Recent content by Snoopy2x

The beam (the part that slides through the body) was only partially painted on my 5169 vise, which is in the same family as the 5170 vise. Just the ends of the beam were originally painted, and the portion that was concealed in the body when the jaws were closed was left unpainted.

Thank you for the compliment, and this is an interesting revelation to me. I didn't remove the handle from the hub during my restoration, nor did the machine shop that straightened it for me. The handle slides easily in the hub, so apparently, the leaf spring or springs must have lost tension...

Thank you! To the best of my knowledge, all the 519X vises have the model number stamped into the hub. Here’s mine: The date stamp on the slide:

Thanks very much! Re. your 5242, you might contact https://www.benchvisejaws.com/ and ask if they would be able to make a replacement set of jaws for you.

For what it's worth, here's a color swatch of the Duplicolor DA1612 Machinery Gray noted above. This helps to give some idea of what it looks like, though when applied, the actual paint color is a bit lighter than this swatch makes it appear (at least on my monitor).

Here's a 5196 on eBay that was made in 1957. Most of the original blue-gray paint on this vise is still present. A 5195 with original paint:

The unrestored Craftsman 5170 vise pictured below dates from the late 1950's. It’s similar in color to the original paint that was on my 5197, which was manufactured in 1956. I don't know if any spray paint manufacturers currently make this color, but Duplicolor DA1612 Machinery Gray is fairly...

That blue does look good! I went with a darker gray on mine...

The original paint color on my 5197 vise was close to what’s now generically called Industrial Gray or Battleship Gray. It was a bluish medium-gray color.

That’s a great idea!!

I would suggest soaking it in Evaporust for a few days. However, it would likely take several gallons to do this, given 5197’s size when assembled. You could in addition or alternatively try soaking the frozen parts with a penetrating oil, like Kroil.

In case anyone with a Craftsman 5197 (or any other 4-1/2" vise) is considering getting a set of soft jaws for it, I can highly recommend the 4.5" Wilton Magnefix. Having tried out several different brands, these are by far the highest quality I was able to find, and they look great on the vise...

Thanks very much! I did find and post photos of this vise on the 5197 Registry thread ( https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/craftsman-5197-registry.432769/ ). I haven't found another thread dedicated specifically to this vise series, but if there is one, and a moderator wants to move...

I recently purchased a Craftsman 5197 from a man who found it in a barn at a farm sale, mounted on a very old bench. When I acquired it, with the exception of the handle being bent, the vise was in remarkably good condition overall. At the time I bought this vise, I'd just recently...

Good question, and you're correct that the construction of the bench was the primary reason I didn't move the vise closer to the front edge, or for that matter, closer to the side. It did occur to me that I wouldn't be able to hold lengthy things in the jaws vertically, being mounted the way it...