The VISES of Garage Journal
- Thread starter mjozefow
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cajunfirehawk
Well-known member
Too many times they get sent without being packed correctly, Seems like only people that appreciate them, take extra time to make sure they arrive in good shape, IMHO.
Toothaker
Well-known member
Looks chinese
454ragtop
Well-known member
Looks like a generic Asian import.
Toothaker
Well-known member
Thank you - that was my guess too. I bought it because I needed a vise, and the price was right.
kwoswalt99
Well-known member
Harbor Freight special.
Very cool, the 140 is the only bench vise model that came up with searching.. Interesting they made a one so similar but only solid mount, where the 140 also had that option..
There are a couple I need to get rid of but so far I like this one [emoji4]
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
Tooth: i looks like you have an older import which might be from Taiwan where they made a little better quality imported vises. just don't assume cause you have a steel plate on the back that you can use it like a full on anvil. you can use it, but i'd get a small chunk of RR track for any beating and don't use it (or really any vise) as a press and it should last you for years.
while you are using it keep your eyes open for an old 100+ pounder to put on the other end of your nice bench. you'll need to be quick cause there are some big game hunters in your area so best of luck.
ZOOMIE: so you went to HOUSTON and didn't stop at VISES' shop? i bet you were busy or maybe your vise magnet was spinning so fast you thought you might spin off the earth if you didn't get back home. any vise hunting or all business not that you'd find a vise that VISES doesn't already own in Houston cause i've heard there is a shortage of old iron in that city.
while you are using it keep your eyes open for an old 100+ pounder to put on the other end of your nice bench. you'll need to be quick cause there are some big game hunters in your area so best of luck.
ZOOMIE: so you went to HOUSTON and didn't stop at VISES' shop? i bet you were busy or maybe your vise magnet was spinning so fast you thought you might spin off the earth if you didn't get back home. any vise hunting or all business not that you'd find a vise that VISES doesn't already own in Houston cause i've heard there is a shortage of old iron in that city.
Toothaker
Well-known member
Drives: Yes, I know about the "anvil" at the back of this vise. Not gonna use it, wouldn't be prudent. 
And you mean something like this for a second vise?
And you mean something like this for a second vise?
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
Tooth: or an older and bigger version of that, but that one would certainly work just fine.
Not sure if this is a good deal or not, bit given how people talk up reeds here..
3.5" swivel jaw on eBay for $150 free shipping bin..
I don't have a reed yet but also have a line on a cheaper Prentiss swivel jaw, or else if probably jump on this
No affiliation with seller, just thought I'd share
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3.5" swivel jaw on eBay for $150 free shipping bin..
I don't have a reed yet but also have a line on a cheaper Prentiss swivel jaw, or else if probably jump on this
No affiliation with seller, just thought I'd share
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
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FMC1959
Well-known member
Not sure if this is a good deal or not, bit given how people talk up reeds here..
3.5" swivel jaw on eBay for $150 free shipping bin..
I don't have a reed yet but also have a line on a cheaper Prentiss swivel jaw, or else if probably jump on this
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$150 shipping in for a Reed (403 1/2 ?) that looks in pretty good shape, I think it is a pretty decent deal...not quite you ****, but pretty good.
Shiftless
Well-known member
FMC:
A fair price if the jaws are in good shape and the back jaw swivel locking pin is loose. Sometimes those pins get hammered in and hopelessly frozen in place by time and corrosion.
A fair price if the jaws are in good shape and the back jaw swivel locking pin is loose. Sometimes those pins get hammered in and hopelessly frozen in place by time and corrosion.
Hornman
Well-known member
VICESs, tell us the story on that Frankenstein Star vise. Different jaws in fixed and dynamic?
mcmlvif100
Well-known member
va.grouseman
Not urgent but would appreciate it you could post a picture showing the weak spot / area that is prone to cracking on these Dodge Slide Set vises. Am having trouble visualizing it. Thanks.
bigdav160
Well-known member
Got 2 Columbian 505-M2's from a friend who picked these from a closing school. Pretty good shape under the gray paint even though they've been sitting in a shed for 15 years. Inside they looked to have metallic blue paint. From the 1970's perhaps?
Almost forgot, a Baldor cast iron grinder stand also.
Almost forgot, a Baldor cast iron grinder stand also.
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I believe these are not the proper jaws for this vise. When you compare it to this little Morgan 35 you see the fit up is quite off.
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Boatman53
Well-known member
Ive got little one by the same company you just posted ViseS.
Jim
Jim
kwoswalt99
Well-known member
Looks like another Hollands rebrand.
Maybe the ERIE line. It's not built near like an actual Holland's. It's kind of a thinner casting than what you would typically see Holland's use. Not to downgrade it because it's a neat/great little vise.
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kwoswalt99
Well-known member
Dunno about yours, but Boatman's is definitely a Hollands.
jakemac
Well-known member
Well, now that the cat is out of the bag ....
I warned you all that I did a bad thing.
I've been wanting a baby Reed for a long time, but every one that I bid on was lost to another bidder who wanted it more and had deeper pockets than I did. Not that I have the money now, but I was able to scrape it together for this one and pounced before someone else could grab another one from me again.
The bad, bad part is that I should be saving the money for bills at the end of the month, but I'll figure that out when the time comes. I always do. I just had one of those "must have it now" moments.
The add dated it as 1960's, but they got it wrong. It has the early bulbous nose and the 1912 and 1914 patent dates. I'm thinking its late 1920's to mid-1930's, maybe a little later.
The vise looks ugly, but seems to be in decent shape for its age under the lousy paint job. I'll know better when it shows up next week. It's supposed to ship today. I think it will clean up ok with some elbow grease.
I'd prefer a swivel model, but I'm still excited about this one.
$115 w/shipping.
As a cheap *******, I kind of had a hard time wrapping my head around spending so much for such a small vise. But after losing out on 4 or 5 of these over the years (at much higher prices), and never seeing one available in the wild, I held my nose and clicked the BIN button before someone with more courage beat me to it (again).
There's still a little voice in the back of my head that's questioning my sanity, but the nut job that lives in the frontal lobe is currently beating him senseless with a wet noodle until he cries uncle.
Well, I got a surprise in the mailbox this evening. The little Reed 102-1/2 arrived early. Shipped on Feb 1, arrived on Feb. 3. Three days from the west coast to the east coast by USPS.
Someone in the gov't was actually doing their job !
I'll share the pics as I opened the package.
When I first picked the box up, it was feeling a little soft from traveling. I admit to being a little worried.
But then I began opening it up.
First, some extra cardboard to keep things from breaking out.
Then the packing materials - STYROFOAM !!!!!! uggggggg.
I hate how the styro clings to EVERYTHING.
It shouldn't be nescessary to have to wear a grounding wire to unpack a box.
Unpacked
Side shots
It looks like the original color under the white paint was a light industrial grey.
That will change in the restoration.
Overall, I'm very happy with the condition. There are no cracks, welds, or significant damage. Just age and an old lousy paint job (possibly oil-based enamel). There is only less than a 1/4 turn of slop in the slide that can be adjusted with the collar and a slight bend in the handle that is easily corrected. The screw bound a little in one spot, but I think that's due to old grease that will be cleaned out. The teeth on the jaws are slightly worn, but still serviceable once the crud is removed from the serrations. The vise should restore without too much trouble once the paint is removed.
I'm still giddy. Opening the box and uncovering what was inside was just like being a kid on x-mas morning.
The resto will have to wait. I hear our Patriots have a big game coming up on Sunday.
Time for Pat's Nation to prepare to battle
(or should that be beerte ?)
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To clarify. Yes I was referencing mine. Boatmans looks much like a Holland's.
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Sawdustmaker
Well-known member
Shiftless
Well-known member
Jake:
I can feel your excitement. Congrats on pulling the trigger before I did. You made the right move.
I can feel your excitement. Congrats on pulling the trigger before I did. You made the right move.
PghJKB
Well-known member
Sawdustmaker
Champion Blower & Forge
They made all kinds of stuff. In addition to one of their vises, I have one of their hand powered post drills.
JKB
joe.striper
Well-known member
Columbian 504.
Hands down the best rust preventative and lubricant on a machinist vise:
Beeswax. Applied with a propane torch. No solvents, no chemicals, no messy automobile greases or antiseizes. Just 100% pure beeswax sticks. Available at your wife's craft store for $12 a bar that will last your lifetime.
Advantages:
1. Seals totally against rust.
2. Provides as thick or thin a coating as you like.
3. Provides a highly damped feel.
4. Doesn't transfer.
5. Doesn't attract dust or particles.
6. Easy to wipe down without removing its protection.
7. Easy to totally remove if you ever want to strip the existing finish on the vise.
Hands down the best rust preventative and lubricant on a machinist vise:
Beeswax. Applied with a propane torch. No solvents, no chemicals, no messy automobile greases or antiseizes. Just 100% pure beeswax sticks. Available at your wife's craft store for $12 a bar that will last your lifetime.
Advantages:
1. Seals totally against rust.
2. Provides as thick or thin a coating as you like.
3. Provides a highly damped feel.
4. Doesn't transfer.
5. Doesn't attract dust or particles.
6. Easy to wipe down without removing its protection.
7. Easy to totally remove if you ever want to strip the existing finish on the vise.
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wrenchguy
Well-known member
Or a 69 cent toilet ring.
I agree with the uses, used to preserve since ancient times.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
SONO: great post and do you just heat up the cast vise before melting the beeswax on with your propane torch or do you just hit the chunk of beeswax with the torch and let it melt into a liquid. I would think it works similar to BLO, but I'm willing to listen.
Wrench: I bet you have a drawer full of beeswax and not sure you've been to the store in a while. or we all need to shop where you do cause wax toilet rings are closer to $2 and not made of beeswax anymore. if they are in your area i think we'd all like to know the details if they are that cheap and made of beeswax cause a lot of us use DoorEase (95% beeswax) on our cabinet slides too.
here's what i found GOOGLING:
What kind of wax are toilet rings made of?
The English, who invented what has become the modern toilet, used beeswax to seal the connection between toilet and pipe. But as the newfangled toilets gained popularity, they outstripped bees' ability to make wax. Modern wax rings are made of vegetable and petroleum waxes, with polyurethane additives.
JOE: since you buy so many vises does the hunt for them still excite you? any updated pictures of your HOARD of VISES or have you been selling them as fast as you buy them?
VISES: i sold this Morgan Star vise yesterday to a local guy in my area that was tired of not finding anything but imports. looks a bit like yours doesn't it?
Wrench: I bet you have a drawer full of beeswax and not sure you've been to the store in a while. or we all need to shop where you do cause wax toilet rings are closer to $2 and not made of beeswax anymore. if they are in your area i think we'd all like to know the details if they are that cheap and made of beeswax cause a lot of us use DoorEase (95% beeswax) on our cabinet slides too.
here's what i found GOOGLING:
What kind of wax are toilet rings made of?
The English, who invented what has become the modern toilet, used beeswax to seal the connection between toilet and pipe. But as the newfangled toilets gained popularity, they outstripped bees' ability to make wax. Modern wax rings are made of vegetable and petroleum waxes, with polyurethane additives.
JOE: since you buy so many vises does the hunt for them still excite you? any updated pictures of your HOARD of VISES or have you been selling them as fast as you buy them?
VISES: i sold this Morgan Star vise yesterday to a local guy in my area that was tired of not finding anything but imports. looks a bit like yours doesn't it?
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Shiftless
Well-known member
sono:
Thanks for the tip. Many of us have at least tried Johnson's paste wax on bare metal vise slides.
Drives:
I bet it would work a lot better to first warm up the vise in order to get the wax to flow evenly into the pores of the cast iron.
When I apply BLO, I first warm the vise with a heat gun so the oil will thin out and flow more effectively. On a naked vise with nice patina, I like to scrub in the BLO with scotchbrite. On a sunny day a guy could use solar energy for the warming effect.
Thanks for the tip. Many of us have at least tried Johnson's paste wax on bare metal vise slides.
Drives:
I bet it would work a lot better to first warm up the vise in order to get the wax to flow evenly into the pores of the cast iron.
When I apply BLO, I first warm the vise with a heat gun so the oil will thin out and flow more effectively. On a naked vise with nice patina, I like to scrub in the BLO with scotchbrite. On a sunny day a guy could use solar energy for the warming effect.
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Shiftless
Well-known member
Here is another Phoenix Hardware Mfg. Co. vise
I picked this one up for $10 and gave it a quick clean up and BLO rubdown.
Thanks to some research by one of the GJ star investigators, CRSINMICH, I learned that this old company made braces ( like "brace and bit") and other basic tools of the very early 1900's
BTW, If anybody has the missing side hold down clamp laying around, please let me know.
I picked this one up for $10 and gave it a quick clean up and BLO rubdown.
Thanks to some research by one of the GJ star investigators, CRSINMICH, I learned that this old company made braces ( like "brace and bit") and other basic tools of the very early 1900's
BTW, If anybody has the missing side hold down clamp laying around, please let me know.
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meatsis
Well-known member
I believe these are not the proper jaws for this vise. When you compare it to this little Morgan 35 you see the fit up is quite off.
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Try flipping the jaws over. Or swapping them. I had a rock island like that once. The jaws didn't seem to fit right. Or line up correctly. It turned out the previous owner must have taken them off at one time and refit them incorrectly. Once I figured that out they fit perfectly.
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dypen
Well-known member
Vice we must have in our garage, here is my old and good
