Cardinal Speed Vise

[Deker]

Just brought home this 6” Cardinal Speed Vise that I found on Craigslist. It was buried in the ad behind 20 pictures of machinist tooling, and the seller let it go for a reasonable price. Never owned a speed vise before, so I’ve got a couple questions about this particular one.

1. In all the pictures I could find online the bottom of the vise is marked Glendale, CA, but this one is marked Canoga Park. I’m thinking this is a more recent production? If so, does anybody know when they made the change?

2. The vise functions fine, but if I fiddle with the handle enough the screw will pop out of the sliding jaw. I can put it back in and tap the retaining ring with a screwdriver to get it to seat in the groove, but it will still pop out if I fiddle with it. Has anybody else experienced this issue? Any ideas on how to keep it from happening?

 

[timgunn1962]

Don't fiddle with it?

 

[LeeG]

That clip in the 3rd photo is not supposed to come out. Perhaps you can get a replacement from them. I don’t see that part specifically, but they do still sell these so it might be available.

 

[Deker]

Thanks. I’ll give them a call to see if it’s replaceable. I’m in LA, so perhaps I could even bring it in to them.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Call before you drive over. Last time I called they really wanted you to buy spare parts thru their distributors.

 

[macgee]

It's a nice vise, I have rebuilt several of them. They were a small company in LA and had moved a couple of times. I'm not sure they're still in business but they were recently.

That snap ring is suppose hold the ball end of the screw inside the dynamic jaw and keep it from coming out when opening the jaw, generally once its in, they're totally in and not removable in any practical way; I've tried and so have others. Your snap ring may have weakened or wrong size and that's why it came out or the inside area holding the ring has worn larger than its suppose to be but the vise looks to be in really nice shape and threads look really good, so probably not that. It could be an easy fix with a new ring if you can get it there; they're not fun at all to work with and they don't play fairly with tools. The last photo, you perfectly show the groove in the dynamic jaw where the ring is suppose to fit into.

Question: Is the spindle screw painted black or black oxide? Never seen a black one like that; if so that a really fresh vise. Any holes of shame drilled into the slide? Your vise does looks way more recent than the ones I come by and yours is the big boy size.

You'll love the vise and the stepped jaws. I use mine everyday with a smile and its from Glendale, CA

 

[seber]

Mine won't come out either. I got mine when the machine shop threw it out as worn out. All it needed was a thorough cleaning. However, it does have plenty of holes from careless use. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'd be willing to bet, the keeper ring is too small. If not, then the shoulder on the groove is too rounded. If that is the case, Cardinal should fix it under good will warranty.

 

[jmarkwolf]

I've got two of them. A 4in and a 6in. Love 'em. Best drill press vice in existence.

I've tried to get that snap ring out of my 6 incher to straighten a slightly bent screw, but no luck.

Try removing your snap ring and see if your screw will go further into it's hole. Maybe someone successfully removed the snap ring for whatever reason, but the snap ring has to go on after the screw is pressed "home".

Penn Tool has parts for those if you strike out elsewhere (www.penntoolco.com).

There are quite a few videos on Youtube of people restoring them.

Also if you vice bed is pockmarked with drill hits you can dismantle it, turn it over, and re-assemble.

 

[shawhite]

I've got two of them. A 4in and a 6in. Love 'em. Best drill press vice in existence.

I've tried to get that snap ring out of my 6 incher to straighten a slightly bent screw, but no luck.

Try removing your snap ring and see if your screw will go further into it's hole. Maybe someone successfully removed the snap ring for whatever reason, but the snap ring has to go on after the screw is pressed "home".

Penn Tool has parts for those if you strike out elsewhere (www.penntoolco.com).

There are quite a few videos on Youtube of people restoring them.

Also if you vice bed is pockmarked with drill hits you can dismantle it, turn it over, and re-assemble.

These vises get a lot of love but I still prefer my Heinrich or lassy. For the OP I’m pretty sure they are still in business parts are readily available.

 

[Deker]

Thanks all for the replies. I’ve got a call in to Cardinal. Hopefully I’ll hear back.

The issue does appear to be with the snap ring. It doesn’t appear to have any elasticity. I’ll compress the ring to get it into the hole, but when it seats into the groove it doesn’t spring open, so the fit is loose and will eventually wiggle out after enough use.

The inside of that hole is painted, so if the blue paint isn’t original I’m wondering if somebody cut the ring to get the handle out for painting and thought they could fab their own ring to replace it. Thankfully the vise still functions and clamps fine, but it’s a bit of a nuisance when it pops out.

Question: Is the spindle screw painted black or black oxide? Never seen a black one like that; if so that a really fresh vise. Any holes of shame drilled into the slide? Your vise does looks way more recent than the ones I come by and yours is the big boy size.

The screw and handle does appear to be black oxide. If it were paint I would have expected it to flake off which hasn’t happened. The slide isn’t pristine, but it’s in pretty great shape considering some of the massacres I’ve seen...just a couple light marks on the top and bottom.

It’s definitely a big boy vise! Honestly probably a little bigger than I need. I was looking for a 4” but they’ve been hard to come by and this one popped up so I jumped on it. If somebody in the LA area has a 4” in good shape and would like to trade I’m open to it.

Your vise turned out great! I’m curious about the ‘City of LA’ engraved on the base. Do you know if it was used by the municipality in some capacity?

 

[macgee]

Deker,

The 3B vise above came out of a an estate sale along with a bunch of other nice vise's like a baby wilton with a Powr-Arm and a Wilton C1 bullet vise almost in unused shape. So I don't know the history of it other than its says "City of LA", "Elect. Dept.", "Hyperion". I'm assuming it came out the Hyperion plant in El Segundo. It's the small the 3" which works great and really good size for everyday use; best part it doesn't smell like the Hyperion plant.

Actually, today I stripped a 4" Speedy, soaked it in a hot ultrasonic bath and rebuilt it. It definitely has seen some use but slides great and should be a good user for someone.

At first, I thought the paint on yours was original but seeing some of the random drill miss holes have blue paint inside them. Maybe the person who replaced orig. ring with wrong snap ring after painting it and looks like you just need a new snap ring.

Let us know if you hear back from Cardinal.

 

[seber]

Deker,

The 3B vise above came out of a an estate sale along with a bunch of other nice vise's like a baby wilton with a Powr-Arm and a Wilton C1 bullet vise almost in unused shape. So I don't know the history of it other than its says "City of LA", "Elect. Dept.", "Hyperion". I'm assuming it came out the Hyperion plant in El Segundo. It's the small the 3" which works great and really good size for everyday use; best part it doesn't smell like the Hyperion plant.

Actually, today I stripped a 4" Speedy, soaked it in a hot ultrasonic bath and rebuilt it. It definitely has seen some use but slides great and should be a good user for someone.

At first, I thought the paint on yours was original but seeing some of the random drill miss holes have blue paint inside them. Maybe the person who replaced orig. ring with wrong snap ring after painting it and looks like you just need a new snap ring.

Let us know if you hear back from Cardinal.

The jaws are missing on that one. Did you take them out?

 

[macgee]

The jaws are missing on that one. Did you take them out?

Yes they're missing, came that way to me and looks like it was used that way for a while, jaws still close tight. I notice a lot of them are like this, maybe because some people didn't like the the stepped jaws. I was going to mill up some jaws.

 

[Deker]

So I called Cardinal again this morning and was able to get through. The man that I spoke to was very helpful and guided me through the process they use to seat the snap ring. He suggested that I clamp the jaw in a vise with the hole facing up and insert the screw into the hole while tilting the snap ring so that one side is seated in the groove. Then use a slotted screwdriver with a notch cut into the tip to drive the remainder of the ring down into the hole until it is seated in the groove.

If that won't work, he offered to let me bring it to their shop so that they could replace the snap ring and take care of the installation for me. When I mentioned that the vise was marked 'Canoga Park' he said, "Oh that must be an old one. We haven't manufactured out of Canoga Park for 25 years." So given the condition of the screw, it's likely that it was ordered as a replacement and was never installed correctly.

 

[Deker]

Also mac, your vises have come out looking great. I've seen you discuss your method of using the ultrasonic cleaner and radial bristle brushes in the rust removal thread here on GJ, and it's really motivated me to look into purchasing both.

 

[macgee]

Deker,

Thanks for the compliments and for getting back to us about Cardinal helping you; really good to know they're still in business. It's a great vise, too bad replacement jaws are so expensive.

Glad you're liking the rust removal thread; the ultrasonic cleaner, Evaporust and 3M bristle brush wheels have been awesome. Highly recommend it

 

[Deker]

I was able to get the snap ring in and fully seated in the groove using the technique he described. Once it was in, I was even able to get the tips of some retaining ring pliers down into the hole to expand the ring further into the groove. It's in there for good now!

So not a bad snap ring, just user error / inexperience. Thanks everyone for your helpful comments.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Yes they're missing, came that way to me and looks like it was used that way for a while, jaws still close tight. I notice a lot of them are like this, maybe because some people didn't like the the stepped jaws. I was going to mill up some jaws.

Cardinal used to sell the speed vises with and without the jaws. I really like the jaws design personally and think they are worth the extra $$$.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Looks like Cardinal still sells them with and without jaws. Note - these prices are from MSC and you should be able to find it cheaper elsewhere.