The VISES of Garage Journal

Pukeballs · Feb 7, 2010

stewart said:
Hey Pukeballs, nice job also, I had a crafstman just like it. It also had a bent beam?

Thanks. Yes it did have a bent beam. Did you have one that was bent as well?

I was thinking about bending it straight, but just gave it away to a friend instead. He needed one, and I didnt want the hassle.

mjozefow · Feb 7, 2010

BanjoSavesTheDay said:
It just seems like very few people actually look at this thread.

That's what happens when they get long. I think if you have a resto to show off, it should be posted here and also get it's own thread. This is more of a group showcase.

If you want to just show a vise you acquired, this would probably be the place. :beer:

Oh, and nice job!

emeraldcoupe · Feb 7, 2010

i need a new set of jaw pads for my old wilton 5 1/2" vise, any of you guys know where i can get a set?

bmwpower · Feb 7, 2010

Hey, I always check this thread out. People are reading, just not replying all the time.

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 7, 2010

Well thanks everybody! I promise I wasn't sulking or anything. lol I apologize for offending the faithful. :bowdown:

Honestly what I like most about this thread is that it's such a wealth of information on vises that the internet is largely lacking. There's no definitive book on vises anywhere either; I wish someone would write one!

mjozefow, I didn't know I was allowed to do that. I will make a separate thread for my big dawg vise when I really get started on the restoration.

emeraldcoupe, try this guy: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400082453463&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT.

One other thing I forgot to say in my other post. The pastor doing my wedding is a Gravely tractors nut so I painted the vise with official Gravely red paint.

That stuff is ridiculously expensive, but he happened to have left part of a can at my house, so I helped myself to a bit.

Last but not least, I have another funny "before" picture of the Wilton. I think I've posted this somewhere else but it is in the jaws of my Columbian 608. The bolts that connect the vise to the base were on there super tight.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45099362@N02/4198357741/" title="IMG_2841 by BanjoSavesTheDay, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2493/4198357741_06bdb9b813.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_2841" /></a>

Lookin4'67Galaxieconv · Feb 7, 2010

BanjoSavesTheDay said:
Well thanks everybody! I promise I wasn't sulking or anything. lol I apologize for offending the faithful. Honestly what I like most about this thread is that it's such a wealth of information on vises that the internet is largely lacking. There's no definitive book on vises anywhere either; I wish someone would write one!

You may have to do that yourself! :pimpflash

BanjoSavesTheDay said:
Looking for an obnoxiously large bench vise. If you have any information as to the where-abouts of one, please contact me. : )

The Columbian you have isn't big enough?! :headscrat

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 7, 2010

Lookin4'67Galaxieconv said:
The Columbian you have isn't big enough?!

Haha! That thing's just a baby. You've seen the pictures of that big one that doesn't have a name cast into it (post 176). The Columbian only weighs about 180 lbs or so. :lol_hitti

Seriously though, the difference in beefiness between a chipping vise and a machinist vise is almost as big as the difference between a machinist vise and a mechanic/homeowner vise.

Why do I want yet another one? Because I love the quality of craftsmanship and the history. That and they're just darn cool.

mjozefow · Feb 8, 2010

BanjoSavesTheDay said:
mjozefow, I didn't know I was allowed to do that. I will make a separate thread for my big dawg vise when I really get started on the restoration.

Dude I didn't start this thread to be the only place that vises could be posted. I don't have that power. It is really just so that people on this board and lurkers could find a wide variety of pictures/stories/histories of these tools. And maybe keep a few out of the scrap heap.

BTW, I am also looking for a huge vise. So if I find one in your area I'll let you know, and if you find one in my area you let me know. Sound like a plan?

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 8, 2010

mjozefow said:
Dude I didn't start this thread to be the only place that vises could be posted. I don't have that power. It is really just so that people on this board and lurkers could find a wide variety of pictures/stories/histories of these tools. And maybe keep a few out of the scrap heap. ?

lol I wasn't trying to say you wouldn't like it, just maybe someone would say I was taking up too much space with different posts about the same thing. Thanks for telling me though. I had been wondering about that.

mjozefow said:
BTW, I am also looking for a huge vise. So if I find one in your area I'll let you know, and if you find one in my area you let me know. Sound like a plan?

We both just missed one!! I'm thinking about going to grad school at Ball State, so I poked around on the Indiana CL some and found a Wilton 800N. As far as I know, it's the biggest vise Wilton has ever made. The real kicker is that the guy only wants $65 for it. I called him yesterday and he said someone was supposed to send a check or something today but I could try back tomorrow if I was still interested. You should check it out; I didn't really want to drive all the way over there anyway. Here's the link: http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/tls/1579054826.html.

But yes, I will definitely keep on eye on things over your way. :thumbup:

jrsndman · Feb 8, 2010

Here is one of mine. It's just a little Columbian I got with some other misc. hand tools for $30.

Dan in Pasadena · Feb 8, 2010

My Wilton 6" mechanics vise. This was a Craigslist score a couple months ago. $60 for a vise that shows online as being $259. I wish it was a bullet body Wilton, but you can't have everything.

I have since cleaned it up a lot. I was going to repaint it, but the OSHA yellow is kinda growing on me. I don't understand the lame factory paint on the jaws. I'm going o pull them and clean them up some.

P.S. It's "Made in the U.S."

Dan in Pasadena · Feb 8, 2010

Oops!

The photo:

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 8, 2010

Ya know, that yellow is kind of growing on me too. I may paint the body of a bullet Wilton OSHA yellow, the jaws safety orange, the letters bright red, the handle a nice safe green, and the dust cap radiation purple. That way, no one could ever get hurt by it!!

See here: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/safety-signals-d_359.html

emeraldcoupe · Feb 9, 2010

well i have a columbian not a wilton, oops. bought ot off craigslist a few months back for $25. i still need jaws for it, would the wiltons work or do they need to be coulmbian? it's stamped D45 M5 what does that mean?

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 9, 2010

Columbians, Wiltons, and even Craftsmans of that style are all pretty similar. I'd say you could probably find some from one of them.

stewart · Feb 9, 2010

I'm looking at emeraldcoup's 5 1/2" Columbian. It's a bit cold for me to run out to the garage right now but it looks very similar to a newer craftsman that I have. I going to guess that craftsman's are made by columbian or at least they have rights to their tooling? Any feedback?

emeraldcoupe · Feb 9, 2010

if it helps any it's also cast made in USA under where it says 5 1/2"

mjozefow · Feb 9, 2010

BanjoSavesTheDay said:
We both just missed one!! I'm thinking about going to grad school at Ball State, so I poked around on the Indiana CL some and found a Wilton 800N. As far as I know, it's the biggest vise Wilton has ever made. The real kicker is that the guy only wants $65 for it. I called him yesterday and he said someone was supposed to send a check or something today but I could try back tomorrow if I was still interested. You should check it out; I didn't really want to drive all the way over there anyway. Here's the link: http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/tls/1579054826.html.

But yes, I will definitely keep on eye on things over your way.

Called the dude, he said it OPENS 8 inches. Oh well, its sold anyway. If you do go to Ball State let me know. You always have a shop available to you in West Lafayette! :beer:

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 9, 2010

mjozefow, how wide did he say the jaws were? Maybe it was just my excitement, but I could have sworn that looked just like an 800N. Oh well...I guess the good news is that we DIDN'T miss a good deal. lol

Thanks for the shop invite! The chances are pretty good that I'll be going there so I'll definitely let you know when I've arrived in The Hoosier State. Actually, I don't even know what a Hoosier is...so this may not go well.

the spyder · Feb 12, 2010

Got a Columbian 250-M2 today for $40. Going to need some jaws and some material built back up on the rear jaw, but still well worth it in my mine. :thumbup:

Cleaned off 1/2 a pound of **** and got it ready to be fixed.

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 12, 2010

Man I can't get over how badly the previous owner abused that vise. It looks like the rear jaw area just melted away. I would love to see you fix it up, though. That would definitely be the most extreme repair I've ever seen. How do you plan on doing it? You'll have to take lots of pictures for sure.

the spyder · Feb 12, 2010

It came from a Steel Yard work shop, so you know someone just chucked up something, then ran the OA torch along the front jaw. I plan on using some flat stock and nickle rod with my stick welder + preheat to build up the material.

mcgyverit · Feb 14, 2010

Here are mine.

and a recently acquired one:

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 15, 2010

the spyder said:
It came from a Steel Yard work shop, so you know someone just chucked up something, then ran the OA torch along the front jaw. I plan on using some flat stock and nickle rod with my stick welder + preheat to build up the material.

Sounds like a plan. I wish I could be there when you do it.

StupidHippie · Feb 15, 2010

Here's mine...nothing fancy, an old Parker from a yard sale.

...Rob

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 16, 2010

I've got some pictures from ebay that I thought would be good to throw in here. This thing sold for eight hundred dollars! I've never seen a vise sell for that much! :shocking:

Anyway, the measurements are: length closed 25", height 16", jaws 6", Throat 7", handle 12 1/2", weight 180 lbs.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45099362@N02/4363365835/" title="Parker 1 by BanjoSavesTheDay, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4363365835_5f66a21399.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Parker 1" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45099362@N02/4363365823/" title="Parker 2 by BanjoSavesTheDay, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2764/4363365823_00cb8e5302.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Parker 2" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45099362@N02/4364108278/" title="Parker 3 by BanjoSavesTheDay, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2713/4364108278_2aa25cb392.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Parker 3" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45099362@N02/4364108270/" title="Parker 4 by BanjoSavesTheDay, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2714/4364108270_9dba8aa806.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Parker 4" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45099362@N02/4363365769/" title="Parker 5 by BanjoSavesTheDay, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4363365769_a8ce7ca7aa.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Parker 5" /></a>

apostrophe · Feb 23, 2010

Need a finger guard for Parker 974

I found this on CL. It's in pretty good shape - it's missing the swivel wrench, handle detent assy, and finger guard.

Does anyone have a source for parts?

Thanks

old salvage · Feb 23, 2010

Re: Need a finger guard for Parker 974

apostrophe said:
I found this on CL. It's in pretty good shape - it's missing the swivel wrench, handle detent assy, and finger guard.

Does anyone have a source for parts?

Thanks

Parker is long out of business so your only parts source would be to take from another vise or have a machinist make one.

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 23, 2010

Nice looking vise. I don't know what you mean by handle detent assembly, though. Maybe post a pic of it or something. As for the swivel wrench, C. Parker called them vise wrenches and they show up on ebay occasionally.

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 23, 2010

Here's one now actually.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Old-farm-wrench...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item414d3cd04e

metal1313 · Feb 23, 2010

woohoo i just found one local, going to get it in the morning on my way to class. its very local, and for 60 bucks i couldnt pass it up. by the way..im going broke haha

Adam McLaughlin · Feb 23, 2010

Damn Banjo, that looks cool but Eight HUndred dollars?

Adam

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 23, 2010

I know! I have no idea why somebody paid that much. What's funny is that a couple weeks after that one sold, another No. 436 popped up on eBay and "only" sold for $350.

bmwpower · Feb 24, 2010

BanjoSavesTheDay said:
I know! I have no idea why somebody paid that much. What's funny is that a couple weeks after that one sold, another No. 436 popped up on eBay and "only" sold for $350.

It sold for that much because it looks to be original and it's huge. Ever wonder why anvils go for $500+? High quality authentic blacksmith stuff is getting rarer, making it worth much more.

The other one on eBay was painted and didn't look as nice. Can you imagine a blacksmith putting a painted vise in his shop? haha....

metal1313 · Feb 24, 2010

http://cnj.craigslist.org/tls/1614783432.html

i just picked this up before i headed to school today. i didnt even haggle on the price, its in good shape and because it was local i jumped right on it. for 60 bucks im happy, it works great just gotta look at the jaws, which appear to not have replaceable teeth.

BanjoSavesTheDay · Feb 25, 2010

bmwpower said:
The other one on eBay was painted and didn't look as nice.

Pssshhhh!! Whatever. Painted vises are always better! :lol_hitti

metal1313, that is a sweet looking Athol. They are just about the most heavy duty vises every made, so you got a great deal on that one. The jaws are cast in, so no they are not replaceable. Are they in bad shape? I'd love to see some more pictures when you get a chance.

metal1313 · Feb 25, 2010

i cleaned it up today with a wire wheel, and holy **** im amazed, after getting all the crud, and dirt off it looks amazing. even though it appears to have been literally dropped in the mud(the slide was filled with mud and grass) it still had the origonal paint on it in many spots. the jaws are near perfect condition. it spins freely and really theres nothing wrong with it at all.

the one gripe i have with it, is the jaws are smooth, so i may have issues with large odd shaped heavy objects in it.

Flash21 · Feb 25, 2010

metal1313 said:
i cleaned it up today with a wire wheel, and holy **** im amazed, after getting all the crud, and dirt off it looks amazing. even though it appears to have been literally dropped in the mud(the slide was filled with mud and grass) it still had the origonal paint on it in many spots. the jaws are near perfect condition. it spins freely and really theres nothing wrong with it at all.

the one gripe i have with it, is the jaws are smooth, so i may have issues with large odd shaped heavy objects in it.

Nice vise, I had a 624 1/2 Athol as well. Those are really nice...the smooth, non-replaceable jaws and the fact it was missing the swivel base lead me to sell it.

metal1313 · Feb 25, 2010

id like to find more info on it, so far all i know is it was made by a company that was taken over buy sarret

IONH · Feb 25, 2010

I have this vise. It's my only one and has worked well so far.

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa...o?itemid=67415&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=

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