Athol No.103 Vise

[Dan77]

I've searched around in the forums and I haven't seen an identical one yet. With what I've read it's pre 1921. I won't have a chance to really check it out for a few weeks. I made a trade deal and had it dropped off at my parents and they live out of state.
Anyone have and information or catalog links? Thanks.

 

[DFB]

Nice...

Really like Athols and have two. A 90 and 61 3/12

 

[Bill C]

I've searched around in the forums and I haven't seen an identical one yet. With what I've read it's pre 1921. I won't have a chance to really check it out for a few weeks. I made a trade deal and had it dropped off at my parents and they live out of state.
Anyone have and information or catalog links? Thanks.

Old Athol catalogs/ads/brochures seem to be hard to come by. It can also be difficult to date them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a #103 in any of the catalogs/brochures I’ve looked at.
What is your plan for this vise? Restoration? It’s gonna need some TLC for sure. The back end of the slide on the dynamic jaw looks “mushroomed” in the photo. Often times people will beat on the back of the slide to open the vise if the pin on the lead screw shears off.

 

[Dan77]

Old Athol catalogs/ads/brochures seem to be hard to come by. It can also be difficult to date them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a #103 in any of the catalogs/brochures I’ve looked at.
What is your plan for this vise? Restoration? It’s gonna need some TLC for sure. The back end of the slide on the dynamic jaw looks “mushroomed” in the photo. Often times people will beat on the back of the slide to open the vise if the pin on the lead screw shears off.

Yes restoration is the plan. I've been looking for an affordable old American made vise. This one will be my 1st project but I won't be able to pick it up for a few weeks.

 

[rusty65]

Yes restoration is the plan. I've been looking for an affordable old American made vise. This one will be my 1st project but I won't be able to pick it up for a few weeks.

Honestly if I were you unless you really like that particular vise I’d trade that vise to a athol vise collector and find something with a swivel base and wider jaws. I personally believe that if nothing is broken on the vise that it’s worth more as a collector piece then a user. Either way it looks like a pretty decent vise.

 

[Dan77]

Honestly if I were you unless you really like that particular vise I’d trade that vise to a athol vise collector and find something with a swivel base and wider jaws. I personally believe that if nothing is broken on the vise that it’s worth more as a collector piece then a user. Either way it looks like a pretty decent vise.

I'd have to find an Athol collector to trade. Yesterday was the first time I've heard of them. I had a choice between two different ones and ended up choosing the Athol because it looked older and heavier. I still have a lot to learn.

 

[Fierljeppen]

Honestly if I were you unless you really like that particular vise I’d trade that vise to a athol vise collector and find something with a swivel base and wider jaws. I personally believe that if nothing is broken on the vise that it’s worth more as a collector piece then a user. Either way it looks like a pretty decent vise.

+1

Dan77...Your 4" swivel-jaw, 46 lb. vise is from at least the 1890s to early 1900s. The Athol No.103 is pretty rare and would be easy to trade for a much better user vise, if that's what you're looking for. If you're willing to do some searching, there's a lot of Athol Vise history here at the GJ. Athol / Starrett have some of the richest history with regard to top quality tools and vises.

If you keep it, you have a very nice collectible vise that's probably worth a lot more than you have invested in it. Or you could trade it for a high quality user, either way you win. Nice pickup!

 

[Dan77]

+1

Dan77...Your 4" swivel-jaw, 46 lb. vise is from at least the 1890s to early 1900s. The Athol No.103 is pretty rare and would be easy to trade for a much better user vise, if that's what you're looking for. If you're willing to do some searching, there's a lot of Athol Vise history here at the GJ. Athol / Starrett have some of the richest history with regard to top quality tools and vises.

If you keep it, you have a very nice collectible vise that's probably worth a lot more than you have invested in it. Or you could trade it for a high quality user, either way you win. Nice pickup!

Fierljeppen thanks for the information. Ideally I do want a good user vise. My current one is a 4 inch Craftsman vise that doesn't weigh much and I started looking for a heavier duty vise. An old quality made vise is what I wanted. The prices did surprise me a bit so when I had the chance to make this trade I did. I swapped some 80's bmx parts for it.