Prentiss No 23 Repair and Refurbish
- Thread starter rennebew
- Start date
More pictures after I got it home and before I began to take it apart. Seller did not realize the rear jaw swiveled. He bought it 6 years ago at auction and it had come off the back of a large service truck. Last picture shows a better picture of damage from abuse to the top of the slide.
Slide is very tight for last 4 inches and required the use of a screw jack to remove dynamic jaw. Swivel pin was hammered out with a drift pin from below through the threaded hole the swivel base mounts to. Swivel jaw was very stubborn and required over an hour of persuasion with a soft faced hammer.
V grooved crack and ground out what appeared to be an old attempt to weld slide.
I am not a welder, but a friend who is helped repair the slide. Preheated to 600+ degrees and filled groove with 99NI rod. After welding, slide was stuck in a can filled with lime to slow the cooling process. Shown is final weld before machining smooth.
I am not a welder, but a friend who is helped repair the slide. Preheated to 600+ degrees and filled groove with 99NI rod. After welding, slide was stuck in a can filled with lime to slow the cooling process. Shown is final weld before machining smooth.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Congrats on your find. does that vise really weigh 287 pounds? DAMN those old guys that beat on the back of those vises like they were anvils.
i'm thinking (KMScott) might have a pair of new jaws for you to buy, but you are going to need some serious work to fix that slide.
congrats again because that is one awesome find
Edit: I didn't see this welding of the back slide when I posted. I hope it works.
i'm thinking (KMScott) might have a pair of new jaws for you to buy, but you are going to need some serious work to fix that slide.
congrats again because that is one awesome find
Edit: I didn't see this welding of the back slide when I posted. I hope it works.
Prepped slide for machining off excess weld. T nuts spaced for the vises on the vertical mill with a 6 inch cutter that was used to mill slide.
We could have taken another .025 off and cleaned up the sag from years of being used as an anvil but stopped for now with a .002 finish cut that touched the middle of the unwelded portion of the slide. I am still trying to decide if I want to take off more material. It would be for cosmetic purposes only at this point.
Repair did end up with some porosity in a few spots, but the finished product is fully functional. The jaw slides much better than before.
We could have taken another .025 off and cleaned up the sag from years of being used as an anvil but stopped for now with a .002 finish cut that touched the middle of the unwelded portion of the slide. I am still trying to decide if I want to take off more material. It would be for cosmetic purposes only at this point.
Repair did end up with some porosity in a few spots, but the finished product is fully functional. The jaw slides much better than before.
drivesitfar - It does not weigh 287 lbs. I am predicting it is between 210-220 lbs. I weighed parts as I took it apart and it is somewhere in that range. I will weigh the final product once I finish the rest of the repairs and reassemble.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
http://dayid.org/mediawiki/index.php/Prentiss_Vise
once you get yours finished you can post a picture and better specs on Dayid's list which is about our only reference for these good old vises. somebody needs to make a vise book as I've said before.
loves to see the fast progress on the slide. are the jaws 8 inches wide? specs when you get a chance for all of us that want to own one of these monsters would be awesome.
once you get yours finished you can post a picture and better specs on Dayid's list which is about our only reference for these good old vises. somebody needs to make a vise book as I've said before.
loves to see the fast progress on the slide. are the jaws 8 inches wide? specs when you get a chance for all of us that want to own one of these monsters would be awesome.
oldldh
Well-known member
If'n it was me, I'd take off another 25/1000's, and really make the old girl shine!!!
If you're going to do a complete overhaul/restoration, the slide is the biggest machined surface that's visible...and draws the eye to any faults...the surface should be as smooth as possible...
I'm getting more cracks (wrinkles) in me , as I age, and I'm not as gorgeous as I used to be...but I don't think .025 would do much good...but it would help the mistreated old lady look her best...
That's a really nice vise to save...you're doing a good job...keep the pictures coming...
If you're going to do a complete overhaul/restoration, the slide is the biggest machined surface that's visible...and draws the eye to any faults...the surface should be as smooth as possible...
I'm getting more cracks (wrinkles) in me , as I age, and I'm not as gorgeous as I used to be...but I don't think .025 would do much good...but it would help the mistreated old lady look her best...
That's a really nice vise to save...you're doing a good job...keep the pictures coming...
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
Awesome find, I too was thinking if you were going to weld up the crack but as I was scrolling down I saw you already did it! LOL...
drivesitfar - specs are 7" jaws and 11" opening That matches the vintage ads I have seen for the No 23. Amazing seeing it next to the No 21 I worked on at the end of last year. The extra 1-3/4" jaw width added around 100 lbs of steel to the vise.
zkling - the stand was part of the purchase, but the vise will probably never go back on it. I opened the slide as far as I could to inspect the nut before purchase and it was not user friendly at all
oldldh - I may still take off the extra material on top of slide. I wanted to fit it in the body after the repair before it was machined on too much more.
I bought the vise at the end of 2013. The pictures show the progress over the last couple of weeks. I still have a lot of blasting to do before painting and the shaft of the swivel release pin is seperated from the plunger. 3 of the 4 jaw retainer screws were broken off in the vise and luckily I was 3 for 3 removing them with an easy out.
zkling - the stand was part of the purchase, but the vise will probably never go back on it. I opened the slide as far as I could to inspect the nut before purchase and it was not user friendly at all
oldldh - I may still take off the extra material on top of slide. I wanted to fit it in the body after the repair before it was machined on too much more.
I bought the vise at the end of 2013. The pictures show the progress over the last couple of weeks. I still have a lot of blasting to do before painting and the shaft of the swivel release pin is seperated from the plunger. 3 of the 4 jaw retainer screws were broken off in the vise and luckily I was 3 for 3 removing them with an easy out.
oldldh
Well-known member
Ya doin' gud, Bubba!!!
drivesitfar
Well-known member
you are doing an awesome job with that old Prentiss #23. I agree with Oldie that if you are able to clean up that slide just a little more before putting it to work or selling it you will be happier in the long run. that was one heckuva weld job.
also nice to hear you were able to remove the broken off jaw screws with an easy out because I have a Prentiss on my bench that has one side's jaw broken off that is on my project list.
Since Dayid's list on the Prentiss vises seems to be our best place to get any pictures and some information on these old gems it looks like not only your #23, but also your #21 could get it's picture on it because there isn't one for either of those on it currently. also the weight listed for your #23 on his list is at 270 and even if yours is only 220 pounds it is still the biggest Prentiss vise on the list and yours has the swivel jaw too.
keep up the great work and I for one will be interested in seeing more pictures.
Pictures I had in my data base of another Prentiss #23 in case you might need one for a reference. good luck
also nice to hear you were able to remove the broken off jaw screws with an easy out because I have a Prentiss on my bench that has one side's jaw broken off that is on my project list.
Since Dayid's list on the Prentiss vises seems to be our best place to get any pictures and some information on these old gems it looks like not only your #23, but also your #21 could get it's picture on it because there isn't one for either of those on it currently. also the weight listed for your #23 on his list is at 270 and even if yours is only 220 pounds it is still the biggest Prentiss vise on the list and yours has the swivel jaw too.
keep up the great work and I for one will be interested in seeing more pictures.
Pictures I had in my data base of another Prentiss #23 in case you might need one for a reference. good luck
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The swivel lock pin on the vise was broken when I got it. Fixed by drilling and tapping so the original pieces could be salvaged. Also the swivel base was not flat so it was cleaned up on the surface grinder. This is the second Prentiss that required the base to be ground.
American steel
Member
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2014
- Messages
- 15
Hello everyone I'm needing so advice on what to do on my Prentiss vise the rear jaw pin is froze and the swivel lock pin is also froze so I'm looking for some ideas what I might do.also I'm trying to figure out which Prentiss vise I might have I do know it was bought between 1881 to 1889 so any help I would really aprecate it thanks Trevor
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American steel - I have had good luck removing the stuck swivel pin from both of my prentiss vises. I suggest that you first remove the swivel base from your vise. That should allow you to insert a long punch through the swivel base tapped hole and hammer the pin out from the bottom. While you have the swivel base off, you also will have access to the bottom of the swivel pin. You should be able to tap it with a brass or soft face hammer and get it to move. Make sure to clean the corrosion off of the exposed portion of the swivel pin before you start to work it in.
American steel
Member
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2014
- Messages
- 15
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
On Prentiss' it is just a number they stamp on each component to keep them grouped together during the production & fitting process. There should be a 17 stamped somewhere on the static housing (assuming it hasn't wore off)...
SierraGold
Member
Great restoration! I just picked up one of these old Prentiss vises yesterday off of Craigslist. I had been searching for a Prentiss specifically because I like them. The one I got is a Prentiss #96 which is 155 lbs. Way too big for my needs, so not sure if I'll keep it forever or just restore it and sell it. Unfortunately it is missing one jaw and all four screws seem to be broken pretty flush. Do you have any advice before I attempt to get them out?
Here's a few shots of the vice, and an old ad with many of the Prentiss vises with weights:
Here's a few shots of the vice, and an old ad with many of the Prentiss vises with weights:
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SierraGold
Member
Also...just curious. Who is the owner of the page that was linked to with the Prentiss vise info? There is lots of missing data and some incorrect data. I would like to help.
Thanks
Thanks