Big old vise. Anyone know what it is?

evintho · Nov 9, 2008

I was trapsing through an abandoned, completely overgrown property today, taking pics of a bunch of old cars and I ran across this vise. It's a big mother! It's bolted to a steel sawhorse and it's completely surrounded by a ton of blackberry bushes. It's probably been there as long as the cars. Nothing has been touched on that property in 30 or 40 years. The pics aren't very good 'cause I had no room to manuever! I could make out an NY (New York?) and there was another word next to it embossed on the top. It's gotta be at least a 6". The handle is a good 12" or 14" long. It looks very solid and well built. Does anyone have any clue as to the brand, size, etc?

Blacknwhitepit · Nov 9, 2008

Looks like a Prentiss Vise.

A great candidate for a restoration!

-BWP

jay50 · Nov 9, 2008

Get some buddies, some cold brews and go get that mother of all vise...

qdvuu · Nov 9, 2008

Yes, a Prentiss.

Mine's not in that good of condition. I got it from my father who got it from his father, so I imagine it's pre-1925. Anybody know how to date them?

Adam McLaughlin · Nov 9, 2008

I'll give you a hand; we live in the same town!!

Adam

evintho · Nov 9, 2008

That's it! A Prentiss. Judging by the looks of it I assume it's a quality vise. Does anyone know how old, what size, etc.? Apparently, the owner of the property is some crazy old coot who lives in Vegas and comes out every couple of months to check on the property and pick up mail. I guess the best I can do is leave a note in the mailbox asking him if I can relieve him of that old, rusty burdensome piece of metal!

Adam McLaughlin · Nov 9, 2008

You could try that.

Do the neighbors have any suggestion as to what the best way to accomplish what you are interested in?

This would not be on Fitzpatrick lane, would it?

)

Adam

evintho · Nov 9, 2008

Wright road. The neighbor is trying to buy the property. He gave me permission to go in there today. He keeps a sharp eye out, has several big dogs and a 20 gauge. He gave me the owners name and told me the best way to contact him is to leave a note in the mailbox.

mkdive · Nov 9, 2008

good find, hope it works out for you getting the vise!

bmwpower · Nov 9, 2008

Wow. Nice find.

If it's been there for 30-40 years, I'm guessing the table it was attached to gave way a WHILE ago, hence the reason it's on the ground now.

Hopefully, you can recover it.

wilbilt · Nov 9, 2008

It looks like it's still sitting on some sort of bench, and it looks like there is a Craftsman screwdriver on the shelf directly below the vise in the first pic.

I'm about 3 hours away, but I could possibly come help with some "cleanup"

JOE HRASKA · Nov 20, 2008

According To An Old Bigelow & Dowse Co. Catagogue, Your Vise Was Mfgd By Prentiss Vise Co. Of Watertown Ny. The Last Photo, Which Shows The Prentiss Name Also Indicates The Model No., Which Looks Like 23 In Your Picture. The No. 23 Was A Iron Workers Vise, 7" Jaws, Opening To 11" And Weighing A Whopping 207 Lbs. It Had A Swivel Base, And A Self Adjusting Rear Jaw, Which, Upon Removal Of The Taper Pin Could Be Swiveled To Hold Irregular Objects. Would Be Happy To Forward A Copy Of Several Pages Of Prentiss Literature If You Think That Would Help You

Joe

I Recently Got A Prentiss Watchmakers Vise On Ebay , Which Has 1 3/4 " Jaws And Opens To 1 1/4 ", And Weighs 1 1/2 Lbs. It Is An Exact Copy Of The Big Ones And Also Has The Swivel Jaw, And Was Finished In Dk Maroon Enamel With Gold Pinstriping, Most Of Which Is Still Intact.

evintho · Nov 20, 2008

Thanks for the offer! PM sent.

Brad54 · Nov 20, 2008

My dad's got one just like that, always garage-kept. It was his father's, and was in his road construction shop in the '40s-'50s. It's an EXCELLENT vise, and I'd love to have one like it.
In the mid-'80s, I sanded down and repainted the rusty shop-built table it was mounted to. 2x2x1/4-inch angle frame, legs and middle shelf, a 6x6 piece of angle across the back, like a shelf. The table is about 2'x3', and it's about 30-inches high, which puts the top of the vise right at your working level. The table top? A piece of WWII Half Track 1 3/4-inch thick armor plate, from the half track Grandpa bought and mounted a crane on the back of. Yeah, it's a heavy table.
It's sat buried under garage debris for at least 15 years, and Dad won't part with it because he "uses it." Yeah...that's why the book of matches I put on there (he's a stickler for matches) is STILL on the table all these years later. I check every time I visit.

It'd be tempting to go back with a couple of wrenches and remove that one you found...but even if the owner does nothing with it, it'd still be stealing. (though I AM sorely tempted to steel Dad's this Thanksgiving!)

-Brad

evintho · Jun 17, 2010

UPDATE:

The Prentiss is gone!! I passed by today and saw the neighbor out in his yard for the first time in a long time. I stopped and said 'remember me'? He did! We had a good conversation. It seems the owner of the property next door finally went senile and his kids put him in a resthome. They live out of state so just last week they hired some shady looking characters to start cleaning up the property. The neighbor told me if I wanted the vise, go get it! He was fed up with all the shenanigans over there. He'd been trying to buy the property for years. He said, go grab it and if anyone says anything, I'll vouge for you. Great! I walked next door and crawled back to where the vise was and it was gone! One of the shady characters had unbolted it from the steel bench it was on and taken it! Oh well........I'll just soldier on and keep looking!!

iandh · Jun 17, 2010

evintho said:
UPDATE:

The Prentiss is gone!! I passed by today and saw the neighbor out in his yard for the first time in a long time. I stopped and said 'remember me'? He did! We had a good conversation. It seems the owner of the property next door finally went senile and his kids put him in a resthome. They live out of state so just last week they hired some shady looking characters to start cleaning up the property. The neighbor told me if I wanted the vise, go get it! He was fed up with all the shenanigans over there. He'd been trying to buy the property for years. He said, go grab it and if anyone says anything, I'll vouge for you. Great! I walked next door and crawled back to where the vise was and it was gone! One of the shady characters had unbolted it from the steel bench it was on and taken it! Oh well........I'll just soldier on and keep looking!!

That means some blockhead assh... um, I mean jerk is going to be posting it on Craigslist for $999

Burgerkong · Jun 17, 2010

That REALLY *****!

selohssa · Jun 17, 2010

What happend to the cars? What were they? Do you have pics of them?

BanjoSavesTheDay · Jun 18, 2010

iandh said:
That means some blockhead assh... um, I mean jerk is going to be posting it on Craigslist for $999

That would be the best scenario. More likely is that that thing went to the scrap yard. :sad:

Those would have been the best before and after pictures EVER.

autopts71045 · Jun 18, 2010

Kole shagged it!!

BanjoSavesTheDay · Jun 19, 2010

Ok ok it was me! I found that deserted property with google earth and it was just too tempting. :evil:

Adam McLaughlin · Jun 19, 2010

Awwww... Man, that is a crying shame. Wright road is known for being full of... characters, as you probably already know.

Was anything else removed from the property when you went by this week?

Adam

evintho · Nov 25, 2010

Yeah, old thread, I know. But, I'm filled up with turkey and bored so I thought I'd add somethin' to it. The vise is long gone but I drove by last week and they had cleared alot of the brush and were pulling the remaining cars out of the property. Gotta assume they went to the crusher! Here's the original car pics I snapped the day I found the vise.

'47? Dodge

Early 50's Chevy

Early 50's Pontiac

Mid 30's pickup bed and axle

'60 Catalina

Mid 50's Buick

This is my favorite...........mid to late 50's Stude 2-door wagon. Not a dent on it!

Early 50's mopar

Mid 40's GMC school bus

Adam McLaughlin · Nov 26, 2010

Great Snapshots Evintho... AMazing what some of the cool things along Wright road there are to be found in S.W. Santa Rosa

Adam

evintho · Nov 26, 2010

Amen! BTW, I love the new paint scheme!

autopts · Nov 26, 2010

Excellent photos!

autopts · Nov 26, 2010

autopts said:
evintho said:

Yeah, old thread, I know. But, I'm filled up with turkey and bored so I thought I'd add somethin' to it. The vise is long gone but I drove by last week and they had cleared alot of the brush and were pulling the remaining cars out of the property. Gotta assume they went to the crusher! Here's the original car pics I snapped the day I found the vise.

'47? Dodge

Early 50's Chevy

Early 50's Pontiac

Mid 30's pickup bed and axle

'60 Catalina

Mid 50's Buick

This is my favorite...........mid to late 50's Stude 2-door wagon. Not a dent on it!

Early 50's mopar

Mid 40's GMC school bus

Click to expand...

Those all are classic photos, I believe Napa had a callender out one year with abandonded classics. Those photos would be excellent candidates for another one. Thanks for sharing!

Lump · Nov 26, 2010

Jack Vines ought to appreciate that Studebaker wagon. Looks very similar to the last Packard...the V8 built jointly with Studebaker, and Packard's last gasp.

We have junkyards like this in Ohio, filled with really old really cool cars. But here, cars like this are rusted into swiss-cheese holes. Some them will literally shimmy like Jello, when you push against the side of them, as their bodies are so weakened by rust. That Stude wagon looks like it could be saved. And if it is too far gone to restore to stock...what a cool hot rod it would make. Or at least there are some VERY rare parts still on it.

Thumper · Nov 26, 2010

The '60 Pontiac Catalina is really a '62. It's a shame about missing out on the vice though.

Big old vise. Anyone know what it is?

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