time and I will have to post some pictures in another post as I used up my allotment for this one I believe. Josh
Thanks for your instructions Shiftless. Not sure what was going on the other night when I was posting that, I was having trouble getting the pictures to load but our Internet has been rather odd lately with all the use on it with everybody at work so I’m not sure could’ve been my phone could’ve been the Internet anyway I realize there’s no good pictures of the expose screw although it is in that group that I posted two pictures of. When I get back to the shop I will take a couple pictures of it and post it because I am curious if anybody knows anything about it.

 

[Shiftless]

No pics Josh...
You don’t have an “allotment”.
You can post pics at the end of your post. Either use the paper clip or if your going back later to edit, use “go advanced”.

 

[Burn1]

Not having a swivel base for the 4" Wilton, worked up a vise stand.
Repurposed a drill press base. Bought a 2.5" thick wall steel pipe.
Cut out a 3/8 steel mounting plate(welding farmed out).
Base had three tightening points underside of base plate.
Did not like the pipe stability, so drilled/tapped three more towards the top offset from the bottom three.
Vise is at a excellent working height.
Pipe is level and rock solid now.

 

[royce]

Nice job Burn1,
Really like your round bar jaws.
Well done

Royce

 

[Tim H.]

I have a Reed 403 1/2. Given to me years ago by a friend. Can anyone tell me about it? What’s the screw on the side for? Oil? I noticed there’s no obvious way to replace the jaws. My plan is to restore it and secure it on my workbench.

 

[edward472]

I have a Reed 403 1/2. Given to me years ago by a friend. Can anyone tell me about it? What’s the screw on the side for? Oil? I noticed there’s no obvious way to replace the jaws. My plan is to restore it and secure it on my workbench.

Looks like someone put the screw there to make sure they didn't lose the swivel jaw pin.

 

[Shiftless]

Burn1:
Nice job on that Vise and stand.
Did you paint it and apply new decals?
May I ask where you got the decals? I’d really like a set for my early 400 I’m restoring.
Great paint color. What is it?

 

[Shiftless]

I hope so too, since I can’t remember when I got it or how much I paid.

Actually it’s my inventory number.

Wow! Already up to an even 700. .

 

[Burn1]

Thx Shiftless,
Actually, 400 is original paint and decals. Simply removed the surface rust on all exposed metal with Dremel accessories and applied a couple coats of wax. Original grease was pretty dried up taking awhile to get cleaned out while protecting original paint.
Tried getting paint scanned this weekend for a 2" Wilton repaint for bench duty, but paint stores not offering scans/walk-in traffic with Wuhan going on.
Once stores re-open, going to get a scan of the paint for oil based quart to be mixed.

 

[Burn1]

Nice job Burn1,
Really like your round bar jaws.
Well done

Royce

Thx Royce. Got a rod re-threading project coming up and brass insert jaws should help keep things level and square for a visible gas pump restoration project that has started.