Several years ago, I dug up an old, heavy vise (literally, it was buried in the woods) and I recently decided to clean & refurbish it so I can start using it. Based on pictures I've found during my research, including several other posts here, it appears to be a Parker-Union 974B (4" wide jaws). Since I know there are several people on this site who know about them, I signed-up so I could ask you guys for some help with a couple issues.
See the attached pictures for details.
First, I need to completely disassemble it so I can clean out all of the dirt and rust, but I'm having trouble removing the female-threaded part that the handle shaft screws into (I'm sorry, I don't know the proper name for it). I see how there's a dovetail slot that it's supposed to slide into, and other models use a dowel pin to lock it into place. Mine appears to have a little metal plate that slides into a slot to lock that female-threaded part in place (see picture below), but I can't seem to get it to come out. Does anyone know of any tricks to get it out?
Second, I need to get replacement jaw inserts. The one original jaw insert that it had (the other was missing altogether) doesn't wrap over the top of the jaw (the way the Parker or early Parker-Union units did) -- they used 2 countersunk screws to hold each one in place. The casting had a little "shelf" for the bottom of the inserts to rest on, but that shelf on the side where the insert was missing is completely broken off, and part of the other one is missing as well (see the picture). Since those shelves would have supported the jaw inserts (like when you have to hit something from above), I'm thinking that the replacement inserts should have a step to go over the top of the jaw to provide the support that is now missing. Also, the screw holes will probably need to be drilled-out to accommodate larger screws (the threads appear to be stripped on a couple of the holes).
Does anyone know of a source for getting custom inserts made? I have already asked Kevin Scott at benchvisejaws.com, but he doesn't do custom work. I'm not averse to making some modifications to the vise itself to facilitate fitting the new inserts (such as removing the rest of the remaining "shelf", or flattening the tops the jaws); this is not a "restoration" -- I intend to really use this vise.
See the attached pictures for details.
First, I need to completely disassemble it so I can clean out all of the dirt and rust, but I'm having trouble removing the female-threaded part that the handle shaft screws into (I'm sorry, I don't know the proper name for it). I see how there's a dovetail slot that it's supposed to slide into, and other models use a dowel pin to lock it into place. Mine appears to have a little metal plate that slides into a slot to lock that female-threaded part in place (see picture below), but I can't seem to get it to come out. Does anyone know of any tricks to get it out?
Second, I need to get replacement jaw inserts. The one original jaw insert that it had (the other was missing altogether) doesn't wrap over the top of the jaw (the way the Parker or early Parker-Union units did) -- they used 2 countersunk screws to hold each one in place. The casting had a little "shelf" for the bottom of the inserts to rest on, but that shelf on the side where the insert was missing is completely broken off, and part of the other one is missing as well (see the picture). Since those shelves would have supported the jaw inserts (like when you have to hit something from above), I'm thinking that the replacement inserts should have a step to go over the top of the jaw to provide the support that is now missing. Also, the screw holes will probably need to be drilled-out to accommodate larger screws (the threads appear to be stripped on a couple of the holes).
Does anyone know of a source for getting custom inserts made? I have already asked Kevin Scott at benchvisejaws.com, but he doesn't do custom work. I'm not averse to making some modifications to the vise itself to facilitate fitting the new inserts (such as removing the rest of the remaining "shelf", or flattening the tops the jaws); this is not a "restoration" -- I intend to really use this vise.
