Craftsman 506 vs 391 vise

scooternut · Jan 24, 2014

EDIT< lets just make this my new craftsman vise thread. Picked up 2 tiny ones and sank them in vinegar

Loving the vise knowledge that I've seen on this forum. I've been using a craftsman 506 for about 15 years with one missing jaw face replaced by a nice piece of hard steel. Makes the jaw faces a bit offset, but workable. The vise has been worked very hard prior to my receiving it, but has been working fine for me.

I ended up buying a 391 from craigslist. Drove there expecting a newly painted 506 but found a barely used 391, but I bought it so as to not waste $3.50/ gallon in gas. It really is in very nice shape with only light tool marks and no visible wear, despite what appears to be an obvious cover up paint job.

Now I know this is a personal decision but I now face the dilemma of choosing between the two for my bench. Having not seen much on here about the 391, Id figure Id post up. The 506 is Made in the USA and marked as such, the 391 is made in japan and marked as such.

Even if opinions dont exist out there, I figured the vise people on the board might enjoy.

1982fxr · Jan 25, 2014

use the big one!

edit: i find the quality on US and japanese version of those very similar, with the US version a little better machined and usually showing a little less wear on the sides of the slide. Some of the japanese ones get grooves dug into the slides. The next newer style of Craftsman USA gray ones are way worse for that though.

scooternut · Jan 25, 2014

They appear to be the exact same size, maybe just a slight difference here and there. I think the red one is taller actually.

Thanks for the input.

ShadowRuleZ · Jan 25, 2014

Put the other one on a second bench, no reason to have to choose between the two.

scooternut · Mar 27, 2014

So now, thanks to craigslist I picked up a 506-51810 to complement my 506-51811. I have no Idea why the different model numbers.I cant vouch for the jaw faces as my 51811 has jaws that do not appear OEM. The handle appears different but both appear OEM. The difference concerns me. Not sure what Im up to here. I finished a in bench hitch mount for the 391, and I currently have the 51810 disassembled and in vinegar.

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First vise I have soaked in vinegar,, not certain what my intentions are with it.

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zkling · Mar 27, 2014

scooternut said:
The difference concerns me. Not sure what Im up to here.

There were minor changes. Ex. the screw eye tapered vs not, gooves vs not. Handle ends tapered vs not. The under side support casting different web sections. The method of retaining the screw. Small changes that caused a part number change. The changes really where to lower production cost and speed manufacturing.

scooternut · Mar 27, 2014

Thanks for the info. Ill have to go looking for those old sears catalog pages ive seen on here before. I actually thought the cone and grooved one looked cheaper. But ill guess based on what you've posted and that its one number lower that it would be the older of the 2?? (the 51810 that is).

zkling · Mar 27, 2014

Yea I am pretty sure the taper and grooves predate the squared off, smooth ends. It is a take off from their larger, preceeding line of vises that had a tapered eye with grooves. Heck I've even seen a few with the same model number that vary (ex. one has groovs on the eye, other doesn't). :dunno:

From a manufaturing standpoint the non tapered, non grooved ones would be faster, simpler --> Cheaper to manufacture.

scooternut · Mar 28, 2014

OK thanks to you and a big thanks to Outlawmws for the following link which contains tons of pics of old Sears catalog pages. Strong work.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=149519

According to the dates that he posted, he shows pages of the taper and grooved vise as far back as 1960 (my 506-51810). He shows a page from 1973 as he calls it that shows the untapered version with the rounded over handle ends (my 506-51811).
Thanks again.

zkling · Mar 28, 2014

Yea, no problem, good discussion. I'd like to find one of those 5" versions. I have/had a few of the 3.5" ones which had the same design iterations, so I had some back ground took it apart knowledge to go on. There were a few other changes in between. I think they made close to millions of those vises as they seem to be everywhere. They are a nice little vise that gets away from the cheaper exposed screw design.

scooternut · Apr 1, 2014

And WOW! That vise in 5 gallons of vinegar for the last three days has cause that vinegar to become "alive." Its like soupy brown, constantly bubbling, and I swear its even kind of swirling around on top. I pulled the parts out last night, brushed off the loose stuff and dunked them back in. Going on vac for about 5 days, figure ill leave it to soak.

scooternut · Apr 14, 2014

I decided to paint both of my 506's. Here is the 51810. Cleaned up with vinegar, etc. Painted with brush on rustoleum primer and 3 coats of "safety red" paint. Sure is bright. I cleaned up the bare metal just a bit with green 3m pad and wd40. Sorry for the cell phone pics, just easier that way.

1982fxr · Apr 14, 2014

I like the safety red, was that spray bomb?

oldldh · Apr 14, 2014

That's a nice little Craftsman you've got there... :bowdown:

The color is awful close to "Arrest-Me-Red"----It's first cousin--"Eyeball-Pounding-Red"... :thumbup:

Ya Dun Gud, Bubba!!!

scooternut · Apr 15, 2014

Rustoleum "safety red" applied via brush, 3 coats. Ill get a proper pic up after I paint the second 506, next to the 391 japan model red. It really is bright though. I didnt care for it at first preferring a satin look myself, but everyone that sees it seems to like it

zkling · Apr 15, 2014

That looks great. Maybe do the grooves and the lettering in a while, blue or black? I like how those have grooves and tapers on both the screw eye and the swivel lock.

scooternut · Apr 24, 2014

Well here's my restored 506-51811, pictured earlier bolted to the bench. I decided to give it some love as it has had a hard life. I brushed rustoleum smoke gray on and used the safety red with the rolled up and taped paper towel as the paint dobber for the letters. The jaws, though not finished here, are dimensional aluminum from mcmaster carr and I made up my own screws.

The screws are made from 1/4 20 flat stainless from lowes, the four at the top I just made, the lower left is what I believe to be OEM, the lower right is 1/4 20 as purchased. I profiled with a belt grinder.

scooternut · Aug 24, 2014

Some pretty cool Craftsman vise stuff happening here. Picked up 2 small ones and thought i'd share, clearly early USA made craftsman vises, one appears reed, the other columbian. Wow what a weight difference.

zkling · Aug 24, 2014

Completely different designs, stamped vs cast/milled slides. I like that old one one the right, what is the jaw width?

scooternut · Aug 25, 2014

zkling said:
Completely different designs, stamped vs cast/milled slides. I like that old one one the right, what is the jaw width?

I dont have an exact measurement handy, but it is small, like 4 inches or less.

Craftsman 506 vs 391 vise

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