Old Reed Vise Model 32

[mhkpilot]

Hi all. I’m new here and looking for some information on this old Reed vise I picked up at an antique store that I’d like to clean up. I can’t seem to find any info on it, as most old Reed vises I’ve found info on have 3 digit model numbers. This one has an obvious “32” on the side, and an odd lip at the front bottom that I don’t see on pics of other old Reed vises. Obviously the base is missing or maybe it never had one? The holes I have bolted it down with are spaced different as well, as you can see a standard bolt fits on one side but I had to use an eye-bolt on the opposite side because a standard bolt head wouldn’t fit; the hole is too close to the body of the vise, so I’m not sure these were ever meant to be used as mounting holes.
Anyway, any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[isb cornbinder]

Abom1979 of You Tube fame just finished a restoration on a REID . Check ithe video before you start. Your vise may have had a swivel base.

 

[drivesitfar]

MHK: your old Reed 32 is the model Reed made prior to the Reed 2c. the swivel base was a bolt thru design and a plate would go under your bench. here's a picture of my Reed 31 and a catalog page that may help you some.

welcome to GJ and post up more pics of your vise as you clean it up cause we all like vise and tool pics here.

 

[mhkpilot]

Cool, thanks! I totally will.

 

[wrenchguy]

Am i seeing this right? A swiveler with a slide support notch like that? thanks 4 posting.

 

[mhkpilot]

Drivesitfar, does your 31 have 2 holes in the top base part like mine does? If so, do they appear to sit as close to the vise as mine? Also yours doesn’t look like it has that lip on the bottom front like mine does, nor does the one in the catalog picture. Any idea how old it might be?

 

[drivesitfar]

I posted pictures of both sides of my vise and just looked at it and no holes on static and my reed 2c only has 1 hole. Yours was made to be a fixed base and not sure I’ve seen one like that. Yours should have pipe jaws cause I’m on my phone and can’t tell if you have them. Mine are missing in my reed 31 too and a lot of pipe jaws were probably left on the benches when these old vises were passed on. Nice find!!

 

[wrenchguy]

That 32 static base may have been milled to make that nub at the bottom of the slide support. only 1 way to tell!

 

[Fierljeppen]

I'm pretty sure the Reed No-32 vise was always considered a swivel model. I think the vise in question is just missing the swivel plate. mhkpilot's No-32 vise looks like the 1st swivel version (1905-1915ish), while Drivesitfar's No-31 looks like Reed's 2nd swivel version. According to my notes, Reed came out with a true stationary, No-932 around 1915.

According to the 1917 ad, the holes in the 1st version swivel were for wood screws into the bench, while the 2nd improved version had bolts going into the swivel base.

I've attached some of my notes for your consideration.

 

[wrenchguy]

Excellent! there is a nub.

 

[mhkpilot]

Thanks Fierljeppen. Interesting information, including that the ad for the series 31-34 vises has the “Reed MFG Co” cast to read horizontally, while drivesitfar’s 31, and mine and your 32s have the text cast to read vertically, like the ad for the 931 and 932. I wonder if they just made the ad read horizontal/normal for the 31-34 series at that time for advertising.

 

[mhkpilot]

And I got it for $60. I think I got a pretty good deal on it?

 

[mdkcal]

That Reed 32 appears to be a pre-1917 model. They added tabs to the swivel base in 1917 for mounting to the bench. You're missing the swivel base, long threaded stud thru the center of the static vise and the wing nut to tighten against the bottom of the bench. The two mounting holes were probably drilled by someone since the swivel base was missing. Is there still a nub under the vise? The picture below shows the swivel base that should be bolted to the bench with four flush bolts.

 

[ncgun99]

Just picked this up. I see that it's missing the swivel base and large nut. Can you tell if this swivel for sale would fit my vise?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-Reed-Vise-Swivel-BASE-BOLT-PAT-1912-1914/383404938321?hash=item5944b71451:g:WLQAAOSw9s5ehynx

This is my first Reed and still learning about them. Was there a spot where the date would be stamped? I see the magazine articles from you guys which are helpful, just trying to narrow this one down.
Thanks.

 

[ncgun99]

Found a suprise once I stripped this thing. It’s an alright worker though.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[RoninB4]

Mine, model 31

 

[pcpro15]

Mine, model 32

Amazing. Sending a PM

 

[Maui]

I have a Reed 33, and the swivel base plate for mine was missing too. So I machined one from scratch. Not a trivial thing to do by any means. And I had it heat treated so that it has a surface hardness around 60 HRC. Works quite well.

 

[RoninB4]

I have a Reed 33, and the swivel base plate for mine was missing too. So I machined one from scratch.

-That would be a big help if you could share the drawings with the OP. What material did you use?

 

[Maui]

I used 9310. I didn’t develop a drawing. There really wasn’t any point because the design is so basic. It looks similar to the swivel base plate that mdkcal showed in his post. My vise came with a very large diameter washer that sits on the underside of the table, and I machined 4 threaded holes in that washer that are aligned perfectly with 4 bolt holes I machined into the swivel base. Using four bolts to secure the swivel base to the washer clamps everything securely to the table, ensuring that it will not move. Surprisingly, the piece of 9310 that I machined required more work on my lathe than I expected to square it up because I discovered that the place where I got it from did not turn both sides parallel to each other. It was off by around 0.015” - 0.020”. What a pain. But I got it done, and after heat treating it was out of parallel by less than 0.003”.