Horsethief
Member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2016
- Messages
- 9
Colombian Vise
- Thread starter Horsethief
- Start date
FJ 432
Well-known member
Most Columbians I've seen are red however I feel that because it was your grandfather's the important thing is to choose a color that will remind you of him. My .02.
Cope
Well-known member
My 505 was gray, and I painted it green, black and back to gray.
FJ 432
Well-known member
jimreed2160
Well-known member
Wow! That is a nice swivel jaw. The rules around here are "your vise, your color." Yours was probably blue or gray when it was born, but that was a long time ago and tastes change. I recommend Rustoleum Metallic Blue. I used that color on a Prentiss swivel jaw that I did a few months ago.
Good luck with your vise. It is always nice to have tools around the shop that belonged to family craftsmen.
Good luck with your vise. It is always nice to have tools around the shop that belonged to family craftsmen.
It would have been painted with a thin coat of black enamel when it was new, if it was built before the mid-1950's, or a thin coat of a medium grey, if later. (presumably, vise makers painted their product as cheaply as they could, reasoning that some vise users just didn't care about the finish of a vise, and others, who did care, would re-paint it with their own choice of colour, either a personal preference or a company standard)
Personally, I think black a 'dreary' colour, and prefer a soft French grey, or a soft medium green, such as the 'vista green' commonly used for machine tools and industrial equipment generally.
Thats purely a personal preference, tho, based in the idea that a vise is the 'backdrop', as it were, for the workpiece on which one is concentrating, so the vise should have an 'unobtrusive' colour.
That said.......its your vise, a component of your work area, and you get to choose the colour you find most pleasing to you. You also get to choose the quality of paintwork you care to invest in.......a couple coats of spray-can enamel, or a real finish, Imron class paint, and with multiple coats, sanding between coats, then bring out the traditional 'rubbed finish'....somewhat like the 'lacquer job' tradition of best quality automotive paintwork, in miniature.
cheers
Carla
Personally, I think black a 'dreary' colour, and prefer a soft French grey, or a soft medium green, such as the 'vista green' commonly used for machine tools and industrial equipment generally.
Thats purely a personal preference, tho, based in the idea that a vise is the 'backdrop', as it were, for the workpiece on which one is concentrating, so the vise should have an 'unobtrusive' colour.
That said.......its your vise, a component of your work area, and you get to choose the colour you find most pleasing to you. You also get to choose the quality of paintwork you care to invest in.......a couple coats of spray-can enamel, or a real finish, Imron class paint, and with multiple coats, sanding between coats, then bring out the traditional 'rubbed finish'....somewhat like the 'lacquer job' tradition of best quality automotive paintwork, in miniature.
cheers
Carla
bobcatdan
Well-known member
I'm kinda a purists in I like leaving vises all natural. If I was to paint one, my shop color is battleship gray for benches, cabinets, what have that I did paint or repaint.
OP . . . that is very desirable vise with the swivel back jaw.
If I were you, I'd take it fully apart and polish/shine the slide along with the handle. Nothing looks better IMHO than the contrast of polished steel with the painted portions of vise.
PS . . . Welcome to GJ and awesome first vise from your grandfather !!
If I were you, I'd take it fully apart and polish/shine the slide along with the handle. Nothing looks better IMHO than the contrast of polished steel with the painted portions of vise.
PS . . . Welcome to GJ and awesome first vise from your grandfather !!
OP
Horsethief
Member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2016
- Messages
- 9
Thanks for the ideas. I think I'm going red. Any idea how old it is? It's marked 404 1/2. The jaws measure 4-1/2".
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
I would say red.
davethorik
Well-known member
OP . . . that is very desirable vise with the swivel back jaw.
If I were you, I'd take it fully apart and polish/shine the slide along with the handle. Nothing looks better IMHO than the contrast of polished steel with the painted portions of vise.
PS . . . Welcome to GJ and awesome first vise from your grandfather !!
Funny, I've been trying to sell a 4" Prentiss with swivel jaw, and no one wants the damn thing. People only want Wiltons.
Doesn't bother me, its a hefty vise for only 4", I'll find a use for it.
With apologies for the 'topic drift', I'm surprised.......if in good serviceable well-preserved condition, that is, if not worn or damaged from abuse, a Prentiss vise should be a much more desirable tool for practical use than is a Wilton.
(I can understand that some folks like the aesthetic qualities of the 'round-beam' Wilton or York vises, but they really are a 'lesser quality' than are the Reed, Athol, Prentiss, Columbian, etc. makes of vises which were built to the old government specs.)
cheers
Carla
Last edited:
jimreed2160
Well-known member
Thanks for sharing your opinion, Carla. I am new to the vise game and having a hard time understanding the price premium attached to Wiltons. My Parkers and Reeds do seem to be much better values. I guess the Wiltons have an appearance surcharge that greatly exceeds the duty cycle charge.
Wow! That is a nice swivel jaw. The rules around here are "your vise, your color." Yours was probably blue or gray when it was born, but that was a long time ago and tastes change. I recommend Rustoleum Metallic Blue. I used that color on a Prentiss swivel jaw that I did a few months ago.
Good luck with your vise. It is always nice to have tools around the shop that belonged to family craftsmen.
Being that vice has history you should have a brass plaque made for it honoring your GF and epoxy it to the side so when you pass it down to your grandson he'll know where it came from.
