Vise Info Thread

[Dlavallee22]

Fierljeppen, I can’t thank you enough for your expertise! You can always manage to find something. That’s really cool that this vise is most likely from the late 1890’s. There was absolutely something in the water too Some really cool style and design came out of that town. I think its probably a cousin of the Lightning vise too and there’s some connection somewhere. I’m def going to keep looking for sure and I live pretty close to Joe so we will def get these two together for a little Weedsport photo op!

That pic you put together too is perfect! And iv already saved it along with the directory page. Awesome stuff as always, thank you!

 

[KMScott]

Dawn 200. 7-3/4 jaws that opens to 9" and weights 127lbs

 

[KMScott]

Jackson Vise and Tool Co #54. 4" jaws that opens to 6" and weights 51lbs. Just like the Reed 204. Definitely a re-branded vise.

 

[ejot]

Looks like this is one for the sheet.

Rock Island 85. 5.5" swivel jaw/fixed base opens to 9", 112lbs but that's missing the busted slide support.

 

[PierceA]

KMS: One to add to the spreadsheet:
Lewis No.24. 4" serrated jaws, rear swivel jaw, and Swivel base.
Weighs 55.9 pounds, and opens about 6.5".
I've been told that the jaw tower profile makes this a Filer's Vise. Not as steep and
pointed as most other maker's Filer's vise models, but it definitely has more pointed Jaws
than most other listed Lewis vises.

PierceA

 

[KMScott]

Columbian 608. 8" jaws that opens to 13" and weights 160 lbs.

 

[KMScott]

Cornelius Q-D vise jaw kit. Just to cool to not have it on the spreadsheet.

Quote from the owner.
"Here's an old Cornelius Q-D vise jaw kit made in Toledo. It has four sets of jaws that are swappable: flat soft, round soft, swivel, and chunky for small rounds or squares. 1937 is the first reference I can find for them. This set is 3 1/2" wide."

 

[KMScott]

SPEED-VISE 100. 3.937 Jaws. Rotator Body. Made in Japan?

 

[bl00]

More info here on the speedvise

The VISES of Garage Journal

JKB, I listed the vise on the spreadsheet as a Jacobson Universal Friction Vise. You are right the base looks like it was fabricated and could be the one sold on e-bay. I do not own this vise just always looking for vises to add to the spreadsheet. This one is the smallest of the group of...

www.garagejournal.com

The VISES of Garage Journal

Andy: Thats quite a teaser photo you posted. Either you found a cute little motorcycle helmet or You found the biggest vise that’s been posted on these pages since the one that Royce and KMScott collaborated to build. Machinitect: Nice job rehabbing that big bullet and especially for fabbing up...

www.garagejournal.com

Also that Cornelius set is mine. I posted it here a long time ago, but photobucket ate the pics.

 

[bl00]

Here's another vise jaw accessory. The example is marked "P&K Vise Grips" although I've seen them with other markings as well. I traded these so I'll probably end up making a set to fit the Cornelius jaws.

 

[KMScott]

Hollands #10. 3-1/8 jaws that opens to 4" and weights 24 lbs.

 

[ejot]

Quiet in here lately.
Couple for the sheet I think,..

Rock Island 25A. Only have the 7" jaws spec. Not sure the difference between 25 and 25A. Was this the largest of the RI auto-locking swivel bases? Special vise.

Cardinal 145. Only have the 4.5" jaw spec. Quick release. Pretty cool.

 

[KMScott]

Quiet in here lately.
Couple for the sheet I think,..

Rock Island 25A. Only have the 7" jaws spec. Not sure the difference between 25 and 25A. Was this the largest of the RI auto-locking swivel bases? Special vise.

Cardinal 145. Only have the 4.5" jaw spec. Quick release. Pretty cool.

Been laid up with a knee replacement but getting better and have several my self to add. Thanks for the info and pics ejot. Gotta use my computer instead of this IPad. In a couple days I should be back on line. Kevin

 

[Outlawmws]

Hey Dr. Scott! Heal fast!

 

[KMScott]

Stanley 675. 2-1/2" jaws that opens to 2-1/2" and weights 9-1/2 lbs.

See Bl00's post below for the catalog page on this vise. Thanks Bl00.

 

[Fred Knox]

Good to have you back Dr. Scott!

 

[KMScott]

Feeling better, I can at least sit for a little while. Got a bunch of vises to add. Thanks Fred, Pierce and Outlaw.

 

[KMScott]

RalMike's 4-1/2 Swivel Jaw.

Quote from the owner.

"If you're a Machinist you likely have some tooling from RalMike's Tool-A-Rama. I remember them as a major Supplier of machinist tooling, machining, tool n die, during the 70's,80's, before ending in early 90's if I recall? Here is a Machinist bench vise I was surprised to find they offered. It weighs in at a cool 100 pounds, 4 1/2" jaws, Rotational body and rotational movable front jaw. Cast steel...not cast iron. When was the last time any 4 1/2" vise came in at 100 pounds? A fair amount of machining of flat surfaces. An absolute beast of a vise but styling is ugly...Reminds me of the Tesla Truck.
Whom out in Vise land remembers RalMike's and has the product cut sheet on this green Hulk...I have been unsuccessful in locating one."

 

[Dave600]

Stanley 675. 2-1/2" jaws that opens to 2-1/2" and weights 9-1/2 lbs.

Kevin, Your catalog page for the 675 is actually from Leavens, before Stanley bought them and has their older part numbers. Here is a Stanley catalog page from 1915 with the 675 listed.....for the records. Nice vise ! Dave

 

[Productbob]

Feeling better, I can at least sit for a little while. Got a bunch of vises to add. Thanks Fred, Pierce and Outlaw.

glad to hear you're feeling better; hopefully at 100% soon!

 

[bl00]

The RalMikes is a re-label of a Universal Vise & Tool vise. Here's the catalog page: http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/11258/22323.pdf

RalMike's 4-1/2 Swivel Jaw.

Quote from the owner.

"If you're a Machinist you likely have some tooling from RalMike's Tool-A-Rama. I remember them as a major Supplier of machinist tooling, machining, tool n die, during the 70's,80's, before ending in early 90's if I recall? Here is a Machinist bench vise I was surprised to find they offered. It weighs in at a cool 100 pounds, 4 1/2" jaws, Rotational body and rotational movable front jaw. Cast steel...not cast iron. When was the last time any 4 1/2" vise came in at 100 pounds? A fair amount of machining of flat surfaces. An absolute beast of a vise but styling is ugly...Reminds me of the Tesla Truck.
Whom out in Vise land remembers RalMike's and has the product cut sheet on this green Hulk...I have been unsuccessful in locating one."

 

[KMScott]

Athol 722-1/2 Ratcheting vise. 2-1/2" jaws Opens to 3-1/2” and weights 16 lbs. Thanks Dave600.

 

[Dave600]

Athol 722-1/2 Ratcheting vise. 2-1/2" jaws. Waiting on more specs.

The earlier version was the 706 (yr 1913) but did not open as wide and was 4.5 lbs lighter. Here is the 722-1/2 spec from 1930.

 

[KMScott]

Hollands 54 Combination Vise. 5"jaws and it weights 120 lbs. Pic:s are not that great.

 

[KMScott]

Reed 234-1/2 Steamfitter's vise. 4-1/2" jaws that opens to 6" and weights 83 lbs.

 

[bulgie]

Anyone want to educate me about this Ridgid 50SN I just picked up?


At first I assumed it was Columbian-made because I previously had a Columbian with similar Tee-jaws. But now I think I'm seeing hints that some Simplex-made Ridgids had Tee-jaws also?

I'm interested in what you all think for the year on this one, or whatever range it can be narrowed down to.

Plenty more pics if it'll help.

The jaws were in really sad shape, but I ground them down to the bottom of the deepest chips/dents and now I have precisely fitting flat smooth jaws. Screw and nut in good shape, no cracks, not bent. Not beautiful but it was a price I could afford. It's going to be my main bench vise, used daily.

Thanks in advance for any info bits.

Mark B in Seattle

 

[KMScott]

Mark
Sure looks Columbian to me but I am not a vise Historian. I have been waiting for pic:s of this vise to add to the spreadsheet. Are these spec:s correct? 5"jaws that opens to 8" and weights 70 lbs. Nice work repairing the jaws.

Your vise looks like this 505M2 but without the swivel base. Post is Here.

Kevin

 

[Fierljeppen]

Anyone want to educate me about this Ridgid 50SN I just picked up?


At first I assumed it was Columbian-made because I previously had a Columbian with similar Tee-jaws. But now I think I'm seeing hints that some Simplex-made Ridgids had Tee-jaws also?

I'm interested in what you all think for the year on this one, or whatever range it can be narrowed down to.

Plenty more pics if it'll help.

The jaws were in really sad shape, but I ground them down to the bottom of the deepest chips/dents and now I have precisely fitting flat smooth jaws. Screw and nut in good shape, no cracks, not bent. Not beautiful but it was a price I could afford. It's going to be my main bench vise, used daily.

Thanks in advance for any info bits.

Mark B in Seattle

Mark
Sure looks Columbian to me but I am not a vise Historian. I have been waiting for pic:s of this vise to add to the spreadsheet. Are these spec:s correct? 5"jaws that opens to 8" and weights 70 lbs. Nice work repairing the jaws.

Your vise looks like this 505M2 but without the swivel base. Post is Here.

Kevin

Yep, it's a Columbian model 605M2 vise.



Although the Ridgid Simplex vises also had the "T" jaws, they were a different model no. and weighed considerably more than the corresponding Columbian models. This was because of the hollow core design of the Columbian, which coupled with it's malleable iron castings, made it one of the most durable machinist vises ever made.



Mark's vise was offered from 1980 to the mid 1980's, before Ridgid offered the same vise with a different style jaw and model number.

Here's a couple of 1980 Ridgid catalog scans with additional information.



My outside vise is a pre-1960 Columbian model 506 vise that has served me well for many years. I absolutely love it and have no intentions of ever replacing it. I expect Mark's vise will more than satisfy him as well.

The Columbian and Simplex vises are very underrated in my opinion, but the good part about that is they are very affordable compared to their peers.

 

[ejot]

Speaking of Columbian as OEM
How about the post~1983 Reed Columbians
There was 1CA, 2CA, 3CA, 4CA...
This is the first I seen pics of,
2CA...4-1/2" jaw... 56lb
Neat vise.

 

[bulgie]

Mark
Sure looks Columbian to me but I am not a vise Historian. I have been waiting for pic:s of this vise to add to the spreadsheet. Are these spec:s correct? 5"jaws that opens to 8" and weights 70 lbs. Nice work repairing the jaws.

Your vise looks like this 505M2 but without the swivel base. Post is Here.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin! Specs look good. My jaws are not quite 5" wide anymore after grinding them down, about 3/16" narrower. It only opens to 7-1/2" when the screw is fully engaged in the nut, but engagement at 8" opening is still probably adequate. Is there a standard for how that's measured?

Mine actually weighs 80 lb, and that's after grinding it down a bit. It's clean, definitely not 10 lb of dirt on it!

Depth is 4-1/4" to the top of the jaw, but the top was ground down a bit to remove dents and chips. 4-3/8" originally? I didn't measure how much I took off.

All my pics of the vise, both before and after I ground the jaws down, are here (Flickr album). Use any pics there freely if they're useful.

Let me know if there's anything else you want to know.

 

[bulgie]

Yep, it's a Columbian model 605M2 vise.

Wow that's an amazing amount of great info — U rock!

This will be my main indoor bench vise, replacing one that's a bit weak and not as high quality. I expect to get a lot of use out of it. Thanks for making me feel great about choosing the right vise!

What a great forum, so much knowledge.

Mark B in Seattle

 

[Outlawmws]

Mark, the correct way to measure max safe opening is to CLOSE it and measure the slide stick out - you want the slide fully engaged or you risk breakage.

 

[bulgie]

Mark, the correct way to measure max safe opening is to CLOSE it and measure the slide stick out - you want the slide fully engaged or you risk breakage.

I'd tend to agree except there ain't no way this Ridgid could measure 8" (the catalog number) that way. So is my vise different from the one in the catalog? Or did Ridgid measure it with less than full engagement? Or Based on the catalog illustrations, it looks like the latter, so their catalog spec is, um shall we say "a bit optimistic" (a.k.a. a lie)?

Measured your way, it's a bit under 5-1/2".

I'm not worried about breakage though since the ad says it's GUARANTEED UNBREAKABLE

Seriously though, I'd be OK with using it at 8" as long as it's not for a real high-force operation. Seating a bearing on a shaft, holding a part for filing or drilling (not hammering), that sort of thing. I've exceeded your reccommendation many times over the last 50 years, haven't broken a vise yet (though I did bend one once).

Mark B

 

[KMScott]

Speaking of Columbian as OEM
How about the post~1983 Reed Columbians
There was 1CA, 2CA, 3CA, 4CA...
This is the first I seen pics of,
2CA...4-1/2" jaw... 56lb
Neat vise.

Thanks ejot for reminding me about the Reed CA versions. I should have remembered them since I use to support the 3CA jaws (5-5/32 wide) on my old website. I added the CA models to the spreadsheet and will be looking for them.

Fierljeppen Thanks again for all your help with the spreadsheet. I am almost healed up from my surgery and will be back at it up dating the spreadsheet.

 

[ejot]

Good to have you back Dr Scott! Glad to hear you are recovering well.

Info on GW Diener is short on the sheet but I'm certain some knowledge is out there. They were OEM for the "Karas Electric" brand vises. Just found this little guy in the mailbag today. Will get some specs.

Was an unexpected bonus to find the vise packed in a pretty nice Craftsman 3.5" utility vise box that I think is date stamped 51st week of 1980. Couple pics just for fun.

 

[KMScott]

Speaking of Columbian as OEM
How about the post~1983 Reed Columbians
There was 1CA, 2CA, 3CA, 4CA...
This is the first I seen pics of,
2CA...4-1/2" jaw... 56lb
Neat vise.

Thanks ejot for reminding me about the Reed CA versions. I should have remembered them since I use to support the 3CA jaws (5-5/23 wide) on my old website. I added the CA models to the spreadsheet and will be looking for them.

Fierljeppen Thanks again for all your help with the spreadsheet. I am almost healed up from my surgery and will be back at it up dating the spreadsheet.

 

[KMScott]

Prentiss 303 and 305 Anchor line. 305 has 3-1/4" jaws that opens to 5" and weights 22 lbs.

 

[KMScott]

Bonney #30 Ajax Machinist Vise. 2" jaws that opens to 2" and weights 8 lbs.

 

[Dave600]

Prentiss 303 and 305 Anchor line. 305 has 3-1/4" jaws that opens to 5" and weights 22 lbs.

I checked out the spreadsheet and didn't find a spec sheet attached anywhere for them. Here is what I have, catalog from 1908.

 

[KMScott]

I checked out the spreadsheet and didn't find a spec sheet attached anywhere for them. Here is what I have, catalog from 1908.

Thanks Dave. This sure helps me.