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I checked a couple of mine and they just have a round pin like most vises use. Mike

Kenc, I recently sold a swivel base 4 1/2 inch Athol that also had smooth jaws. I think all the others I’ve had have had the cross hatched jaws. I have never tried to remove the spring but I was thinking that mine had a pin holding the spring and washer in place. Mike

Oily Nails: Are these common in America? Is it the same Bridgeport as the machining centres? Hand vises are not uncommon here, but marked ones less so. I would agree with Trijeff that it is probably a rebranded Miller’s Falls. My no. 3 MF only has the vertical notch on one side but also has a...

I picked this vise up at a local FM last Sunday, primarily because it was in excellent condition, and I don’t have one like it. What I would like to know is who made it. It has a Prentiss look to it but I’m not sure. The only mark is a "3" cast in the side. Jaws are 3 in. wide which is what I...

Ken, here’s a link to the literature for your vise. http://www.rustyiron.com/literature/ColeDrill.pdf Mike

Does anyone know what the patent no. Is for this Bonney vise. I have a lot of patents downloaded, but have not been able to find this one. Any help would be much appreciated. Mike

Patent no. 1,111,103 by Carl Shields on September 22, 1914. http://www.datamp.org/patents/advance.php?pn=1111103&id=12696&set=2 Mike

Thanks for the compliments! I forgot to mention it was Duplicolor Ford Toreador Red over Duplicolor primer. Mike

Here’s a 204 1/2 R that I finished a couple months ago. It was in good shape except for a deep divot on the rear where a previous owner had used it to cut stuff. I filled it with Devcon epoxy and then got a little carried away and filled in all the rest of the spots it had, which were many...

Glad to hear it worked!

I recently refinished a 204 1/2R that was quite rusty, but the threaded split collar wasn’t frozen. Removal of the set screw on the side will allow the "split collar" to be removed. The single set screw is all that keeps it from rotating. In a previous post a member suggested putting a screw...

Re: How many vises do you own? Currently I have at least 110 that I could find, not including the 20 or so hand vises. Most of them are the smaller clamp on style. Sizes range from a 6 in. No. 577 Rock Island to a 3/8 X 3 7/8 blacksmiths leg vise made from brass. The rarest is a Paul Hamler...

My 204 1/2 R with the meatball lead screw has no dates that I could find, even with a magnifying glass. Also, the main nut is cast, rather than forged. In addition the bottom and sides of the dovetail on the nut have been machined as has the cavity in the tower where it fits. Best job I’ve ever...

If your vise has a swivel base the easiest way is to remove the dynamic jaw and the main nut. Then remove the center bolt and the base, turn the vise over and rest the swivel portion on a support that will raise it up enough so you have a half inch or so of clearance under the pin. Put a long...

Interesting vise. It appears to be a J R Long patent, number 667,152. Long was a prolific inventor, who was also responsible for the Wil-Burt Versa Vise and the Columbian Gyro Vise. Along with some wrench patents, I have found 28 of his various patents so far. Mike

There should be a hole in the bottom so a bar can be inserted to use it as a "giant pipe wrench". Their words, not mine. I would imagine, that with the right length bar, you could also make a post vise out of it. Mike

007: I had the same problem with a smaller Reed. Not knowing exactly how I was going to make one, I hit on the idea that maybe one of my tapered punches might fit. I realized it was a long shot, but had a bunch of punches so nothing to lose. It turned out that one of the Craftsman’s fit...

Dave, "so does this mean the vise is pre-Sweetheart?". Yes. The S. R. & L Co. merged with the Stanley Works sometime around 1919-1920. After that, until around 1935, tools were marked with one of the three Stanley Sweethart marks, depending on the year of manufacture. Mike

The link to the patent will help explain how they worked. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/bc/b3/ac/4ea51e86221b66/US1012226.pdf

The company that made your vise was the Stephens Patent Vise Co. Mike