School me on vises

[Joevano]

I was swearing at my crappy Menards vise when my son suggested I get an old Wilton. After a couple days searching Craigslist and Ebay, maybe a good Wilton is a bit spendy for my amatuer needs.

If a Chicago built Wilton is the Cadillac, what is the Buick and Chevy?

 

[RatchetMan]

If you are just using it for general shop work I think a Columbian, Parker or Yost fits the bill and will be cheaper than the Wiltons which people tend to think are are made of gold.

 

[bigcaddy]

Hands down, Athol or Columbian!! They are built like tanks, last forever and are some of the highest quality yet underrated vises out there.

Find yourself an Athol 614 and it will last you forever. As a bonus, they use buttress style threads that are stronger and take up faster then your typical Acme threads.

 

[bigcaddy]

I was swearing at my crappy Menards vise when my son suggested I get an old Wilton. After a couple days searching Craigslist and Ebay, maybe a good Wilton is a bit spendy for my amatuer needs.

If a Chicago built Wilton is the Cadillac, what is the Buick and Chevy?

If you don't mind me asking, what state/area are you in?

 

[Saiga]

You should be able to find a nice American made vise for between 50 and 100.
look for a chas parker reed or older craftsman. don't be afraid to pass on one's that are beat to hell.there are nice ones out there.I found most of these on CL

 

[ilovevocs]

I was in a local water treatment plant today and ran across this beast. My search for a big Wilton continues.....

 

[Joevano]

Big Lake Minnesota

 

[Saiga]

 

[bigcaddy]

Big Lake Minnesota

There is a nice Reed stationary base vise for 110 in Hudson,WI

 

[fury9]

Get an old wilton bullet vise with a swivel base, does't matter what size it is, your kids kids can sell this old vise in a hundred years, your boy is right on with that one they are the quality.Others are to be had, but plan to spend some time online, of course, you might get lucky?

 

[BuckHenry]

The short answer to your question is any American made machinist vise.

Here is a great thread on vises. Post #2 discusses different brands.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62716

There is really nothing special about Wiltons IMHO. They are nice, but so are Parkers, Morgans, Columbians, Yosts, Rock Islands, Athols, etc., etc.

 

[autopts]

If you don't mind me asking, what state/area are you in?

Bigcaddy, We know you live in state of confusion!!

 

[ZRX61]

The short answer to your question is any American made machinist vise.

Here is a great thread on vises. Post #2 discusses different brands.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62716

There is really nothing special about Wiltons IMHO. They are nice, but so are Parkers, Morgans, Columbians, Yosts, Rock Islands, Athols, etc., etc.

Hollands, Morgan, Ridgid/Simplex etc...

 

[fury9]

forgot to mention Desmond Stephan, you know when a vise is quality by just looking at it, it's a sense of sorts, same goes for lots of American made stuff, BUY IT NOW WHEN YOU CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bigcaddy]

Bigcaddy, We know you live in state of confusion!!

Uh oh, all this talk of Wilton vise has summoned the Master Yoda of Schiller Park.

If you have questions about Wiltons Jovano, Autopts is the guy to ask.

Wilton Bullet vises look/work great but as other have said, the other major brands will to the job the same. Its more an appearance/brand loyalty with Wilton. I have lots of them but have quite a few Prentiss vises too. I like them all

 

[KMScott]

I have lots of them but have quite a few Prentiss vises too.:

bigcaddy
I have a Prentiss question for you, I built a new set of jaws for a Prentiss # 20 and sent a few out to a few GJ members to fit, all came back saying they fit great. I sold one to another GJ member and he said they were way to big. His vise has the Prentiss # 20 casted in just like mine does. His vise only needed one jaw where the swivel jaw has the serrations cut into the face, it does not have a replaceable jaw.

Question I have is, have you seen a Prentiss # 20 with different size jaws? Could this be a custom reworked vise? I am trying to get a handle on Prentiss vises, but I hit this road block. catalyst mentioned my red Prentiss is very old, I added a picture. I also added a sketch of the side views of the two jaws laid on top of each other where the purple colored jaw is the smaller # 20 Prentiss jaw. Thanks in advance.


My jaw size on the red vise is...
5/8 thick x 1-3/16 tall x 4-1/2 wide with a 7/32 cut out step.

The smaller one is...
9/16 thick x 1-1/16 tall x 4-7/16 wide with a 1/4 cut out step.

Thanks in advance Kevin

 

[bigcaddy]

bigcaddy
I have a Prentiss question for you, I built a new set of jaws for a Prentiss # 20 and sent a few out to a few GJ members to fit, all came back saying they fit great. I sold one to another GJ member and he said they were way to big. His vise has the Prentiss # 20 casted in just like mine does. His vise only needed one jaw where the swivel jaw has the serrations cut into the face, it does not have a replaceable jaw.

Question I have is, have you seen a Prentiss # 20 with different size jaws? Could this be a custom reworked vise? I am trying to get a handle on Prentiss vises, but I hit this road block. catalyst mentioned my red Prentiss is very old, I added a picture. I also added a sketch of the side views of the two jaws laid on top of each other where the purple colored jaw is the smaller # 20 Prentiss jaw. Thanks in advance.


My jaw size on the red vise is...
5/8 thick x 1-3/16 tall x 4-1/2 wide with a 7/32 cut out step.

The smaller one is...
9/16 thick x 1-1/16 tall x 4-7/16 wide with a 1/4 cut out step.

Thanks in advance Kevin

I don't think i can help you out there. I've never come across a Prentiss No. 20.

The only swivel jaw Prentiss vises i own are a pair of No.10 pattern maker vises and they have smooth face jaws nearly 2" tall

 

[fury9]

Whatever you decide on make sure the screw is protected ( sorry guys ) If you have no experience with a vise- get some

 

[justanengineer]

After a couple days searching Craigslist and Ebay, maybe a good Wilton is a bit spendy for my amatuer needs.

Just as a FYI - youre shopping in two of the most expensive places to buy tools. Hit a few yard sales/fleas/auctions and use the "vise rule of thumb" - $0.50/lb weight MAX for domestic vises under 100 lbs weight, and yes that includes Wiltons. ie. If the vise weighs 80 lbs and you spend more than $40, youre buying it bc you want it and not bc its a fair deal.

 

[catsteve]

Whatever you decide on make sure the screw is protected ( sorry guys ) If you have no experience with a vise- get some

^^ that was awesome . change 'vise' to 'vice' and you could make it a signiture line.

To the OP. Spend the money. Get a serious vise. Men walk into a garage, they dont check out your collection of snap on fine tooth ratchets but will be envious of a serious vise. You will find no end of uses for it.

 

[Voi]

Big Lake Minnesota

I have a couple of friends that live in Minneapolis so I check their CL once in a while to see if there's anything I want them to pick up for me. There have been some decent deals on vises in the area, especially if you include western Wisconsin.

There was a Starrett Athol 926 for sale in Zimmerman back in February for only $100, I think. I posted it in the CL Hot Deals section. I was in MN that weekend but got chased out by a storm and didn't have a chance to go see it.

Be patient and search for both vise and vice. I typically use SearchTempest to search CL but have recently found it to be inconsistent.

Also, isn't there a dealer for used industrial equipment near MN? Probably overpriced but worth checking out.

 

[Outlawmws]

Peruse the "vises of GJ" thread for a great cross section of vises,and an education on what's available.

Common machinist vise makers/retailers (Sorry for the dupes):

Prentiss
Columbian
Athol
Parker
Craftsman (Some of them...)
Record (English)
Paramo (English)
Reed
Morgan
Hollands
RockIsland
Woden (English)
Ridgid
Starrett
and a host of others I have forgotten...