LONG C Craftsman 5169 Vise: Age / Value?

[mikeinri]

Hey guys,

Found this long C Craftsman 5169 vise locally, I think I could get it for under $75. No idea of its condition (whether it's working or not).



How old is it? It seems to be unique, all the other Craftsman 5169 vises I've seen here and on Google have the wider art deco body style, and a heritage (newer?) Craftsman logo, on a plate/ label vs. cast in lettering.

Worth picking up and restoring?

Thanks.

Mike

PS / EDITS (based on a catalog search):

Original color was blue. Jaws 4" wide, open to 5". 360° swivel. Weight 38 pounds. This model / design was new in 1942. Model 5169 was redesigned for 1948, so the most likely run was 1942-1947 (which was during wartime, so it's possible that this wasn't available the entire time).

Page from 1942 catalog (this model / design was new then):



Page from 1948 catalog [first year of the next / more popular (based on examples found here on GJ and elsewhere) design of this model]:



Mike

 

[Maui]

That looks a lot like a Wilton No. 14 vise that I restored.

 

[mikeinri]

Wow, that Wilton had beautiful curves!

This one seems more square to me. Did some digging through old catalogs over at VM, I think I have a ballpark.

Only place I found this nearly (minus the cast logo) EXACT appearance / styling of model 5169 was a 1942 catalog, which claimed it was new in 1942.



Before and after this, they didn't include this model (at least in the catalogs I found, which doesn't mean a lot, as Sears put out a lot of different catalogs in a given year, and didn't seem to include all vise models in any particular one).

Anyway, the next catalog I found that mentioned 5169 was in 1948, where they introduced the "beefier" version, which shows up here at GJ fairly regularly:



I wonder if the older model experienced failures that drove them to make it more rugged?

Interestingly, on the cover of the 1948 catalog, they mentioned that this had been the first full lineup in 5 years (no doubt due to WWII).

I wonder if this vise is truly rare (in terms of producion numbers), then? I'd venture to say it was made from 1942-1947, assuming they actually made any during the war...

Mike

 

[KMScott]

Those jaws look like Rock Island’s. Kind of like the 51xx series.

 

[mikeinri]

Those jaws look like Rock Island’s. Kind of like the 51xx series.

Are you talking about the older (rusty) version?

BTW, I checked the spreadsheet (2022 version?), that only showed the newer version of the 5169.

Mike

 

[mikeinri]

Also, FWIW, $9.95 in 1942 is equivalent to $186.00 today.

Mike

 

[KMScott]

Are you talking about the older (rusty) version?

BTW, I checked the spreadsheet (2022 version?), that only showed the newer version of the 5169.

Mike

Can you supply spec:s for the spreadsheet, edit the first post add the spec:s if you could.

 

[Jayman17]

I say fix it up! I have the newer version of that. Would love to see that restored

 

[mikeinri]

Can you supply spec:s for the spreadsheet, edit the first post add the spec:s if you could.

Done!

Mike

 

[mikeinri]

I say fix it up! I have the newer version of that. Would love to see that restored

I've never restored a vise (or anything else for that matter), but love the hunt for info! I might try to grab this one. The rarer, the better, right? LOL...

Mike

 

[KMScott]

If you pick it up I would be curious on the actual spec:s of that vise. Spec:s that you added are the same as what is on the spreadsheet already. Only difference I see is the jaws. But maybe the artist drawing did not detail the side view of the jaws.

 

[mikeinri]

Hard to say why, maybe the war, new vendor, etc. But, I was surprised the weight dropped from 38 to 35 pounds since they appear to have added material to the sides (unless they removed it elsewhere).

I'm not surprised that the jaw width and opening didn't change, as I'm figuring those are the key features.

It does seem to be somewhat of a unicorn, though!

Mike

 

[Red Leader]

I'm way late to the party here, but if the OP is still around, did you ever pick this one up? I hope so. This is a fantastically rare vise, in fact this is the only picture I've ever seen of one in the wild. Hopefully you snagged it.

 

[mikeinri]

Unfortunately, the guy never responded to my inquiry. He had a bunch of old vises in similar (or worse) condition: sitting outdoors on the ground.

Mike

 

[Red Leader]

Unfortunately, the guy never responded to my inquiry. He had a bunch of old vises in similar (or worse) condition: sitting outdoors on the ground.

Mike

Shucks, that's too bad. That's the only one I've ever seen. Of course there should be others out there, but it's a unicorn vise for sure. Would have been an amazing find. Still appreciative of the pictures.