Reed No. 34 Vise Questions

[jonhdw]

Hello everyone, I am in need of help again from the experts here on Garage Journal.

I just picked up an insanely huge Reed No. 34 vise today and I'm wondering if it's salvageable or if it's just a huge hunk of scrap metal.

My main concern is the jaws. They are very worn and don't line up very well. I'm sure it would work OK, but my understanding is that Reed jaws are permanently fixed and not removable or replaceable. Is there anything that can be done to repair the jaws?

Also, I did some searching around and realized I don't have the swivel base, and obviously the pipe jaws are gone, and the handle looks to be a replacement, but am I missing anything else?

Thanks!

 

[1982fxr]

she's rough, does it open and close ok?

 

[Brad54]

There doesn't appear to be a provision for the swivel base locking handles, so you aren't missing the swivel base, it doesn't look like it ever came with one.

Take a grinder to the top and sides of the jaws to clean them up and maybe square them off a little, but as long as it opens and closes okay, I'd bolt it down and put it to work.

-Brad

 

[CNGsaves]

Time for electrolysis bath. Once it's all apart and cleaned up, you'll know more if there are hidden faults.

With right friends with machine lathe, you could cut away bad jaw and put in replaceable jaws !! See prior GJ thread where vise guru KM Scott did just that. Not sure if your Reed jaws are poor enough shape to warrant that.

Good luck. Even with minimal cleanup, that will be a tough, heavy vise.

 

[bluebolt]

That's a big un! That later became the Reed 4C.

 

[va.grouseman]

Yea your base is missing as you can see examples of the Reed #31, #32, and #34 in Dayids List.

http://scuttle.dayid.org/wiki/index.php/Reed_Vise

You loosened the nut below the bench and turned your vise, knob to groove, knob to groove, until it reached the desired position.

May be hard to find one of those grooved plates but I wouldn't give up.---But if you do throw in the towel you can always grind the knob off and use it as a through the bench type vise using a big smooth pressure plate, (a huge washer) as your swiveling system.

As Blue said, the Reed 31, 32, 33, and 34, evolved into the Reed 1C, 2C, 3C, and 4C.---Yours is probably turn of the century.---Good luck.

 

[drivesitfar]

John: Your jaws don't look that bad from my chair. Another option for mounting might be to weld a plate to the base and drill 4 holes in the plate. i can't recall seeing a reed 34 on here before so congrats on your find.

 

[jonhdw]

Thanks for all the replies!

Yes 1982fxr, the vise opens and closes beautifully, even with all that rust.

And yes va.grouseman , I saw those pics of the 34 with a swivel base, and mine is definitely missing it. The vise has two ridges on the bottom to lock into the grooves of the swivel base. I agree it would be very easy to build one, since the swivel base does not secure the vise to the bench like a traditional vise does. The center bolt is more than enough to anchor this vise to a bench.

I looked it over quickly, and didn't see any cracks or major issues, and am doubtful there are any because this thing is so huge. So I think I'll take the advise from Brad54 and grind them down as flat as I can and put it to use. I don't have any machinist buddies, so the cost to get them machined flat and square would likely be more than it's worth!

 

[drivesitfar]

John: might be cheaper and still effective to make or buy a pair of copper or aluminum jaws. i use copper Wilton jaws on almost all my vises to not only protect the project, but also get a better grip on what i'm holding in the vise.

here's the Reed 4C that your vise was the grand dad of and a picture of my Reed 31 so you can have one to see on your thread with the mounting plate.

good luck

 

[jonhdw]

Thanks Drivesitfar! I think that might be the solution. I attached some pics of the jaws when fully clamped down, and they do not line up well at all. I'll probably take a grinder to them to get it close and looking pretty, then use the copper covers to make it really nice.

 

[ganymede]

A really big mill file or ******* file will help after you get the bulk of material removed with a grinder. Be sure to hold the file the right way, cross the stroke and you could get the jaws sq to within a few thousandths.

 

[CNGsaves]

^ ^ +1 to square up jaw a bit once it's all cleaned up.

Also, OP you might take it slow and consider all your options BEFORE grinding down those ribs on bottom that catch in the swivel base. You may get lucky and salvage a base sometime in the future.

In meantime, you could build steel plate that goes under vise with strips cutout that match up with those ribs. Just make the steel plate at least the thickness of the ribs.

Good luck with the cleanup/restoration. That's a keeper lifetime vise !

 

[jonhdw]

Yeah, I agree CNG, I'll wait to do anything until I find a base for it. I bought the vise at an estate sale, and went back today to look for the base with no luck. I told the guys to keep an eye out for it though, so hopefully it is there somewhere!

If I find the base, I'll probably totally restore it, and file the jaws as flat as possible like ganymede suggested.