What is it with vises here?

[dwasifar]

I never knew there was a vise fan community until I came here. I have one bench vise and off the top of my head I couldn't even tell you the brand.

What is it about vises in particular that arouses such interest? Do you guys actually use all these vises that you recondition, or is it more of a collector thing?

 

[b7labelle]

I never knew there was a vise fan community until I came here. I have one bench vise and off the top of my head I couldn't even tell you the brand.

What is it about vises in particular that arouses such interest? Do you guys actually use all these vises that you recondition, or is it more of a collector thing?

If you need to ask...

 

[dwasifar]

If you need to ask...

I do need to ask. It's a serious question. What's the allure?

 

[PelicanPines]

I do need to ask. It's a serious question. What's the allure?

its a vice

 

[LB-1911]

If you need to ask...

I do need to ask. It's a serious question. What's the allure?

Why do people collect stamps, coins, cars, motorcycles, guns,......

It is a hobby - The VISES of Garage Journal
Craftsman/Sears, Vise ID by Catalog

 

[dwasifar]

its a vice

In the sense of a bad habit?

 

[Provincial]

Only wives think so.

 

[jakemac]

I don't understand the question.
You mean that there are people that don't hoard vise's ?
That's just crazy.

 

[dwasifar]

Why do people collect stamps, coins, cars, motorcycles, guns,......

Yeah, I can see by your handle that you collect at least one other thing on that list.

It is a hobby - The VISES of Garage Journal

That was the thread that made me pose the question. I understand collecting; got a few collections myself, notably antique radios.

 

[bikermehound]

Yeah right

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

 

[Jawn]

its a vice

I see what you did there!





As to the OP's question, to me it's a multi-faceted thing. It's a tool... I like tools. I also like "neat old stuff", which old US made vises qualify. So it's part history/collectability, but also useful... mine definitely get used (but not abused).

 

[larry_g]

I'm not a collector of vises. I use vises and probably have a dozen or so scattered around. I didn't know that people has such and interest till I came here either, and I will admit a couple of vises have entered the shop since I joined this group.

I think it is part of the human condition for people to collect. OP, what in your life has consumed you that defies common rationality? What other forums do you belong to that is a gathering of members that are focused on something that 'normal' people don't understand?

lg
no neat sig line

 

[dwasifar]

OP, what in your life has consumed you that defies common rationality?

Then we'd be talking about vices instead of vises.

 

[ducksface]

People have a spray can Redecorating confused with the word
Restoration.
It's easy to have pride in spray canning.
That's all I can figure out about the Wiltons. I own four of them but none are spray canned not anything but a tool or trading material.

A bugatti, a orange coast anvil, OK, I get it. A common wilton or henway? No way!

 

[Packard V8]

I'm not a collector of vises. I use vises and probably have a dozen or so scattered around. I didn't know that people has such and interest till I came here either,

X2 - all of my more-than-a-dozen-sizes-and-shapes-in-four-shops are users. None have been painted. As with any hand tool, some of us get satisfaction from having exactly the right tool for the job. Makes work a pleasure.

Having said that, others are just lookin'-to-git-'er-done-ASAP. The most productive job shop guy I know is working with only one beat-to-****-four-turns-to-actuate bench vise. I gave him a very good vise to replace that and he never took the time to remove the junk and mount the good one. Yesterday, he needed to hold a small odd shaped workpiece, so he ground some angle to fit and tack-welded it to his vise. When he was done, he buzzed it off it an air angle grinder.

jack vines

 

[Ditch]

I never knew there was a vise fan community until I came here. I have one bench vise and off the top of my head I couldn't even tell you the brand.

What is it about vises in particular that arouses such interest? Do you guys actually use all these vises that you recondition, or is it more of a collector thing?

Same here
I have 2 and use them both for different types of jobs
I have no idea what brand they are nor do I care

 

[ducksface]

X2 - all of my more-than-a-dozen-sizes-and-shapes-in-four-shops are users. None have been painted. As with any hand tool, some of us get satisfaction from having exactly the right tool for the job. Makes work a pleasure.

Having said that, others are just lookin'-to-git-'er-done-ASAP. The most productive job shop guy I know is working with one beat-to-****-four-turns-to-actuate bench vise. I gave him a very good vise to replace that and he never took the time to remove the junk and mount the good one.

jack vines

I gave away my yost 34c for the same reason.
They were using one of the rotating hf units and it wouldn't fit their oft used pipe...over and over and over.

In retaliation, the next month they gave me 4 new 14 inch diamond blades they picked up at a yard sale for a buck each.

The last I heard, they hadn't mounted the vise. Horse to water, yadda yadda....

 

[jimmy-ray]

im not into them but that thread is still pretty damn cool

 

[Ditch]

if it doesn't fit, why use it ?

 

[cbacres]

Only one vise?

It's the same as others have said, I like the older US stuff that was made when they really made good stuff. I have about 12 or so and I'm keeping a eye out for others. I plan on using all, just need plenty of mounting surfaces for them.

Guess I'll start designing bench number **.

 

[egnorant]

I grew up using a good vise and was happy. Wandered around for a while and landed where I needed a vise and bought a crappy one. Hated it as it wobbled around, bent and had stuff fall off. Finally found a nice Prentiss that felt good. I wanted one for the other side of the shop and got a Columbia that was perfect. I use my vises and look for good ones all the time.

Nearly everything has someone that is obsessed with it. I get picky on my kitchen knives and have friends that get crazy over coffee beans, lamps, bicycles, tractors, tires, steaks, makeup, note pads, leather jackets, guitars, cookbooks, bird feeders (and bird feeder related products).

What trips your trigger? Are you a flashlight snob? What is the best car wax?

Vises? They range from vise shaped chunks of something that might be metal to beautiful precision works of art to hulking behemoths to the only tool to do a specific job. How can you not like a bit of knowledge and usefulness in your life?

Bruce

 

[CoogarXR]

I'm not obsessed with them either. But I do have 3 of them, all different sizes. Just another tool to me.

Funny thing though, I used to be happy with my big ol' Chinese wonder vise. But when I moved last time, I didn't take it with me. Once I got settled in, I was looking to buy another big vise. And after reading here, I decided to get a vintage biggin'. So I have been influenced by the GarageJournal Zeitgeist. And for the better. That American made vise works much better than the old China toy I had before. I would have never known had I not upgraded.

 

[taumac]

Collecting vises is a vice and to feed that vice you have to buy more vises. LOL

 

[b7labelle]

I want to take this opportunity to show you my vise.There are many like it but this one is mine. And its got clear coat. I have no need for a vise this big, but ******** it makes me smile lol.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181705

 

[jimreed2160]

Well I do woodworking and a little metalworking and I have at least ten vises mounted on benches in my workshop. Every bench has at least two. Vises are not alike and having a variety means that I can use the vise that is most appropriate for the task. The added bonus for woodworkers is that vises protect fingers and hands. Put the workpiece in a vise, hold a chisel in one hand and a mallet in the other. This technique makes random chisel sticks almost impossible. And it starts with a good vise.

 

[KMScott]

I support my self making vise parts and helping where I can with vise's. Need a vise, I have a few laying around. All the way from broken, greasy grimy dirty ones to clean restored to working in almost new condition.

 

[F350]

Me, either. I only have one vise, and it's 100+ years old. I use it as a tool.

 

[Jazz1]

Everybody needs a vice or three...I have more. I just sold this HENRY. Its likely a centre piece on a dining table now.

 

[67King]

I've been wondering this for a while, too. Been thinking that they are simple enough devices.....more from a utilitarian perspective. Reading the responses analogizing it to collecting other things makes sense. I never would have thought one would look at them as anything collectible. So, thanks for asking!

 

[Rileysan]

Only wives think so.

This!

For me, it's the allure of a bygone era where tools were made to last forever. I very much dislike shopping for new tools in a store (with a few exceptions) because I know there are far superior tools out there (vises, et al) made before my life began (born in 1970). If I can acquire them, they will last my lifetime and likely my children's children!

Brian

 

[crguy]

Personally, I think it's a "fad" that will burn out after a while. I too, get a kick out of the "spray can restorations" you frequently see.

 

[hautpot]

I love work holding especially since I come from a Machining background.

its cool to see what vises work better than others like an Chick, gerardi vise, or Orange vise

 

[454ragtop]

We could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you.............

 

[slip knot]

If you have to ask, you'll never understand.

 

[WittHay]

I never knew there was a vise fan community until I came here. I have one bench vise and off the top of my head I couldn't even tell you the brand.

What is it about vises in particular that arouses such interest? Do you guys actually use all these vises that you recondition, or is it more of a collector thing?

I thought the same thing, when i first joined. In my area it seemed every shop had a Record vise that you never paid attention to. It was just a vise.

After reading and learning more, the old American vises are interesting The quality and different styles that were made and the amount of different brands compared to now.

Part of history like old muscle cars or vintage tractors

 

[1cargarage]

The Vise vice is also low on my tool fetish list. I have a nice enough general purpose 5" vise that gets used and not really looked at or thought about when not in use, so I'm no expert on the subject.

I'll take a stab at the OP's question though.

GarageJournal members come from all corners of the workshop. There are metal people, wood people, auto, tradespeople, etc. The tools used throughout the fields are as varied as the fields themselves, with some very small overlap. I think a high quality vise can be appreciated by anyone from any of these fields. It's something that anybody who has worked with their hands comes to appreciate - regardless of the trade. It's not a far reach like, say, expecting a cabinetmaker to oogle over a technician's new scan tool or something like that.

Everyone here can appreciate a good vise, even if it's only when he or she is using it.

 

[jd_1138]

It's a matter of preserving great old devices that come in handy. Most don't have 12 vises. Probably most of us have 3 or 4 and give away or sell other ones we don't need.

 

[928'er]

A bugatti..

About 10 years ago our local PCA Region managed to wrangle a tour of Arturo Keller's car collection (think Pebble Beach).

Separate buildings for the Mercedes collection, the Ferrari collection, etc.

Going through the restoration shop, the thing that impressed me the most was that there was a Bugatti vise on every workbench!

 

[MikeF2316]

I don't collect vises, I use them. While I would give a fresh coat of paint to a used vise if I bought it and it had a "stupid" paint job, or no paint and was starting to rust, I generally just clean up what I buy then start to use it. I even pound of stuff in my vises.

I have 3 vises - my first was a Chinese Swordfish vise. I bought it at a wood show, and I didn't notice that it wasn't a swivel vise. My second was a 5" Mastercraft swivel vise that was mounted on the corner of my bench for years. I occasionally overused it, and was worried it would break. I found a used 150 mm York vise on Kijiji that was in fine shape. It's now my primary vise, all I did was clean it up. My non-swivel swordfish lives at the other end of the bench. The Mastercraft is on a shelf, the swordfish non-swivel vice is at the other end of my bench.

 

[IndyGarage]

Well, it's a pretty useful fad.

I don't buy them to look at, I buy them to use - however the ones that people go after here are pretty darn useful.

For example I had a very small old Craftsman Vise in my basement shop. A few years ago I replaced it with a new Irwin 5 inch swivel vise - probably made overseas somewhere. It was a big step up from the small Craftsman, but it just didn't feel good to use - I could never hammer on it and keep it from swiveling.

About 6 months ago I saw an old Reed fixed base 4 inch on Craigslist - Because that is one of the brands that is touted here, I went and got it, brought it home, cleaned it up in about an hour, and sprayed some Satin Rustoleum on. Wow, what a difference. The Reed isn't a lot bigger or heavier than the Irwin, but oh boy is it stout compared to the newer vise. It has a nice beefy handle that you can crank down hard on. It looks good, in an old antique kind of way, and because it doesn't swivel, there's no chance it will move on you if you beat on it.

I guess there are not that many tools that were way better 50 or 100 years ago than they are today - Vises were.