Recent content by Gerard

Aside from being mistakenly cast as a "HARS PARKER" Vise, it appears to have the kind of base that the later Union Parker vises have; the style with three bolt holes that works with a swivel base or as a stationary. As far as I know, that design didn't come around until long after WWII, and I've...

I believe you have the two screws swapped around there. The one with the Allen hex head will fit into the hole on the bottom so it isn't sticking out. At least that's how it was when I found it. Yes, I admit I was the seller of that vise. I really thought about offering it up on here first, but...

Anyone know the manufacturer of this little hand vise? The jaws are 1 7/16" wide. Labeled "C.D.-U.S.A." but couldn't find anything relevant to C.D. as a vise manufacturer in a search. Probably nothing special, just something I picked up cheap at the flea market to use if I need to hold something...

Does anyone have any more information or advertisements for this vise? It's a "universal all purpose" rotating/double swivel vise made by Universal Vise & Tool Co and I couldn't find any similar to it in a search. The wheel handle seems like something somebody drilled for and bolted on at some...

Thanks everyone. There are some shallow cut marks on top that couldn't be seen from that angle, but that looks like about the hardest use it saw, and importantly the slide seems to have been spared from any makeshift anvil duty.

Finally got my $20 estate sale Prentiss 264 properly mounted, and took some new pictures to celebrate. Here it is in all its fully unrestored ~62-71 year old patina glory. Has anyone ever determined when Parker stopped producing Prentiss vises? I remember reading that Parker bought Prentiss in...

Maybe one jaw was broken at the edge at some point and that was someone's way of fixing it. It would bother me to have the jaw faces hanging off the sides, but if the vise was shaved down on both sides, I don't see any reason it couldn't be saved by cutting the jaw faces to match, or replacing...

Is there a scan of that whole catalog somewhere? That's the first scanned page I've ever seen from a Meriden-era Prentiss catalog.

I got my $20 Prentiss 264 at an estate sale, and even though I was there a few minutes before the start time, it seemed like people were being let in for at least half an hour beforehand, and most of the people there were going crazy for the tools. I guess I was just lucky that there weren't any...

Awesome. Thanks for the info. On closer look there are some more subtle differences from Parker styling, but at first glance it sure looked like one to me. They really developed a totally different, uniquely Columbian style later on. I also had no idea they were "malleable iron" all the way...

Spotted a vise on eBay that has me really intrigued. It's marked as a Columbian 604 which is a standard 4" Columbian model... except this one looks absolutely nothing like a typical Columbian and instead looks more like a Parker 974 but without the special Parker jaws and collar. Never seen...

Catalogs show that Prentiss first came out with the split ring swivel base in 1935 or 1936, quite a while before the Parker buyout. I have seen plenty of New York Prentii with the split ring base. It is a great design.

That Reed looks very, very well done. Clean lines and crisp lettering. I generally have a "factory original" kind of taste, but I actually really like that shade of yellow and it fits nicely.

Superior series Parker for $50... you ****. That is easily among the best vises of its size ever made. The homemade wood jaw covers are pretty cool. Worth keeping around in case you need them, or just as a piece of history from the previous owner and user.

I don't know of anyone who sells Prentiss jaws other than KMScott who is well known on this forum. I don't see your particular model listed but there is a 3 1/2" Prentiss jaw that might fit. Those are listed at $70 which in my opinion isn't a bad investment if the vise checks out as solid and...