More than likely, neither of these vises are “vintage” but they are both Made in the USA. Rather than a complete rebuild, this is mostly a refresh of these vises.
First, the Columbian D44 M5 was gifted to me by my sister. It was in good shape, but I decided to clean it up and repaint it.
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The original paint was very durable and withstood paint stripper. I believe it may have been powder coated, anyway, wire wheel on angle grinder took it off. All the parts took a 24-hour bath in simple green then wire wheeled. The spindle slide, anvil, sides of the jaws, slide rests inside the body, and the sides of the removeable jaw inserts got sanded and polished.
I masked and applied metal etching primer then hit the painted parts with Rust oleum hammer dark bronze. Next, I used a silver acrylic paint on the embossed lettering and reassembled the vise. I like how it turned out.
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That completed the D44 M5.
Next, two weeks after I posted questions about the Autocrat on the vise thread, I found one at an estate sale this past Thursday for $45.00 and it was in good shape. There was a bent handle and one flat ground spot on one jaw but otherwise, minimal wear and tear. I believe the green is the original paint as I have seen several Autocrats with the same paint.
I should mention that I became interested in this vise several months ago because it seemed to fill many of the vise uses that I would need as a home hobbyist. In my opinion, the autocrat was made for the home hobbyist, providing many of the features that the a person with a home workshop would need without getting into the weeds of a more stout vise.
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According to Fierljeppen,
“(1977-1997) is the range of catalog listings I found for the Columbian Autocrat Mechanics Vise. The same vise was lastly listed in Wilton's 1998 catalog, but the jaw width was increased by 1/2".”
Apparently, there was a 4” jaw variant (the 414) and the variant I have that has 5” jaws (the 415). As far as I know, there is no real way to specifically date the vise other than the 10-year time span mentioned above.
Some of the observations I made on the vise thread were the following:
Removable jaws that are not keyed into the body.
Standardized swivel base with only one locking lever.
Large defined anvil surface.
Covered spindle screw.
Simplified handle ends that were heated and mushroomed rather than a separate end ball attachment.
Cast permanent pipe jaws
The slide rests inside the main body are more extensive and provide a greater coverage of the slide than many older vises.
Simplified spindle screw nut lock. The bottom center bolt in the swivel base screws into the bottom of the spindle nut and locks it in place.
Use of a retaining ring to hold spindle screw inside dynamic jaw rather than a sleeve with a set screw.
So, with all of these observations, it can be inferred that the vise can not be employed without the spindle base for two reasons. First, the spindle nut is held in place with the spindle base screw that would protrude from the base of the vise if the spindle base was omitted. Second, there is only one hole in the base of the vise providing only one mounting point.
Onward with the refresh. I disassembled the vise and placed all the parts in a simple green bath for 24 hours.
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After that, all the parts were put in a citric acid bath for 24 hours.
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Next, I cleaned all the cast parts with a wire wheel. Then I sanded and polished the sides of the jaws, the face of the spindle base, the anvil, the slide rests inside the body, and the slide.
View media item 111301
Next, I masked all the parts and applied a metal etch primer. Tonight, I plan on attempting to mushroom then ends of a piece of 1144 carbon rolled steel that I plan on using to replace the handle. I am also hoping to paint the main parts tonight.
Thanks for the interest.
First, the Columbian D44 M5 was gifted to me by my sister. It was in good shape, but I decided to clean it up and repaint it.
View media item 111008
View media item 111007
View media item 111009
The original paint was very durable and withstood paint stripper. I believe it may have been powder coated, anyway, wire wheel on angle grinder took it off. All the parts took a 24-hour bath in simple green then wire wheeled. The spindle slide, anvil, sides of the jaws, slide rests inside the body, and the sides of the removeable jaw inserts got sanded and polished.
I masked and applied metal etching primer then hit the painted parts with Rust oleum hammer dark bronze. Next, I used a silver acrylic paint on the embossed lettering and reassembled the vise. I like how it turned out.
View media item 111295
View media item 111294
View media item 111293
View media item 111292
That completed the D44 M5.
Next, two weeks after I posted questions about the Autocrat on the vise thread, I found one at an estate sale this past Thursday for $45.00 and it was in good shape. There was a bent handle and one flat ground spot on one jaw but otherwise, minimal wear and tear. I believe the green is the original paint as I have seen several Autocrats with the same paint.
I should mention that I became interested in this vise several months ago because it seemed to fill many of the vise uses that I would need as a home hobbyist. In my opinion, the autocrat was made for the home hobbyist, providing many of the features that the a person with a home workshop would need without getting into the weeds of a more stout vise.
View media item 111296
View media item 111297
According to Fierljeppen,
“(1977-1997) is the range of catalog listings I found for the Columbian Autocrat Mechanics Vise. The same vise was lastly listed in Wilton's 1998 catalog, but the jaw width was increased by 1/2".”
Apparently, there was a 4” jaw variant (the 414) and the variant I have that has 5” jaws (the 415). As far as I know, there is no real way to specifically date the vise other than the 10-year time span mentioned above.
Some of the observations I made on the vise thread were the following:
Removable jaws that are not keyed into the body.
Standardized swivel base with only one locking lever.
Large defined anvil surface.
Covered spindle screw.
Simplified handle ends that were heated and mushroomed rather than a separate end ball attachment.
Cast permanent pipe jaws
The slide rests inside the main body are more extensive and provide a greater coverage of the slide than many older vises.
Simplified spindle screw nut lock. The bottom center bolt in the swivel base screws into the bottom of the spindle nut and locks it in place.
Use of a retaining ring to hold spindle screw inside dynamic jaw rather than a sleeve with a set screw.
So, with all of these observations, it can be inferred that the vise can not be employed without the spindle base for two reasons. First, the spindle nut is held in place with the spindle base screw that would protrude from the base of the vise if the spindle base was omitted. Second, there is only one hole in the base of the vise providing only one mounting point.
Onward with the refresh. I disassembled the vise and placed all the parts in a simple green bath for 24 hours.
View media item 111298
View media item 111299
After that, all the parts were put in a citric acid bath for 24 hours.
View media item 111300
Next, I cleaned all the cast parts with a wire wheel. Then I sanded and polished the sides of the jaws, the face of the spindle base, the anvil, the slide rests inside the body, and the slide.
View media item 111301
Next, I masked all the parts and applied a metal etch primer. Tonight, I plan on attempting to mushroom then ends of a piece of 1144 carbon rolled steel that I plan on using to replace the handle. I am also hoping to paint the main parts tonight.
Thanks for the interest.
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