Craftsman vice, worth restoring?

[Next]

Worth restoring?

 

[DFB]

How much?

 

[LilRick65]

Nice vice, appears to be in good shape.


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[FJ 432]

For resale- no. They fetch about 75.00

For your use- yes. Not a bad vise.

 

[Next]

$25 bucks I think I’m going to bout it

 

[exmaxima1]

It's the smallest of the series at 3-1/2" wide jaws. Worse, it's made in Japan.

With those rusty jaws, I think $10 would be more than fair (if you really want a project).

 

[lis2323]

I’m in the $10 camp.

 

[Shiftless]

For resale- no. They fetch about 75.00

For your use- yes. Not a bad vise.

If you can tolerate eBay and PayPal and are willing to spend a lot of time on it, you can get over $100. Check the sold listings.

This one brought $149

But there’s a lot involved in bringing that $25 vise up to this level. If you’re doing it for fun and willing to work for less than minimum wage, go for it. You can learn things by working on vises like that. In my early days, I fixed up similiar finds and just gave them away.
But IMHO, to profit from flipping vises, look elsewhere.

You could buy it for $10-25 fix it up and donate it to the Boy Scouts or your church rummage sale. Or make it your outside vise. I found a nicer one than that once (Chinese) and paid one dollar thinking I’d make it my outside vise. I couldn’t bring myself to watching it rust so I spent about half an hour cleaning it up and sold it for $20

 

[FJ 432]

If you can tolerate eBay and PayPal and are willing to spend a lot of time on it, you can get over $100. Check the sold listings.

Are you referring to the polished ones? If so, that's a lot of work for little.

Okay but wouldn't you say that green one is the exception?

 

[LNKMK8]

Nice little made by Columbian Craftsman there...

 

[Shiftless]

Are you referring to the polished ones? If so, that's a lot of work for little.

Okay but wouldn't you say that green one is the exception?

Of course it is...I edited and wrote more explanation shortly after I posted.
I saw one (nicer model but still very similiar and larger) that had a 2 tone paint job that brought $270. eBay

 

[Shiftless]

Nice little made by Columbian Craftsman there...

You might be wrong there...
I believe the Columbian ones had serial numbers beginning with 506.

 

[ken w.]

Around here on CL they ask $ 45.00 and there on every week in good original condition. I think I have a few kicking around here somewhere ready for a restore job.

 

[DFB]

I have a few of that style of Craftsman vises, the 391 are Japan vs 506 USA is also my understanding from info gleaned here on TGJ

 

[davethorik]

Around here on CL they ask $ 45.00 and there on every week in good original condition. I think I have a few kicking around here somewhere ready for a restore job.

Whenever I see one for less than $20 I buy it. Which has been twice. And I more than doubled my money selling both times.

 

[exmaxima1]

Whenever I see one for less than $20 I buy it. Which has been twice. And I more than doubled my money selling both times.

So you will strip and clean all the rust, paint and assemble for $20?? What is that rate/hr??

 

[exmaxima1]

I have a few of that style of Craftsman vises, the 391 are Japan vs 506 USA is also my understanding from info gleaned here on TGJ

It will say "Japan" on the bottom of the base as well.

 

[FJ 432]

I believe we're all saying the same thing:

1. These vises have some style that if you can buy them for $20-40.00 that you will not be overpaying for a decent vise. One can, in the right market, double their money on reselling a vise that you have to do little or no restoration.

2. The OP picture is a vise that most of us would restore versus leave alone for our own personal use.

3. There are numerous examples of people restoring these to perfection (the blue/white one is an great example) and make some money but much work is needed.

4. Although having some style they will never command money like certain bullets, small vises and monster vises that some of us stumble upon being priced by others very low. These craftsman vises are much to common.

 

[Man of Many Vices]

FJ 432, you are exactly right. A $50 vise is a $50 vise, even if you paid only $25 for it. Don't spend a lot of money and time on something to increase its value for sale. Rarely does a new paint job improve its value over the worn factory finish. You might even lessen the value.

(That blue and white piece of fine art owned by Shiftless is a remarkable exception. Too nice for the garage. I'll bet my wife would let me put it in the living room, maybe even let me repaint the room and get new sofa cushions to match it.)

 

[Shiftless]

FJ 432, you are exactly right. A $50 vise is a $50 vise, even if you paid only $25 for it. Don't spend a lot of money and time on something to increase its value for sale. Rarely does a new paint job improve its value over the worn factory finish. You might even lessen the value.

(That blue and white piece of fine art OWNED BY SHIFTLESS is a remarkable exception. Too nice for the garage. I'll bet my wife would let me put it in the living room, maybe even let me repaint the room and get new sofa cushions to match it.)

Correction!
That two tone CMan vise is NOT mine. I just lifted the pic from eBay as an example of a real high water mark of what can be done with enough time and talent. All of us has to make his/her own decision about how much “profit” is expected after all the time and work is expended.

 

[Man of Many Vices]

Sorry, Shiftless. I should have read your posting more closely. The two-tone vise is still a work of art, nonetheless.

 

[Shiftless]

MMV:
No problem!
Even though I wouldn’t paint one like that to keep for myself, it’s interesting to see what brings the big money on eBay.

Here’s a bullet that fellow GJ member trijeff worked on and sold on eBay. He is among the very few masters of this level of work.

 

[Man of Many Vices]

Why don't mine ever look that good? I probably spend as much time, and use as much paint. Hmmmmm.

 

[gungatim]

I have that exact same vice as the OP, picked it up for $10 at a flea market last month. I already restored it, it is made in Japan and does appear to have a following, there is a thread on here about them I found when I was researching mine.

I figure mine is worth $35 or so (in my area nobody pays $75 for a 3 1/2" vice), has some dings in the anvil and a drill spot on the jaw but otherwise looks pretty good after wiring down and painting.

 

[gungatim]

I have a few of that style of Craftsman vises, the 391 are Japan vs 506 USA is also my understanding from info gleaned here on TGJ

yes, 391 = Japan. it will be stamped "Japan" on the bottom of the base, as mine was.

 

[davethorik]

So you will strip and clean all the rust, paint and assemble for $20?? What is that rate/hr??

No restoration or even cleaning. Straight flips.

 

[exmaxima1]

No restoration or even cleaning. Straight flips.

Good job

 

[Shiftless]

yes, 391 = Japan. it will be stamped "Japan" on the bottom of the base, as mine was.

Yep
BF foundry mark on the underneath side of the swivel base would indicate the Daido foundry in Japan. (This pic is from the GJ archives.)
They did good work. A well respected operation. There’s nothing wrong with those vises.

 

[charlesgprescott]

Absolutely. I just did mine and it was easy.

 

[brownbagg]

why would you even sell a vice, its a tool, unless your buddy needed it, freight would kill a good price, vice are made to hand down to the next generation, they are tools that dont wear out. no generation to hand down too, landfill it, they will always make new ones

 

[M635_Guy]

I'd haggle, but starting at $25 I'd totally buy it to have some fun with a mild restore. Rare to see stuff like that where I live...

 

[Fialaja]

So, what was the outcome?

 

[exmaxima1]

Absolutely. I just did mine and it was easy.

Yours is a massive Reed, not a crappy toy vise with a pressed steel slide. Yours looks great and was worth the effort to restore it. Great job