Show us your bench vice(s)

[arther dailey]

I'm new here but herd a rumour of a wadkin vice so came to investigate. Heres my recently aquired vice. A wadkin pattern makers vice. It came out of the dockyards at portsmouth.
View attachment 290889

be interesting to know its travels from portsmouth to durham, if only tools could talk eh

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Welcome aboard, Mark . I'm not 'into' vices [the holding kind ] like many here although I have a few. This is a great place, never be afraid to ask for advice/help on almost any subject as there is a huge knowledge base available - or share your skills/experience/knowledge among the Members of the Collective.

 

[Danez]

Got a record no2 vice for free the other day, currently in the process of replacing the retaining spring and spring clip, the old one will have to get drilled out mind. I'll post pics when I can.

Quick question though...

What happened to the record vice company? With how popular and numerous record 'made in england' vices are I find it hard to imagine such a company would go under like that

 

[dannysheff]

Record - UK made and owned until about '90 (?) then sold to fine Swedish tool company Bahco, stayed in Sheffield, but then after another change of ownership, were quite quickly sold to US group now known as Irwin --- during all this the factory and foundry and tooling were all sold to various parties, leaving just a Record Power group left in the UK ---- I believe both Irwin (who took over vices and hand tools) and Record Power buy product from anywhere they get the quality/price deal that they think will sell (which is not always to our benefit). Record Power have some tools 'made in UK' but I would think very few of the Irwin Record are (at most a bit of QC and assembly?).

I'm sure others on this thread can give a more detailed account, but this is a from memory overview. Certainly the fine Record foundry/factory/showroom/training which was about 5mins away from where I am now, is all gone.

 

[Danez]

Record - UK made and owned until about '90 (?) then sold to fine Swedish tool company Bahco, stayed in Sheffield, but then after another change of ownership, were quite quickly sold to US group now known as Irwin --- during all this the factory and foundry and tooling were all sold to various parties, leaving just a Record Power group left in the UK ---- I believe both Irwin (who took over vices and hand tools) and Record Power buy product from anywhere they get the quality/price deal that they think will sell (which is not always to our benefit). Record Power have some tools 'made in UK' but I would think very few of the Irwin Record are (at most a bit of QC and assembly?).

I'm sure others on this thread can give a more detailed account, but this is a from memory overview. Certainly the fine Record foundry/factory/showroom/training which was about 5mins away from where I am now, is all gone.

thanks for the info

such a shame..

 

[lotus_esprit_s1]

We have a couple of Irwin Record 25’s at work and they are not a patch on the original Record 25’s - poor quality rough finished castings

 

[dannysheff]

We have a couple of Irwin Record 25’s at work and they are not a patch on the original Record 25’s - poor quality rough finished castings

We often blame poor Chinese or Indian or other workmanship, but I think the main responsibility lies with the wholesaler/retailer (eg Irwin, Clarke etc) for their buying - down to a price not up to a spec and high quality (and they might blame we the end purchaser (I confess sometimes including myself) for the same) - - - I have a Chinese made swivel vice from about 1985 of the same size as a Record Imp (but not a copy) - the castings and machining are of the very highest quality as are most other parts except for the swivel lock - you can buy a very cheap version of this today for peanuts, but of abysmal casting/machining quality.

poor tools have been made in this country at least since factory manufacture started, but they were probably always outnumbered by the quality stuff, and it was usually quite clear which were for serious use - sometime post WWII there seemed to be a proliferation of less good diy tools, eg dozens of makes of small woodworking vices, then between 1980s and 2000 we lost most of the serious makers

 

[SteveB58]

We often blame poor Chinese or Indian or other workmanship, but I think the main responsibility lies with the wholesaler/retailer (eg Irwin, Clarke etc) for their buying - down to a price not up to a spec and high quality (and they might blame we the end purchaser (I confess sometimes including myself) for the same) - - - I have a Chinese made swivel vice from about 1985 of the same size as a Record Imp (but not a copy) - the castings and machining are of the very highest quality as are most other parts except for the swivel lock - you can buy a very cheap version of this today for peanuts, but of abysmal casting/machining quality.

poor tools have been made in this country at least since factory manufacture started, but they were probably always outnumbered by the quality stuff, and it was usually quite clear which were for serious use - sometime post WWII there seemed to be a proliferation of less good diy tools, eg dozens of makes of small woodworking vices, then between 1980s and 2000 we lost most of the serious makers

I would agree, but certainly since the 70's there has been a loss of real craftsmen who would even recognise quality tools. You only have to visit car boot sales to see the value people place on tools. I have chests with vintage screwdrivers, spanners, saws, hammers which have cost me a few pence. Planes for £3, etc. They may not have bright yellow handles or chrome plating, but they last, can be repaired or sharpened and will see me out. People only want to pay pennies for tools, so we get cheap substandard rubbish, poorly made and barely up to the job. Not the manufactures fault, just meeting the demands of the market.

 

[SteveB58]

Too wet to do a lot outside today so started going through pictures on my computer and various hard drives. Working in education ment that thousands of pictures were downloaded over the years for display, stimulus etc and now they are no longer needed. Whilst sieving through the files I found these pictures of a wooden vice, no idea where they came from or even why they were saved in the first place.. I would imagine it had been made either out of necessity or because someone thought it was a good idea at the time. Either way I hope some of you find it of interest.

Steve

 

[CwazyWabbit]

There is a commercial wooden vice of that design used for wood carving.

Scopas Chops (Carvers’ Vice) - Alec Tiranti

The perfect carver’s vice. Made in ash with a heavy duty screw, metal side plates and brass rails. The jaws are lined with cork and buff hide which can be replaced when worn. The Scopas Chops are supplied complete with a specially fabricated bench screw with giant wing nut, to allow the vice to...

tiranti.co.uk

 

[dannysheff]

There is a commercial wooden vice of that design used for wood carving.

Scopas Chops (Carvers’ Vice) - Alec Tiranti

The perfect carver’s vice. Made in ash with a heavy duty screw, metal side plates and brass rails. The jaws are lined with cork and buff hide which can be replaced when worn. The Scopas Chops are supplied complete with a specially fabricated bench screw with giant wing nut, to allow the vice to...

tiranti.co.uk

Yes -- looks similar - I believe the design was originally French (seen in C19th catalogues of Aux Forges De Vulcain or similar) but Tiranti (London and Reading) has kept it alive for the last many decades - their version of a few years ago is the one to go for - oak, brass and iron with a nice cast Tiranti side bracket and cork jaws. They attach with a screw through a dog hole on the bench top. Chops is obviously the jaws of a vice, but anyone know where 'Scopas' came from?

Time for some more wooden vices?

Retitle thread -- 'show us your chops' ?


Record 61 anyone?

 

[dannysheff]

Record 61 chops --- not mine

 

[Arc Tourist]

Record 61 chops --- not mine

View attachment 292147

It's bad enough that that we are addicted to metal vices, but to those of us that are, or use to be wood bother'ers, posting this like offering a favourite drink to an alcoholic; its just cruel.

 

[arther dailey]

Scopas , he was a sculptor , ancient greek times , did famous sculptures which ones I dont remember but remember reading about him.

 

[dannysheff]

hope I'm not boring you, cast iron bench vice enthusiasts (me too) but to continue with the theme of chops -- I took photos of my 'woodies' :-

that's the Tiranti Scopas from about 1970 -- oak, jaws 3in wide

this is an unknown maker (to me) -- quick release just by pulling/pushing then full force with hand turning (no tommy bar) -- I'm not so keen on the high chrome, but I think it needs that smooth surface to slide - 4in jaws - looks like it would tilt with that screw at front but no -- maybe there was an alternate base? -- I guess also aimed at carvers - Euro-continental? --- don't know the QR mech, all inside the wood rear static jaw

this is my favourite -- a relatively short leg vice, very well made of oak with hefty screw and steel jaw faces (!) - with a slot so maybe there were slot-in wood faces? looks commercially made - I have seen another almost identical and with remains of a label, but unreadable - bought in W Yorks - seller didn't know history except belonged to his grandad - a large bolt and a small one seem to have been the method of attaching it to the corner of the bench

I'd welcome any further info on these last two

There you go -- last wooden contribution from me (and I really couldn't buy another although each of these cost less than £20 - that's why I couldn't pass them by)

and thanks Arfur for the classical input -- love to be informed - good ol' Scopas - diggin' in my memory banks -- was Perseus another Greek sculptor -- think I'll name one of the others a Perseus Chop, or is that pretentious (yes it is danny)

 

[MattF]

I took photos of my 'woodies' :-

Thank god it's photo's of vices.

 

[dannysheff]

Thank god it's photo's of vices.

yeah, woops - didn't know that one (there must be a thousand slang words for that)

I did know US slang for a woody surfboard or a woody half-timbered car like the surfers shooting brake or UK Morris Minor estate, or at my age the English for a Woodbine ciggy (no, I didn't say fag)

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Almost a bench vice.



The lower bar was bent, but a few engineering methods had it in bits and looking true.




Top, sides and moving jaws cleaned up very well. The main body is heavier than I would of expected.




Although the chemical black was done very well. It didn't suit the jewellers anvil vice.

So.
Bling.






So I made it a small bench to sit on.

 

[arther dailey]

thats a usefull tool @ The Yellow Ardvark, very nice indeed

 

[SteveB58]

"a few engineering methods"= hit with a hammer.