vise I found on craigslist reed 25 1/2b - is it forged steel? couple other vises too.

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

Hi I recently found this vise on craigslist i was thinking about picking up, and it's asking is $125. It's a reed 25 1/2b (although the #"s very fuzzy). some questions-

This looks just like a columbian 5 1/2 vise (I included an image, n that one went for $85 plus shipping whatever that was calculated on ebay, but had a broken replaceable jaw, not quite as good of shape outside of that) I've seen in images through research. Also I can't readily find this vise anywhere to compare n contrast. Did they have the same manufacturer at some point/molds?

How old do you think this vise is? Maybe 90's?

Is it forged steel or newer cast iron?

What do you think is a fair offer to give the guy (I'm assuming $125 is a bit much)?

He also has a chas. parker 4' vise as well, wants $150. Looks like a project though.

There's also a wilton 5' for $135 (from another guy), looks repainted, might be good or bad depending on cover up possibility. Also does that weld going from the jaw to the shaft look suspicious?

I'm relatively new to the vise scene, although I've done a fair bit of research n can see the price really jumps even from a 3.5 to a 4, so I'm sure there's some value there.

Any advice between the three? I'm leaning toward the reed, but not sure what you all think about the three, any suggestions?

I'm really looking to buy something soon, bought a junk one from costco recently that's getting me by for now, n can bring it back when I get a better one. It's a junk Larin 5 inch for $45.00. Holding up so far....

exmaxima1 · Oct 3, 2018

If you need a vise, $40 would be the most I would pay for that Columbian-made Reed. It's a plain utility style vise with 30,000 psi cast iron (breakable) and integral pipe jaws (also breakable). The main jaws are sintered metal (easily breakable) and look very worn as well. The clamps and swivel base are nothing fancy, and certainly not worthy of a $125 price tag. None of the vises you listed are really any better (though the Parker is probably the strongest by a long shot), nor worth more than $50-60.

If you just need a basic utility vise, you would be better off buying a new Craftsman 5" vise for $60.

https://www.sears.com/craftsman-5-i...SellerId=Sears&prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

Bretny · Oct 3, 2018

We had old parkers at my last job. Every one was broke under the moving jaw just like that one in the pic. I wouldnt buy any of those vises.

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

I'm not really trying to stay at $40, it's just what I got from Costco at the time, mostly as a stop Gap. It's junk really. I saw this Columbian fairly worn but decent, d43 1/2 on Craigslist for $45, offered $25, got a maybe. What do you think on something like that? Sorry on my phone n can't upload pics until a hot a five post count.

Those types on eBay are around that $60 Mark, n include shipping to my door n a short warranty, so I figured $25 was fair.

If like to stay around $100, any models to suggest? Brands that are around that, in around the minimum of 3.5-5 inch?
Looking at getting a good used one, doing some metal work, sharpening, bending, hammering. Also woodwork, which probably even this **** larin will hold up to.

General Geoff · Oct 3, 2018

None of the pictured vises are steel, they are all some type of cast iron.

Steel vises tend to be a lot less bulky in body dimensions:

5" steel vise (Yost FSV-5) compared to a 4.5" ductile iron vise (Starrett-Athol 324-1/2):

I picked up the Yost FSV-5 brand new from amazon a couple years ago for $135 on sale, near x-mas time. Might still be able to snag one at that price if you're not in a hurry to buy it. Can't buy a stronger vise new at that price point.

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

Even that old Parker? Yeah I really need to be informed on which models n years before I buy. That's why I'm here haha.

How bout this Columbian, this is the one I offered $25 for n got a maybe. He wants $45.

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

I guess the ductile isn't too bad, lot better than cast harbor freight.

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

Yeah, I think I'll look into that. In the meantime I'll just be patient n check into what available used. Also, is that Yost on par with say, an old Prentiss strength wise?

exmaxima1 · Oct 3, 2018

hwood said:
Even that old Parker? Yeah I really need to be informed on which models n years before I buy. That's why I'm here haha.

How bout this Columbian, this is the one I offered $25 for n got a maybe. He wants $45.

That's a 15 lb vise with 3-1/2" jaws, same as the old red Craftsman vises with prefix "506". $25 is plenty generous, and more than I ever paid for one that size.

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

I thought so. So are those style vises made out of ductile, or just regular cast?

Any of the old vises forged steel?

exmaxima1 · Oct 3, 2018

Regular cast iron, with bent metal slide.

The only "old" forged vises i know of were the post vises used by blacksmiths, and the European machinist vises made by Heuer and Peddinghaus (Ridgid).

General Geoff · Oct 3, 2018

hwood said:
Yeah, I think I'll look into that. In the meantime I'll just be patient n check into what available used. Also, is that Yost on par with say, an old Prentiss strength wise?

This is back when I weighed 250lbs. I put a jack handle into the vise, cranked it down hard and stood on the handle.

I've also used it to secure a manual tire changer, and it held fast even while using a 4 foot wrecking bar to break a bead. Despite its relatively small size, that Yost is stout .

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

General Geoff said:
This is back when I weighed 250lbs. I put a jack handle into the vise, cranked it down hard and stood on the handle.

I've also used it to secure a manual tire changer, and it held fast even while using a 4 foot wrecking bar to break a bead. Despite its relatively small size, that Yost is stout .

That's a beast

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

exmaxima1 said:
Regular cast iron, with bent metal slide.

The only "old" forged vises i know of were the post vises used by blacksmiths, and the European machinist vises made by Heuer and Peddinghaus (Ridgid).

Ok, so how about Prentiss, monarch, old Reed's from the 40s era, Wilton's from the 50s, etc? Cast iron/steel or ductile? I know they are revered as being strong enough to last two lifetimes, so I'd imagine just the sheer surface area mass making them so strong.

exmaxima1 · Oct 3, 2018

hwood said:
Ok, so how about Prentiss, monarch, old Reed's from the 40s era, Wilton's from the 50s, etc? Cast iron/steel or ductile? I know they are revered as being strong enough to last two lifetimes, so I'd imagine just the sheer surface area mass making them so strong.

AFAIK, ductile iron wasn't invented (or became commercially viable) until 1950's. Early Wiltons were not ductile until 50's/60's. Columbian machinist vises used ductile iron in the late 50's/60's and advertised them as "unbreakable". I've seen many broken Wiltons, Reeds, Rock Islands, etc, so I'd imagine they were not made of the "unbreakable" stuff.

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

exmaxima1 said:
AFAIK, ductile iron wasn't invented (or became commercially viable) until 1950's. Early Wiltons were not ductile until 50's/60's. Columbian machinist vises used ductile iron in the late 50's/60's and advertised them as "unbreakable". I've seen many broken Wiltons, Reeds, Rock Islands, etc, so I'd imagine they were not made of the "unbreakable" stuff.

I hear ya. Really only a high level ductile or forged steel vise is going to be reliable in extreme situations, like that picture of Geoff standing on the bar in the clamp. These nice old vises would be nice to get on the cheap ($20-80 range), but collectors have seemingly driven them to higher prices than new, warrantied, for the most part equal or perhaps better vises.

Of course if I could, I'd get a monarch and restore it completely, the age, rarity n of course the lions head is way too cool. Just for collectors sake I'd get one, but not for the prices I've seen them at.

MayerMR · Oct 3, 2018

Of the vises you've posted about, that Chas Parker would be the best of the bunch. The Yost that Geoff posted is a nice vise as well.

I think $150 for the Park is probably a bit high, but they are good vises. I'd probably offer $100 for that one if you are hard up for a vise in the short-term and see what he says. That said, if you aren't in a hurry, then take some time and keep your eye on CL and you'll find a nice, older vise for a good price.

Packard V8 · Oct 3, 2018

We had old parkers at my last job. Every one was broke under the moving jaw just like that one in the pic. I wouldnt buy any of those vises.

Then you had angry gorillas abusing those vises 24/7 for years. It takes incredible abuse to break a Parker. In fifty years, I've never seen one broken with what I'd consider normal shop use. It takes bigger hammers and longer cheater bars to break any of the best old Parker/Athol/Columbian/Reed/Prentiss, et al. That doesn't mean a good quality vise can't be broken; it just means the one who did it should be very ashamed of himself. He was too lazy to take the workpiece to a proper fixture and was trying to make a too-small vise do the work.

And yes, I've heard many excuses for breaking vises:

1. The foreman wouldn't let us go to lunch until it was done.
2. It was raining and I didn't want to get wet on the way to the main shop.
3. The company won't spend the money for bigger vises, so I'll just keep breaking these.
4. The golf cart was broken down and the workpiece was too heavy to carry to the main shop.
5. The jaws were worn. I had to use the cheater bar to get to hold.
6. After beating on that SOB workpiece, I just got tired and the hammer hit the vise.
7. The machinist didn't get the fit right and I was trying to drive it in.
8. I got sweat in my eyes and the cutting torch wandered.
9. There wasn't an anvil on the truck, so the back of the vise was all I had.
10. If the vise was broken, we couldn't finish the job and could nap til the end of the shift.
11. The salesman who supplies vises is my brother-in-law.

jack vines

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

MayerMR said:
Of the vises you've posted about, that Chas Parker would be the best of the bunch. The Yost that Geoff posted is a nice vise as well.

I think $150 for the Park is probably a bit high, but they are good vises. I'd probably offer $100 for that one if you are hard up for a vise in the short-term and see what he says. That said, if you aren't in a hurry, then take some time and keep your eye on CL and you'll find a nice, older vise for a good price.

Yeah, I have that cheap costco vise, which if handled with care, will hold up ok for now.

I thought that parker was pretty decent, at least in the vintage old vise sort of way. Lot of work to restore, and that's if he'd go $100, and then drive all the way there to possibly see that it's even more work than I thought. I was thinking $75, but I talked to the guy on the phone and he seemed like he wasn't budging much when I was asking for model #'s.....

I think I'll take some time, I'm sure black friday will come a calling and I'll pick up a new forged steel unit for $150ish for a 5 inch I'm sure, n return that costco pos. It's already loosening up haha. I am going to continue to look though, there's something about vintage old vises n toolboxes that I like, even if they are inferior to newer higher end stuff.

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

Packard V8 said:
Then you had angry gorillas abusing those vises 24/7 for years. It takes incredible abuse to break a Parker. In fifty years, I've never seen one broken with what I'd consider normal shop use. It takes bigger hammers and longer cheater bars to break any of the best old Parker/Athol/Columbian/Reed/Prentiss, et al. That doesn't mean a good quality vise can't be broken; it just means the one who did it should be very ashamed of himself. He was too lazy to take the workpiece to a proper fixture and was trying to make a too-small vise do the work.

jack vines

Yeah, my friend has an old prentiss bulldog from the 40's n he hasn't cracked it yet, and he's pretty abusive. Looks like he's over-tightening a tire wheel sometimes haha.

hwood · Oct 3, 2018

What does everyone think about this? a Trojan 723, asking $125......

MayerMR · Oct 3, 2018

hwood said:
What does everyone think about this? a Trojan 723, asking $125......

Looks like a decent vise and quite old. If you don't mind drilling a hole in your bench so you can actuate the swivel I think you'd be happy. That said, it's probably a fairly uncommon vise, so if you plan on working it hard you could negatively affect the resale value should you choose to sell it on one day.

hwood · Oct 4, 2018

MayerMR said:
Looks like a decent vise and quite old. If you don't mind drilling a hole in your bench so you can actuate the swivel I think you'd be happy. That said, it's probably a fairly uncommon vise, so if you plan on working it hard you could negatively affect the resale value should you choose to sell it on one day.

What kind of price should I shoot? 75ish?

hwood · Oct 4, 2018

MayerMR said:
Looks like a decent vise and quite old. If you don't mind drilling a hole in your bench so you can actuate the swivel I think you'd be happy. That said, it's probably a fairly uncommon vise, so if you plan on working it hard you could negatively affect the resale value should you choose to sell it on one day.

What kind of price should I shoot? 75ish? What's odd is it doesn't say Parker on the other side of it.

Oh n I shot a 75 offer n that other Parker, we'll see.

exmaxima1 · Oct 4, 2018

hwood said:
What does everyone think about this? a Trojan 723, asking $125......

Who wants a 3-inch vise except collectors? To me, that's a $25 vise.

MayerMR · Oct 4, 2018

hwood said:
What kind of price should I shoot? 75ish?

hwood said:
What kind of price should I shoot? 75ish? What's odd is it doesn't say Parker on the other side of it.

Oh n I shot a 75 offer n that other Parker, we'll see.

$75-100 I'd guess is fair. It seems to be in good shape. I don't know where you are getting Parker from, it appears to be a Trojan brand, which, while I'm not familiar with that brand, it was likely a re-brand/private branded vise made by Parker or Prentiss or Rock Island, etc. Either way, I think it looks to be a nicely made vise.

exmaxima1 said:
Who wants a 3-inch vise except collectors? To me, that's a $25 vise.

I dunno, I disagree. 3'' vises are fine for a lot of people, especially folks starting out or who just need something to use now and again. And while I just replaced my 5" Mac Tools/Columbian el cheapo with a 5" Paramo (huge difference, as you probably already know) before that I had a 3.5" Desmond-Simplex that I used for years and years with nary an issue.

hwood · Oct 4, 2018

exmaxima1 said:
Who wants a 3-inch vise except collectors? To me, that's a $25 vise.

I was upping the price because of the obvious collectors market. That's the price of admission on these old vises these days unless you hit a find at a garage sale or something, in which case you've probably spent countless hours scouring over the weeks n possibly months to find something for $25. N of course your time is worth a lot more than $50 at that point. Although I do agree, on its face, just looking at it's usefulness n the fact that it's old n used with no warranty n could break at any time, $25 is more than fair. In fact I ended up offering $60 n got scoffed at haha.

hwood · Oct 4, 2018

MayerMR said:
$75-100 I'd guess is fair. It seems to be in good shape. I don't know where you are getting Parker from, it appears to be a Trojan brand, which, while I'm not familiar with that brand, it was likely a re-brand/private branded vise made by Parker or Prentiss or Rock Island, etc. Either way, I think it looks to be a nicely made vise.

I dunno, I disagree. 3'' vises are fine for a lot of people, especially folks starting out or who just need something to use now and again. And while I just replaced my 5" Mac Tools/Columbian el cheapo with a 5" Paramo (huge difference, as you probably already know) before that I had a 3.5" Desmond-Simplex that I used for years and years with nary an issue.

Parker from that Parker made trojan n they always put Parker on the opposite side of the vise, at least from the accounts I've read. Of course I could wrong n it could have been passed around or originated by itself as a brand. I did a brief lookup.

hwood · Oct 4, 2018

Anyone know what vise this is? Just talked to the guy selling it and he says there's no marking on it at all. No numbers or branding on the sides, slide, bottom, nothing. 5 inch jaws, looks to be in decent shape, asking $50. My guess is harbor freightish.....

***bit of research, looks like an overseas yost 5 inch, junk.

MayerMR · Oct 4, 2018

hwood said:
Anyone know what vise this is? Just talked to the guy selling it and he says there's no marking on it at all. No numbers or branding on the sides, slide, bottom, nothing. 5 inch jaws, looks to be in decent shape, asking $50. My guess is harbor freightish.....

***bit of research, looks like an overseas yost 5 inch, junk.

I'm glad we could help :thumbup:

General Geoff · Oct 14, 2018

hwood, Amazon is having a sale on Yost vises right now. You can get that FSV-5 for $146 at the moment: https://www.amazon.com/Yost-FSV-5-Heavy-Duty-Forged-360-Degree/dp/

vise I found on craigslist reed 25 1/2b - is it forged steel? couple other vises too.

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