The VISES of Garage Journal

[Outlawmws]

Which game? Series?

 

[Shiftless]

Which game? Series?

Smitty’s home town team is doing OK

UPDATE...

They won!

 

[b.well]

New addition to the vise family today and took some pics of four of them side by side. Maybe most interesting to me is the size difference between the old and new Wilton bullet. We've got two 4.5" jaws(Morgan and Rock Island) and two Wilton 4" jaws.

Morgan 145
Rock Island 574
Wilton 9400 HD - 1946
Wilton 400s - 1994

I've done some restore work.
Morgan 145, removed rust(lost some paint in process), waxed and lubed(not happy with lost paint so have decided to paint)
Wilton 400s, removed rust, waxed and lubed (will fix the dust cap)

 

[ItBurnsWhenIPee]

Grabbed this yesterday. Didn't get a great look at it and won't be able to get back to it for a couple of days. I likely won't be able to do any work on it at all for a few months. Currently moving house/shop/etc and won't have a chance.

But It looks decent, other than the scar. Also picked up a 160lb anvil and a leg/blacksmith vise.

I've got a couple of other vises, but nothing worth really posting about LOL

 

[Fred Knox]

I did my best to restore an old Wilton 8135 Cadet vise (8135 on the dynamic, 9135W on the static). 18 lbs., 3 1/2" jaws, opens 4 1/2".
It is a 1953 vintage, with a "GUAR. EXP 12-31-55" on the bottom of the dynamic jaw. I thought it may be unique in that it does not say “Wilton Cadet” or “Chicago” on either side of the static jaw. Has anyone seen that before? Does it mean anything? See the last photos for its original state.

 

[Fierljeppen]

Fred Knox...Your Wilton Cadet model no.135 vise is actually an inaugural production year offering. I've never seen an unmarked Cadet casting like yours before. The guarantee was only for -1- year originally, making your vise born in 1954, as seen in the 1954 Wilton catalog scans below.

You did a great job on the restoration!

 

[John Hall]

The rotating jaw has a hole underneath that a sprung rod slots into..The rod has a pin fitted in its side and runs in a slot..by pressing the pin down, the rod is released out of the hole allowing the jaw to rotate to the desired position..simple, but it works well..

 

[b.well]

Seems to match pretty close. Curious to how they tied it together. Nice looking vise. I added it to the spreadsheet earlier today.

Great spreadsheet. My first time to see it. Filled some boxes on my own spreadsheet of my vises.

I have a Chas Parker 94 row 712. Spreadsheet should say anvil YES.

Nice work!

 

[exmaxima1]

I suspect this has been covered before, but I tried numerous search terms and could not find anything.

Does anyone know who made this welded steel vise? I thought it was a homebrew, yet I just saw another like it from a diferent seller. It has 5-inch jaws, that's all I know.

 

[Andy FitzGibbon]

PAT JUNE 1886 H&B

2" jaws

Another version of the Colton patent... no manufacturer's mark, just the patent date and a former owner's name stamped into the side. Designed to mount on a tee or carriage bolt.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Fred Knox]

Thanks Fierljeppen. Your research and ability to find old catalogs/information are really amazing. Thank-you for sharing it with all of us. It is kind of fun to think I have one of the earliest vintage Cadets.

 

[b.well]

New addition to the vise family today and took some pics of four of them side by side. Maybe most interesting to me is the size difference between the old and new Wilton bullet. We've got two 4.5" jaws(Morgan and Rock Island) and two Wilton 4" jaws.

Morgan 145 - 68lbs
Rock Island 574 - 73lbs (seen 75 other places)
Wilton 9400 HD - 1946 - 48lbs
Wilton 400s - 1994 - 58lbs (seen 62 other places)

I've done some restore work.
Morgan 145, removed rust(lost some paint in process), waxed and lubed(not happy with lost paint so have decided to paint)
Wilton 400s, removed rust, waxed and lubed (will fix the dust cap)

Just weighed these four and added the weights above. Possible scale is a couple pounds light based on seemingly official weights being a few pounds more on the two. I also weighed an Anvil marked "99" and the scale showed 97lbs.

 

[Outlawmws]

The rotating jaw has a hole underneath that a sprung rod slots into..The rod has a pin fitted in its side and runs in a slot..by pressing the pin down, the rod is released out of the hole allowing the jaw to rotate to the desired position..simple, but it works well..

To which post were you replying to? there are >81,490 posts in this thread...

 

[Outlawmws]

Andy, that's a variant of the Colton I have not seen! Very cool! Is it yours?

 

[Andy FitzGibbon]

Andy, that's a variant of the Colton I have not seen! Very cool! Is it yours?

It's mine, yeah. I can't remember where I got it now.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[va.grouseman]

I suspect this has been covered before, but I tried numerous search terms and could not find anything.

Does anyone know who made this welded steel vise? I thought it was a homebrew, yet I just saw another like it from a different seller. It has 5-inch jaws, that's all I know.

Exmaxima1, I have one of those too.---I've hade it about a year but never took photo's cause I suspected it was a cheap Chicom vise, fashioned in a small potatoes machine shop, not really worth mentioning, but after seeing yours, maybe it was a factory produced vise.---But judging from the chrome handle, I'd say Japan.---But like the 804 Columbians, it is pretty solid with a 3/8'' plate steel anvil which you can peck on a little more aggressively than cast.---It does have an aluminum label but it's hard to read.

 

[va.grouseman]

A few more pics.

 

[exmaxima1]

Exmaxima1, I have one of those too.---I've hade it about a year but never took photo's cause I suspected it was a cheap Chicom vise, fashioned in a small potatoes machine shop, not really worth mentioning, but after seeing yours, maybe it was a factory produced vise.....

I don't own that vise, but it's for sale locally. Now that I see your pics, and how it's made, I'm not really interested. Thanks for sharing them.

 

[Andy FitzGibbon]

Exmaxima1, I have one of those too.---I've hade it about a year but never took photo's cause I suspected it was a cheap Chicom vise, fashioned in a small potatoes machine shop, not really worth mentioning, but after seeing yours, maybe it was a factory produced vise.---But judging from the chrome handle, I'd say Japan.---But like the 804 Columbians, it is pretty solid with a 3/8'' plate steel anvil which you can peck on a little more aggressively than cast.---It does have an aluminum label but it's hard to read.

There's a Chinese saw blade company called TDC... wonder if they made it.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[va.grouseman]

Sure could be Andy.---Chinese vises have chromed handles also.---It's a cheap selling point.

 

[Fierljeppen]

va.grouseman's vise collection ceases to amaze me.

Anyway, I'm just reading the label off va.grouseman's vise and it says "Made in India". When I did a search for "steel vices, made in India", a bunch of sites were available showing many variations of that vise.

 

[Old Radar]

va.grouseman's vise collection ceases to amaze me.

Don't worry, VA., your vise collection never ceases to amaze me!

And so does Fierljeppen's ability to discern vital information from almost thin air!

 

[Old Radar]

This is a re-post from my query on the Wilton date thread, since this thread is a lot more active:

The date on the key of my Wilton Cadet is 11-30-56 and I thought I understood that to be the manufacture date. Reading the Date Thread has caused some doubts. I triple checked and there is no indication of a GUAR EXP stamp on the key or anywhere on the barrel. Since 11-30-56 is close to the middle of the '54-'61 period when Wilton was using the GUAR EXP stamp, it's hard to swallow that someone would have slipped up and put the manufacture date on it.

I know I read that someone had seen a similar anomalous date on a Cadet but is seems that Cadets were thrown out of the equation because of the confusion the 1, 2 & 3 year guarantee was causing. Was there a resolution and I missed it or is the jury still out?

Can anyone offer an explanation as to why I have a date inside the date range when Wilton was stamping GUAR EXP dates--but mine doesn't have that stamp? Friday-afternoon-gotta-get-to-the-bar? Even with the single year guarantee, it seems odd that the verbiage would be left off on purpose.

 

[Fierljeppen]

Old Radar...I'm going by what's printed in the Wilton catalogs, which states from the (1954-1966) catalogs that the expiration date is stamped on the vise. I believe that all dates stamped after 1954 are an expiration date, whether the "GUAR EXP" is present or not.

I also believe that Wilton continued this practice well into the 1980's and maybe 1990's based on my ongoing research and database of these vises. This is always open to debate though.

The excerpt below is from a 1966 Wilton catalog no.118

 

[tig]

Hi, long-time lurker in this thread. I've been hoping to come across a vise to restore myself someday but haven't been trying that hard.

My POS Chinese-made vise is giving me fits and I have decided to ask the family to buy me a vintage Wilton or other hunky, well-built, smooth, US made vise for Christmas. I want 6-6 1/2" and already restored.

Do you all have any recommendations on where I should look? I've looked on eBay but it's all so sketch.

 

[va.grouseman]

Previously posted by Old Radar.
And so does Fierleppen's ability to discern vital information from almost thin air!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Plus 1 on that.---I couldn't see that wording, and I'm just inches away from it.---I bought that vise just because it's solid steel with a heavy anvil and not used much.---I like solid steel vises.---I have 4 of the 804 Columbians

 

[Shiftless]

Hi, long-time lurker in this thread. I've been hoping to come across a vise to restore myself someday but haven't been trying that hard.

My POS Chinese-made vise is giving me fits and I have decided to ask the family to buy me a vintage Wilton or other hunky, well-built, smooth, US made vise for Christmas. I want 6-6 1/2" and already restored.

Do you all have any recommendations on where I should look? I've looked on eBay but it's all so sketch.

You’ve come to to the right thread. eBay has few good deals. Shipping on big vises almost always kills the deal.
You can post in the “wanted” section of GJ.
You say you’re looking for 6 inch plus size. Realize that classic old American vises in the 4 to 5 inch size are heavy and strong and suitable for just about anything you throw at them. Don’t rule them out. A Reed 3C combination vise has 5 inch wide jaws and it weighs 120 pounds.

I’ll send you a P.M. with some leads.

 

[Old Radar]

Old Radar...I'm going by what's printed in the Wilton catalogs, which states from the (1954-1966) catalogs that the expiration date is stamped on the vise. I believe that all dates stamped after 1954 are an expiration date, whether the "GUAR EXP" is present or not.

I also believe that Wilton continued this practice well into the 1980's and maybe 1990's based on my ongoing research and database of these vises. This is always open to debate though.

The excerpt below is from a 1966 Wilton catalog no.118

Thanks for the clarification, Fierljeppen!

 

[tig]

You’ve come to to the right thread. eBay has few good deals. Shipping on big vises almost always kills the deal.
You can post in the “wanted” section of GJ.
You say you’re looking for 6 inch plus size. Realize that classic old American vises in the 4 to 5 inch size are heavy and strong and suitable for just about anything you throw at them. Don’t rule them out. A Reed 3C combination vise has 5 inch wide jaws and it weighs 120 pounds.

I’ll send you a P.M. with some leads.

Thanks!

FWIW, I'm not a total noob. In fact, I can't believe I haven't posted this before because I think it's pretty neat.

I inherited this Versa-Vise from my dad (along with the workbench it's on). I used it as a little kid and I now use it regularly in my home workshop (the vise I'm looking for is for my auto workshop). I really appreciate the lead vise covers he made; every time I use them I wonder about my safety ;-).

 

[TailGunner3000]

Hi, long-time lurker in this thread. I've been hoping to come across a vise to restore myself someday but haven't been trying that hard.

My POS Chinese-made vise is giving me fits and I have decided to ask the family to buy me a vintage Wilton or other hunky, well-built, smooth, US made vise for Christmas. I want 6-6 1/2" and already restored.

Do you all have any recommendations on where I should look? I've looked on eBay but it's all so sketch.

The answer to that question really depends on your ultimate usage. 6+ inch vises are very large, having been made for use in factories, mills, rail yards, etc.

Most home shops will have no problem getting by with a 4 inch vise. Even so, you need to consider things like fixed vs swivel base, whether you need pipe jaws, or even swivel jaws. Ultimately you probably can't go wrong with any of the old American companies like Reed, Parker, Morgan or Rock Island. There are any number of others as well.

 

[tig]

The answer to that question really depends on your ultimate usage. 6+ inch vises are very large, having been made for use in factories, mills, rail yards, etc.

Most home shops will have no problem getting by with a 4 inch vise. Even so, you need to consider things like fixed vs swivel base, whether you need pipe jaws, or even swivel jaws. Ultimately you probably can't go wrong with any of the old American companies like Reed, Parker, Morgan or Rock Island. There are any number of others as well.

Yeah, I clearly was confused on dimensions.

I should have read this first: https://mivise.com/bench-vise-size-considerations/

Now, after reading that...

Here's the current vise (taken when it was new), one of the clamp guards has already broken). I'd like something about this size:



(note that grinder and cabinet to the right are no longer there).

I think this means:
- ~6" opening
- ~3" throat depth
- Swivel base
- No need for pipe or swivel jaws.

I designed my workbench such that I could mount the vise to the top of it or I could put a hitch receiver underneath. In-fact, that is my plan here; to put a two hitch receivers under there; one pointing to the front and one to the right. The vise will normally sit to the right. Thus height is not as important.

 

[b.well]

Yeah, I clearly was confused on dimensions.

I should have read this first: https://mivise.com/bench-vise-size-considerations/

Now, after reading that...

Here's the current vise (taken when it was new), one of the clamp guards has already broken). I'd like something about this size:

(note that grinder and cabinet to the right are no longer there).

I think this means:
- ~6" opening
- ~3" throat depth
- Swivel base
- No need for pipe or swivel jaws.

I designed my workbench such that I could mount the vise to the top of it or I could put a hitch receiver underneath. In-fact, that is my plan here; to put a two hitch receivers under there; one pointing to the front and one to the right. The vise will normally sit to the right. Thus height is not as important.

Sounds like you will do good with a 4-4.5" width Jaw. Good old USA vises of that size typically range from 50-80lbs and meet your specs above.

Here are some more brands I think most here will recommend.
Wilton, Reed, Vintage Record, Prentiss, Parker, Morgan, Yost, Rock Island, Athol

You can usually get at least half off ebay prices at estate/garage sales. Sometimes much better than that!

Happy hunting

 

[Shiftless]

I agree with b.well 100%

tig: You live in a fairly highly populated area and with the big Boeing plant and other industries not so far away, I bet there are hundreds of not thousands of great vises sitting around in garages of retired mechanics and machinists.

Put a vise wanted ad in your local Craigslist.

If you were closer, I’d sell you one of mine.

 

[Outlawmws]

Tig I agree with the others. I've had a 4" Parker on my bench for 30 + years. No one can accuse me of babying it! (I've ripped the bench loose from the wall several times) I do all sorts of automotive and fab work, and its done for virtually everything.

That 974 opens >6", so sounds like one like it would do the job. (the quick way to know what it opens to safely is to close it and measure the slide stick out)

 

[Shiftless]

tig:
Did you see this one listed on C/L 20 miles south of you in Kent, WA?
$400 is a bit too much but it’s been up for a few weeks so the seller might be ready for less. Looks to be in great restored condition. I don’t know if that’s paint or gun bluing on the slide. Paint is not so good.

 

[pelletman]

Picked up this Prentiss 913 yesterday. I don't suppose anyone has my missing pin?!

 

[macgee]

This is a re-post from my query on the Wilton date thread, since this thread is a lot more active:

The date on the key of my Wilton Cadet is 11-30-56 and I thought I understood that to be the manufacture date.

My cadet was stamped '54 and like the ad that Fierljeppen posted, mine too came in a deep orange. It was a very beautiful color and never should have sold it. Easily my favorite color/patina of all the vises I've owned.

 

[mikeswrenches]

Pelletman, you actually need two pieces. The pin and the retaining plate.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Last year I was helping a friend find his first vise. We stumbled across this wilton 600S on CL for $200! I was shocked that a "new-b" would be willing to make an over hour and a half drive and spend that much but he was into it. When he brought it in I was shocked at how pristine it was. The only damage was it looks like someone welded a new foot on it at some point. I offered to fix it up for him for free with the condition that if he decides to sell that I get first crack. We decided on the American flag. He opted for the pinup ******* the front.

Well a new Harley came his way along with the need for some go fast parts. I reminded him I was still interested in the 600. He said he still sort of "wants" a vise. Long story short I got the 600s for the $200 he paid and my "Winter Soldier" Columbian. Pretty good deal for me! He was really happy with it too.

Here's the original pictures:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7773059&postcount=70434

 

[ClintNZ]

Christmas came early for me last weekend when my Uncle gave me this cool Record 75. He'd had it lying around for a while but decided it was too big & he had smaller vice to use anyway.

A nice companion for my trusty No5. The jaws are fairly worn but otherwise it's in pretty good shape for it's age. It will make a great replacement for the cheap crappy vice on my welding table. First it's going to get a rebuild. I have put in an order at The Vice Works UK for some new jaws, bolts & the missing pipe jaw insert. While I'm waiting on that I'll get it stripped & painted. I'll make some swivel lock handles as per original style to replace the bolts.

Cheers
Clint