Recent content by asadsack

I recently snagged a Merrill Bros 5 inch vise. Unfortunately, it's missing the base plate and the lower locking handle. This seems to be common with the Merrill Bros vises. If anyone has these (or any other Merrill Bros vise) parts, please let me know. Thank you.

Here's my latest find. It's a Merrill Bros No 5 vise. It weighs about 75 pounds. I've been looking for one of these for a while. Considering it's age -- at least 100 years old -- it's in pretty good shape. Should clean up nicely. Of course, it's missing the baseplate and lower locking handle...

Here's the Lewis Vise cleaned up and ready to go. The first picture is what I received and the last two, how it looks now. Aside from the fact that I need to make a new handle--not a big deal, the hardest part was straightening the upper bar. This seems to be a common affliction with this...

I recently picked up a Lewis swivel vise. Aside from having the usual crud and having had someone's initials carved into the front jaw, missing the original handle, and having the top steel bar slightly bent downward (I've seen this problem on several examples of this model), it's in relatively...

Hi b100, Glad to be back. Kind of went away from vises. I've chosen an impossible quest for myself--to find a Merrill Bros Model 4 vise with 8-inch jaws, opens 12 inches, and weighs 212 pounds. Oh, and to find one in good shape, reasonably-priced, and that's not located halfway around the...

Here's a picture of my new vise that's coming next week. I picked it up on e**y. It's a model 164 Prentiss Shepard vise. I think it's about 100 years old--at least. According to the old catalog listing I've seen, it's the largest of these types that were made and weighs about 45 pounds. I think...

Thanks for the support and the positive comments about the old 108. Believe it or not, the jaws don't stick together when they're closed. There's still 1/4" distance from the bottom of each hole to each front jaw face. I guess with this size magnet, it's enough thickness to prevent them from...

Columbian 108 is finished--finally. Here are some pix of my 108 and the new jaws I made for it. Not the most high-tech solution, but it works for me. I simply took two 8.5" X 1" X 2" blocks of grade 2 tool steel, had a friend of mine drill two 1 1/8" D X 3/4" deep holes on center, and put one 1"...

Hi, Nice Merrill Bros. It's funny that I mentioned one of these vises the other day and all of a sudden, there's yours. How big is this vise. They came in four sizes. The biggest was over 200 pounds. Seeing yours, gives me hope that one will turn up for me.

Hi, Based on some catalog reprints I've seen, the biggest Parker vise had 8-inch jaws and weighed about 300 pounds. The 1939 catalog lists it as a model 808. They probably made a swivel version of this model. A 12-inch jaw Parker would really be interesting.

Hi, That's a good way to put it about the 108. Although it did get nipped a bit, I think the end result is all good. One of these days, I'll rustle up the dough and have the shoulders milled and new jaws made. As for the Vanderman, it was a Number 3. It weighed about 160 pounds. Unfortunately...

Here's a link to check out my little bench vise that I rescued from the ravages of an evil trucking company maintenance garage. This poor old Columbian 108 was beaten so badly that both jaws were knocked out. As if that wasnt bad enough, it was also the victim of some stupid amateur repairs that...

HI, Thanks for the compliment. If you liked this resto, check out my new posting. It concerns a beat-up old Columbian 108 I was able to bring back to life.

Hello to all. I've been away for awhile. Here's a vise I picked up recently--it's a Yost 34. It was a real rust bucket when I found it--not surprising since I was told it lived it's long life in a boat yard. It's an old Yost. Meadville, PA address, jaw inserts that are cast into the vise, a...