The VISES of Garage Journal

[Mr. Wonderful]

Brand new out of the box Wilton 800S! (mic drop) It had some surface rust on it though. I should probably throw it away and get another one.

 

[JradM]

Brand new out of the box Wilton 800S! (mic drop) It had some surface rust on it though. I should probably throw it away and get another one.

The things I would do for a vise like that...

That's a beauty

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Thanks! The scale of this vise is unbelievable. It absolutely dwarfs the C3 in my shop. This is my first time seeing an 8" vise in person and not on a screen. I can see why these monsters command such high prices in the secondary market. At 240lbs its hard to imagine some of the other manufacturers tipping the scales at 300+lbs.

 

[ejot]

Wow that is stunning!

I take it your from the Hudson Valley area then. Thank you for the insight. Any idea where I can find a date code on it?

Yes indeed, and no problem.
Unfortunately I believe there is no date stamp on basically all Parkers.

 

[67carl]

Got 2 Wiltons waiting on a restoration (along with 2 block grinders).

 

[Loga_3]

Here is my small collection,

Record Imp No 80.
I absolutely LOVE this little thing! I restored it about a year ago, and it have already gotten some battle scars. I use it quite a lot!


This is my home vise. Seem to exist with many different names. No manufacture country is to be found on it, anyone know? Its built like a small tank. Precision made dovetail.


Speaking of tanks. This is my trusted USSR welding vise. The only markings on it is "Made in USSR".


I also have this rather unusual(?) old Bahco pipe vise. I assume it probably was made in the 50/60's since it got the name
"B.A. Hjorth & Co" on it. (Trivia: If you didn't know, that is what Bahco stands for! B.A. = Berndt August).


Last and certainly not least, my old Heuer Front. I'm not exactly sure about the year on this one. It got the new beam-style. But the old tube-styled thread cover. Also the ball bearings on the spindle. 50's perhaps?

 

[Shiftless]

While going through my collection, I rediscovered a clamp on vise with a swivel base that I repainted a while back. The brand name seems to be “SOLAR”
A quick web search found this one with the original label. I can make out Solar and U.S.A.
What are the words on the top part of the label?
Dependable?

Thanks!

 

[javyLSU]

Looks like “Dependable tools” to me.

 

[RTM]

Solar goes way back. There are two or three companies, one in Germany, and one in the US in New Jersey, another in NY, at least.

This link might get you some leads if you add vise into the search box.

Google Search

The German seems to be a product line of Jordan of Germany, and is probably a dead end.

Deutsche Werkzeughersteller und -händler: Tillmanns & Maier, Velbert

Putzhobel/Smoothing Plane (Jordan/Germany)

 

[Shiftless]

Thanks guys…DEPENDABLE TOOLS !

I‘ll assume it’s from NY or NJ

 

[Catcher1984]

Found this SO 1750 vise a few weeks after I found my 1760. You can see the size difference between them and oddly enough they both have the same swivel base.

I heard from others on this forum that the tradesman model Wiltons have weak/powdered metal vise jaws but both of these were in great shape. The 1760 is a 1986 model and the 1750 is from 1984.

 

[tool_scrounge]

This is my home vise. Seem to exist with many different names. No manufacture country is to be found on it, anyone know? Its built like a small tank. Precision made dovetail.

I have one of these vises and it came with a "made in Poland" sticker.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Found this SO 1750 vise a few weeks after I found my 1760. You can see the size difference between them and oddly enough they both have the same swivel base.

I heard from others on this forum that the tradesman model Wiltons have weak/powdered metal vise jaws but both of these were in great shape. The 1760 is a 1986 model and the 1750 is from 1984.

Even though I know they are the same thing I would definitely pay more for the SO branded wilton lol. Those are two very nice examples!

 

[Loga_3]

I have one of these vises and it came with a "made in Poland" sticker.

Mystery solved. Thanks!

 

[Mr_P]

It's been 20 months and 4 days since my last post, so I feel like I have quite a bit of catching up to do..... For your viewing pleasure... This came out of a slide show set which had hundreds of photos from the 1940s. This particular photo was work in the chemistry industry, possibly Polish....

 

[Mr_P]

Here's a few photos from a school in the Netherlands in the 1940s....

 

[javyLSU]

Found this SO 1750 vise a few weeks after I found my 1760. You can see the size difference between them and oddly enough they both have the same swivel base.

I heard from others on this forum that the tradesman model Wiltons have weak/powdered metal vise jaws but both of these were in great shape. The 1760 is a 1986 model and the 1750 is from 1984.

When I was looking for my vise, I was also surprised to see the difference between the 1755 and the 1760. I wanted the smaller size of the 1755 since I wanted to mount it on my toolbox, so that’s what I wound up with (a 2018 model, right before they sent production over to Taiwan). It just struck me as really funny to see how much bigger the 1760 is over the 1755.

 

[CRSINMICH]

Mr P: Welcome back and thanks for the industrial photos. I hope they were taken prior to invasion by Germany. Poland 1939 and Netherlands 1940.

 

[steaks&anvils]

Here's a few photos from a school in the Netherlands in the 1940s....

Do kids today know how to use a vise?

 

[Shiftless]

Do kids today know how to use a vise?

Judging by all of the hammer marks and bends on handles and even broken jaw towers we all see on the used vises that pop up, I’d say that quite a few ADULTS don’t know how to properly use a vise.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Happy Halloween Vise Friends.
Yesterday, at an auction, I won this 9", quick release woodworking vise for $30 (first 2 pictures). Almost everything I get at auctions are for resale. Although I could make a good profit on this one, I'm thinking of replacing my 7" Morgan 10A (3rd & 4th pictures) with it. Occupational hazard of reselling tools & equipment.

EDIT: The vise actually has 10" jaws. After checking resale values of various WW vises in different markets, I decided to restore and keep my Toles vise.

 

[RTM]

Toles made very nice WW vices. But your Morgan is no slouch. Only down side is the work to install, and since you didn't inlet it, nbd.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Toles made very nice WW vices. But your Morgan is no slouch. Only down side is the work to install, and since you didn't inlet it, nbd.

The reason that I'm on the fence is that I really don't need a WW vise for woodworking. Never used the bench dog. However, a WW vise is very useful for soft clamping over a larger area than a normal bench vise. If I mount the Tole on my bench, the top will be at the same level as the bench top. Which can have advantages. Guess I have time to think about a good problem.

 

[bastel]

Hi. I got this vise recently. I wonder who made it. Inside was covered in greasy gunk, so the everything including the swivel jaw is in perfect condition. Cast in jaws inserts are not 100% flat, though.

 

[bastel]

It's been 20 months and 4 days since my last post, so I feel like I have quite a bit of catching up to do..... For your viewing pleasure... This came out of a slide show set which had hundreds of photos from the 1940s. This particular photo was work in the chemistry industry, possibly Polish....

it's a Peddinghaus Record first gen with dust wipers.

 

[bastel]

Here's a few photos from a school in the Netherlands in the 1940s....

These triangular vises on the 2nd picture are steel vises (like the peddinghaus). They look like blacksmith vises made bench vise and you see them now and then in germany. I have an old Westfalia catalog where they are sold.

 

[Fierljeppen]

Hi. I got this vise recently. I wonder who made it. Inside was covered in greasy gunk, so the everything including the swivel jaw is in perfect condition. Cast in jaws inserts are not 100% flat, though.

Your vise is an unmarked Columbian Vise & Mfg. Co. no. 403-1/2 swivel jaw vise. I knew they were a big importer to Europe, but I've never seen an unmarked Columbian before.

I think if you look at the jaws a little closer, you'll see that they are actually pinned and removable as opposed to cast-in-jaws.

Use the following scans as a reference for your vise, nice pickup by the way.

 

[bastel]

Your vise is an unmarked Columbian Vise & Mfg. Co. no. 403-1/2 swivel jaw vise. I knew they were a big importer to Europe, but I've never seen an unmarked Columbian before.

I think if you look at the jaws a little closer, you'll see that they are actually pinned and removable as opposed to cast-in-jaws.

Use the following scans as a reference for your vise, nice pickup by the way.

thanks for the info. Maybe some letters are hiding underneath the paint. Won‘t touch it for quite a while, though.
Gotta ship some vises, UPS has some new interesting volume based shippig options over here that I want to exploit to ship some heavy stuff for reasonable prices before they change their mind.

 

[thebmrust]

Came across this 8” vise on Craigslist. I think I paid $75 for it.
It’s NTC but in all of the “lists” I have read, NTC doesn’t show up. I have done a few searches (National Tool Co, Natl Trading Co, etc.) but in all honesty, I’m never going to lose sleep not knowing the provenance, so to speak.

I’m not at home to get all the specs, other than it’s BIG but honestly not very heavy.
I will update the specs as I get to it later this week (I put a can next to it for scale comparison).

edit:
100lbs
8in jaw size
9in opening

 

[Outlawmws]

MIC, Grey cast iron. Don't abuse it, it WILL break...

 

[Shiftless]

No doubt an Asian import cast in fairly low quality iron. The really good old vises with 8 inch wide jaws weigh in at well over 200 pounds. Here is an example of a typical mode of catastrophic failure In that line of vises.

But as Outlaw said, if you don’t abuse it it will work for you.

 

[thebmrust]

I’m not surprised, I never get the good deals on CL.

 

[Shiftless]

I’m not surprised, I never get the good deals on CL.

Post your location and maybe somebody will steer you toward a good deal.

 

[Shiftless]

I’m not surprised, I never get the good deals on CL.

Let it be known around the guys you work with and the older fellas around your area who might be downsizing or getting too old to do a lot of heavy work anymore. Somebody might know of an old rusty and/or paint spattered vintage vise that you could trade labor for or trade something or cash.
Are you familiar with the quality lesser known brand names? Lots of guys are chasing good deals on Wilton bullet vises but honestly, there are many other brands that are desireable.
Reed, Rock Island, Starrett, Athol, Morgan, Hollands, older Yosts, …

 

[Catcher1984]

I was doing some research on some vises and was wondering how much difference there is between the Wilton C1 combination vise Vs a Wilton 1760 tradesman vise.

They both seem to open about the same around 6”, have pipe jaws, throat depth seems to be similar as well. And I think weight is about 80lbs for the C1 and 70lbs for the tradesman. Besides the obvious price difference, I know tradesman were the value Wilton bullet vises, but are there any major drawback?

I’ve been looking for a C1 for a while but managed to get a 1760 recently that is pretty stout and beefy. I don’t really need pipe jaws I just like the extra throat depth that come with combination vises. Are C1’s a much better vise? Would a reed 2C be comparable or even better? How about a Yost 32C or 33C? (I was initially looking for one of these). And I love the 1760 but I miss having the larger jaw opening, and was wondering if there were 4-1/2” or 5” jaw combination vises that open farther.

 

[Shiftless]

Just about everybody will agree that the Wilton C series vises are clearly superior to the tradesman line. But comparing them to the Reed C series is more controversial. In my opinion, the Reeds are a step above but at that point, it’s more of a personal taste question. The bullet shape of the Wiltons is desirable to many. The completely sealed slide might be an advantage to some guys depending on their uses.

I have a Yost 32C in my collection, but for my daily user, I have a Wilton C 1 on my workbench.

 

[454ragtop]

I think the weak link on the C series are the swivel bases, have had a couple needing swivel base parts. The Tradesman's also can have swivel base issues, as well as the fairly common issue with bent slide tubes. I suspect a lot of the extra weight in the C series is in heavier and stronger slide tubes. I'd suggest if you come across a Reed or other quality vintage US made combo in good shape to grab it, IMO the Wilton Tradesman series are way over rated.

 

[TrishFS]

Just wondering if anyone can tell me anything about this vise. I was wondering what the brand is, but age or any other info would be great too. There are no numbers or info on it other than the W or M (depending which way it is suppose to be read).
Any info is appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[CRSINMICH]

Trish: That's a W which stands for Wilton. It's a drill press vise that can hold the workpiece so that the hole will be drilled at an angle. Be careful when tilting it because it's easy to get pinched fingers. It's a nice vise from a highly regarded manufacturer. Congrats.

 

[TrishFS]

Trish: That's a W which stands for Wilton. It's a drill press vise that can hold the workpiece so that the hole will be drilled at an angle. Be careful when tilting it because it's easy to get pinched fingers. It's a nice vise from a highly regarded manufacturer. Congrats.

Thanks CRSINMICH, it already bit my finger! haha
I did wonder if it was a Wilton, but cannot find any other Wilton vises with the same W logo. The old Wilton logo 'W' is more like 3 separate angled lines where as this is all joined together. Is it possible it is another company maybe affiliated with Wilton? Or maybe one Wilton bought out? I also thought it looked similar to a Palmgren. I am in Australia so did wonder if it may have been rebranded (as many machines are), but the fact that the W is moulded into the vice has me stumped. I would be happy to claim it as a Wilton, but just want to be sure.