Show us your bench vice(s)

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

At last, got round to fitting my Record 74 to a bench.

Only been a few years.

 

[Rannsachair]

View attachment 206385 View attachment 206386 View attachment 206387

At last, got round to fitting my Record 74 to a bench.

Only been a few years.

Me too

 

[Yamhon]

Does anyone do anything to strengthen a frame or add something to the base of a vice before fitting? I'm going to be building a frame to replace a wooden cabinet soon; wondering if, as it is a new build, I should incorporate something to strengthen the frame or top where the vice will be mounted. Will be using kitchen worktop material for the vice and a SHS steel frame.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Original Vice Colour question:

British made vices - what colour were they as manufactured?
Here's what I'm thinking so far:

Record - dark blue paint all ranges (but was there a green period in the '80s? and were the very earliest light green?)
Woden - black bitumen enamel until '50s, then blue like Record
Parkinsons - red paint (dull or bright?) - other?
Parkinsons Samsonia (usually doesn't have the Parkinsons name cast in) - light grey green (or were they red?)
Parkinsons Handy (usually doesn't have the Parkinsons name) - ?
Rededa - bright red of course
Vono - ??
Ward and Payne Anvil brand - black or dark grey enamel or paint?
Alfred Herbert Ajax - ??
Alfred Herbert Fortis - red, later blue??
Peter Wright - not painted?
Paramo - dark blue or green
Twentieth Century - bright green paint - metallic?
Mathieson - ?
Melhuish - ?uP
Syers - ?
Entwistle and Kenyon - ?

York (red) is, despite the name, a Czech vice brand (very extensive and still going)
Dawn (red) is quite often seen but Australian (also a long history and still going)

all the above made (or had made) in the UK at least some mid/heavy duty engineers bench vices and/or under the bench top woodworking vices of at least 9ins width - there were also many makers of heavy blacksmiths vices - apart from Peter Wright and a couple of others, usually not name marked and unpainted.

I'm not including the many makers of small wood working vices or clamp-ons, eg Marples, Stanley, although that would be interesting.
danny

Record - Was called 'Roundel Blue' after the blue in the RAF logo as supposedly it was the same paint. BS381C 110 ....... that said there seem to be quite a range of shades, perhaps some were more UV resistant than others?

Parkinsons - Bright red, you will see some dull red almost burgundy ones but when you strip them down and find some hidden original colour it's often much brighter. The very late Parkinson vises were blue.

Fortis - range of colours over the years, I have a late model Fortis that looks to have original paint and it's yellow.

Twentieth Century - I have 3 of these and all are a light blue (duck egg blue?), I don't know if this is the original colour.... there's not much of it left so it's hard to tell.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Fortis offset jaw quick release vice purchased new in 1968.

View attachment 198303

--SNIP--
Laurie

Nice to see another offset Fortis vice

 

[dannysheff]

Record - Was called 'Roundel Blue' after the blue in the RAF logo as supposedly it was the same paint. BS381C 110 ....... that said there seem to be quite a range of shades, perhaps some were more UV resistant than others?

Parkinsons - Bright red, you will see some dull red almost burgundy ones but when you strip them down and find some hidden original colour it's often much brighter. The very late Parkinson vises were blue.

Fortis - range of colours over the years, I have a late model Fortis that looks to have original paint and it's yellow.

Twentieth Century - I have 3 of these and all are a light blue (duck egg blue?), I don't know if this is the original colour.... there's not much of it left so it's hard to tell.

Thanks Wabb, and for the dropbox catalogues - I was especially interested in the Alfred Herbert one which shows not only their bench vices but also Woden, Record and Parkinson. ---

Do you know which were made by Herbert's? - I had assumed that Fortis, Ajax and Volvo were all A.H. brands, but the Fortis and Ajax are the same price for the same jaw size and described as similar - ? (both cast steel?). Was there another vice-maker in Coventry?
[It must also have been annoying to have a London vice like the Volvo called "The Herbert" at a similar time].

PS I've seen a couple of Twentieth Century (both broken) and they both had the shiny green/blue paint (almost Hammerite-type).

 

[owas]

I got this woden 186e/7 for a fiver, probably going to live outside on the peice of rsj.

 

[Dieselman 63]

I got this woden 186e/7 for a fiver, probably going to live outside on the peice of rsj.

Lovely vices. If you have one of the older ones like my 190/8 it’ll be cast steel. Mine has the anvil on the back, otherwise the 190 and 186e vices were identical I think. Obviously the 7 is smaller than the 8 Best vice I’ve owned; has taken lots of work no hassle.

 

[Gragson]

I got this woden 186e/7 for a fiver, probably going to live outside on the peice of rsj.

Could you not have haggled

Knocking up some copper jaws for the Parkinson, 1" square stock was a mistake, I asked the loafer to take it to work and cut bar down the middle, not happening so I changed the wifi code - petty but satisfying - losing an inch overall opening is no big issue but should have got 1 x 1/2" - tapping all the way was probably unnecessary..

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Could you not have haggled

Knocking up some copper jaws for the Parkinson, 1" square stock was a mistake, I asked the loafer to take it to work and cut bar down the middle, not happening so I changed the wifi code - petty but satisfying - losing an inch overall opening is no big issue but should have got 1 x 1/2" - tapping all the way was probably unnecessary..

Just think how many times you can reface those 1" thick jaws

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Thanks Wabb, and for the dropbox catalogues - I was especially interested in the Alfred Herbert one which shows not only their bench vices but also Woden, Record and Parkinson. ---

Do you know which were made by Herbert's? - I had assumed that Fortis, Ajax and Volvo were all A.H. brands, but the Fortis and Ajax are the same price for the same jaw size and described as similar - ? (both cast steel?). Was there another vice-maker in Coventry?
[It must also have been annoying to have a London vice like the Volvo called "The Herbert" at a similar time].

PS I've seen a couple of Twentieth Century (both broken) and they both had the shiny green/blue paint (almost Hammerite-type).

I was under the impression that the AH brands were just badged versions of other manufacturers, so AJAX was just a badged Fortis.
I have a Volvo in one of the sheds, I'll have to dig it out and see if it also says Fortis on it, I think it does but my memory isn't the best.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Found an old picture of mine, it does say Fortis Volvo on the side.

 

[dannysheff]

Original colours again - WODEN - oldest red (like Parky, as with design), then blue but some engineering (eg 1952 as on bay at present with decal on paint) - grey-green (and a few yellow) - my suggested Black for v early could have been a repaint?

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Not new to me.
Just in a new location.

My Chain vice.

 

[Rannsachair]

My latest bench vice:

Any idea what its for?

 

[Ton-up]

holding small stuff?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Removing Boy Scouts from horses hooves......sorry.....coat >door.

Possibly a jeweller's vice, given the size of the anvil?

 

[Rannsachair]

Removing Boy Scouts from horses hooves......sorry.....coat >door.

Possibly a jeweller's vice, given the size of the anvil?

i just googled vintage jewellers vice and it looks like it may well be - well done.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Jewellers Anvil Vice.

The design was based on a Blacksmith vice.

They can give a lot of pressure with the jaws, the anvil was designed to be harder than the metal they used. But soft enough not to bruise the metal.

The slope on the front jaw is also a working anvil as well.

They are a fine little item. I have had a few in the past.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@Rannsachair
On your anvil, under the working head is it smooth or rough cast?
If it is smooth, that's for working metal as well.