The VISES of Garage Journal

Charles Waugh · Dec 6, 2010

My littlest Wilton - a 2 inch

Her's my littlest Wilton.
I got it for $35 on CL - with the ball mount!
The jaws are like new - smooth and tight.

I painted it red and inked the lettering with gold - kinda like a fire engine.

It goes with my 3" bullet Wilton that I use the most, and my 6" Wilton Tradesman that I use occasionally. I've also got an old Reed that needs fixin' up.

I made the base for it out of 3/4" steel and it can be bolted anywhere on my bench top using 1/2-13 socket head cap screws. My 3" is mounted the same way. My bench top is old tooling plate that has 1/2-13 holes all over it - terribly handy!

autopts · Dec 6, 2010

Re: My littlest Wilton - a 2 inch

Charles Waugh said:
Her's my littlest Wilton.
I got it for $35 on CL - with the ball mount!
The jaws are like new - smooth and tight.

I painted it red and inked the lettering with gold - kinda like a fire engine.

It goes with my 3" bullet Wilton that I use the most, and my 6" Wilton Tradesman that I use occasionally. I've also got an old Reed that needs fixin' up.

I made the base for it out of 3/4" steel and it can be bolted anywhere on my bench top using 1/2-13 socket head cap screws. My 3" is mounted the same way. My bench top is old tooling plate that has 1/2-13 holes all over it - terribly handy!

That, my friend, is a little beauty and......YOU STOLE IT!

Nightshift · Dec 6, 2010

Re: My littlest Wilton - a 2 inch

Charles Waugh said:
Her's my littlest Wilton.
I got it for $35 on CL - with the ball mount!

Charles, that is a cherry indeed. I'll give you $45 for it! (LMAO) :drool:

Bill

PT Doc · Dec 6, 2010

Here is my Columbian that I found locally. The guy wire wheeled it to clean it up and it looks quite solid. Weighs in at ~45#. Can't make out a model number on the smooth "plaque" area but there is an engraving on the slide: G 5011. Maybe it's S011. Any information based on this number? Can it be a 1950 vise?
I'm quite happy with the find. Nothing is bent, T jaws are still heavily checkered, swivels well and I haven't yet worked on it to clean it up.
Here are some photos:

blue dog · Dec 6, 2010

Beautiful little vise Charles, try not to get your finger caught in any more.

Doc, i like the look of the columbian without paint. good score.
Is it me or do some of the columbians look very similar to the morgans?

PT Doc · Dec 6, 2010

blue dog said:
Beautiful little vise Charles, try not to get your finger caught in any more.

Doc, i like the look of the columbian without paint. good score.
Is it me or do some of the columbians look very similar to the morgans?

I too like the look without paint and being as **** as I am, I would probably be less that happy with the vise after i file or grind through some paint accidentally.

Do I coat this in oil since it is in an unheated garage or should I leave as is? Thanks again.

blue dog · Dec 6, 2010

PT Doc said:
I too like the look without paint and being as **** as I am, I would probably be less that happy with the vise after i file or grind through some paint accidentally.

Do I coat this in oil since it is in an unheated garage or should I leave as is? Thanks again.

I am no expert, better left to those that are, but here is a pic of the mercury after cleaned up, just sprayed some pb blaster on it and gave it a good wipe down. you be the judge.

blazsawgras · Dec 6, 2010

here is my vise it has been used needs to be clened up but it is a columbian and it is very functional.

autopts · Dec 6, 2010

blue dog said:
I am no expert, better left to those that are, but here is a pic of the mercury after cleaned up, just sprayed some pb blaster on it and gave it a good wipe down. you be the judge.

That Mercury is nice!! One of us will find out who made it eventually.

autopts · Dec 6, 2010

PT Doc said:
Here is my Columbian that I found locally. The guy wire wheeled it to clean it up and it looks quite solid. Weighs in at ~45#. Can't make out a model number on the smooth "plaque" area but there is an engraving on the slide: G 5011. Maybe it's S011. Any information based on this number? Can it be a 1950 vise?
I'm quite happy with the find. Nothing is bent, T jaws are still heavily checkered, swivels well and I haven't yet worked on it to clean it up.
Here are some photos:

Could that number be 604? I have the identical in a 4 1/2 and my tag reads 604 1/2. "6" I believe was swivel, "2" is a swivel combo. I can't tell you the 1st # of a stationary is. I will after I go and look for it.

mjozefow · Dec 6, 2010

autopts said:
Could that number be 604? I have the identical in a 4 1/2 and my tag reads 604 1/2. "6" I believe was swivel, "2" is a swivel combo. I can't tell you the 1st # of a stationary is. I will after I go and look for it.

Nick, you have an amazing amount of vise info at your disposal. How long have you been doing this?

autopts · Dec 6, 2010

mjozefow said:
Nick, you have an amazing amount of vise info at your disposal. How long have you been doing this?

I've been doing it for a while. I had mountains of photos and word doc. info and I acidently formatted my external drive and erased everything. Now I have to go by my feeble memory. GJ had made nice vises harder to come by but thats ok by me. I'm nearing the end of my stock. I have maybe 10 Wiltons left and a few misc. Got a nice one on Ebay now..Take care buddy

Steve V. · Dec 7, 2010

Re: My littlest Wilton - a 2 inch

Charles Waugh said:
Her's my littlest Wilton.
I got it for $35 on CL - with the ball mount!
The jaws are like new - smooth and tight.

Nice vise Charles. I can see that you are in pain so go ahead and send that offender to me. I'll have a nice spot for it on my hobby table.

Steve

pfbz · Dec 8, 2010

Going to try and take a look at this one tomorrow. No specific info on it, but it looks like a Wilton C3 to me... Table included!

There's also this guy available. Any ideas what it is? Maybe a Charles Parker? Looks like a HEAVY vise base. Not sure how I'd move it!

LoFlow · Dec 8, 2010

pfbz said:
Going to try and take a look at this one tomorrow. No specific info on it, but it looks like a Wilton C3 to me... Table included!

There's also this guy available. Any ideas what it is? Maybe a Charles Parker? Looks like a HEAVY vise base. Not sure how I'd move it!

WOW! That is one crazy vise stand.

asp · Dec 8, 2010

I think the second one is in fact a Parker. Telltale signs are ornate webbing from the main body to the base on the back, shape of the jaws, and the hole in the screw handle for the anti-finger pinching device.

mjozefow · Dec 8, 2010

It is a Parker.

pfbz · Dec 8, 2010

pfbz said:
Going to try and take a look at this one tomorrow. No specific info on it, but it looks like a Wilton C3 to me... Table included!

There's also this guy available. Any ideas what it is? Maybe a Charles Parker? Looks like a HEAVY vise base. Not sure how I'd move it!

Just looked at these. The Wilton is a C2, not a C3. Already have one, so not as interested.

The second is a Parker as we thought. 954-1/2. The handle is a bit bent, and it definitely has seen some serious steel fabrication shop use.

The base is pretty cool, though it is mighty heavy and will be a pita to move.

I'm pretty good at valuing the Wilton Machinist and Combo vises, but not much idea what this guy is worth. Any thoughts?

spongerich · Dec 8, 2010

pfbz said:
I'm pretty good at valuing the Wilton Machinist and Combo vises, but not much idea what this guy is worth. Any thoughts?

With the handle bent like that, I wouldn't pay more than $40 for it assuming there are no other problems with it.

bczygan · Dec 8, 2010

$50

I've got a bunch of Parkers. Just paid $25 for a 3". Paid $50 for a 6".

pfbz · Dec 8, 2010

I'd buy them all day long for $40 or $50... It will go for a bunch more than that.

JustBob · Dec 9, 2010

This is the only vise I have had until recently, still looking for a large USA made vise. My dad gave me a workbench with this vise on it when I was younger(early 80's), It has been used rather hard, regularly, all these years...

Maybe its time to restore it, and bring it inside for lighter duty now

Even 11 · Dec 9, 2010

That Parker on an I-Beam is a bad ***!!

-Dane

autopts · Dec 9, 2010

JustBob said:
This is the only vise I have had until recently, still looking for a large USA made vise. My dad gave me a workbench with this vise on it when I was younger(early 80's), It has been used rather hard, regularly, all these years...

Maybe its time to restore it, and bring it inside for lighter duty now

Thats a great home vise Bob. You know for all my inside work, I use a 3 1/2" Littlestown. I love it.

Deskmechanic · Dec 9, 2010

My ugly, repaired and long-suffering Prentiss. Jaws aren't quite parallel, but that is a serious bit of welding that some long-ago owner did to it. One of these days I'll find a nicer one. In the meantime this works just fine.

19GMC63 · Dec 9, 2010

After a month or two or searching craigslist, garage/estate sales, etc., I went ahead and bought the first Wilton I saw on CL. Doesn't look to be that old (70's or 80's?, no date on key), 4" jaws. My first vise, and first vise "restoration".... just cleaned, lubed and painted it hammered gray. I love it.... smooth as silk. Now I just need to build a table for it.

Before:

Compared to my dad's Littlestown:

After:

pfbz · Dec 9, 2010

19GMC63 said:

Very nice! Did it come with those smooth jaws or did you replace them?

Ratdawg · Dec 9, 2010

A couple of my vises

A Columbian Cat NO 204 1/2-My Dad gave me this vise, it came out of his old Hardware Store. I thought of cleaning it up and repainting it, but I kind of like the looks of it like this.

A Reed 104-This one I did take apart and repaint. I was mad the first time I scratched it, but I soon got over it.

mazak mark · Dec 9, 2010

I found this **** little thing at a garage sale today.Its a Reed 4031/2R in really good shape,the pivot pin wasn't even stuck! got it for a whoping $25.00

LoFlow · Dec 9, 2010

mazak mark said:
I found this **** little thing at a garage sale today.Its a Reed 4031/2R in really good shape,the pivot pin wasn't even stuck! got it for a whoping $25.00

Sweet vise.

wxm · Dec 9, 2010

Ratdawg said:
A couple of my vises

A Columbian Cat NO 204 1/2-My Dad gave me this vise, it came out of his old Hardware Store. I thought of cleaning it up and repainting it, but I kind of like the looks of it like this.

A Reed 104-This one I did take apart and repaint. I was mad the first time I scratched it, but I soon got over it.

Love your work bench! :thumbup:

autopts · Dec 9, 2010

LoFlow said:
Sweet vise.

I second that! That restored Wilton and that original Columbian are great additions to this thread also.

ZRX61 · Dec 9, 2010

19GMC63 said:
Compared to my dad's Littlestown:

Maybe restore that Littlestown while he isn't looking

Ratdawg · Dec 10, 2010

wxm said:
Love your work bench!

Thanks wxm, the work bench came out of a Long's Drug store that closed and I made the welding table out of an old a/c unit

Muffduster · Dec 10, 2010

3½ Wilton. Small little vice with smooth jaws. Perfect for holding delicate stuff. Just picked it up on eBay for around $10.

Gary Indiana · Dec 11, 2010

asp said:
the hole in the screw handle for the anti-finger pinching device

That is interesting. Would you explain to a noob how that anti-pinching works?

asp · Dec 11, 2010

Gary Indiana said:
That is interesting. Would you explain to a noob how that anti-pinching works?

asp said:
I came up with this little band aid for my Parker 975. It took some trial and error, but I was able to make another very quickly to fix the one in the 994 after I figured out what worked. Threads are 7/16-14, for a size reference.

Different size vises have different threads in the handle...

Gary Indiana · Dec 11, 2010

Thanks, asp.

asp · Dec 11, 2010

You betcha. There's this too, which I plan on doing whenever I get around to it. It's on that list that we all have. You know, the one that never gets any shorter?

old salvage said:
Nice. You may like it even more if you replace the little brass (or bronze ?) cylinder with a steel ball. Runs even smoother. Especially so if the handle is loaded with dents and nicks.

LoFlow · Dec 12, 2010

A Reed 106, Well used, but works good for holding things while grinding and heating. And a small Japanese Babco.

The VISES of Garage Journal

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Banned

Well-known member

Banned

Attachments

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Member

Well-known member

Active member

Active member

Attachments

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member