My vises - pictures, comments, and questions...

[matthew]

Somehow I've found several vises have made their way into my garage recently. I was tempted to add this to the other vise thread, but I have some questions, and discussion is harder to track when buried in everyone showing off their vises, so bear with me. I'll make one post in this thread per vise.

First off, my newest acquisition, a Record #4, made in England. I paid $25 for it and for the bench it's mounted to. It seems to be in decent shape, the leadscrew operates smoothly, although the spring doesn't seem to be under all that much tension so there's a bit of backlash on the release. Hoping to restore it at some point, but not really in a rush to do so. Good old school Record. Anyone able to guess its age???

 

[matthew]

Next up is actually my brothers, before and after restoration. This is the one I'm more curious about. He was given it for free, and it was in need of a little cleanup. It's a Victor no.3, with 4" wide jaws. MM102 is cast into the dynamic jaw. The screw was gummed up, and there was some rust on it, weld spatter, chipped paint, just looked like it had been sitting in a basement for years (which it had).

I took it apart, wire wheeled it all, and painted it with engine enamel (Mopar blue). The handle doesn't seem to be original, I'm making a new one on a lathe but haven't finished yet. The grind marks on the castings aren't as well concealed by the glossy enamel as the previous hammered finish paint, but I think it still looks pretty good. The unpainted surfaces were rubbed with paste wax, and the screw lubricated with silver Never-Seize. The spring is a tad tight on this one, so the handle is a bit stiff to turn. I'll update photos when I finish the handle. Anyone know anything about Victor vises? It's certainly not one of the legendary marques, but I figured not a bad way to try a first restoration, and I thought it deserved to be cleaned up and put back to work.

 

[matthew]

Next - a vise I've had since a kid. A very plain Canadian Tire special, a 3" Mastercraft my dad gave me for hobbies. Actually not too bad, it's done the job, but swivels are a bit of a pain.

 

[matthew]

Next in line, the drill press vise, an old Palmgren. Any recommendations on the best way to set up clamping on these?

 

[matthew]

And now this one, probably my favourite - it was my grandfathers. It has a shot-pin style swivel, and although I don't generally like swivel vises I do like this one. It's a big guy, just 4" wide jaws, but taller and longer than most 4" vises. The bolted construction is kind of interesting, no idea how old it is but I'm sure it's from the 50's or 60's if not sooner. I'm curious if anyone recognizes it - the only mark I notice on it is the <G> on the jaws? Could it be from Gray tools? Or does anyone recognize the mark from a foundry or forging company that's since disappeared?

My brother also has a small Littleston of my grandfathers, about a 3" with exposed screw. I'll get a photo when I can. It's also on the list to restore at some point.

 

[bl00]

And now this one, probably my favourite - it was my grandfathers. It has a shot-pin style swivel, and although I don't generally like swivel vises I do like this one. It's a big guy, just 4" wide jaws, but taller and longer than most 4" vises. The bolted construction is kind of interesting,

It looks like the bolts and plate on the side are a non original add-on to keep the rear jaw from swiveling. Kinda neat looking though.

 

[PCO6]

... Record #4, made in England ... Anyone able to guess its age???

I have a Record No. 4 that I bought new in the mid 70's and still have. It appears to be the same as yours. It's original except for the front that I repainted. I have several other Record vices and each one has a horizantal ridge cast into the dynamic jaw just above the handle. Based on their general condition I believe they are from the 60's but I'm not certain.

 

[Outlawmws]

And now this one, probably my favourite - it was my grandfathers. It has a shot-pin style swivel, and although I don't generally like swivel vises I do like this one. It's a big guy, just 4" wide jaws, but taller and longer than most 4" vises. The bolted construction is kind of interesting, no idea how old it is but I'm sure it's from the 50's or 60's if not sooner. I'm curious if anyone recognizes it - the only mark I notice on it is the <G> on the jaws? Could it be from Gray tools? Or does anyone recognize the mark from a foundry or forging company that's since disappeared?

My brother also has a small Littleston of my grandfathers, about a 3" with exposed screw. I'll get a photo when I can. It's also on the list to restore at some point.

It looks like the bolts and plate on the side are a non original add-on to keep the rear jaw from swiveling. Kinda neat looking though.

I think that may be a repair for a broken jaw? I do like the vise though despite it's possible injuries.

The record, will be tough to get an accurate age on I think, as they were made for decades, unless their is a date code on them somewhere.

 

[Outlawmws]

Next in line, the drill press vise, an old Palmgren. Any recommendations on the best way to set up clamping on these?

As in to clamp it to the table? I'd get a table clamping vise grip or two for general use. Ideally, bolting it to an X-Y table give the most secure positioning.

If you had one of the "modern" rotating tables you could simply bolt it down and call it good.

but first things first; get the rust off and use a flat honing stone to stone any high spots from getting dinged out so it is capable of holding things square/true

 

[matthew]

As in to clamp it to the table? I'd get a table clamping vise grip or two for general use. Ideally, bolting it to an X-Y table give the most secure positioning.

Yes. Ideally I would like an X-Y table for it, but not yet. I was thinking a set of die clamps and T-slot nuts through the slots in the drill press table might work.

I'm not planning on taking apart the big <G> green monster until I'm ready to restore it, but from my looking at it I thought it's original. The upper jaw isn't cast into the vise, it's a separate piece and those are actually rivets holding it to the two vertical pieces on the sides. Given the way the side pieces are scuplted, they're either forged, or someone did a really nice job of blacksmithing. I guess I'll figure it out when I do get around to restoring it...

 

[PCO6]

... The record, will be tough to get an accurate age on I think, as they were made for decades, unless their is a date code on them somewhere.

Record vices like that were sold in the mid 70's which is when I bought mine new. I am not sure how long that particular model was available for though. As mentioned above, I believe the previous model had the horizantal casting on the dynamic jaw. I have seen Record No. 4's that have that casting.

 

[Man of Many Vices]

Your grandpa's vice has an unusual static/back jaw with outside bracing. Looks like a tough mutha. The Victor is something I haven't seen before; nice restoration. Doesn't the Palmgren mount from below (with carriage type bolts) to the slots on your drill press/mill table?

Thanks for the new thread. It's hard to navigate to page 301, post no. 6,230, as viewer number 650,000 in the "Vises of GJ" thread. Vises deserve their own section!

 

[Outlawmws]

I'm not planning on taking apart the big <G> green monster until I'm ready to restore it, but from my looking at it I thought it's original. The upper jaw isn't cast into the vise, it's a separate piece and those are actually rivets holding it to the two vertical pieces on the sides. Given the way the side pieces are scuplted, they're either forged, or someone did a really nice job of blacksmithing. I guess I'll figure it out when I do get around to restoring it...

The thing is,that side plate also defeats the purpose of a swiveling static jaw. you can take the bolts out (maybe,unless they were used as giant rivets) but the plate is riveted/welded to the jaw. It ain't moving... your pics don't show it from above, but there should be a pin in the rear to capture the jaw in the straight "static" position, that gets pulled when the swivel is needed.

 

[Duke74]

And now this one, probably my favourite - it was my grandfathers. It has a shot-pin style swivel, and although I don't generally like swivel vises I do like this one. It's a big guy, just 4" wide jaws, but taller and longer than most 4" vises. The bolted construction is kind of interesting, no idea how old it is but I'm sure it's from the 50's or 60's if not sooner. I'm curious if anyone recognizes it - the only mark I notice on it is the <G> on the jaws? Could it be from Gray tools? Or does anyone recognize the mark from a foundry or forging company that's since disappeared?

My brother also has a small Littleston of my grandfathers, about a 3" with exposed screw. I'll get a photo when I can. It's also on the list to restore at some point.

That Vise with the G in the diamond is a vise made by Smart manufacturing in Brockville, Ontario Canada. It is an old company started by James Smart. Some of his vises said Smart on them, but he did use the diamond G mark as well. I have a carpenters Vise with the same mark. This company made everything, including farm equipment, manhole covers, vises and axes. I have 4 of his vises and an axe.

 

[Blokkendoos]

Cleanup and repaint of another Victor MM102 vise.

This vise was my fathers, don't know how and where he got it. My first memory of it is from the sixties.
I used it incidentally for many years, despite it running very heavy al that time. I recently started welding and (plasma) cutting in my garage and use the vise much more often than before. In short, I wanted it to run more smoothly.

Matthew - who posted some time ago his restoration of the very same model - gave me advice about the disassembly.
Taken it apart, wire wheeled it all - could not find a workshop nearby with a reasonable price for sandblasting it, and it would take some two to three weeks before it to be returned.
Replaced the worn out washers and replaced the spring (4mm wire diameter) by a thinner one (3mm).
Painted it with Hammerite Dark blue, and polished the unpainted surfaces with WD40.
See the before and after pictures.