Vise advice? Value?

[Model A Fan]

I found these near me at an antique shop. They're asking $74.50 for the red Craftsman and $145 for the larger one (Athol). The Craftsman has removable jaws for replacement. The Athol does not have the removable jaws for replacement.

Are these prices decent? Which one should I buy? Both?

I like the Wilton bullet vises, but can't throw down $300+ for one to refurbish. These I'd refurbish and clean up. I like the side of the Athol, but it is stationary. The Craftsman swivels on the base.

What would you expect to pay for these examples in their condition? I have a feeling I can offer less on them, to a certain degree.

Thanks!

 

[Mark in Indiana]

In the condition of those vises (unrestored but sound) and in my area, they would go for:

C-Man; around 45$. It's a good medium duty vise with a swivel base. Likely you won't be able to get new jaw faces for them, but they should do fine. I used one for over 20 years in industrial maintenance jobs. It did what I asked and it was never abused.

Athol; around 75$. Top shelf brand. However, it has a fixed base. Swivel bases are valued higher. I wouldn't worry about the worn serrations in the jaws. That vise will have plenty of clamping power.

You have an advantage that those vises hadn't been restored so you can check for cracks, weld repairs, etc.

You are making a smart move by buying vintage American iron rather than the low quality import junk that they have at the big box stores.

If vise prices are higher in your area, my advise is to go for the Athol. Otherwise patiently wait for a better deal.

Good luck.

 

[BJ42LX]

Model A,

That model Craftsman was on my local CL last week for $20. The ad was gone in a couple hours. Mark is probably spot on with $45.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Vises are a vice on this forum.....

 

[zkling]

No, neither. Keep looking.

 

[CNGsaves]

Those vises would be fine . . . . on 50% discount day . . . . or 75% discount day !!

 

[Marc Benjamin]

If you don't need one now, then I would just wait for something to show up at an estate or garage sale for $20. That's if you regularly go out look for stuff during the weekends. Then again, in the end the gas money you use driving around will offset the savings.

I once found a pretty darn good 150lbs 6 inch Reed for $5 at a Garage sale.

 

[jakemac]

View media item 49435 "These are not the vises you're looking for"

 

[Model A Fan]

If you don't need one now, then I would just wait for something to show up at an estate or garage sale for $20. That's if you regularly go out look for stuff during the weekends. Then again, in the end the gas money you use driving around will offset the savings.

I once found a pretty darn good 150lbs 6 inch Reed for $5 at a Garage sale.

A few years back when I was a kid, I got a small Craftsman vise at a garage sale for $5. I was with my Mom at the neighborhood garage sale where my grandma lived. Needless to say, I bought it, but the location was on the opposite side of the lake and I was not as strong as I am now, so my poor little arms were quite sore. I still have it and am needing to modify my newly cleaned off bench to accept the vise.

Thank you for the advice on these vises. I will continue the hunt, but if they drop in price, I may spring on the large one for a cool big resto-project. It might not be worth a whole lot, but it would make a neat piece finished up and it would be a good way to have a good project.

 

[jakemac]

It's not that they aren't good vises (they are), it's more that the store already has them listed above full blown retail for the condition that they're in. With patience, you will eventually find something as good or better at a much better price. It just takes time and perseverance.

The hunt is always more fun (and aggravating) than the kill.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

That Athol is a super heavy duty vise. Absolutely the real deal. The Craftsman is a light duty vise. If I wanted a good vice, I'd offer 120 for the Athol, and hope to pay 130.

If you wait and are willing to jump, you can probably get a vice for less money, but you will have to check the ads every day, and if the price is right, a good vice will be gone in 24 hours. I paid 100 for a bullet vice a few years back, but I had to drive three hours each way. That Athol is really a great vice, of a style I really like. You could use it for a press and an anvil. I wouldn't pay 40 for the Craftsman. I'd buy an Irwin Record brand new at a box store first.

 

[venturesomerite]

Guessing by the dirt on the price tags, they have been there a while. I think they are both over priced. I'd offer $125 for the pair, and if they didn't take it, I'd keep looking. Unless you are in love with it, offer what you are willing to pay and either way walk away with or without them. There's plenty more.

 

[zkling]

I think you guys are overlooking this very important factor.

I found these near me at an antique shop.

 

[drivesitfar]

Daniel: i 100% agree with Duckface that even bigger and stronger old US and English vises shouldn't be used as an anvil or a press. that is how so many of them broke and i should have just a picture file saved of all of them. I've heard from so many old 80 year olds selling off their big old tools that they might have welded/brazed a vise 4 or more times using it on the same type of job and the same way.

all they needed was a cheap press or a big piece of Railroad track for their anvil and their 250 pound vise would have been worth $1,000 instead of $20 for scrap.

Model A: i'd keep looking, but if i needed a vise the Athol would be the choice i'd make and as others have said the price isn't horrible but a little high for it's condition. not that many Athol vises have broken vise nuts or damage, but i usually pull a vise apart to check out the vise nut, screw and the underside of the dynamic for cracks and welds. good luck

 

[Bobioz1]

Offer $50 for that craftsman. It's in good shape, will restore easily, probably do everything you want and look nice on your bench. I've redone a few of those and they turn out real nice. It will tide you over until you stumble across that monster vise you drag home and find out is too big and heavy for your bench.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

I bought a Craftsman like that for $25 last summer. I would've paid another $15 tops.

 

[justanengineer]

No, neither. Keep looking.

+1. 40-50 lb vises, I'd be looking to buy <$20 each. I generally stick to the collector's rule of <$0.50/lb for vises that weigh <100 lbs and ~$1/lb for those 100+. Craigs, ebay, and antique dealers generally arent the best places to buy IME. Hit a few auctions or an estate sale and youll be surprised how cheap and forgotten vises are. Ive bought more than a few at sales where a workbench was used as a table, everything has a price EXCEPT the vise and nobody thinks its for sale.....but the heirs really do want to sell "everything."

JMO but the Cman is worth more to the general public, the Athol to those that know better.

 

[jmckenzie9713]

That craftsman is usually 60-75 in our area, the Athol would be pushing 200. But tools always seem to cost more in Washington. Where did you find those vises?

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Model A,

Unfortunately vintage American & European vises are undervalued (good for the buyer & bad for the seller). I always advise those looking for a vise for themselves this:

1. If you had 200$ to spend on a vise, you can buy a new one at the big box store. Likely it's an low quality, import POS and you will soon regret your purchase.

2. If you shopped around and spent that 200$ on a vintage American or European vise, you would enjoy using it, love the bragging rites that you get with vintage iron and likely your grandchildren will inherit it.

3. If you wanted a new, quality American/European vise, likely you would spend
600$ - 1500$. So buying a vintage quality vise, you're saving 400$ - 1300$ for a tool that holds a workpiece.


Obviously, your needs will determine if you buy one of those vises or wait for a better deal. You should have negotiating room with the seller. Those prices are high but not obscene. Myself, I wouldn't pay the asking prices for either one of those vises because I like to buy vintage tools at wholesale prices...unless I really needed it.

On a side note: Be sure that you take apart the vise and look it completely over for cracks, breaks and welds. If you see any of those, run away from the deal fast & far.

 

[zkling]

Agree with Ducksface. Mark nothing personal, but as you clearly state you are a reseller looking at your bottom line. What you would pay vs what you would sell for, like many people on here, are drastically different. Price hypocrisy I call it. On a fully restored, ready to use needs nothing vise that is one thing, but is not the case here or 85+% of the time.

 

[Model A Fan]

Model A,

Unfortunately vintage American & European vises are undervalued (good for the buyer & bad for the seller). I always advise those looking for a vise for themselves this:

1. If you had 200$ to spend on a vise, you can buy a new one at the big box store. Likely it's an low quality, import POS and you will soon regret your purchase.

2. If you shopped around and spent that 200$ on a vintage American or European vise, you would enjoy using it, love the bragging rites that you get with vintage iron and likely your grandchildren will inherit it.

3. If you wanted a new, quality American/European vise, likely you would spend
600$ - 1500$. So buying a vintage quality vise, you're saving 400$ - 1300$ for a tool that holds a workpiece.


Obviously, your needs will determine if you buy one of those vises or wait for a better deal. You should have negotiating room with the seller. Those prices are high but not obscene. Myself, I wouldn't pay the asking prices for either one of those vises because I like to buy vintage tools at wholesale prices...unless I really needed it.

On a side note: Be sure that you take apart the vise and look it completely over for cracks, breaks and welds. If you see any of those, run away from the deal fast & far.

That is what I am trying to do, is find one that isn't obscenely priced, but still offers a good amount of service because it isn't worn out. I am trying to find projects to work on and have a garage full of restored old machinery that still functions as good as it did new and perhaps better than the new stuff you buy at big box stores.

1 if you need a $200 vise you can buy a damned nice new one for that amount. It will not have worn parts or broken parts or need $85 parts or hours of cleaning. If you break it quickly or are unhappy quickly, you're not using it correctly.

2 bragging on a one of ten million made piece of anything you paid retail for and then spent hours cleaning while praying it's not broken, is not a bragging point.

3...for a tool that holds a workpiece.... You've summed it up: They are a third strong hand. They are not an alter in a garage, the best and priciest is not needed. A $200 new one will do just fine when put against an ancient one, and both used within tolerances.

This is just a polite counter to the indoctrination to the mystical old vise theory.

They are just a bit pricier than scrap if you look around.
We read the stories of them every single week, usually daily here.
To think differently is to have a love for them that adds unreasonable value.

Love is fine.
I love your love of them. It's just not the type of religion some of us subscribe to.


Too many stories here of $5 bullet findings to pay anything premium for a vise that when an ad is put on craigslist of: wanted, big vise.
five will show up in a month. At non-love-affair prices.

I love old tools, but I don't see myself spending the money that some want for them on the old stuff. If it is in great shape, I'd pay more, but some of the stuff I have seen is crusty as hell and still asking top dollar. I also hear about the $5 bullet buys and think about what some of them sell for... I understand the value and wanting to make some money, especially if they are cleaned up and working well.

I haven't drank too much of the Kool-Ade yet, so I haven't subscribed to the religion of old tools completely, but I see the value in them over the newer, CHICOM stuff.

Agree with Ducksface. Mark nothing personal, but as you clearly state you are a reseller looking at your bottom line. What you would pay vs what you would sell for, like many people on here, are drastically different. Price hypocrisy I call it. On a fully restored, ready to use needs nothing vise that is one thing, but is not the case here or 85+% of the time.

I didn't plan on reselling these, I wanted a larger vise for my garage as I have a 3" or 4" Craftsman at home that just isn't big enough for what I want. I am not working on huge projects, but in case I need a large vise, I would like to have one available.

I may spring for the Athol if I can negotiate them down in price. Its been in their shop for a while now based on the sticker tag and they gave me a tax free deal if I paid cash on a metal cabinet I bought from them after I talked them down from $60 to $50.

What should I offer on the vise given the situation? I was thinking maybe $130 tax included?