Chas Parker 24x - how did I do?

[tofik]

First I’d like to come clean and say I know absolutely nothing about vintage vises. Posting this to get more info on year/value and if I got a decent deal or lost my shirt

I found this on Facebook and took a gamble simply because it seemed to be in decent shape and I needed a sturdy vise-( did not realize how big and heavy it was till I got there) .. It was “cheap” , I put that in quotes because I genuinely have no idea, it was listed as “ old vise” and I negotiated it down to $80

No cracks, or welds, dynamic jaw and jaw inserts have 13 stamped under them, is this the number of the vise in a run or the year? someone attempted a “restoration” but I plan to strip it and return it to the original color.

Backlash, took a look at the nut, has maybe a 1/16 of play back and forth but almost 1/4 of play vertically in the slot, seems like it should be shimmed up so the nut makes contact with the dovetail all the time, is there an adjustment screw I’m not seeing?( haven’t pulled the base because I need to buy a larger socket)

any info is appreciated

 

[tofik]

 

[BFBOB]

Looks to be in generally good condition -- and with swivel base! I'd say you did very well indeed, especially if it's a 4 incher.

One flaw I see, which may be a shadow, is right above the screw retention collar, where it looks like the dynamic jaw may have a crack running to the collar screw. Even so, a very good find.

 

[tofik]

Looks to be in generally good condition -- and with swivel base! I'd say you did very well indeed, especially if it's a 4 incher.

One flaw I see, which may be a shadow, is right above the screw retention collar, where it looks like the dynamic jaw may have a crack running to the collar screw. Even so, a very good find.

Jaws are 4 3/4 wide and you made me run down to the basement and check hah scrapped some paint looks like it’s inconsistency in the casting no crack or weld, the shadow and multiple layers of paint didn’t help

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I don't know where you are located but that vise would have been $400+ on my local CL. I'd say you did great. And yes, that is cheap!

 

[tofik]

I don't know where you are located but that vise would have been $400+ on my local CL. I'd say you did great. And yes, that is cheap!

Located in NJ

 

[G-ManBart]

You did well...you can't buy a junk vise that size for $80!

The only real "problem" with Parkers is that the jaws were soft and more often than not they have little to no serrations left on them. Nobody is making replacements for them at this time and they're all essentially custom fit. Parker used their production methods for fine shotguns, with a lot of hand fitting, and pretty much made it where there's no way to have a generic set of replacements.

It wouldn't have been made with any kind of lash adjustment for the nut. You can usually bend the pin holding the nut so that it keeps the nut from moving front to back. I don't recall reading anybody talk about shimming the nut upwards, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

 

[Packard V8]

Good find. Parkers are some of my favorite vises.

Back in the distant past, I did a thread here on how to tighten up the Parker operating system. It's just fiddly work, but the vise feels 100% better after it's done. I don't have time to search it just now, but someone may remember it and link you to it.

jack vines

 

[tofik]

You did well...you can't buy a junk vise that size for $80!

The only real "problem" with Parkers is that the jaws were soft and more often than not they have little to no serrations left on them. Nobody is making replacements for them at this time and they're all essentially custom fit. Parker used their production methods for fine shotguns, with a lot of hand fitting, and pretty much made it where there's no way to have a generic set of replacements.

It wouldn't have been made with any kind of lash adjustment for the nut. You can usually bend the pin holding the nut so that it keeps the nut from moving front to back. I don't recall reading anybody talk about shimming the nut upwards, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

I’m hoping to get lucky with the serrations still being mostly visible , that I will be able to use them as a guide and cut new/ deepen existing ones by hand with a file, it’ll be tedious but I’ll give it the college try

Good find. Parkers are some of my favorite vises.

Back in the distant past, I did a thread here on how to tighten up the Parker operating system. It's just fiddly work, but the vise feels 100% better after it's done. I don't have time to search it just now, but someone may remember it and link you to it.

jack vines

Thanks for that I’ll search your name and see if I can find it

 

[LNKMK8]

Looks like you have another vintage vise sitting on the work bench right behind this one?

 

[tofik]

Looks like you have another vintage vise sitting on the work bench right behind this one?

good eye sir, yes that’s a Reed 1c, about which I also know very little about, maybe someone can tell me the year and value of that as well,

bought the house 2 years ago in as is condition and the workshop in the basement was left behind along with the reed and all the hardware and red organizers, both have saved me countless trips to the hardware stores

I plan to leave the reed in the basement and take the Parker into the garage where it’ll be put to good use

 

[G-ManBart]

good eye sir, yes that’s a Reed 1c, about which I also know very little about, maybe someone can tell me the year and value of that as well,

bought the house 2 years ago in as is condition and the workshop in the basement was left behind along with the reed and all the hardware and red organizers, both have saved me countless trips to the hardware stores

I plan to leave the reed in the basement and take the Parker into the garage where it’ll be put to good use

The Reed is a transition era example. I'm going off memory, but I believe the patent for the split collar and adjustable nut stop was issued in 1938. Your Reed definitely has those two features based upon the oil ports front and rear. The early examples used a spindle that was meatball shaped like yours, and then they switched to a flattened spindle shaped more like a hockey puck. Many Reeds actually have a month/year date code stamped on the sides...often hard to see through old paint.

Other than the spindle, I have a 1C that's very similar waiting for me to make a replacement swivel lock for one side....sweet little vise!

Value is always subjective, but I'd say at the very, very minimum something like $250-300.

 

[tofik]

The Reed is a transition era example. I'm going off memory, but I believe the patent for the split collar and adjustable nut stop was issued in 1938. Your Reed definitely has those two features based upon the oil ports front and rear. The early examples used a spindle that was meatball shaped like yours, and then they switched to a flattened spindle shaped more like a hockey puck. Many Reeds actually have a month/year date code stamped on the sides...often hard to see through old paint.

Other than the spindle, I have a 1C that's very similar waiting for me to make a replacement swivel lock for one side....sweet little vise!

Value is always subjective, but I'd say at the very, very minimum something like $250-300.

Wow awesome info, thank you very much I would have never known to look, 45 stamped on the left side

 

[G-ManBart]

Wow awesome info, thank you very much I would have never known to look, 45 stamped on the left side

Nice!

 

[Packard V8]

Thanks for that I’ll search your name and see if I can find it

Tuning a Chas. Parker vise

Yesterday, I picked up a Chas. Parker 433-1/2 vise. The Parkers are considered one of the best general purpose vises ever built. However, like any cast iron implement. it was constructed with a few rough edges. Depending upon how much hard use they've suffered, most of the Parkers I've...

www.garagejournal.com

jack vines

 

[tofik]

Tuning a Chas. Parker vise

Yesterday, I picked up a Chas. Parker 433-1/2 vise. The Parkers are considered one of the best general purpose vises ever built. However, like any cast iron implement. it was constructed with a few rough edges. Depending upon how much hard use they've suffered, most of the Parkers I've...

www.garagejournal.com

jack vines

Thanks for that, I’ll def have to make a sleeve for the screw to tighten it up but I’ll have to investigate the main nut further as well here’s what I can see

1/8” slop I can lift it up to make contact with the dovetails and when you tighten up the vise that’s where the nut wants to be , I guess I can either shim it or do a few passes with a welder to build it up and then file flat and parallel with the threads

 

[RTM]

Shim it, its reversible that way.