The VISES of Garage Journal

Catalyze · May 8, 2011

Both my Parker and the Prentiss use tapered pins. The Parker had the original pin so I don't know if it is a standard taper (1/4" per foot). The Prentiss was a ?? taper and I just had to measure the narrowest part of the hole (bottom) and the top....and then just try to grind it between the two. Machinist dye after a while to see where it was rubbing and repeat. Make sure to post up photos as you go....no photos = no pie for you.

And yes, I used the Hammertone Rustoleum instead of basic black on the vise. I am fond of it now and really like Rustoleum in general.
Craig

wxm · May 8, 2011

Just picked up a Parker today. Will be cleaning it up - not sure I am going to bother with those tapered pins - probably just leave the jaws alone.

claymont · May 8, 2011

Catalyze said:
Both my Parker and the Prentiss use tapered pins. The Parker had the original pin so I don't know if it is a standard taper (1/4" per foot). The Prentiss was a ?? taper and I just had to measure the narrowest part of the hole (bottom) and the top....and then just try to grind it between the two. Machinist dye after a while to see where it was rubbing and repeat. Make sure to post up photos as you go....no photos = no pie for you.

And yes, I used the Hammertone Rustoleum instead of basic black on the vise. I am fond of it now and really like Rustoleum in general.
Craig

I read your vise recondition thread and saw what you did for the pin. When the the time comes for a clean up for this vise, I'll get one of the guys where I used to work to make me a pin, if I don't have my own lathe by then, I'm looking for one now. Actually, what the previous owner did works fairly well, when you drive a bolt into the taper, the threads roll over and conform to the taper. It won't move unless you put a wrench on the hex and give it tap with a hammer. There's just a slight amount of play in the jaw hole, but I can live with that for now.
Right now I'm cleaning up a mess I discovered in one of my toolbox drawers. All I can say at the moment is...don't store a liquid filled gage in with any tools that you value. What a mess that made, the liquid(supposed to be glycerin, I thought), leaked out when the rubber plug failed. It etched the scale on a combination square(which was supposedly satin chrome plated). Everything that it got on has some corrosion and build up on it, including the drawer box. I had a little chemical factory going on in that drawer :wtf:

I'll take some pictures of this mess and post a thread on it shortly.
I'll have to check out that paint, I like the looks.

Even 11 · May 8, 2011

wxm said:
Just picked up a Parker today. Will be cleaning it up - not sure I am going to bother with those tapered pins - probably just leave the jaws alone.

WXM;

That is a beautiful vise!! :thumbup:

What size are the jaws? :headscrat

That is the Parker style I need to own!! :willy_nil

I love the diagonal writing on it. :pimpflash

Nice Score!! :bounce:

-Dane

mbruffey · May 8, 2011

Here's a Rock Island #50. I'm no afficionado, but I haven't seen many (or any) vises with the swivel head, looking through this L-O-N-G thread--yet. I need to repair or replace the broken part you see sitting on the slide. Help? Mark

Gary Indiana · May 9, 2011

mbruffey said:
I need to repair or replace the broken part you see sitting on the slide.

A high quality weld should fix it, IMO but it would have to be real HIGH QUALITY: both the alignment of the two pieces and the welding technique would have to be neat and professional to make it lasting.

Someone here may have a replacement to offer if you post better pictures of the broken part alone.

porphyre · May 9, 2011

mbruffey said:
Here's a Rock Island #50. I'm no afficionado, but I haven't seen many (or any) vises with the swivel head, looking through this L-O-N-G thread--yet. I need to repair or replace the broken part you see sitting on the slide. Help? Mark

Measure it and see if you can buy a replacement part from Reed. Early Reeds and Rock Islands are so similar in so many regards that I feel like RI was a sub-brand or something.

I'll bet the part will fit.

Catalyze · May 9, 2011

On the broken screw nut.....almost any machine shop has repaired vises for folks to include making new lead screws and the main nut that they mate with. They can make you one with no drama I would wager. I chatted with a fellow who owns a shop here and he has one vise he has repaired several times due to wear and tear over the decades. The jaws never broke....just the nut and screw. You have a great vise with that swivel rear jaw still working. As you can see by some posts, folks will use a vise for everything under the sun before we get our hands on them.

WXM - Fantastic Parker! I too like the old "X" series vises. Don't worry about taking the jaw faces off if you don't need to do it. ******, wire wheel, mask, etc and bask in the warm glow of classic vise.

Catalyze · May 9, 2011

Just like radio stations play some mellow music after something a bit wild, here is a nice little Columbian Red Arrow. This one is an older model 31 swivel base. The model 30 was a stationary base. Later on the model for a Red Arrow was something like 63 1/2.
Here is the before:
View media item 9394
And the after:
View media item 9393
I thought that emphasizing the red of the Red Arrow would be different than the original all red item. It is a great little vise off of Fleabay for $9.00.
Craig

ZRX61 · May 9, 2011

My neighbor is feeding my illness, he just came by with a UK made Record, pics after dinner.

ZRX61 · May 9, 2011

ok then, during dinner... It has 4in jaws

And with UMD...

canuckian · May 9, 2011

ZRX61 said:
My neighbor is feeding my illness, he just came by with a UK made Record, pics after dinner.

Lucky you!! all my neighbors give me is funny looks!!! :lol_hitti

that's a fine looking vise! congrats!!

ZRX61 · May 9, 2011

It looks a bit better now

RC KID · May 9, 2011

I bought this vise based on info gained from Garage Journal.com. I found it locally, well... two hours away, but close enough.

Any information on what it is and when it was made would be greatly appreciated.

ZRX61 · May 9, 2011

Looks like the big brother of the one I have in post # 2136 a few pages back

mbruffey · May 9, 2011

Thanks catalyze and others. My machinist friend is in his 90's and just can't get to the shop any more--or he would already have fixed the part for me. I'm looking into other shop options, though. In the meantime, I posted specs and more pics over in another thread, so that I don't hijaak this one!

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101644

Thanks kindly for all the advice so far. There's just nothing like this vise new out there for less than 500-700 dollars!

Mark

wxm · May 10, 2011

Even 11 said:
WXM;

That is a beautiful vise!! What size are the jaws? That is the Parker style I need to own!! I love the diagonal writing on it. Nice Score!!

-Dane

4" Jaws. Took it apart today. It was surprisingly well made. I will be cleaning it up and repaint it. Love the color Catalyze is using on his, I think I might be painting it the same... :beer:

autopts · May 10, 2011

wxm said:
4" Jaws. Took it apart today. It was surprisingly well made. I will be cleaning it up and repaint it. Love the color Catalyze is using on his, I think I might be painting it the same...

That Parker is nice for its age. I believe but I'm not sure its pre 1930. The early Parkers had their name on an angle and only a 2 digit #. Later. that vise became a 974 as we all know and love.

wxm · May 10, 2011

autopts said:
That Parker is nice for its age. I believe but I'm not sure its pre 1930. The early Parkers had their name on an angle and only a 2 digit #. Later. that vise became a 974 as we all know and love.

It does have only 2-digit - #22 followed by an "x", not sure what the x stands for. I am new to the Parkers, what is the significant about pre 1930?

Here is a close up the picture (sorry the flash distorted the color a bit).

Catalyze · May 10, 2011

RC Kid - what a great find! Graz on that old Prentiss vise. I have a soft spot for the Prentiss company and it is too bad they didn't stick around longer than they did.

Here is a photo of an old Parker. It is a 4 3/4" jaw vise and is a 259X model. The opposite side has the usual company logo and Ct. factory location. This is not my photo so apologies to anyone owning the original.
View media item 9400
I have no idea where this one would place in the time line of Parkers. It has the round ball handle end instead of the cylindrical later type. It has the reference to the Semi Solid Steel Bar that I have seen on older Parkers.
My Parker 272 has no logo except the word Parker on one side and 272 on the other. I have a 1912 catalog showing the model and it has only Parker on one side so they changed their logo type as the years went by. They probably used some of the older molds for many years until they wore out or that model was not offered. I have no clue as to the reason for an "X" unless it supplanted an earlier different model or maybe was a Patent Pending model. It's all good stuff to me.
Craig (clueless as usual)

ZRX61 · May 10, 2011

Catalyze · May 10, 2011

ZRX - Getting small tonight? LOL Nice hand vise....and the baby benchtop too. I keep trying to snag a Stanley benchtop vise that has Stanley cast into the slide side. They get sort of crazy expensive in a hurry.....even the broken ones.
Craig

ZRX61 · May 10, 2011

I needed the handvise, the guy threw the other one in for another $2.00

Gary Indiana · May 10, 2011

Lowell Pattern hand vise. Bought at a fleamarket. This one was made in ~1990 in Soviet Russia.

The Lowell Pattern gives much more precise gradual adjustment of grip compared to visegrips. Handy tool for holding small items to grind and polish.

TOOL MASTER · May 10, 2011

i have a big old vise from 60s..but i use my woodworking vise with aluminum jaws more than anything...

steel 35 · May 10, 2011

Another fairly new guy, keep trying Ryan's sites out and this one is Painful, think I spent 40 days and 40 nights to get to the end of this thread but I looked at a lot of others first after seeing how many posts, I built a pretty fair shop about 10 years ago and didn't even mount my vise just used it on the floor, guess now I know why it says Japan on it! finally made a swinging mount that hides it under a bench but haven't finished cleaning that area up enough to take photos yet thats the painfully part been disgraced on this board. Here is a vise I haven't seen anything like, got it a few houses down at an estate sale of a neighbor that was a fabricator at the largest amusement park I can think of and never heard If he made this or where it came about. Had to have it and made it my first vise clean up while taking a break from this form. 5" wide jaws

Catalyze · May 11, 2011

Steel 35 - Two slices of pie for you tonight! That is a way cool vise and the maker did a very nice bit of work. How wide are the jaws just to satisfy my curiosity?

Gary - that is a great tool for the small bits that cause me to grind/buff/polish my fingers all the time

ZRX61 - for the $2 you did well......however my wife would use it to hold notes telling me to get back into the house for dinner
Craig

Catalyze · May 11, 2011

No clue from me but it is an interesting shape. Sort of a lump effect. As long as it squeezes and lasts, then it's okay by me.
Craig

sstruckguy · May 12, 2011

Wanna Ride said:
You guys got me hooked now. I'm on the lookout for one of those big Athols.

Here's a pic of the one I just picked up at the garage sale. I scored it for a measley $20! I unbolted it from the old bench they had it on, and I couldn't run out of there fast enough. I felt like I was robbing a bank! The jaws measure about 5 inches.

You would think that in 2100 plus posts, there would be more than 2 examples of this vise. Its been in my family for 40 + years, and in my possession over 25 years. It has always been a running gag about it being polish made, because of its backwards stationary jaw:

Capacity:

Label:

Obviously I don't do heavy fabrication or work my "Made in Poland" piece, but I use an anvil and other devices for the heavy work. This is one of my favorite tools! (as it should be) :beer:

sawatch · May 12, 2011

Just got this Athol from a member, great condition and sweet size.

autopts · May 12, 2011

sawatch said:
Just got this Athol from a member, great condition and sweet size.

Your getting a nice collection Chad. That Athol is near perfect.

sawatch · May 12, 2011

I sold my Prentice Bulldog the same day but it was a great exchange. Gotta luv those Athols.

NeilH · May 12, 2011

how does the British Record compare to your top brand vice?

ZRX61 · May 12, 2011

NeilH said:
how does the British Record compare to your top brand vice?

The UK made ones are superior to anything made anywhere else

It's possible I may be a bit biased

Catalyze · May 12, 2011

Gorgeous Athol there! The underslide support on them is their signature to me. Someday one will stumble into my clutches....or throwout bearing.
Craig

ZRX61 · May 12, 2011

Catalyze said:
Gorgeous Athol there! The underslide support on them is their signature to me. Someday one will stumble into my clutches....or throwout bearing.
Craig

Los Angeles seems to be awash with them. I see them all over the place.

t100 · May 12, 2011

ok, let me ask you guys this. on a Reed 404, how to I removed the pin which holding the swivel jaw?

it looks like this one only the pin sticks out just half inch.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1140376&postcount=11

Catalyze · May 12, 2011

Well.....you just latch on to it and pull it straight up and out. The pin should be about
1 1/2" long when removed. Then to remove the jaw once the pin is pulled out, you have to swivel the jaw until the back of it clears the main body. Then it just comes out forward. It is just a half circle that rotates in the body. The pin has not tricks....just pull it out like King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone. If you want to see how the jaw removes once the pin is out, I have a Prentiss vise thread that shows it. Good luck and marvelous vise!
Craig

Retro_shop · May 12, 2011

Picked up this table and vise for a C-note from a guy in the hinterlands. Table is 1.5" thick with Schedule 80 legs. Came out the differential shop of a local dairy. The vise is a #17 Hollands. Probably won't need to upgrade this one.

old salvage · May 12, 2011

Now THAT is a work table !!

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