Rock Island Vises - History/Info?

drivesitfar · Feb 16, 2016

Guay: Some rock island vises are stamp dated in top of the dynamic slide on top just behind the static when in closed position. Post up several pictures of your vise on the main vise thread and maybe we can help.

Bl00: The last time I spent any time reading about rock island vises I recall birtman electric just ending the vise making and selling portion of their business in 1957. I'll have to see if I can find some of those articles.

guayabito · Feb 16, 2016

Hi drivesitfar, thanks is advance for your help, I will post them this weekend, I do not have the vise here with me at the moment.

guayabito · Feb 23, 2016

The vise does not have any number on the dynamic slide. It has some numbers at the bottom which I do not know what the are but is it not a model number or a serial number since, I found out a number of different model vises have this same exact number, even Craftman Vises have this number. Other Rock Island vises have other numbers repeat themselves among different models as well. If any of you guys know what these numbers mean let me know:

"3V5510"
"4"
"1"

Please take a look at the following pic:

View media item 58382

guayabito · Feb 24, 2016

Nobody knows anything? any comments? ideas?

Tallted · Mar 16, 2016

My uncle just passed down my grandpa's old vise. Rock Island 594. This thing has a lot of sentimental value to me. I remember going into his garage as a kid and spinning this thing, and thinking it was the coolest tool ever. So excited to finally have it for my garage! (Buying my first house, get the keys next week!)

jrobb316 · Mar 17, 2016

Awesome, someday I'll pass my rock island 577 down to my son, since he's not even a year I have it to myself for quite a while :evil:

very nice vise you have there and looks to be in super shape

cgrutt · Mar 17, 2016

I've got a Rock Island woodworking vice. Have no idea how old or what model number it is it just seems to be marked with company name and "Patented July 3, 1906"

tmp_9017-IMG_20160317_103717_2171778289478_zpslxgjmijw.jpg

Been putting off cleaning it up for a while but might do it soon. Does anybody know where I can get a new handle end? Or does this need to be fabricated? The bar is turned down to approx. 3/4" by 1" long. It fell off a few years ago and unfortunately I've lost track of it. Thanks.

drivesitfar · Mar 17, 2016

CG: to my knowledge you'll have to fabricate a new handle end or make a new handle.

Guay: those are part #'s for your Rock Island and not surprised Craftsman vises had same #'s because Rock Island made vises for Craftsman in the 1920's and 1930's.

do you have more pictures of your vise and not just the base and maybe we can give you some idea on it's age if that's what you are asking?

JRobb: are you planning on making a new bench for your Rock Island 577 or do you already own one stout enough? great plan to pass on to your little guy and these big Rock Island vises are my favorites.

ALL: I picked up this Rock Island #158 swivel jaw with the big paddle style vise jaws. it's a little rough because it was the daily user in a auto repair shop. the stand was full of cement and I almost left it, but I managed to lift it inside my Honda Pilot and take it home with me so the pair are still together.

jrobb316 · Mar 17, 2016

That's got to be a rare one, swivel coach makers rock island. I believe my bench is good enough, if not I'm going today to look at a couple 1.25" steel top welding benches. That will definately do the trick :thumbup:

Oregon rock crusher · Aug 19, 2016

So while out looking for a big vise today I find this swivel base and swivel back jaw Rock Island. This is a pretty old one with the distinctive "horse shoe" pattern cast into the top of both jaws. Cast in jaw inserts. It's a model 53 and has 5" jaws and weighs in at about #97. I couldn't find any others in a quick e-search. I did find a No.50 with 3.5" jaws and a No.52 with 4.5" jaws. So I assume a No.51 would be a 4" vise and so forth.

It got dark on me but I did check it out enough to make sure the swivel back jaw would free up and there were no missing parts. Seems pretty complete and everything moves as it should. I'm putting it here in the Rock Islands history thread cause it seems to fit here best. Here are a couple of as found pics. Ed.

G-ManBart · Aug 19, 2016

Oregon rock crusher said:
So while out looking for a big vise today I find this swivel base and swivel back jaw Rock Island. This is a pretty old one with the distinctive "horse shoe" pattern cast into the top of both jaws. Cast in jaw inserts. It's a model 53 and has 5" jaws and weighs in at about #97. I couldn't find any others in a quick e-search. I did find a No.50 with 3.5" jaws and a No.52 with 4.5" jaws. So I assume a No.51 would be a 4" vise and so forth.

It got dark on me but I did check it out enough to make sure the swivel back jaw would free up and there were no missing parts. Seems pretty complete and everything moves as it should. I'm putting it here in the Rock Islands history thread cause it seems to fit here best. Here are a couple of as found pics. Ed.

Very nice!

tool_scrounge · Jan 29, 2017

Well I thought I would add a little information to the Rock Island vise thread.

Recently I found a Rock Island 192 vise. Other that the "red porch paint job", it is a pretty nice vise. It looked almost identical silver Rock Island 593 I owned previously (see attached pictures).

What stuck me as unusual is that while both vises have 4" wide jaws, the 192 weighs 30 lbs and the 593 weighs 42 lbs. Looking back at my notes, the 593 opens up to 6" and with the movable jaw still fully supported. The 192 only opens to 5" fully supported. The 192 slide is 2.5" x 1.75". I suspect the 593 slide is bigger. The 192 has cast in place jaws while the 593 jaws are replaceable.

So the 192 feels like the lower cost version of the 593, though it is still built like a (small) tank.

Does the cast in jaws help establish the model 192 date of manufacturer? There is no "Britman Electric Company" plate so would that make it pre- 1930? The Rock Island logo is very different than on the 593.

Thanks

Reagenn · Feb 21, 2017

I have an old Rock Island that I inherited from my grandfather and has just been sitting in my shed, all but forgotten.

I've been looking at new vises to go in my new shop, and I remembered that I had this one...

It looks to be a model 74 in decent shape, definitely needs a good cleaning.

Any idea on the date of manufacture?

Thought I would throw this out to the vise experts! :bounce:

BrettJ74 · Apr 20, 2017

Reagenn: It appears that most Rock Islands have a date stamped on the top of the slide just behind the main body when the dynamic jaw is closed. My recently restored 542-BX has a date of 9 44 just barely still visible.

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drivesitfar · Apr 21, 2017

REAGANN: your Gramp's old Rock Island i'm guessing is from the WWI era or around that time frame. i'm not sure they date stamped vises prior to the 1930's, but if you take it apart to clean it you might find a date underneath or inside it.

i like that style a lot and i think that your #74 eventually became a 574, but even as much as I LOVE ROCK ISLAND VISES i still don't have their numbering figured out yet.

here's a picture of my 574 for comparison and i think mine is from the 1930's.

Brett: nice work repairing and spiffing up that old Rock Island of yours. are you going to try and make a set of pipe jaws that are missing? and a pair of bronze or copper jaws since yours had a pretty big chunk out of them?

Reagenn · Apr 21, 2017

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.
I have looked for other date stamps, but if they ever were there I'm sure they are super faint or worn off.
Drivesitfar, I'm not sure how it comes apart....once it's opened all the way, it hits a stop that prevents it from coming the rest of the way apart.

Reagenn · Apr 21, 2017

Brett, that vise looks amazing...great job!

drivesitfar · Apr 21, 2017

Reagann: pretty typical on 100 ish year old big old vises to have the slide not want to come out all the way. more than likely gramps or one of his friends used the back of the slide as an anvil and Rock Island vises have pretty tight tolerances.

so clean up the slide first and spray on some WD 40 or light oil and try to remove it again by unscrewing it. if it's still stuck maybe a little hand filing to square up the slide so it will come apart.

IT WILL COME APART and if you still think something is blocking it can you take a few pictures of the back of the vise's dynamic jaw when it's almost out?

good luck

Provincial · Apr 22, 2017

To check the slide for interference, clean off all oil and grease, apply a "bluing" compound (which can be a simple as a Sharpie, ink, or light coat of spray paint), then try to remove the slide. The areas where the "bluing" is rubbed off are where you need to file.

Reagenn · Apr 22, 2017

Thanks Provincial.

I'll do a little work on it today and see what I can find out...

Reagenn · Apr 22, 2017

Ok, here's what I found on my 74-C vise...
There appears to be a stop that is keeping it from coming apart. I assume that it just pulls out, but I haven't tried yet.

The vise seems to be in good shape, just needs a good bath and some lubrication.

drivesitfar · Apr 22, 2017

REAGANN: that pin is just holding the vise's nut that it screws in and out through. do as Provi mentioned or what i had mentioned in the post prior and you'll get your vise apart.

like i said a lot of owners in the past used the back of their big vise's slides as anvils so i'm guessing yours has mushroomed a bit like so many have. sometimes as easy as just cleaning off some crud off the slide or spraying on WD 40 or taking a file and going at it slowly and squaring it up.

good luck

Reagenn · Apr 22, 2017

The dynamic jaw moves very freely until that nut thing-a-ma-bob hits the stop, then that's all she wrote. Slide is not tight at all. I don't think it's a clearance issue. Just can't unthread all the way.

Packard V8 · Apr 22, 2017

My Rock Island will unscrew without removing the stop pin which holds the nut in the body.

jack vines

drivesitfar · Apr 22, 2017

REAGENN: i'm not sure we are talking about the same pin. the pin JACK and I are seeing in the picture and talking about is the bent pin holding the vise nut in place and it has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE VISE'S SCREW OR SLIDE.

do you have the technology to put a red circle around the pin you are talking about.

another issue that could be happening, but pretty rare is the threads on your screw are damaged so they might need to be filed to keep turning through the vise's nut. i'm still pretty sure you are hanging up on something on the slide which is a fairly common issue.

move this over to the vise repair 101 thread and get a few more of the real experts that restore vises daily and maybe they see or have another idea.

here's the link: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252830

Reagenn · Apr 22, 2017

Ok, thanks guys, I will look at it some more and see what I can do.
I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out.

ALLFAST · Apr 22, 2017

Drives (and anyone else who has researched),

I've read as much as I can but still need clarification: Is there a definite answer as to any cutoff year of manufacture (even an approximate year) if ones Rocky has a Birtman Electric tag or not ?

I realize that as with all vintage machines, factory workers did different things on different days so maybe if it should have had one, it might not (vice versa...couldn't resist ), but what is the consensus on years for a Birtman tag or not ? Also, on the same path, if you have curved RI script on the right side (cast in vertically like my 577) vs straight script and horizontal cast placement, is there a known time frame between the 2 styles ?

Thanks !

Shawn

drivesitfar · Apr 23, 2017

AF: i don't have Rock Island's history committed to memory even thought it is maybe my favorite vise maker. i think Birtman electric bought Rock Island in 1930, but since it was the depression i don't think the nice badges went on the vises at that time.

i don't recall any dating on the top of the slides until maybe 1944 or maybe there are some stamped earlier. maybe more information is on some of the posts already on this thread.

i think Birtman electric ended making vises in 1957.

as far as the dates of the rounded Rock Island castings i'm pretty sure those are the earlier vises and the straight lettering maybe after WWII.

here's a picture of my 577 that you've seen before that i think was 1935 without the Birtman electric badge. now i can't recall where the 1935 date was, but my friend that restored mine said he saw a 1935 stamp inside my vise. since it's 150 pounds and not easy to move around or take apart maybe somebody else restoring one or maybe you can find a date stamp on yours.

if you find more information on Rock Islands please post that on this thread which seems to be one of the best spots. also the pre 1970's vise history thread might be a good place to post and maybe also find some more information there and here's the link

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=283430&highlight=vise+companies

BrettJ74 · Apr 23, 2017

Thank you guys!

Drives not sure what I'm going to do for jaws the originals cleaned up alright and I kind of like the blown out part of the jaws, it tells a story of the past I'm just not positive what that story is.
I will probably try my hand on the old manual mill at work an see if I can't bust out some bronze inserts just for fun.

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06Speed6 · May 5, 2017

Since I am finally getting around to restoring my Rock Island 577, I thought it might be helpful to add that my vise does not appear to have the date stamp on the top of the slide, but it does have a "S" stamped into the midway point of the static piece. I had to strip several coats of paint off, but the deepest/oldest coat was a battleship blueish grey color. Mine also has the Birtman Electric tag on it, some of the paint wouldn't come off of the tag and it is a softer metal so I will need to think about how I am going to get the rest of the paint off without using abrasives.

Anyone know where to get replacement screws for these? Looks very specialty. I found a website that offers new jaw inserts that use allen screws, but the inserts aren't in bad shape, so I was hoping to use them.

Picked it up from a guy who bought it at a government auction, paid $75 for it.

drivesitfar · May 16, 2017

ALL: anybody have an idea how Rock Island numbered their vises? or a few catalog pages showing them.

chrisnazzy · Sep 25, 2017

I'll revive this thread with some pics and info on the Rock Island I just picked up over the weekend.

It is an 853 double swiveler. 4 1/2" jaws, about 80 lbs, swivel base and swivel jaw.

No Birtman Electric Tag and arched "Rock Island" logo so I was figuring pretty old but to my surprise the top of the slide is cleanly stamped "10 58". Also has removable jaws w/ Phillips head screws.

I can't find any catalog page showing this vise. Here it is in all its awesomeness.

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Rileysan · Sep 25, 2017

chrisnazzy said:
I'll revive this thread with some pics and info on the Rock Island I just picked up over the weekend.

It is an 853 double swiveler. 4 1/2" jaws, about 80 lbs, swivel base and swivel jaw.

No Birtman Electric Tag and arched "Rock Island" logo so I was figuring pretty old but to my surprise the top of the slide is cleanly stamped "10 58". Also has removable jaws w/ Phillips head screws.

I can't find any catalog page showing this vise. Here it is in all its awesomeness.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

Very nice vise!

I don't know about the stamping on the slide but I can make an assumption based on the jaws. The early versions of this vise had cast-in jaws instead of bolt-in, so I think the stamping probably corresponds to a date. I have an 855 (6") version of this vise and couldn't be happier. Nice find!

Brian

chrisnazzy · Sep 26, 2017

Rileysan said:
Very nice vise!

I don't know about the stamping on the slide but I can make an assumption based on the jaws. The early versions of this vise had cast-in jaws instead of bolt-in, so I think the stamping probably corresponds to a date. I have an 855 (6") version of this vise and couldn't be happier. Nice find!

Brian

Thank you! I'm really digging it. It's built incredibly stout yet the machining and tolerances of the swivel jaw are so precise.

Tomorrow's my day off so I'm gonna get it all stripped and start getting it ready for paint.

I would really love to see that 855. It must be huge. Post up some pictures of it if you get a chance!

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Rileysan · Sep 26, 2017

chrisnazzy said:
Thank you! I'm really digging it. It's built incredibly stout yet the machining and tolerances of the swivel jaw are so precise.

Tomorrow's my day off so I'm gonna get it all stripped and start getting it ready for paint.

I would really love to see that 855. It must be huge. Post up some pictures of it if you get a chance!

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I haven't done a thing with it since I purchased it a couple months ago. I had shoulder surgery on Sept. 1 (work accident in June), so am biding my time. It is an early 855 with cast-in jaws and weighs 160 lbs. Aside from missing the tapered pin for the swivel jaw, it is in exceptional condition!

Here are pix from when I picked it up.

Brian

A E Numan · Oct 20, 2017

I just "found" a nice little Rock Island # 591 with 3 inch wide jaw's. It's date stamped 643 on the slide.

KMScott · Oct 20, 2017

A E Numan said:
I just "found" a nice little Rock Island # 591 with 3 inch wide jaw's. It's date stamped 643 on the slide.

Nice looking vise A E , can you give me the weight and max opening and I'll add you pic's and info to the Google doc. Thanks in advance.

Here is a 571 that is very close to your vise but with a swivel base that takes the same jaws as yours.

chrisnazzy · Oct 20, 2017

KMScott said:
Nice looking vise A E , can you give me the weight and max opening and I'll add you pic's and info to the Google doc. Thanks in advance.

Here is a 571 that is very close to your vise but with a swivel base that takes the same jaws as yours.

I just picked up a 571 also. I'm actually working on it right now. Here are a couple "as found" pics although I admit I did pick it up off Ebay.

KMScott.....I noticed there isn't even a listing for the RI 571 on the spreadsheet which is wierd because it seems to be a more common vise. My 853 isn't listed either but I was going to get them both finished this weekend and then share them on the thread you've been posting to for the spreadsheet.

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KMScott · Oct 20, 2017

chrisnazzy said:
I just picked up a 571 also. I'm actually working on it right now. Here are a couple "as found" pics although I admit I did pick it up off Ebay.

KMScott.....I noticed there isn't even a listing for the RI 571 on the spreadsheet which is wierd because it seems to be a more common vise. My 853 isn't listed either but I was going to get them both finished this weekend and then share them on the thread you've been posting to for the spreadsheet.

Just added the 571 and 591, used your pic's. Thanks for your help.

A E Numan · Oct 21, 2017

KMScott said:
Nice looking vise A E , can you give me the weight and max opening and I'll add you pic's and info to the Google doc. Thanks in advance.

Here is a 571 that is very close to your vise but with a swivel base that takes the same jaws as yours.

Mr Scott; It weighs 21.5 pounds and opens to 4 inches.

Rock Island Vises - History/Info?

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