Monster Reed 408

[Southern Forester]

Here are photos of the giant Reed 408 I picked up recently. Right in front of it, for scale, is an Athol 114 4" vise. Other than the swivel jaw pin, which is frozen in place and is getting the penetrating oil twice a day, everything is smooth and easy to operate. As big as it is, I can open and close it with one finger. Of course, it takes two hands and some oomph to swivel it around and the dynamic jaw itself seems to weigh a ton. The post centered directly beneath it is a treated 4x6".

Any ideas as to the age of it?

 

[mcmlvif100]

Here are photos of the giant Reed 408 I picked up recently. Right in front of it, for scale, is an Athol 114 4" vise. Other than the swivel jaw pin, which is frozen in place and is getting the penetrating oil twice a day, everything is smooth and easy to operate. As big as it is, I can open and close it with one finger. Of course, it takes two hands and some oomph to swivel it around and the dynamic jaw itself seems to weigh a ton. The post centered directly beneath it is a treated 4x6".

Any ideas as to the age of it?

If you post on the main vise thread "The VISES of Garage Journal", you'll likely get a pretty quick response.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44782&page=2775

Lots of expertise in the regulars on that thread

 

[ALLFAST]

That's a man eater for sure!

 

[Sunset_Z28]

Wow! That's a hell of a vise.

 

[Southern Forester]

I re-posted on the other link. Thanks. I thought I had a big vise with the 6" Prentiss Bulldog but this things dwarfs it. It'll come in handy as I restore a set of David Bradley tractor discs.

 

[ALLFAST]

Did you get an approximate weight and how did you come to find it ?

 

[bczygan]

With a swivel jaw......WOW!

 

[tool_scrounge]

Wow! Very nice vise.

 

[AntiqueVises]

holy hell howd you move that thing??

 

[drivesitfar]

SF: i agree it's a BIG UN and wish it was me that owned it. i'm guessing it weighs north of 240 pounds, but not sure cause i haven't seen a Reed 408 in person yet. do tell?

also if you get time to post up several other pictures of this REED 408 and while you are at it if you have pictures of your big Prentiss 6 incher that would be great. be careful not to use your Reed or Prentiss as an anvil or press even though they are huge they will still break. if you need to see evidence just look at the Vise Repair 101 thread i started a couple years ago that has a lot of members finds or mistakes that they need help fixing.

cheers and welcome to the forum.

 

[visedog]

Huge vise! It must weigh a ton. How much did you pay for it (if I could ask)?

 

[Southern Forester]

I have an anvil I already use for hammering on. The guy I bought it from loaded it with a tractor. I moved it in pieces at home (the dynamic jaw alone was just about too heavy to move). The main body I moved by sliding it up a length of 2x12 from the tailgate of my truck to the bench. Even then, it gouged the wood pretty good as I man-handled it. I'll get exact measurements this afternoon. I will probably have to change how I mount it as it really is too tall up on the bench (which I built for the Prentiss based on heights of use from this forum).

I haven't measured, but I swear the dynamic jaw was as heavy as that entire Prentiss Bulldog was, and it just about killed me moving it.

 

[drivesitfar]

SF: another thing you can do to lighten the 408 up if you need to move it again is to remove the main screw that might weigh 20-30 pounds and if you need help taking the 408 apart don't use hammers and pry bars or a press. if you need help post pictures on the Vise Repair 101 thread and ask and there is already several member's posts showing the swivel pins and swivel jaws being removed if you have time to read a few. here's the link:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252830

good luck

 

[Southern Forester]

Read that link through and through before I even joined

 

[RG Rude]

Nice Reed. I like those big ones.

 

[LXCam]

So flipping awesome!!! I want one now.

 

[MichaelM28]

Real Nice.Im Looking For A 408.Awesome.USA.