454ragtop
Well-known member
Outlaw, I suspect that vise started life as an under the bench type swivel lock, and a prior owner added the 2 holes to bolt it to a bench.
The VISES of Garage Journal
- Thread starter mjozefow
- Start date
I'm pretty positive they were made by Rock Island. A lot of the hardware is interchangeable with known RI Cman vises. This vise does have jaw features covered by Fulton Patent 1,890,114, but believe there was some cross-licensing going on, this is overall very different than the Fulton vises.
Thanks, that's one I did, my auction.
The static and dynamic jaw assembly rotates within the main static portion. The lockdown lever on one side locks the rotated position by drawing two machined bushings toward each other to clamp in desired position.
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Fierljeppen
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2018
- Messages
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Vise, those are real sweet little vises.---Like to know who made them, I know we discussed it before, can't remember if there was any resolve.---From $8.45 they are a little over twice that much now.
I'll defer to our resident Craftsman vise no.5241 expert, "ed4banger".
However, I will cast one vote for...
Rock Island Mfg. Co.
Sorry PghJKB, but E.W. Fulton, a devout Baptist, had left this earth to design vises for his Lord.
<hr>
November 10, 1936.
Edwin W. Fulton, well known Oswego business man and former president and treasurer of the International Nutyp Tool Corporation, died late Tuesday evening in Rochestor following an illness of several months.
<hr>
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Fier: I agree that Rock Island did make some great vises for Craftsman/Sears and this one and the 519x's are some of my favorites and I'm still hoping to find this double rotating one similar to the Chinese Wonder vise that is made currently.
I thank you for posting that up about Mr. Fulton and love the part where he's making vises for the LORD too. fun fact you might want to verify cause I recall seeing it in an old newspaper that Fulton married MASSEY'S daughter.
ED: thanks for all the great Craftsman vise pics!!!
11b: if you have a minute would you mind posting up a few pics of your Wilton C0 before and after your spiffing it up over on the vise repair 101 thread? great work and i'll post the link to your thread when I finish reading it or you can if you get to it first. WELL DONE!!
I thank you for posting that up about Mr. Fulton and love the part where he's making vises for the LORD too. fun fact you might want to verify cause I recall seeing it in an old newspaper that Fulton married MASSEY'S daughter.
ED: thanks for all the great Craftsman vise pics!!!
11b: if you have a minute would you mind posting up a few pics of your Wilton C0 before and after your spiffing it up over on the vise repair 101 thread? great work and i'll post the link to your thread when I finish reading it or you can if you get to it first. WELL DONE!!
cchamelin
Active member
OK, I’m sure I’m going to get chastised for this by some, but here it goes. Bought this Colombian 605 machinist vise at a farm last year for$5…had to dig it out of the dirt and it was essentially a hunk of rust (wish I took before pics). I used evaporust and other chem treatments, used heat, etc to try and clean it and get it apart. Nothing was working and one day I had it, and did the things you’re not supposed to do to get it apart…i.e. hammered the spindle handle round and round all the way to get the slide/screw disengaged…cut the swivel locks off with a grinder, etc. Looking back, I think I had become a crazed madman and was punishing this vise for being so obstinate. Little did I know that replacement swivel locks would cost $200+…. Eventually decided to weld wheel lug studs to the bottom feet of the original locks and then used lug nuts for tightening the locks…just cost me some time and weld metal. Now this is my normal user vise.
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cchamelin, 5 BUCKS! that is absolutely a you ****. Outstanding deal on the vise I have been searching for for over a year. The 605 is certainly my favorite Columbian vise with the autocrat running a close second. Great job on the restor and yes, the before pics would have really sold it but I can see the pitting on the spindle nut and handle, and I am sure you worked hard to restore it. There is a guy here in North Georgia selling one ebay, if it went for the price he is asking, I would have snagged it when he first listed it. I keep hoping to find one at an estate sale.
Smitty, thank you. I am currently helping a friend from Colorado restore his newly acquired Hollands 516 and I am hoping it will really shine once we finish it. That Starret 925 you snagged has inspired him on his paint choice.
Smitty, thank you. I am currently helping a friend from Colorado restore his newly acquired Hollands 516 and I am hoping it will really shine once we finish it. That Starret 925 you snagged has inspired him on his paint choice.
zoomieport
Well-known member
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Mark Stansbury
Well-known member
An intact example of a very rare vise by Akron Wrench & Vise Co. has just surfaced on Facebook - Vintage Tool Restoration. Twertsy wrote about them but they were thought to have done no manufacturing. Tool Archives via Wayback Machine
Minimal new article on Vintage Machinery
It's similar to the Versa-Vise.
Minimal new article on Vintage Machinery
It's similar to the Versa-Vise.
Mthomas1686
Well-known member
cchamelin
Active member
Thanks! It’s funny, but after buying a Rigid Tri-Stand No. 40 pipe vise, some lumber, and some industrial cabinets at the farm sale, I was just walking around looking at the property when I almost tripped….it was just the top of the moveable jaw sticking out of the ground. I will say that it is a really well made vise, and I’m glad I’ve got it. Here’s hoping you get your Columbian soon!
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
RB: with the cast in jaws and the meatball hub on the end of your main screw 1922 date seems about right. NICE FIND!!!
there is a REED DATE STAMP THREAD you can post more pics of it on and after reading more of that thread you let me (us) know if your vise is 1922 or ??
there is a REED DATE STAMP THREAD you can post more pics of it on and after reading more of that thread you let me (us) know if your vise is 1922 or ??
Mark Stansbury
Well-known member
Another vise manufacturer added to Vintage Machinery, Akron Vise & Tool Co., AKA Jahant Foundry & Heating Co.
Thanks for the info on the craftsman, gentlemen. You never disappoint. I too thought Rock Island was the likely manufacturer. But so hard to find these things out definitively.
In related news, it appears Zoomie has half a craftsman double swiveler for every Parker bear he owns.
In related news, it appears Zoomie has half a craftsman double swiveler for every Parker bear he owns.
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
Zoomie sometimes males my head hurt (from banging it on a bench in frustration - Him and Smitty...) 
RT I found pics of the same holes, same offset with a swivel base.
Pretty odd, but it is what it is...
RT I found pics of the same holes, same offset with a swivel base.
Pretty odd, but it is what it is...
davethorik
Well-known member
The Pinch Bug? I have both styles. Also made of forged steel.
Pictured with a Versa-Vise.
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Thanks Drivesitfar!
Looked at the photos on my computer (after posting from my phone) and they are pretty washed out, but at least they give an idea. I have seen people mentioning the Reed date thread, but haven't found it on here yet.
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steaks&anvils
Well-known member
Thanks steaks&anvils, got the link and checked it out. Want to have better photos before posting on there, but seems like the 22 is the year!
Picked this up yesterday. Half off day at an estate sale and the pile was discounted further, so well within my "homeowners Vise" limits
Columbian 143 missing the swivel base, but apparently many are?
I like the extra long slide/screw, adn unusual for a homeowners with hat seem to be higher end replaceable jaws.
Missing the screw retaining washer but that should be easy with a collar.
I do find it odd the lock holes are offset /not centered...
Just saw one of those with pipe jaws. They're so commonly missing I nearly wonder if they weren't originally sold as an optional accessory.
These two Parkers were my haul for the weekend. I really like the Superior series, very stout, and these are in pretty nice shape. Not beaten on much, and four perfectly straight handles. $120 total.
Seller of the green one was very proud to announce he was the painter!
Plans are to strip that one bare and finish with either BLO or the Sculpt Nouveau oil.
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Mthomas1686, good job on the C1. Did you remove the pins for the pipe jaws while you were cleaning it up and did they come out easy?
Outlawmws, davthorik, and ejot, I have tried to stay away from the exposed spindle screw vises because I would not use them for fear of damaging the spindle. However, honestly, the exposed spindle screw gives it a more 1920ish industrial look. That turn of the century, America is the new world leader of innovation and industry feel. These vises resonate with me like the spirts of Morgan, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Ford, Edison, Westinghouse. The older and more “exposed” the workings of a machine are, the more interesting it is to me.
I digress, so I do not own any of these older and exposed spindle vises but I am rethinking that decision because I have passed on a number of Littletowns and Wiltons over the past few months.
ejot, nice set of Parkers.
Outlawmws, davthorik, and ejot, I have tried to stay away from the exposed spindle screw vises because I would not use them for fear of damaging the spindle. However, honestly, the exposed spindle screw gives it a more 1920ish industrial look. That turn of the century, America is the new world leader of innovation and industry feel. These vises resonate with me like the spirts of Morgan, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Ford, Edison, Westinghouse. The older and more “exposed” the workings of a machine are, the more interesting it is to me.
I digress, so I do not own any of these older and exposed spindle vises but I am rethinking that decision because I have passed on a number of Littletowns and Wiltons over the past few months.
ejot, nice set of Parkers.
Mthomas1686
Well-known member
11b30b4....I removed those pins and thankfully they came out very easily. I just polished them up and reused them. I am lucky this one wasn't in too bad of condition. I have a much larger wilton that has some bad issues I'm going to deal with soon!
ncgun99
Well-known member
PghJKB
Well-known member
It is a vise for milling.
Made by Fabryka Przyrzadow i Uchwytow (FPU) - AKA Bison Bial. The raised lettering is their trademark: FPU
Their US website: http://www.bison-america.com/
Damn good vise, you did well unless you lost a lot of weight paying for it.
Needs a handle - Poland is a metric country, keep that in mind when measuring for a replacement handle.
JKB
ncgun99
Well-known member
PghJKB, Thanks for the info. I knew it was a milling vise just wasn't sure who/where it came from. It is massive. I will be sure to get some more history on it with the information you provided.
$35.....figured I couldn't go wrong.
davethorik
Well-known member
I prefer enclosed screw also. The Pinch Bugs are an exception- like Mark said, they are very rare, and have a neat history. Also made of forged steel vs cast so they are much stronger than a cast vise. The side bracket allows tilting. They were made local to me so I started picking them up.
I have a Vanderman steamfitter's vise also, it is exposed screw and no one would accuse it of being weak. Reed also made such a vise, and some other mfrs.
The Littlestown, Wiltons I avoid, they are cheaply made with loose tolerances. More often than not bent.
2baditsnotachev
Well-known member
Got the new one home, makes the parker look like a baby.
va.grouseman
Well-known member
Well I saw where Skulldrinker near stole a 140 Morgan, and WillMcray just outright did steal a 34C YOST.---I'm proud of you boys.---But way more envious than proud.---WillMc, I got one of these 34Cs, and if I wasn't using a Starrett I'd be using my 34C.---They're tough as a lighter knot.
va.grouseman
Well-known member
Zoomie, you have 7 of those pretty little Craftsman rotators, but there were only 25 made.---So they are still rare.
ncgun99
Well-known member
va.grouseman
Well-known member
Just $710.00 on the little Prentiss.---Why that's just chicken feed.---Elon Musk's chickens.
Shiftless
Well-known member
Just $710.00 on the little Prentiss.---Why that's just chicken feed.---Elon Musk's chickens.
That’s 300 more than I bid.
Shiftless
Well-known member
I drove about 400 miles to pick up this American Scale Red Seal 53N from fellow GJ member Luntz who bought a truckload of tools at auction from a local community college. I combined that with a long awaited weeklong visit to our daughter and family who live in Los Angeles. Even Smitty doesn’t drive 400 miles each way to pick up one vise. ( or does he?)
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lucasd2002
Well-known member
ncgun99
Well-known member
GJ is a bad influence. I just picked up a complete Wilton C2 Schiller Park with date markings from 1982.
This is now the largest vise I own (by any metric).
Seller's images attached as the weather has not allowed any pictures yet.
Nice C2. That was my most recent vise refurb and is now on my bench. It is by far my favorite. Congrats!
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