The VISES of Garage Journal

Outlawmws · Jun 25, 2012

BullfrogJohnson said:
Is there a roll pin that holds it in place in the rear hole or is there a stop that slides behind it?

Well pull that out and you should find a hole, possibly with a pisce of pin stuck in it. soft iron and solid usually. (I'm talking nail soft, which may be a source for a replacement pin...)

Does the screw basically fall out of the dynamic (movable) jaw? or is it captive?

toomanytoyzz · Jun 25, 2012

I just found this on CL http://newjersey.craigslist.org/tls/3092579162.html. Anyone know the brand? I've never heard of them, but it's definitely a beast.

Jtoddaz · Jun 25, 2012

I don't have it off the stand yet, so it's about 100 lbs. the jaws are 4.5 inches wide, and I'm guessing the vise will come out at 50-60 lbs. I'll let you know after I get the angle grinder fired up.

nine4gmc · Jun 26, 2012

Jtoddaz said:
How is it that I just finish restoring my first vise and I find myself browsing CL looking at vises??

Well, I found one that caught my eye. Really good condition, with bright orange paint covering the entire thing. It's actually on a post mounted on a semi rim. The handle is odd, as the ends don't match, but the square end is actually held on with a set pin. Either a replacement or really old. It's marked No. 104 1/2 on one side, and Reed, and some patent dates on the other. It's sitting in a bath of Citrus based paint stripper as we speak.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Nice vise! I just picked up a Reed 104 recently, waiting on a blaster to restore it. Be sure to post up progress!

Outlawmws · Jun 26, 2012

toomanytoyzz said:
I just found this on CL http://newjersey.craigslist.org/tls/3092579162.html. Anyone know the brand? I've never heard of them, but it's definitely a beast.

American is a good vise! Good score!

zoomieport · Jun 26, 2012

amaes said:
YEAH its a 35. Sorry. I saw your post a while back. I was hoping to trade for some old tools because i like restoring them or enough cash to help buy my off road lights for my prerrunner.

The search continues... Thanks anyway!!!

Outlawmws · Jun 26, 2012

My latest vise acquisition: A 1" jawed hand held "post" style, which is not my smallest vise! overall height is under 3-3/4". It now live in the tiny Tool box!

Oops, posting this jogged my memory and it's actually my second smallest! the smallest is another hand held, similar clamping, but a spring "hinge"

Jaws mic out at .356 so between 5/16 and 3/8's of an inch!

Those are in the jaws of my battle scarred Parker 974.

Canoe50 · Jun 26, 2012

BJ42LX said:
Hahaha, this guy knows his vises. $5

Yes he does. He also had 2 Wilton's for sale, a 100+lb. Chicago era bullet & a 62 lb. Schiller Park. Both in very nice shape.

zoomieport · Jun 26, 2012

Canoe50 said:
Yes he does. He also had 2 Wilton's for sale, a 100+lb. Chicago era bullet & a 62 lb. Schiller Park. Both in very nice shape.

I'll take the Chicago Wilton for $5!

Laker · Jun 26, 2012

All three restored with the help of GJ!

1) My Grand-Uncle's Erie #44
2) Reed 106
3) Parker 973

BJ42LX · Jun 26, 2012

Canoe50 said:
Yes he does. He also had 2 Wilton's for sale, a 100+lb. Chicago era bullet & a 62 lb. Schiller Park. Both in very nice shape.

zoomieport said:
I'll take the Chicago Wilton for $5!

He was asking $200 for the Chicago Wilton. It looked in real good shape. It had been painted, but the jaws were clean and the swivel nuts/arms were very nice. I was going to wait a few days and give him a call to see if he'd soften up on price. But it only lasted 2 days and it was gone.

Canoe, did you buy it?

kald · Jun 26, 2012

Here is my 604 1/2 Columbian.

Steve V. · Jun 26, 2012

kald said:
Here is my 604 1/2 Columbian.

That's good looking Kald. What color of blue is that?

Steve

kald · Jun 26, 2012

Steve V. said:
That's good looking Kald. What color of blue is that?

Steve

Thanks Steve! It's Rustoleum Painters Choice Satin Lagoon. The cell phone isn't that accurate, it's almost a "Makita Blue Green".

Catalyze · Jun 26, 2012

Kald - did you replace the swivel nut? That is a very nice looking vise.

Laker - very nice group of American iron!
Craig

kald · Jun 26, 2012

Catalyze said:
Kald - did you replace the swivel nut? That is a very nice looking vise.

Laker - very nice group of American iron!
Craig

No, its all original. Thanks Catalyze, we got lucky with it. Not much old heavy industry here in Cent Fl. and any of the limited supply of good old stuff gets scarfed up fast around here. It's a full time job for a lot of the retirees.

C.BRAXMAIER · Jun 26, 2012

Jtoddaz said:
How is it that I just finish restoring my first vise and I find myself browsing CL looking at vises??

Well, I found one that caught my eye. Really good condition, with bright orange paint covering the entire thing. It's actually on a post mounted on a semi rim. The handle is odd, as the ends don't match, but the square end is actually held on with a set pin. Either a replacement or really old. It's marked No. 104 1/2 on one side, and Reed, and some patent dates on the other. It's sitting in a bath of Citrus based paint stripper as we speak.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

ITS AN ADDICTION, welcome... :drool:

kald · Jun 26, 2012

Almost forgot! Here is a little vise I just redid when I redid my tool cart and Columbian. I remember my mom buying it for my dad at Sears when he started his business in 78. Amazing the things you remember from when you were a kid.

My dad broke and chucked the swivel long ago, I wouldn't mind finding another. I used welding cable for the finger guards and a piece c channel for the base, the cart has a lip.

I agree Braxmaier, it is an addiction.

BullfrogJohnson · Jun 26, 2012

I said in my ealier post my work is a goldmine for vintage USA vises, so I took some pics of the vises in my work area. These are just a few of probably 50 vises throughout all the shops in the company

columbian 505

columbian 504 1/2

wilton ????

The BIG Boy Columbian 508!

kald · Jun 26, 2012

For size reference, what size battery is that on the back of the 508 vise? Group 31?

BullfrogJohnson · Jun 26, 2012

kald said:
For size reference, what size battery is that on the back of the 508 vise? Group 31?

Its a 1000CCA

kald · Jun 26, 2012

BullfrogJohnson said:
Its a 1000CCA

Yeah, group 31. Cool vises!

Laker · Jun 26, 2012

Jtoddaz said:
How is it that I just finish restoring my first vise and I find myself browsing CL looking at vises??...

C.BRAXMAIER said:
ITS AN ADDICTION, welcome...

Thank god I'm not alone!

toomanytoyzz · Jun 26, 2012

Here's a 8400 Wilton I just re-did,stored,worked,painted...whaterver you want to tag it :headscrat

. Basically, it looks/works better than it did when I first got it. Anyway, I am selling it to fund a Baldor bench grinder I have my eye on.

I hate to sell it, but to me, the Chas. Parker No. 975 I scored a few weeks back is higher on the vise food chain in my opinion. Still this guy is in good working order ready for another 50 years of service. The man. date was June of 1968.

Here's a short vid of it working

autopts · Jun 27, 2012

BullfrogJohnson said:
I said in my ealier post my work is a goldmine for vintage USA vises, so I took some pics of the vises in my work area. These are just a few of probably 50 vises throughout all the shops in the company

Wlton ????

You guys are making this the best vise thread ever!!
Notice the beat up condition of this Wilton. If they all got equal beating time, I'd say the Columbians are holding their own. In todays market, I don't think enough credit is given to the durabulity of Columbian vises. For a shop vise, for my money, I would go after a used Columbian anytime.

Toomany! I saw your listing. That will have no problem selling. Its vintage and in good condition.

zoomieport · Jun 27, 2012

C.BRAXMAIER said:
ITS AN ADDICTION, welcome...

You need serious help BRAX!

Canoe50 · Jun 27, 2012

BJ42LX said:
He was asking $200 for the Chicago Wilton. It looked in real good shape. It had been painted, but the jaws were clean and the swivel nuts/arms were very nice. I was going to wait a few days and give him a call to see if he'd soften up on price. But it only lasted 2 days and it was gone.

Canoe, did you buy it?

I did. And the smaller one for $150, which I didn't intend to buy. When I called the guy, he mentioned there was also a smaller one for sale. These were owned by a friend of his & he was doing the sale for him. He said I might like the smaller one better, so he went & got it while I was on my way to his house. Once I saw that one, I knew I was going home with both. And trust me, this guy wasn't softening on the price, as I always ask if a price is firm. I know adamant when I see it. But I thought the prices were fair, given the condition of both.
I've been on a slippery slope ever since I found this thread months ago. As it's been said, this vise thing is very addicting. Who knew? I've probably bought at least 20 since, the last one being a 205 lb. Athol 926 that was hardly used. That thing is truly a monster that dwarfs anything I have. A 125 lb. Parker was the biggest prior to that purchase. Pictures just don't do it justice & I definitely have no plans of going any bigger.
I hadn't purchased any Wiltons prior to this, so these 2 scratched that itch. I'm pretty much done buying after this, unless a nice Record happens to fall in my lap.

BJ42LX · Jun 27, 2012

Canoe50 said:
I [bought that big CL Wilton].
...

I'm pretty much done buying after this, unless a nice Record happens to fall in my lap.

Well, thank you for not buying any more. That will free up some demand from the local CL community!

Enjoy the vise. And if you ever tire of that big one, drop me a line...

Cobra5150 · Jun 27, 2012

It's not old or huge but this is one of the handiest vises I have ever used.

This is at my work, I do lots of precision wiring and rebuilding transducers.

Low Friction · Jun 27, 2012

Picked up this Starrett 623-1/2 off of Ebay for $69 including shipping. There is zero rust. It has smooth jaw faces. Looks like it has hardly been used. The spindle was pretty dry, some anti-seize fixed that. The front jaw insert looks to have been sanded or ground on top but the faces and fit are nearly perfect. Under the institutional paint job the original Starrett splatter paint is there. Add this to my list of vise acquisitions.

C.BRAXMAIER · Jun 27, 2012

zoomieport said:
You need serious help BRAX!

We both do........

zoomieport · Jun 27, 2012

C.BRAXMAIER said:
We both do........

You are correct Sir...

Canoe50 · Jun 27, 2012

BJ42LX said:
Well, thank you for not buying any more. That will free up some demand from the local CL community!

Enjoy the vise. And if you ever tire of that big one, drop me a line...

Thanks. Will do.

coolreed · Jun 28, 2012

This is a new aquisition I picked up. I paid a premium for it but it is very unusual in that it is sooo art deco. I would say 1950's most likely. The vise action is very very smooth and as you can see the previous owner wired it smooth. I will disassemble and paints it soon.

toomanytoyzz · Jun 28, 2012

coolreed said:
This is a new aquisition I picked up. I paid a premium for it but it is very unusual in that it is sooo art deco. I would say 1950's most likely. The vise action is very very smooth and as you can see the previous owner wired it smooth. I will disassemble and paints it soon.

I really like this vise. I had a chance to buy an old craftsman machinists vise at a flea market close to me a few weeks ago. It wasn't an art-deco style, but still cool looking. The one you got is a work of art. Nice score!! I'd buck up for that as well. What's the size and weight?

lawrencejennifer611 · Jun 28, 2012

I have two Wilton vises I'd like to sell or trade. The first one in the pictures is newer has 3-7/8" jaws and opens 8". It's in pretty good shape, just needs a cleaning. The other is older, I don't know how old, it could use a cleaning, painting, and greasing. It has 3-7/8" jaws and opens 7". It is also broken under/behind the rear jaw. You can see this in the picture. Both vises were in use up

autopts · Jun 28, 2012

lawrencejennifer611 said:
You can see this in the picture. Both vises were in use up

I lost my glasses...What picture?

Outlawmws · Jun 28, 2012

lawrencejennifer611 said:
I have two Wilton vises I'd like to sell or trade. The first one in the pictures is newer has 3-7/8" jaws and opens 8". It's in pretty good shape, just needs a cleaning. The other is older, I don't know how old, it could use a cleaning, painting, and greasing. It has 3-7/8" jaws and opens 7". It is also broken under/behind the rear jaw. You can see this in the picture. Both vises were in use up

Wrong, tread/forum for trading or selling...

bczygan · Jun 28, 2012

Finally got it home.
Emmert U6
Loaded on my cheap HF trailer which folds and the tail bounces up and down, with a forklift because it is so heavy.
Almost lost it on the road. The weight of the vise (86 lbs) bouncing up and down on the road, parted the lamination's of the corner of the wood table where it was thinned for the vise to mount. The corner would have come off since the laminated pieces stair-step at the corner (Not a good design). I will drill the table for a few threaded rod to hold it together. Had to take the table and base apart and remove the vise to bring it in because of weight. Table top is actually 2 pieces 20"x6'10".

coolreed · Jun 28, 2012

toomanytoyzz said:
I really like this vise. I had a chance to buy an old craftsman machinists vise at a flea market close to me a few weeks ago. It wasn't an art-deco style, but still cool looking. The one you got is a work of art. Nice score!! I'd buck up for that as well. What's the size and weight?

This vise is about 40 lbs and 4" jaws. The lead screw action is so smooth.
Quality is really good considering it is a Craftsman. I wonder who really made it.
Styling to me in awesome. This will probably be my favorite Vise now.
Thank You for the kind words.

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