The VISES of Garage Journal

[AntiqueVises]

Here’s a beautiful barely used Holland’s 264 1/2 Coachmakers vise that I found for $20 yesterday!!

Incase anyone is interested, the info was not in the spreadsheet.

Max jaw opening 11 1/4”
Jaw width 4 1/2”
Weight 80 lbs

 

[Shiftless]

Ltk:

Only $20.00 ???

$20.00 ?

 

[AntiqueVises]

Ltk:

Only $20.00 ???

$20.00 ?

Yep!! Got a Columbian 505 M2 for $20 also, and a Prentiss 56 for $85. Awesome day picking yesterday!

 

[AntiqueVises]

Here they are

 

[11b30b4]

Today I picked up this Craftsman 506.51930 off FBMP for $75.00.

I will be rebuilding it in the coming weeks. Its not on the spreadsheet so I will get the weight and all relevant information. My build thread for this vise is here:

11b30b4’s Craftsman 506.51930 Vise

I found this vise on Facebook Marketplace for $75.00. Its not listed on the spreadsheet and I am not sure what year it was manufactured but I will be rebuilding it in the coming weeks. The lady selling the vise has a shed full of stuff (mostly black smith stuff) her father has collected...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[ejot]

Ever since first seeing a picture of one (@Fierljeppen), I have wanted a pre-1867 Parker so very badly.
I'm still not quite over this heartbreak.
But today helped, I am quite pleased to have found a 3-5/8" No1 from this era, just 10miles from where it was made. I wonder if it ever traveled further away before. It caught no one else's attention and I got it at estate auction for $6 bid plus fees, taxes, and travel. Stopped by the old factory for the photo op reunion.

Slide is cracked Prentiss style. Vise is free but only opens easily to the point in the bench pics. Tons of play worn in the meatball handle hole and a big stack of shims on the mainscrew. Some hammering on the dynamic jaw.
Bright side, looks to me like all the parts are original with nothing missing. Handle is dead straight.
Jaws are quite nice and I think they may be original and optioned as smooth faced.

This truly was my grail collector vise and I was actually shaking with excitement as bidding ended.
It will get some stare time tonight. I won't be jumping right into any kind of work on this vise until I have more practise and experience.

 

[ChefRex]

Much suckage today!

 

[Notsostraightcut]

I think this is a Rock Island vise but I'm not sure. I've gone through the spreadsheet and it doesn't fit anything there. I've also looked through the flyers but it looks like a Rock Island vise but doesn't fit any of the models listed.

So is it a Rock Island Vise? If so does anyone know a what model it would be?

 

[Jeffcmz]

Here’s a vise I’ve been after for a couple years now. I’ve had a Holland’s 18 before but it only had three mounting feet. I’ve had a couple of the reed 108s with the 4 bolt bases and I love the look of those and I’ve had a yost with the same base. I’ve always wanted a Holland’s with the 4 bolt base and I finally managed to get my hands on one. I’m not sure if it weighs 280 pounds like the advertisements because it looks like the base design is different but I will know after I pick I up.

 

[22george]

Here’s a beautiful barely used Holland’s 264 1/2 Coachmakers vise that I found for $20 yesterday!!

Incase anyone is interested, the info was not in the spreadsheet.

Max jaw opening 11 1/4”
Jaw width 4 1/2”
Weight 80 lbs

You ****

Here they are

Man you really ****

 

[AntiqueVises]

You ****

Man you really ****

Thanks! Between those and the Prentiss 23 the weekend before, September has been a very blessed month!

 

[twagler]

I'm hoping that good luck really does come in threes, since I'm only up to two so far, which means I'm due another. A couple of pages upthread I showed off my first ever purchase of a bullet style vise after several years of looking for one, a 6" York 150. Now a second one has fallen in my lap, the baby brother York 100 (4" jaw width). I'm quite impressed with the build quality of these vises. And I'm actually quite happy to have some examples of the original bullet vise invented and manufactured in my collection, rather than those Wilton knock-off versions that I've heard about from time to time.

Payed a fair price ($60 bargained down from $100 asking), but definitely not a "you ****" price. The seller had about 6 pictures in his on-line posting showing close-ups with a tape measure of every dimension, but cleverly taken to: (a) not show the manufacturer's name or model # of the vise, and (b) no profile shot to show that it was a bullet vise. I recognized it regardless and was able to acquire it before someone else did.





... and the family picture....

 

[Shiftless]

I‘d say that a 6 inch York in such good condition is worth WAY more than $60.
Did you see the 5 inch one that sold on eBay for $350?
You got a fantastic deal.

I have only one York in my collection. It was quite nicely restored by friend and fellow GJ member KMScott.


.

 

[Old Radar]

Now a second one has fallen in my lap, the baby brother York 100 (4" jaw width).

Payed a fair price ($60 bargained down from $100 asking), but definitely not a "you ****" price.

I think Shiftless misread your post--the 4" York was $60, but I think it is still a great price. Remember, suckage is in the eye of the beholder!

 

[joesregalproject]

Here is mine.



Its a Prentiss No. 21 swivel jaw, swivel base. My dad bought it back in the 70s for $25 and it came with the workbench it is mounted on. Both swivels were frozen solid until a couple years ago when I disassembled the whole thing and soaked it in Evaporust. The front edge is broken off and long gone and the lock for the base swivel is missing the lever, but I don't usually use the base swivel anyways. It's looking a bit more beat up as these pictures are a few years old, but it still shines up well. Weights in the neighborhood of 100 lbs.

 

[Dlavallee22]

Ever since first seeing a picture of one (@Fierljeppen), I have wanted a pre-1867 Parker so very badly.
I'm still not quite over this heartbreak.
But today helped, I am quite pleased to have found a 3-5/8" No1 from this era, just 10miles from where it was made. I wonder if it ever traveled further away before. It caught no one else's attention and I got it at estate auction for $6 bid plus fees, taxes, and travel. Stopped by the old factory for the photo op reunion.

Slide is cracked Prentiss style. Vise is free but only opens easily to the point in the bench pics. Tons of play worn in the meatball handle hole and a big stack of shims on the mainscrew. Some hammering on the dynamic jaw.
Bright side, looks to me like all the parts are original with nothing missing. Handle is dead straight.
Jaws are quite nice and I think they may be original and optioned as smooth faced.

This truly was my grail collector vise and I was actually shaking with excitement as bidding ended.
It will get some stare time tonight. I won't be jumping right into any kind of work on this vise until I have more practise and experience.

So your vise is actually a Howard Iron Works made in Buffalo NY. They are the only known manufacturer to do the front collar with a screw going down from the top. Parker never did this and they always screwed in from the front side. They are still very old vises that are tough to find. Finding one that isn’t damaged is actually very hard to do unfortunately! These are 2 that I own. The brown one also has a cracked slide and the back of the static body is also cracked when I got through all that brown paint. The no.2 tho is all intact!

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but your holy grail vise is still out there somewhere!

 

[WilsonLR]

Grandfather's 1930's Littlestown 400. You can read more about its history and my 2021 restoration after using it since 1980 in my post in the Vintage Tools Discussion forum here on GJ. It's home, in the basically woodworking shop of my garage, is next to grandfather's circa 1946 Craftsman drill press and atop my Craftsman tool drawers. This area is my machinist station. Anyhow, at the moment it's taken down to the bare metal and I'm contemplating BLO, Craftsman Red, Hammered Craftsman Grey or Hammered Littlestown Green. I've never used BLO and and am concerned about having to maintain it. If you have an opinion on how to finish it, I'm all ears. TIA

 

[Fierljeppen]

So your vise is actually a Howard Iron Works made in Buffalo NY. They are the only known manufacturer to do the front collar with a screw going down from the top. Parker never did this and they always screwed in from the front side. They are still very old vises that are tough to find. Finding one that isn’t damaged is actually very hard to do unfortunately! These are 2 that I own. The brown one also has a cracked slide and the back of the static body is also cracked when I got through all that brown paint. The no.2 tho is all intact!

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but your holy grail vise is still out there somewhere!

Dlavallee22...ejot, in fact, does have the earliest version of a Charles Parker Co. vise. Their original collar can be seen in the following 1854 patent. The Howard Iron Works vise was a copy of the original Parker collar and jaws. ejot's vise is an incredible find that would embellish anyone's collection!



There are a few examples somewhere on GJ of these early vises with Parker stamped on the jaws.

 

[ejot]

Thanks Fierl!

And thanks too for posting those Howards, Dlavallee - they are really cool. This solves a mystery I had on a vise I hadn't been able to identify. Wouldn't a #6 be quite a find!

I think the largest Parker made in that design may be No.5, 5-1/2". This is from an 1864 hardware catalog. (Refer boxed section, not the picture).

 

[Shiftless]

I think Shiftless misread your post--the 4" York was $60, but I think it is still a great price. Remember, suckage is in the eye of the beholder!

O.R.: Thanks for pointing out my error.
A 4 inch York for $60 is a screaming good deal.

 

[va.grouseman]

Previous quote by Ejot.
This truly was my grail collector vise.


Actually ejot, this is what you are looking for, for your grail.---Click the link below and scroll down to post #37.---I'm looking for it too.

Oldest known Parker Vise

Hey Guys, Who has a really old Parker Vise? The USA movement was around 1915. This is when manufactured goods began to say USA. Prior to that USA was not cast into many products. I think it would have to be before 1900. Anybody have one?

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Dlavallee22]

Dlavallee22...ejot, in fact, does have the earliest version of a Charles Parker Co. vise. Their original collar can be seen in the following 1854 patent. The Howard Iron Works vise was a copy of the original Parker collar and jaws. ejot's vise is an incredible find that would embellish anyone's collection!



There are a few examples somewhere on GJ of these early vises with Parker stamped on the jaws.

I stand corrected! I did not know that was actually Parker’s first collar design. You learn something new everyday! Which now has me curious as to what my brown one pictured above really is…

Ejot - my apologies! You have an absolute gem there and congrats on your amazing find! Thank you for the ad you posted showing model numbers with jaw widths etc. My brown vise I showed above I just thought was a Howard but the model #1 I found on the side didn’t make sense so now I’ll be removing the brown paint from the jaws to see if there’s any chance there’s patent info for Parker on them. That’d be pretty cool!

 

[Fierljeppen]

I stand corrected! I did not know that was actually Parker’s first collar design. You learn something new everyday! Which now has me curious as to what my brown one pictured above really is…

Ejot - my apologies! You have an absolute gem there and congrats on your amazing find! Thank you for the ad you posted showing model numbers with jaw widths etc. My brown vise I showed above I just thought was a Howard but the model #1 I found on the side didn’t make sense so now I’ll be removing the brown paint from the jaws to see if there’s any chance there’s patent info for Parker on them. That’d be pretty cool!

Dlavallee22...Your brown vise looks all Parker to me, hope that's not a problem. Measure the jaw width, Parker and Howard had different jaw widths for most of their vises. The Howard Iron Works vises also had a much shorter back on their static jaw.

The meatball on your vise has a different shape, but I've actually seen another vise like yours with the same shaped meatball, making me think it's probably original.

When you get a chance, please post a few more photos of the brown vise with specs for posterity.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

It's not often, but sometimes you get to be very fortunate when dealing with sellers on these type of items. I saw an ad for this RI 577 on my local CL. Depending on traffic the seller was 1-1.5hr drive away from me. I figured I'd take a chance and ask the seller if he ever happened to be in my area. He said no but he'd be willing to drive it out to me. I made an offer of less than what he was asking. He was still fine with bringing it out. I met up with him made the deal. He was a great guy. He said he was enjoying retirement and didn't have a problem making the drive for someone that is still working. He said he appreciated that I didn't wait until he drove out to try and negotiate the price. It also turned out that he was a fellow former Marine that had just retired from the architectural salvage business. He told me about some of the items he had restored. It was a great experience and it renewed my faith in some of the sellers on CL. AND he insisted that if the vise broke before the end of 2022 he would refund all my money! Now I would never take him up on that, but it speaks to character. Thanks again Joe!

The 577 does have a repair on it. For me if I didn't take on some of these wounded vises my collection would be a lot smaller. He said he had used the vise quite extensively in his business and he had purchased it with the repair already done on it. He also had a welder check the job and it was found to be good work. It looks like a good repair to me and I'm just going to enjoy having a vise I probably wouldn't be able to get otherwise.

 

[wrenchguy]

I believe its the 3rd or 4th brazed 577 on this thread. All brazed in the same place. Here's my go2er when outside.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Interesting, I tried to search GJ for a little more info on the model. Apparently drives made reference to his particular 577 enough to fill about a dozen pages of search results lol. I can see why he has such love for the model now. I see yours has horizontal lettering versus the vertical on mine. Mine was stamped 11/44. I was also surprised to see only one swivel lock as compared to most of my 6" vises having two.

 

[royudc]

Hi all, I'm cleaning up this Parker 434 1/2 and I found a 7 stamped into the inside of the static jaw.
Any significance to that?
The dynamic is still soaking in the evaporust so I don't know if the other jaw is also stamped.
Also I need a collar for this, would anyone have one available for me to buy? Or any drawings/specs so I could try to MacGyver something temporary?

Ron

 

[Forgottonia]

Grandfather's 1930's Littlestown 400. You can read more about its history and my 2021 restoration after using it since 1980 in my post in the Vintage Tools Discussion forum here on GJ. It's home, in the basically woodworking shop of my garage, is next to grandfather's circa 1946 Craftsman drill press and atop my Craftsman tool drawers. This area is my machinist station. Anyhow, at the moment it's taken down to the bare metal and I'm contemplating BLO, Craftsman Red, Hammered Craftsman Grey or Hammered Littlestown Green. I've never used BLO and and am concerned about having to maintain it. If you have an opinion on how to finish it, I'm all ears. TIA

Not related to vises, but do you happen to know the original use of the wooden drawers behind your drill press? I'm not sure, but they look a lot like a file cabinet for holding patents from back before everything was online. Patent file drawers were called "shoes". U.S. patent examiners would spend a couple hours per day searching the shoes for prior art--up until about twenty five years ago, that is. (I used to be a patent examiner.)

 

[Old Radar]

Grandfather's 1930's Littlestown 400. You can read more about its history and my 2021 restoration after using it since 1980 in my post in the Vintage Tools Discussion forum here on GJ. It's home, in the basically woodworking shop of my garage, is next to grandfather's circa 1946 Craftsman drill press and atop my Craftsman tool drawers. This area is my machinist station. Anyhow, at the moment it's taken down to the bare metal and I'm contemplating BLO, Craftsman Red, Hammered Craftsman Grey or Hammered Littlestown Green. I've never used BLO and and am concerned about having to maintain it. If you have an opinion on how to finish it, I'm all ears. TIA

I've done a couple of mine with Sculpt Nouveau Metal Oil. I use Black and like the look.

 

[Dlavallee22]

Dlavallee22...Your brown vise looks all Parker to me, hope that's not a problem. Measure the jaw width, Parker and Howard had different jaw widths for most of their vises. The Howard Iron Works vises also had a much shorter back on their static jaw.

The meatball on your vise has a different shape, but I've actually seen another vise like yours with the same shaped meatball, making me think it's probably original.

When you get a chance, please post a few more photos of the brown vise with specs for posterity.

So I need a few days to get it really cleaned up but here is a few pics. The main screw had the big spring over it and what’s really cool is I found the main nut is bronze! The threads themselves are huge! I didn’t find anything on the jaws themselves but you can see the number 1 on the driver side of the vise. It’s a distinct thick number too. The jaws are 3” wide though and not the 3 1/4” I thought they were so not sure what that means. The meatball is interesting tho as it’s a hell of a fit for the collar and almost looks cast and not machined to shape. It literally looks like an exact match to the drawing in the 1854 Patent you posted tho

 

[tslater1989]

So, long time no post for me here. Been off in my own little world. Anywho. My parents, the thrifty type, picked up a diamond in the rough. Craftsman 05197 date code of 6 58. It's not in stellar shape, the swivel was seized, but it moved the jaws with some effort. First thing I did was do a "functionality restoration" on it. So now that it's fully operational, I need to do a cosmetic restoration. I'm torn between doing the original color and not fixing the random dents and marks on it. Or doing a more modern look and making it pretty. So I guess I'm asking for opinions. I intend on using it, not really looking for resale value, yet, at the same time, I know it's valuable and would hate to destroy it. TIA.

 

[akasrick]

Hi all, I'm cleaning up this Parker 434 1/2 and I found a 7 stamped into the inside of the static jaw.
Any significance to that?
The dynamic is still soaking in the evaporust so I don't know if the other jaw is also stamped.
Also I need a collar for this, would anyone have one available for me to buy? Or any drawings/specs so I could try to MacGyver something temporary?

Ron

I've had a couple inquiries about these collars. I have 5 others that are not as finished as the first batch so they need finish work. The one in the detail is sold. Send me a PM if you'd like one. So far, besides the 272, other models that reportedly fit are 39x, 23x, and 107. I sold the more finished batch for $15 each; I'll take $10 for one of these in their less finished state.

Byron

A PM may get you an answer or on a list if he makes any more.
Note he is an Alliance member.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ise-collar-reproductions.187854/#post-3476809

akasrick

 

[WilsonLR]

I've done a couple of mine with Sculpt Nouveau Metal Oil. I use Black and like the look.

What a nice Wilton bullet! I saw that stuff when researching and never heard of it before. How's it do in terms of longevity? Does it protect as long as paint or do you have to recoat it every few years like BLO? TIA

 

[royudc]

Thanks Rick, I reached out to btrnuthatch a while ago but he has none in stock and no plans to make any more.
Thanks to Drivesitfar I PM'd another GJ'er that has made collars but no response from him yet.
Are there any other models that use the same collar? I'm reluctant to buy one off ebay in case it doesn't fit.

BTW, the dynamic jaw and the dynamic itself have the number 7 stamped into them.
Maybe some sort of matching process at the factory?

Ron

 

[akasrick]

Thanks Rick, I reached out to btrnuthatch a while ago but he has none in stock and no plans to make any more.
Thanks to Drivesitfar I PM'd another GJ'er that has made collars but no response from him yet.
Are there any other models that use the same collar? I'm reluctant to buy one off ebay in case it doesn't fit.

BTW, the dynamic jaw and the dynamic itself have the number 7 stamped into them.
Maybe some sort of matching process at the factory?

Ron

Possibly, the number 7 refers to the vise nut on a parts list.

akasrick

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

So, long time no post for me here. Been off in my own little world. Anywho. My parents, the thrifty type, picked up a diamond in the rough. Craftsman 05197 date code of 6 58. It's not in stellar shape, the swivel was seized, but it moved the jaws with some effort. First thing I did was do a "functionality restoration" on it. So now that it's fully operational, I need to do a cosmetic restoration. I'm torn between doing the original color and not fixing the random dents and marks on it. Or doing a more modern look and making it pretty. So I guess I'm asking for opinions. I intend on using it, not really looking for resale value, yet, at the same time, I know it's valuable and would hate to destroy it. TIA.

That is a beauty. Please make sure and post it on the 5197 registry so we can add yours to the count!

 

[ejot]

So, long time no post for me here. Been off in my own little world. Anywho. My parents, the thrifty type, picked up a diamond in the rough. Craftsman 05197 date code of 6 58. It's not in stellar shape, the swivel was seized, but it moved the jaws with some effort. First thing I did was do a "functionality restoration" on it. So now that it's fully operational, I need to do a cosmetic restoration. I'm torn between doing the original color and not fixing the random dents and marks on it. Or doing a more modern look and making it pretty. So I guess I'm asking for opinions. I intend on using it, not really looking for resale value, yet, at the same time, I know it's valuable and would hate to destroy it. TIA.

The rule is: your vise, your color!
For a user I'd go many coats black metal oil over bare metal and keep all the bumps and bruises and handle patina. Or do a bit of filler and go with a neutral grey, olive, or steel blue kind of vintage industrial color with cleaned up hardware. But really it's just gotta make YOU happy!

So I need a few days to get it really cleaned up but here is a few pics. The main screw had the big spring over it and what’s really cool is I found the main nut is bronze! The threads themselves are huge! I didn’t find anything on the jaws themselves but you can see the number 1 on the driver side of the vise. It’s a distinct thick number too. The jaws are 3” wide though and not the 3 1/4” I thought they were so not sure what that means. The meatball is interesting tho as it’s a hell of a fit for the collar and almost looks cast and not machined to shape. It literally looks like an exact match to the drawing in the 1854 Patent you posted tho

Wow, that is cleaning up beautifully and is an incredibly interesting vise! Thank you for sharing those pics.
Early meatballs sure do seem like a real grab bag. I still can't figure if this one is original, modified, or a doorknob welded to a screw.

 

[steaks&anvils]

View attachment 1522871
Early meatballs sure do seem like a real grab bag. I still can't figure if this one is original, modified, or a doorknob welded to a screw.

It's for when your cheater bar/pipe is one of those huge four foot railroad wrenches!

 

[WilsonLR]

... I'm torn between doing the original color and not fixing the random dents and marks on it. Or doing a more modern look and making it pretty. So I guess I'm asking for opinions. I intend on using it, not really looking for resale value, yet, at the same time, I know it's valuable and would hate to destroy it. TIA.

Interesting, I just went through the same thing but with a worthless and lowly Littlestown 400. Being my first vise restore, I was surprised at how much time it takes to get it down to the bare metal. I'm going to keep and use mine as well. As far as finishing it goes, I decided I'm going to be looking at it all the time. So rather than drive myself crazy with a historically correct green but screaming "LOOK AT ME", I'm going with dark gray. I'll let the next owner do the historical thing when it's 100 years old and I'm dead and gone. For me, the gray goes well with the polished steel bits as well as my nearby Craftsman gray drill press and drawer unit. YMMV

 

[exmaxima1]

Let’s post our “streamliner” vises!

I just missed winning an auction for a Precision Streamliner vise when I got outbid in the last 5 seconds.

Here is my Parker 63 1/2

Just found my Parker 63 1/2 and noticed it didn't have that hole on the anvil. Was that a different version?