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The VISES of Garage Journal

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Private Lugnutz

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Mar 30, 2012
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The Authentic Jersey Shore
Prentiss most likely based on the design of the swivel jaw and the swivel lock.
I hope that carriage makers vise came home with you. Along with WWN, I too think it’s a Prentiss.
Thanks, guys. That's interesting, because the vise behind it is a Prentiss Bulldog 514/524. I did NOT buy it. I was leery of it not being marked. The extra long slide and the tall patternmaker's jaw tower were calling me, it was in overall great condition, and my intuition was telling me it was a high quality vise, but I didn't want to get burned buying something that wasn't worth his asking price ($125). Also, I wasn't worried about the missing swivel jaw pin, but I don't know what's going on with the swivel base lockdown. I was looking at it and couldn't figure out how it actually worked. Something is missing, but I'm not sure what.
 

steaks&anvils

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Oct 15, 2016
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Location
Colorado
I recently acquired a free Wilton USA 3 3/4" vise. It closes fine, but it does not open by turning the spindle handle. I have to grab the jaw and pull it back by hand to get it to open. What piece am I missing to get it to work properly? Is it something I can find in a hardware store, or do I have to find the missing piece online? Thanks!

Your slide is also broken out of the dynamic jaw. Its not supposed to be removable.

jmac219, I paid $8 for my vise like this, it has a fancy C-clip. I have a lot of play in mine and I need to add a few washers to it to take up the slack when opening it.

It's a good homeowners size vise, nothing fancy and good for small stuff.

Outlawmws, My vise like this has a roll pin on the bottom of the dynamic jaw to hold the slide in. You can see the hole in jmac219's photo.

Is meant to be taken apart? probably not, can it be taken apart, yes. At least this way, we can put a bigger roll pin or tap a set screw in to tighten it up. Maybe add some shims if needed too. I had a columbian of this size/type that didn't have that hole. It was cracked there and couldn't be easily tightened up.
 
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cshabang

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Apr 9, 2006
Messages
46
Im glad Im not the only one whos got more than my fair share of vises of all types. Ill have to put some photos together. My current love is my Chas Parker 288 1/2 that was in the same family since new...3 generations had it until the son of the last owner called it a "chunk of iron" he had no use for...
 

Z3K3Y

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Jan 10, 2016
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188
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Canada
Getting ready to paint this Chas Parker 135 tomorrow or Saturday. 1 jaw is welded on. the other is homemade. no cracks , but it has some chips here and there. I tried smoothing out the anvil part by hand. its good enough for now. Im going with a hand applied Krylon True Blue , the stand will match once I get around to it. For what its worth, the spindle nut has a '3' cast into on one side. The moveable jaw had '6 or 9' cast into it. I cant see if its stamped the same under the welded on jaw though. Anyways, it cleaned up pretty good. I still have a few tiny spots to get at and a good clean with mineral spirits.
A question about the handle. were the ball ends press fit on or screw on?
There is also what seems to be a flat head screw on the tip of the meatball, I did not try unscrewing it. what is that for?
 

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Outlawmws

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The Badlands
That screw should be a set screw with a spring and whatever might be left of a pad that would ride on the main handle. - Its a patented tension device, and I recommend making it operational. I used brass for the missing tip on my Parker and love the feature.
 

Z3K3Y

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Jan 10, 2016
Messages
188
Location
Canada
That screw should be a set screw with a spring and whatever might be left of a pad that would ride on the main handle. - Its a patented tension device, and I recommend making it operational. I used brass for the missing tip on my Parker and love the feature.

Oh OK. I never knew that about Parkers! I'll inspect it tomorrow and see if its free. Thanks for that info Outlaw!
 

davethorik

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Sep 14, 2013
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Norka, Ohio
Zeug, that is one nice Wilton SJ.---About the nicest one I've seen, and they do fetch a price.---I would go $800.00 if it was a 600.---but a 450,:question::headshake

Don't worry, someone will buy it, slap some paint on it and then the price jumps to $1k-1200. That is why I don't collect Wiltons. Let someone with more $ than common sense buy it.
 

davethorik

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Thanks, guys. That's interesting, because the vise behind it is a Prentiss Bulldog 514/524. I did NOT buy it. I was leery of it not being marked. The extra long slide and the tall patternmaker's jaw tower were calling me, it was in overall great condition, and my intuition was telling me it was a high quality vise, but I didn't want to get burned buying something that wasn't worth his asking price ($125). Also, I wasn't worried about the missing swivel jaw pin, but I don't know what's going on with the swivel base lockdown. I was looking at it and couldn't figure out how it actually worked. Something is missing, but I'm not sure what.

Good intuition, it looks to me like that vise was brazed or welded on the dynamic jaw.

The only piece that looks to be missing from the swivel lock is the knob. Older Prentiss vises like that use a spring loaded pin to lock the swivel. There are a series of holes drilled in the swivel base. You pull the pin up by the knob, swivel vise to where you need, release the pin, and it engages the hole. Thus locking you in that spot.
 
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mike_paxton

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Dec 15, 2013
Messages
905
Went out to the Route 40 Yard Sale and picked up a vise with 3-1/4 inch jaws made by the Clipper Tool Company of Buffalo New York.

Mike
 

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va.grouseman

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Southern-Central VA.
Nope, I have a Franklin, looks just like that one.---Prentiss made one similar to that too,Gypsy I think---Must have been the flavor of the week at the time, seems like everybody wanted their copy of that style out in the market.
 

akasrick

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Apr 10, 2017
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795
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south jersey
They all look like a Phoenix (Colton), with a beefed up slide, extra metal on top, too me.
Probably all took a good pounding and kept on holding.

akasrick
 
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r_olson_06

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Feb 12, 2012
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4,127
Location
SD
There is this Columbia 604 vise at an auction tomorrow. Pretty rusty but free of cracks and is not seized. What's it worth?IMG_20200821_173253388.jpg

Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench
 

mikeswrenches

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Apr 20, 2015
Messages
170
Zeug, that is one nice Wilton SJ.---About the nicest one I've seen, and they do fetch a price.---I would go $800.00 if it was a 600.---but a 450,:question::headshake

I was under the impression that the Wilton SJ were only available as a 450.
Am I wrong on that? The one I had was a 450...wish I would have been able to get $800 for it.
 

va.grouseman

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Southern-Central VA.
Look on the (Vise Info Thread), Page 69, Post 1363 and 1364.---There is a SJ350 and a SJ600.---You do see more 450s than any other.---Mine is a 450 also.---You can also see all the different models and #s and stats of the SJs listed on Doc Scott's Spreadsheet. Check the link below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...YI7UKRpUd3aheAE86KBQRBGb9s/edit#gid=666157805


I might add, there are 2 types of Wilton 600SJ, vises with 6'' jaws.---The style mentioned above and the style that is a dead ringer for a #79 American Scale Swivel Jaw.---Page 884, Post 17673 of the (Vises of Garage Journal), thread.
 

bmihlfeith

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Jun 26, 2018
Messages
10
Location
Mesa,AZ
This is a Craftsman 5161 Vise made by Rock Island and I wanted to know if this is normal or if this is a mistake in the casting or machining.




The area I marked is about .05” below the surround area and tapers up to flush towards the center.

It doesn’t seem right to me but before I start machining it flat I thought I’d make sure.

Thanks

XfpxIf6
 
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Outlawmws

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The Badlands
Its not uncommon for any MFG. if you have seen some of Dr Scotts posts for his "more than refurbs", he will often take a cut to clean this up for both the swivel interface adn the base (so the mounting ears don't get broken)
 

davethorik

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Sep 14, 2013
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Norka, Ohio
There is this Columbia 604 vise at an auction tomorrow. Pretty rusty but free of cracks and is not seized. What's it worth?IMG_20200821_173253388.jpg

Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench

Value on the high end would be maybe 200, that is cleaned up, painted, etc. As it sits 75-100, obviously if you can get it for less then even better. But vises do seem to vary by region. If you never see them for sale it might get bid way up.
 

dougalfaith

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Aug 22, 2020
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Plano, TX
My latest restoration...
 

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Shiftless

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East Bay SFO
Value on the high end would be maybe 200, that is cleaned up, painted, etc. As it sits 75-100, obviously if you can get it for less then even better. But vises do seem to vary by region. If you never see them for sale it might get bid way up.

Dave’s right. Here I would look it over very carefully and pay no more than $100 if the jaws were near new.
But prices vary with location as well as condition.
I already have a Columbian 604 so I wouldn’t be a good buyer candidate.

Doug:
Welcome! You did a great job on that Craftsman. :beer:
 

KMScott

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Feb 14, 2012
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Daufuskie Island, South Carolina
This is a Craftsman 5161 Vise made by Rock Island and I wanted to know if this is normal or if this is a mistake in the casting or machining.

The area I marked is about .05” below the surround area and tapers up to flush towards the center.

It doesn’t seem right to me but before I start machining it flat I thought I’d make sure.

Thanks

bm, like Outlaw mentioned I like to flatten all my vise restores especially the stationary bases. Reeds do it right, all their vises are machined. Remember when you take .05 off the base you should adjust the shoulderbolt. I like to have no more then .015 gap with the shoulderbolt tight.
Clamping the Static upside down on your mill becomes a problem to. I have found that most vise makers like to have the base on the same plane as the square slider, I use large 12" parallels to rest the Static on and note my tall aluminum jaws I built for my Kurt vise. Each vise ends up being a different setup. Your vise looks like it was machined but not enough taken off, probably in spec though. I know you did not ask for it and you might have already figured out your setup but here are a few setups that I have done on difficult vises that others might get some ideas.
The lockdown hole looks a little big, maybe you could sleeve it while it is setup to clean up the base. Be sure to share your work with us. Good luck and have fun making your vise right.
 

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davethorik

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Sep 14, 2013
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Norka, Ohio
Two new additions today
Fulton Peerless no. 26 (4" jaws)
Reed 205R (dated 11-52)
Only a 10 min drive and got a decent price too. Wish i found more like this lol
 

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wrenchguy

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davethorik

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Norka, Ohio
Dave, it looks like you had a great day.

Thanks Smitty.
I really only wanted the Reed, the Fulton is interesting but it had a cracked slide. Someone gave it the ni-rod treatment and it seems to be a sound repair.

The pic is a bit deceiving bc this 4" vise is basically a 3" or 3.5" vise with larger jaws and a huge meatball . It opens 5" and weighs 28 lbs, which is fairly light. My next "lightest" 4" vise is a Prentiss 52 that weighs 38 lbs.

The Reed has led a hard life but she will clean up nice.
 
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