BanjoSavesTheDay
Well-known member
The mighty Reed 109! Sorry it's taken me a while to post a full write up of it. Even though there are even more rare and amazing vises out there, this vise is in fact rare and amazing and I am very thankful to have finally acquired it. 300 lbs of iron with 9" wide jaws. The only downside is that I'm really not sure I'll ever be able to forgive demoman for finding one first. 
The story. I honestly went to more trouble to get this thing than I ever have for anything in my life. It all started in May 2010 when I saw this post on PM: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-history/reed-vise-109-a-204640/. I was super excited to find a 109 for sale, but was then immediately crushed when I realized that the auction was not only in North Dakota, but the date was May 24 and the auction had been on the 22!
I thought all was lost for a week or so until I had the idea to try and track down the buyer, so I started with the auction company, High Plains Auction and Appraisal our of Williston, ND. The owner was very nice (and very northern, eh!) but apologetic because he had already turned all of the buyer information over to the owners of all the stuff that had been sold at the auction. He gave me their number and after playing phone tag for about a week, I got ahold of them and they were amused and more than happy to give me the phone number of the guy who had actually bought the vise. One step closer!
The first number I tried for "John" turned out to be his business phone number (he owns his own business). After a few days of not being able to get ahold of him there, I got impatient and starting trying to find his home phone number on Google. Morally questionable and slightly creepy? Maybe, but I was determined.
I DID find his home phone number and when I called it, I talked to his wife who was a little confused but nonetheless amused by my query. She told me that her husband was out on an annual hunting trip with their sons in Canada, but gave me his cell phone number. I felt a little weird calling this guy on his cell phone while on a hunting trip, but I did anyway and left and message since he didn't have service.
Fiiiiinally, days later he called me back with poor cell service to find out what in the world this West Virginian who talked so funny was doing blowing up all his phones. He told me he would be willing to talk to me about getting rid of his vise, but it would have to wait until he got back. When he finally did, we haggled a little while and then agreed on a trade involving my Columbian 608 and his Reed 109 coming all the way down here for North Dakota.
All of this was hammered out only a few weeks after I initially found the vise in late May, so let's say the date was late June-early July. For the next YEAR AND A HALF, I called, begged, pleaded, emailed, and pestered him to actually ship the vise down here, but there was always some reason why he was too busy to do it right then. There were weeks at a time when I wouldn't hear from him and often thought that the deal was never going to happen. In fact, I did lose faith for a while and my dad took over the cajoling duties. However, "John" finally made time and on Sep 30, 2011, he finally shipped my most favorite vise in my collection down here to me.
It was most certainly worth the wait and I will always remember the hunt for this monster.
Many more pics and dimensions to follow.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45099362@N02/6230272109/" title="IMG_7662 by BanjoSavesTheDay, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6157/6230272109_c00494eaa4.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_7662"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45099362@N02/6230782396/" title="IMG_7658 by BanjoSavesTheDay, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6100/6230782396_8c2fb25896.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_7658"></a>
The story. I honestly went to more trouble to get this thing than I ever have for anything in my life. It all started in May 2010 when I saw this post on PM: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-history/reed-vise-109-a-204640/. I was super excited to find a 109 for sale, but was then immediately crushed when I realized that the auction was not only in North Dakota, but the date was May 24 and the auction had been on the 22!
I thought all was lost for a week or so until I had the idea to try and track down the buyer, so I started with the auction company, High Plains Auction and Appraisal our of Williston, ND. The owner was very nice (and very northern, eh!) but apologetic because he had already turned all of the buyer information over to the owners of all the stuff that had been sold at the auction. He gave me their number and after playing phone tag for about a week, I got ahold of them and they were amused and more than happy to give me the phone number of the guy who had actually bought the vise. One step closer!
The first number I tried for "John" turned out to be his business phone number (he owns his own business). After a few days of not being able to get ahold of him there, I got impatient and starting trying to find his home phone number on Google. Morally questionable and slightly creepy? Maybe, but I was determined.
I DID find his home phone number and when I called it, I talked to his wife who was a little confused but nonetheless amused by my query. She told me that her husband was out on an annual hunting trip with their sons in Canada, but gave me his cell phone number. I felt a little weird calling this guy on his cell phone while on a hunting trip, but I did anyway and left and message since he didn't have service. Fiiiiinally, days later he called me back with poor cell service to find out what in the world this West Virginian who talked so funny was doing blowing up all his phones. He told me he would be willing to talk to me about getting rid of his vise, but it would have to wait until he got back. When he finally did, we haggled a little while and then agreed on a trade involving my Columbian 608 and his Reed 109 coming all the way down here for North Dakota.
All of this was hammered out only a few weeks after I initially found the vise in late May, so let's say the date was late June-early July. For the next YEAR AND A HALF, I called, begged, pleaded, emailed, and pestered him to actually ship the vise down here, but there was always some reason why he was too busy to do it right then. There were weeks at a time when I wouldn't hear from him and often thought that the deal was never going to happen. In fact, I did lose faith for a while and my dad took over the cajoling duties. However, "John" finally made time and on Sep 30, 2011, he finally shipped my most favorite vise in my collection down here to me.
It was most certainly worth the wait and I will always remember the hunt for this monster.
Many more pics and dimensions to follow.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45099362@N02/6230272109/" title="IMG_7662 by BanjoSavesTheDay, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6157/6230272109_c00494eaa4.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_7662"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45099362@N02/6230782396/" title="IMG_7658 by BanjoSavesTheDay, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6100/6230782396_8c2fb25896.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_7658"></a>
Last edited:
Post up a pic of the Columbian that went with the deal, too.
The way we worked it out, the seller paid shipping both ways so I'm not exactly sure how much it cost. I know it wasn't cheap though!
I had a friend at an auction this spring where there was a Parker 958? swivel. I saw this very vise sell 23 years earlier and it brought $800 in 1988. I was in college at the time and had no money but always wanted it. Anyway it brought $1350 at this auction and a 70 yr old man bought it and did not back off so I let it go. Enough rambling but my point is a vise is worth what you are willing to spend.