Prentiss 181 questions

[Lombie]

Hello,

Looking at maybe picking up a vintage Prentiss 181 combination pipe vise for $100. Only considering it because, other than the missing replaceable pipe jaws, it appears to have been well-loved. Still need to check it out in person, though.

My questions are:

-Does anyone know if or where replacement jaws can be purchased?

-Do the combination vises have the same reputation for durability as the straight machinist vises?

-There's not a lot of info on the 181, so I welcome feedback from any Prentiss gurus out there on this particular model...

Thanks much,

-Lombie

 

[Filson]

-Replacement jaws can be made, KMScott here on GJ may be able to fashion some for you.

-Combination vises - never heard of anyone having a problem with them, especially from a great company like Prentiss. I wouldn't give it a second thought.

-As for general info, it is a later model design from them, though I could not point out a year for you. Dayid's Knowledgebase is a website that many of us used to use, however it is not currently up and running. If it ever comes back around, there is quite a wealth of information on there.

-I am unsure of the size of the 181 for certain, but I think it's a 3 or 3 1/2" vise, so fairly small. Weight will probably be around 40-50 lbs. Hope this helps.

P.S. your sig shows your looking for a replacement swivel-jaw pin for the back of your Reed 404, you should speak with KMScott about this as well. He's our resident guru.

Hope this helps

 

[Lombie]

Thanks, Filson.

The Dayid site is sometimes online. I referenced it last week when it was up and the 181 isn't on the list. I'll have to check this Prentiss out in person. Not worthy of suckage at $100, but better than most deals in my area.

Regarding the WTB swivel pin. I purchased the Reed b/c it was 100% original and all parts were intact, but a combination of improper packing and "customary" UPS handling resulted in a torn box and the pin fell out. Painful. I could have returned it to the shipper, but she's a beauty...aaaannnnd because GJ has infected me with vise fever.

I had a new pin manufactured that works great, but I'm on the prowl for a vintage replacement to keep it 100% old school. Signature: fixed!

On a side note, the restoration is about complete and I'll post pics after it's done. Painting the letters is giving me fits, as they're not cleanly stamped.

Cheers,

-Lombie

 

[drivesitfar]

Lombie:I second the fact that Prentiss vises are awesome and if you can post a few pictures of the one you are trying to buy it might help. while i own several Prentiss vises i don't have the #'s memorized yet and Dayid's site has been on and off lately and has lost some of his information he once had in the changes he made.

also since this is your thread and Reed vises are another favorite of mine as well as others like a guy that has a Reed sign as his Avitar. would you mind posting a few of those too?? either on here or did you already post some on the vise thread?

good luck and $100 isn't way out of line at all for a 70 year old vise as cool as a Prentiss.

 

[Lombie]

Lombie:I second the fact that Prentiss vises are awesome and if you can post a few pictures of the one you are trying to buy it might help.

also since this is your thread and Reed vises are another favorite of mine as well as others like a guy that has a Reed sign as his Avitar. would you mind posting a few of those too??

Drivesitfar: I haven't figured out how to insert photos into the body of the reply, so I'll attach them. I intend to post the Reed restoration once it's 100% done...

Thanks!

-Lombie

 

[drivesitfar]

Lombie:those pictures look great and with a couple clicks they are full size. if you want to sign up for a free www.photobucket.com account you can store your pictures there and either let us see an album you set up or pull over a link and put it in this writing area. it's hard to do from a cell phone, but i can do from my laptop fairly easily. PM me if you want to try that and have any questions if you can't find the answers with their tutorials.

that Prentiss looks like it should have pipe jaws and looks fairly old maybe 1930's but no more than 1950's because i think they closed their doors for business by then. a lot of good old vises are missing their pipe jaws so it should work great and as usual just check for cracks, welds, missing cast and any other issues. from the one picture i see it's worth your $100 investment.

 

[Filson]

Lombie,

Oh yeah, I remember reading about you losing your pin! Very unfortunate. :/

Also, your resto looks great! Keep the pics coming.

And speaking of pics, you can host pictures right here on GJ if you did not know. Click User CP at the top, and than Pictures & Albums. There you can start a new album and upload pics from your computer or phone. Once loaded you can click to view the pic and you'll see two links below the pic. One is the HTML, the other is.. I don't remember lol, but copy that second link and simply paste it into you message box. And that's it.

Hope this helps

 

[sammie.meade]

I recently just inherited a 181 from my grandfather's tool shed. I'm looking for any info on it I can find. There definitely isn't a lot out there about it.

As far as the vise goes, I really want to restore it to good working order. Nothing spectacular, just working order. There's something about utilizing a tool that has been in the family for decades. All the parts seem to work well, with the exception of the grip portion. I know my grandfather used the **** out of this thing probably for his entire life. I don't know that it is repairable without some machining to be able to reattach some replacement jaw plates.

 

[AngryBeaver]

I recently just inherited a 181 from my grandfather's tool shed. I'm looking for any info on it I can find. There definitely isn't a lot out there about it.

As far as the vise goes, I really want to restore it to good working order. Nothing spectacular, just working order. There's something about utilizing a tool that has been in the family for decades. All the parts seem to work well, with the exception of the grip portion. I know my grandfather used the **** out of this thing probably for his entire life. I don't know that it is repairable without some machining to be able to reattach some replacement jaw plates.

Do you have pics of the swivel base?

I got one from my uncle when he passed. Mines missing the swivel base and the pipe jaws. Haven't seen many 181's posted. I have it sitting on a 5" diameter piece of 1" thick steel now.