Reed 204 1/2R Vise acquisition

[btrnuthatch]

To my great delight, I picked this up yesterday for $35. I am still amazed at the great shape it's in. From the threads I could readily find, the round knob is not the usual(?) squashed-looking knob. I couldn't find if that knob type aged it but I'll keep looking. Any pointers? On the opposite side from the raised lettering, it's stamped 1043 on both jaws -- could that be a date stamp? As you can see, the slide is nice and square and the jaw faces look like they've never been used. And no pounding or abuse marks.

I'll take it completely apart (thanks to Catalyze's thread -- "Reed 3C in Basic Black" -- I know how to do it) and simply clean and lube it, no e-bath, no paint, just it's own beautifully aged patina. 4 1/2" jaws as the model number would indicate. It weighs in at about 66 lbs. Made my day.

 

[I van putski]

Reed vises are the best. Great score

 

[fullthrottle24]

Round knob is earlier style with collar on screw. Nice score. Reed's are quickly becoming my favorite for there smooth operation and their stout mass.

 

[autopts]

Underneath that crud lies a Gem! A rare find!

 

[bigcaddy]

That is a great find!! I'm currently tearing apart a Reed 2C and i second the stoutness claim. If there ever was a vise overbuilt in every way, you would be looking at a picture of a Reed

 

[J HAV]

Oh man nice find

 

[btrnuthatch]

Guys -- Thanks for the positive replies. It will be in parts with a first pass of crud removal by tonight.

I am also planning to make a set of copper jaw protectors. I cringe at the thought of trashing the serrations. I know, I know, it's a tool .... but still ...

 

[btrnuthatch]

Re: Reed 204 1/2R Vise acquisition -- now clean & quick copper jaw protectors

I cleaned up my new old Reed. A little angle grinder wire brush, paste wax, anti seize and I'm done.

In the process, Reed has become my favorite compared to my Wilton 9450, Athol 614 1/2, Record #4, Craftsman 5202 (Rock Island) or Parker 974 1/2. None is as well built (IMHO) from the split ring collar to the main nut adjustment screw; both result in zero slop in the lead screw. As soon as the handle turns, the jaws move.

As mentioned, I am protecting the jaw serrations with a quick and dirty set of copper protectors I built. In case anybody cares, following are some images of the basic steps.

 

[btrnuthatch]

Quick and dirty copper jaw protectors.

 

[Outlawmws]

Good job and nice score!

 

[oldldh]

Why can't I find anything like this???

 

[Bret888]

That is a beauty! Nice job!

 

[lwlobo]

In terms of under $50 vises, that's got to be near the top of the heap! Love the Reeds, but never seem to find any around here.

Personally, I wouldn't use the terms patina and wire wheel together, but whatever, it looks great and congratulations on a fantastic vise.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Yeah, as others have said, that is the new body, but with the older round-knob handle and non-replaceable jaws. It is in amazingly good condition and that price was a STEAL.

You definitely deserve the obligatory, "You ****!"

There's been a lot of the Wilton Copper Jaws on eBay lately for a decent price. You can mark and use a hacksaw to cut the width to fit. I did that on my 4-1/2" Ridgid.

I love my 4C, but that is the one thing it doesn't have is the main-nut adjustment screw, it just has a pin. Maybe one day I'll get bored enough to make one, but for now it works great and since the main-nut is in there tight it's low on the priority list.

 

[gatewaysysop]

I have exactly the same vise, believe it or not, and it's one of my favorites among the 4.5" crowd. A very nice, incredibly stout piece. Yours cleaned up very nice! Great find!