The VISES of Garage Journal

[txlonghorn1989]

OR Great job on that Wilton bullet! Stupid question probably but is the SN Black Metal Oil dry to the touch?

67vg Nice find and restoration on that Reed drill press vise.

On Thursday a friend tipped me off to a Craftsman 519x vise on CL. I picked it up today. Great condition for a 66 year old vise despite the ugly black paint. The seller knew pretty much nothing about vises. The first pic is from the CL ad. You can see it wasn't seated properly on the swivel base. One of my first questions to him was is there a badge under the black paint? He said yes it had been painted over by the old guy he got it from in California. It wasn't going to work out for us to meet for a few days and he said he'd save it for me. Great I say. Next day, I get a text with the 2nd pic saying he "used some steel wool" to show the badge. My first 519x vise. Heavy vise for a 3.5" vise. Third pic is the vise in my shop. I don't normally paint vintage vises but I think this one is going to be an exception. One last thing, this vise is older than I am by four months and in better condition.

 

[Old Radar]

OR Great job on that Wilton bullet! Stupid question probably but is the SN Black Metal Oil dry to the touch?

Thanks! They tell you right on the can that a little goes a long way and not to put too much on or it will not dry. It has the viscosity of water so I used a very small rag and spread it thin. Basically like rubbing it in with a damp rag. A second coat went on after an hour. They say you can apply a clear coat after the Metal Oil has dried for 3-4 days. I'm not applying a clear coat but it took that long for the slight stickiness to go away--so it's not something you want to put on a tool you need to use right away.

 

[11b30b4]

ncgun99, the C2 looks great, I agree with ed4banger, I would try to sculpt the ground off letters with JB weld or PC-7. The embossed lettering on the Wilton is one of the most iconic elements of the design IMO.

d42jeep, I like the look of that Milwaukee, some nice options for an art-deco finish.

Jimmyin3D, I would take either, but I like the Morgan design more. Just looks more overbuilt and beefier.

Ed4banger, that Morgan looks great.

Old Radar, I love that Sculpt Nouveau’s Black Metal Oil finish on your Wilton.

67vetteguy, that Reed came out great.

Txlonghorn1989 Congratulations on the Craftsman 519x, I really like the design of that vise and the rings on the spindle nut. I believe a member recently (in the past month or two) post some pics of the same vise repainted where he painted the rings on the spindle nut, and they looked outstanding.

Two weeks after I started asking questions about the Autocrat, I found one at an estate sale on Thursday. Yes, Thursday! and I hate that estate sales are starting on Thursdays. I am forced to take time off from work to be able to get anything these days. I digress, I snagged the Autocrat for $45.00 and it was in good shape. A bend handle and one flat ground spot on one jaw but otherwise, minimal wear and tear. I believe the green is the original paint as I have seen several Autorcrats with the same paint (Fierljeppen can probably confirm).

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I ended up spending $100.00 total at the estate sale and grabbed some wooden handle screwdrivers, some Smith and Wesson hallow ground parallel tip screwdrivers (sans the .40 tip) a ford brand wrench, and a small ball peen hammer. Overall, not a bad haul for metro Atlanta.

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BTW, a few weeks ago my sister gave me a Columbian D44 M5. It was in good shape, but I decided to strip and repaint it.
Before

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Anyway, Good Morning GJ

Anyway, Good Morning GJ

 

[RHJO51]

Local ad for free broken large Vise. I was surprised to see it was a Parker 435 HumpBack - same as one I have. Broken it was, catastrophic damage. Guy said it fell off the workbench. What a shame but plenty of good parts! - Jim

 

[Old Radar]

After
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What a vast improvement, 11b30b4--it looks brand new!

 

[Jayman17]

Old Radar and 67vetteguy, guys great job on those vises, they look great.
That black metal oil really gives it a neat looking finish.

Jay

 

[PierceA]

RHJO: That's a shame to see that 435 so badly damaged.
It has been through some tough times: the dynamic has been welded before.
The dynamic slide support broken off is a killer though.

PierceA.

 

[ChefRex]

Local ad for free broken large Vise. I was surprised to see it was a Parker 435 HumpBack - same as one I have. Broken it was, catastrophic damage. Guy said it fell off the workbench. What a shame but plenty of good parts! - Jim

Ouch!

 

[txlonghorn1989]

11b Great job on the 44D paint job!

 

[exmaxima1]

WTF is this "Bullet Vise"

Saw this on FB Market. It kinda looks homemade:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:20396ca3-f594-4b4c-818d-5c757a3c7a37

 

[Smitty]

I found a beautiful Reed 105S over the weekend. Somebody really took care of this one over the years, there’s not a hammer mark on it.


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[Vise]

Local ad for free broken large Vise. I was surprised to see it was a Parker 435 HumpBack - same as one I have. Broken it was, catastrophic damage. Guy said it fell off the workbench. What a shame but plenty of good parts! - Jim

Hey there - Can I buy the nut from that vise? I'll message you.

Smitty - That is super clean and a great find. Congrats!

 

[1982fxr]

Re: WTF is this "Bullet Vise"

Saw this on FB Market. It kinda looks homemade:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:20396ca3-f594-4b4c-818d-5c757a3c7a37

It's small too. I've never seen one like that.

 

[Andy FitzGibbon]

I found a beautiful Reed 105S over the weekend. Somebody really took care of this one over the years, there’s not a hammer mark on it.


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Wow. Amazing that it was kept that nice. The jaws look just as clean as the ones on my unused 106R.

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[ncgun99]

I found a beautiful Reed 105S over the weekend. Somebody really took care of this one over the years, there’s not a hammer mark on it.


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Wow. That’s impressive! Congratulations!


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[ncgun99]

Its not that difficult to shape new letters from JB Weld and a dremel, I've done it on a couple occasions.

Thanks. I’ll probably wait until the next freshen up but it’s a good idea!


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[Smitty]

Thanks Vise, Andy and Robert. It’s always a treat to find clean examples that previous owners took care of back in the day.

 

[Smitty]

Andy...unused Reed 106R? Your going to have to post a pic of that.

 

[Andy FitzGibbon]

Andy...unused Reed 106R? Your going to have to post a pic of that.

I haven't had time to clean it up since getting it. It's a 1968 model. Given to the seller's father by an employee of the Wright family (owners of Reed) many years ago. They had a home and a bunch of land around my hometown of Westfield, NY. The vise sat under a workbench in their garage for the last fifty years because it was "too big". The broken ear on the base and extra hole are both covered with original paint, so I'm guessing it was a "back door" second. John Wright gave my dad a Reed drill press vise (like the one posted a little ways up) that was the same deal.. had some flaw that didn't really effect functionality, but prevented them from selling it retail.

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[Posi]

Cool Story... And vise..

 

[Smitty]

Andy: Thanks for posting the pic, I always like looking at these big old Reed vises and hearing their provenance.

 

[Andy FitzGibbon]

Along with the 106R, I got an older Reed 406 and an Emmert 7" "Tiger" from the same guy. One thing I miss about living in that area (40 minutes from Erie) was how easy it was to find Reed and Hollands stuff. Didn't see as many Yosts, thought Meadville isn't that much farther south.

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[javyLSU]

If I may beg the opinion of the GJ vise experts...

A seller near me is asking $300 firm for this Snap-on 1750. I’ve always wanted one of these vises, and thought this would be a good candidate to restore and repaint as it doesn’t look to be in too bad condition. Is this a fair price for something in this condition, or should I continue looking for a better deal? Thanks for any help.

 

[1982fxr]

That's pretty much the going rate on those.

 

[Outlawmws]

Smitty, yours also looks like it sat under a bench since new...

 

[ejot]

Scored this Parker 371 for $25. Still in the car. I'm so excited. Been itching to own a swivel jaw so badly.
No collar, swivel is frozen of course, and has a small chunk missing from the upper rear part of the slide, probably took a fall. Otherwise in quite good shape and unabused, jaws especially. Has the pin!

A little bittersweet though, he had this Rock Island Craftsman also listed for the same price. For one reason or another he ultimately decided to keep it. I left him with a pretty fair offer and my card, and asked for a shot at buying it should he reconsider.

 

[ChefRex]

Scored this Parker 371 for $25. Still in the car. I'm so excited. Been itching to own a swivel jaw so badly.
No collar, swivel is frozen of course, and has a small chunk missing from the upper rear part of the slide, probably took a fall. Otherwise in quite good shape and unabused, jaws especially. Has the pin!

A little bittersweet though, he had this Rock Island Craftsman also listed for the same price. For one reason or another he ultimately decided to keep it. I left him with a pretty fair offer and my card, and asked for a shot at buying it should he reconsider.

"You ****" and should you get a call back on the Craftsman you **** even more!

 

[ChefRex]

If I may beg the opinion of the GJ vise experts...

A seller near me is asking $300 firm for this Snap-on 1750. I’ve always wanted one of these vises, and thought this would be a good candidate to restore and repaint as it doesn’t look to be in too bad condition. Is this a fair price for something in this condition, or should I continue looking for a better deal? Thanks for any help.

That's clean enough that I don't think I would repaint.

 

[ejot]

"You ****" and should you get a call back on the Craftsman you **** even more!

An honor, thank you. Never thought it would happen to me. Keep missing the good stuff by minutes or hours.

 

[javyLSU]

That's pretty much the going rate on those.

That's clean enough that I don't think I would repaint.

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it.

 

[Smitty]

Outlaw: you might be right on that one, the jaws still feel sticky sharp. I’m just going to give it a very light cleaning and then oil it.

 

[PSCo1867]

REGARDING FLAT RATE SHIPPING OF RAILROAD RAIL PIECES:

If the consensus is that 1 ft is an acceptable piece-length to make an anvil, I will ship a piece this week as a test. Maybe roll it in some bubble wrap. The flange corners are the main concern (as well as the weight!), and I'd at least give a quick grind to break the hard edges and flange corners.

As has been discussed, railroad rail sections are designated in pounds per yard. So, a 1 ft. section of 136 rail will weigh just over 45#. To reveal what the actual section looks like, search: "railroad rail sections", select "images" then find a chart.

136 is the most common, but also available are 100, 115, 135CR, and 175CR. The CR designates crane rail, and a quick search will reveal what the actual sections look like. There are many others, but the ones I've listed are the more common sections.

I sent out my first rail slice, USPS flat-rate style. Since Tinkerer2 was the first to PM, he's the guinea pig. I don't expect any issues, especially after seeing the one that had been shipped to M635 Guy (where the shipper did not add much protection!). The rail is a 100RB section, weighs about 31.2#, and total shipping weight was close to 40#. Went out Tuesday 3-30-21, PA to TN. I'm hearing that USPS delivery is glacial these days.

Section 100 is relatively small compared with the more available 136 scrap pieces, but packed neatly into the box. I'll have to get a little more creative with the bigger sections. And, even though the 40# box was well under the max, the USPS counter guy was not thrilled with handling it.

Stay tuned, and PM me if you are truly interested in this.....serious inq only, and glad to pay it forward to GJ members.

 

[ChefRex]

PSC, with that pack job I font think it will any issue, well done, and thanks!

 

[11b30b4]

PSCo1867

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[PSCo1867]

PSC, with that pack job I font think it will any issue, well done, and thanks!

Thanks. Someone had mentioned using styrofoam. The 2 X 6 scrap lumber pieces will be replaced with thick styrofoam sheets (have lots of that too). That, combined with the old cigarette signs (corrugated plastic) will mean no packing $ involved. (I feel so green).

 

[Tinkerer2]

Thanks!! I'll post photos when I get it. Is it 11 1/2 inches long?

We have a scrap yard but they only buy. They WILL NOT sell. Seems strange to me as I'm sure they would make more selling to individuals than bulk and the guys (weigher and payer) are usually just standing around so it's not like they are too busy.

Don't hold your breath on when I'll get it. I just got a small thank you card yesterday (30th) that was postmarked March 8th. It was sent from Nashville (middle of the state).

Please PM the tracking # and I'll follow it. Also, let me know what I owe you for shipping.

And thanks again for your generosity!

 

[RBarnes]

Finally found a stand I felt worthy of this Emmert Machinist vise. It is a Black & Decker six sided cast iron stand that is found in their 1923 catalog (see 3rd photo). Was a little worried that it would not be stout enough, but was pleasantly surprised. Now I can put that Emmert to work!

 

[Tinkerer2]

I hope you marked it FRAGILE so I don't get it mangled.

 

[11b30b4]

RBarnes, that Emmert is a thing of beauty and the stand looks great.

 

[PierceA]

RBarnes: VERY nice stand and the huge Emmert looks perfect on it.

BUT I have a question: I see that the stand and Emmert are on a wood platform with some caster wheels.. at least that is what I think I see at one corner of the base.
Don't the casters make the stand a bit unstable and easy to tip over?

My first concern is that it would fall on you or another person using the vise.. BUT of course none of us would want to see the Emmertt suffer from any damage either..

I've always thought that I'd have to make some sort of wide, low center base with the casters outside the footprint of the base and the centerline of the caster axles above the bottom of the base, in order for it to be safe to use while on the casters.

I may be just being a wimp or jumping at shadows.. but.. I'd like to hear your comments.

PierceA.