Record #23 with quick release is awesome

[kngkong]

Picked up my 'new' vise today. Came with this lovely silver paint job.

Compared to my old Chinese Irwin/Record the jaws are slightly less wide but it has more clearance making the vise a little higher. Overall the amount of iron is a lot more generous. I really didnt think this new vice would feel that different but the slide is much tighter feeling and with a bigger footprint more solid in general.

I couldnt stand the silver paint so I took the wire brush to it and discovered a pretty good coat of original paint was still there. I think it will stay like this until I decide how/if I will refinish it.

The vice appears to be in really good shape. The rear slide has been hammered on a little but everything else looks great.

I was unsure if I would find the quick release feature helpful and after using it a couple times and getting used to it I quickly realised I would never have to waste any more time winding the jaws from wide to thin.

Here's a little video on how it operates.
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hr2u7UbgzXE?hl=en&fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

One other interesting thing is the lead screw is a buttress thread rather than an acme thread. Never seen one before.

Alright, off the Vises of Garage Journal Thread

 

[EVOLVO]

That's so cool. Me want!!

 

[MalibuLX3]

Thank you for getting rid of the horrible silver paint! Quick release looks like one of those things that after you use a vice with that you could never go back to one without it!

 

[shampoop]

That quick release is awesome! DO WANT!

 

[kngkong]

Yeah, pretty cool for an approximately 60 year old feature. Don't know why it didn't seem to catch on.

 

[930dreamer]

The quick release looks like a nice feature.

 

[woody 73]

Very cool if you ever get the chance look for the same version in a woodworking vise by record in the same color of blue.

 

[PCO6]

Good call on getting rid of the silver paint. I have 4 Record bench vices and during a weak moment many years ago I painted one of them gray. I immediately knew I'd made a mistake. They're all BLUE now!

Were you able to determine the approximate age of your No. 23 (I think you were asking in another thread)? I am certain that all of mine are from the 60's and 70's and none of them have the rounded spindle like yours. I have seen that on a Record wood vice but never on a bench vice.

I really like the quick release and now think I need another Record vice.

 

[lbgradwell]

I really like the quick release and now think I need another Record vice.

Then you're in luck.

This has been on craigslist for some time...

 

[PCO6]

Thanks LG. I may follow up on that. 4.5" is a nice bench size. I'd have to check at home but I am pretty sure that equates to a Record No. 4. A Record No. 3 has 4" jaws. I paid about $75 for good working Nos. 6 and 8 so $150 seems a bit steep but you have to like that quick release mechanism.

 

[lbgradwell]

(Forgive my hi-jack, kngkong!)

...so $150 seems a bit steep...

I agree, but the ad(s) has/have been posted for over 4 weeks, so he may be "motivated"... (Put it this way, the vise has been re-posted enough that I have been flagging it as spam.)

 

[PCO6]

^^^ It might just be worth the trip to Scarberia!

 

[darkk]

hmmm, first time I've heard some one use the word *lovely* in reference to a vise.

 

[JC23]

I'm thinkin' thast just because of the model number, I needs to get me one of them.

I hope you realize that by putting that on my To Buy list, you are taking parts away from my street rod project...

 

[kngkong]

Good luck getting the vice PCO6! I think you'll like it

I wanted to disassemble it before I stripped it so I could give it a clean and lube but the quick release seems to complicate that a little. I need to spend a little more time looking it over but if anyone has suggestions on disassembly let me know.

 

[kngkong]

Good call on getting rid of the silver paint. I have 4 Record bench vices and during a weak moment many years ago I painted one of them gray. I immediately knew I'd made a mistake. They're all BLUE now!

Were you able to determine the approximate age of your No. 23 (I think you were asking in another thread)? I am certain that all of mine are from the 60's and 70's and none of them have the rounded spindle like yours. I have seen that on a Record wood vice but never on a bench vice.

I really like the quick release and now think I need another Record vice.

Dont have a real exact date on the handle design change but in the other thread Freeborn had a similar vice which he felt was at least 50 years old.

 

[demographic]

Yeah, pretty cool for an approximately 60 year old feature. Don't know why it didn't seem to catch on.

They sure caught on over here.
Its a British thing as far as I can tell, US Vises don't have them and the better quality UK Vices do.
With Record anyway, the ones with the quick release are almost always cast steel instead of cast iron and if you see a Record machinists vice with a quick release its one of their better ones.

Woden (pretty much the same company as Record in some cases) Parkinson's, Paramo and Samsonia vice's* are worth keeping an eye out for also.

Oh and Fortis as well.



*If its made in the US I spell it Vise cos that's the way you chaps do it, but if its made in the UK I'll spell it Vice cos that's the proper way

Regards Scott.

 

[demographic]

One other interesting thing is the lead screw is a buttress thread rather than an acme thread. Never seen one before.

I know I'm bringing this thread back up but I was reading in my old copy of Fowlers Mechanics and Machinists pocket book about threadforms and it stated that the buttress thread is far stronger than the square threadforms (I'm guessing that the Acme thread is included in the square threads).

I just looked on Google and it threw up THIS as a result.

So not only is the quick release feature handy, using that threadform to achieve it also makes the vice stronger for its weight.

 

[spitfire1]

Very cool vise!