Bryant Engineering Hydraulic Vice

[danth63108]

 

[danth63108]

Would anyone know how I could have this repaired, find parts for it, or fix it myself?

 

[Firebrick43]

Whats wrong with it??????, think that might be helpful?

 

[The Cobbler]

yeah, a little more info like what it's doing/not doing etc.

 

[danth63108]

Thanks, it doesn’t do anything. The center peddle is dropped to the floor, it will move, however I have to lift it with my foot to pump it. Nothing happens when I pump it. Sometimes the peddle on the right will pop/snap up, the left peddled moves but doesn’t seem to do anything.

 

[danth63108]

The vice itself does not move at all, I have tried to close it by pushing on it, I even hit it with a hammer to see if I could close it, it does not budge.

 

[quickfarms]

Can you post more pictures especially if the pump that is on the floor.

One pedal is the main pump
One pedal would be the release

the third pedal may be a slow closing pedal

both the pump and the piston will contain seals

the piston on the vise is probably spring loaded to return

the first thing I would do is to check the fluid level but you will probably need to elevate the pedal assembly so it is higher than the vise

 

[Shiftless]

Hydraulic cylinders that don’t move for lots of years can get seized up. If it’s filled with brake fluid, there could be rust in there because as you probably know, brake fluid is hygroscopic and draws moisture from the air.

 

[Fierljeppen]

danth63108...You need to understand what a rare and historical vise you have. The Bryant Engineering Corp. was the devise patent owner and licensed it to the Studebaker Machine Co. for the manufacture of their hydraulic vises, which are very collectible.

You have, what is just a handful of the original pre-Studebaker hydraulic vise. It's worth having it repaired by a knowledgeable hydraulic technician, if necessary. Your vise already has historical value, which will increase dramatically if working properly. I'm not saying you should sell it, but you should know the value of the tool you own and use.

Here's a link to a previous post about another Bryant Engineering Corp. hydraulic vise, with some historical content regarding Bryant and Studebaker.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/hydraulic-vise.437439/#post-8216803

Love the vise!

 

[Hiball]

I’d say the Left pedal is the release, The Middle and Right pedal associate with a High/low pumping action. The work bench doesn’t appear to be of age so I’d say it’s just a issue of not using the right pedal to get it collapsed or someone added oil while the vise was fully extended and now it’s fluid bound.

Cool piece!

 

[LXCam]

That baby is worth some effort sorting out. I’m wondering if the pedals are set up for compression, retraction and release. Bought the only way to see what’s going on is to take it apart.

 

[danth63108]

Can you post more pictures especially if the pump that is on the floor.

One pedal is the main pump
One pedal would be the release

the third pedal may be a slow closing pedal

both the pump and the piston will contain seals

the piston on the vise is probably spring loaded to return

the first thing I would do is to check the fluid level but you will probably need to elevate the pedal assembly so it is higher than the vise

 

[danth63108]

Are these helpfyl?

 

[Hiball]

That baby is worth some effort sorting out. I’m wondering if the pedals are set up for compression, retraction and release. Bought the only way to see what’s going on is to take it apart.

I’d say since there is only 1 hydraulic line it’s only a 1 way cylinder and retracts via a internal spring. It’s definitely a cool piece and I’m going to add it to my watch list.

Edit… I believe the spring hook is visible on the back side lower portion of the most recent vise pictures.

 

[LXCam]

I’d say since there is only 1 hydraulic line it’s only a 1 way cylinder and retracts via a internal spring. It’s definitely a cool piece and I’m going to add it to my watch list.

Edit… I believe the spring hook is visible on the back side lower portion of the most recent vise pictures.

Ya I agree. I first caught this thread on my phone. Old eyes, small screen = bad call

Checked it out on my puter and now I can see where the reservoir is on the center pedal. If that thing is self opening, that’ll be a heck of a spring inside.

 

[moto_ridah]

The vice itself does not move at all, I have tried to close it by pushing on it, I even hit it with a hammer to see if I could close it, it does not budge.

I think pushing would be the wrong motion here. The lower jaw (sticks out from the table) is static and doesn't move. The dynamic (jaw closest to the wall) moves out around static. The ram is fully retracted now. Try pulling the dynamic jaw out while pumping the right peddle.

 

[danth63108]

I think I will unbolt it from the floor and remove the hydraulic lines and start taking it apart. My question is, how would I find parts? I feel pretty certain the gaskets are probably rotten. I am bit concerned about disabling the part with the spring in it, worried I could not put it back together. Thanks to everyone for their advice.

 

[danth63108]

Just as an FYI, the man who owned this house 40 years ago built race cars, I think they were sprint cars, he owned a car that won a Indy 500, I think it was 1951. Anyway he had a very nice work shop in this basement garage, it would be cool to get this working again.

 

[Firebrick43]

Take the parts such as seals, orings, or U cups to a hydraulic shop. If it was made in standard sizes, which I can't imagine it wasn't they should be able to get you the "soft" parts.

If "hard" parts are broken, more than likely they will have to be manufactured by you or a machinist you hire. Its highly unlikely that parts are available for a low production vise over half a century ago.

 

[Maui]

Before you attempt to take it apart and risk damaging anything, you should simply check the fluid level. If there isn’t any fluid in it, it won’t do anything. It’s also possible that the levers are positioned so that the vise is not supposed to move from its current position. I’d experiment a bit with the levers after verifying that there is in fact an adequate amount of fluid in it.

 

[Fierljeppen]

This catalog page has some details about the hydraulic pump and foot pedals. While the Bryant vise was super rare, the Studebaker vises were produced for more than a decade.

I'd be real surprised if the seals weren't still available.

 

[quickfarms]

Left pedal is the release, middle pedal is take up and right pedal is for clamping

since the middle pedal is down it is either dry or the seals are bad.

in the back of the pedal there appear to be two Allen plugs and this maybe how you add fluid but the pedal would need to be higher than the vise.

on the vise it looks like the return spring is below the hydraulic cylinder. If you remove the spring the vise jaws should move and the cylinder probably will drop out once the line is detached and the jaw is moved forward

the parts could be hydraulic or they could be automotive, or it could use leather seals

I would disconnect the line from the back of the cylinder, to see if it is dry, and if it is dry I would put it into a can of fluid and raise the middle pedal slowly to see if it ***** any fluid

 

[danth63108]

Thanks, that is very helpful, sorry to ask, could I use brake fluid or power steering fluid.

 

[Hiball]

Thanks, that is very helpful, sorry to ask, could I use brake fluid or power steering fluid.

I’d stick to Hydraulic jack oil, 10-1 your jack is going to utilize leather seals in one form or another.

I don’t know what your plan of attack is, but if it was mine I’d forgo just adding oil to get it operational in the short term. If it’s low on oil, more than likely it there are some seal issues. If you are wanting to reseal the unit, just carefully document how things come apart with pictures and we can assist in seal types etc. Regardless, once you get the pump to where its working, you will need to bleed the pump and disconnect the line from the back of the cylinder to purge it from air prior to hooking it back up.

Good luck.

 

[Packard V8]

Nice find.

I scored two NOS Studebaker vises without the foot pedal assembly. I've made up work-arounds but would love to find the real deal.

The vise takes up a lot of room on the bench, but when it clamps, it's clamped.

jack vines