Show us your bench vice(s)

[tinman123]

OK, so its not a bench vice, but I think its worth showing in this thread...

I was at VW north west show at tatton park a couple of weeks ago and picked this up in the auto jumble. I asked how much and nearly fell over when he said £25

Its going on my mill, needs a bit of a clean but its nice and tight and hardly used.

There are no marks or stamps on it so don't know the make, anyone know what make it is?

Also, its bloody heavy. I had to carry it about a mile back to the car and it nearly killed me.

i wonder why someone would design a vice that way, maybe they were trying to stand out from the crowd but its a rare take, i thought it might of been a double moving jaw vice but no.
its in good nick anyways.
i think id still prefer the back jaw of my vice being the one that stays dialed in, its no real difference in it being the other weay round for that vice but its like driving on the other side of the road to me which altho you can do it, it just never feels right.

The vice arrived well packed and unscathed. Its a "Jones & Shipman" S4605-229 Model, and is in superb condition without drilling or milling damage. This is going to be just perfect for my Tom Senior mill and I'm sure will get the most use. Happy day.

OOh i do like that one, a lovely specimen.
i liked it before the green but thats your thing so hey ho.
i have a j&s one like that but mine is older then that one, you have the square back on yours where as i have/had a sloped back on mine, but mine is a swivel vice so its possible thats the way they were but yours looks young.

you either got it for a steal or you got it good but it was close to its price.
at a guess you stole it for anything less than 100 and its still valve id say at 150 odd.
its a 4 and a half inch so i dont really be looking at that size, im more of a 6" man.

tell me this, what is the advantage of a smaller vice on the likes of a bridgeport mill, smaller work i know but nothing normally that a 6" cant hold is it?.
failing that just stick a 3" engineers vice in the 6" and work on would be my take on it.


i have a tender bid on a 6" vertex 3 way precision vice at the mo, not something id use much but i wouldnt mind one either, if i get it for my bid it ill be cheap enough as they seem to be stupid money new.

 

[Arc Tourist]

.................. OOh i do like that one, a lovely specimen.
i liked it before the green but thats your thing so hey ho.
i have a j&s one like that but mine is older then that one, you have the square back on yours where as i have/had a sloped back on mine, but mine is a swivel vice so its possible thats the way they were but yours looks young.

you either got it for a steal or you got it good but it was close to its price.
at a guess you stole it for anything less than 100 and its still valve id say at 150 odd.
its a 4 and a half inch so i dont really be looking at that size, im more of a 6" man.

tell me this, what is the advantage of a smaller vice on the likes of a bridgeport mill, smaller work i know but nothing normally that a 6" cant hold is it?.
failing that just stick a 3" engineers vice in the 6" and work on would be my take on it.


i have a tender bid on a 6" vertex 3 way precision vice at the mo, not something id use much but i wouldnt mind one either, if i get it for my bid it ill be cheap enough as they seem to be stupid money new.

I purchased it from GandMtools. With vat and delivery it came to under £112.oo, which I think was a good price considering its condition. I have a 6" Abwood if I need it, but its a heavy beast and I think a bit much for my present mill. The 4 1/2" J&S appears to have had a swivel base at one time, but I wasn't interested in one, as I have a swivel based Elliott vice and my Tom Senior mill is a universal model with a swing table. Looking back, over the years I've never had need for a swivel vice; besides, I could always have mounted a vice or the work to the rotary table if necessary. I do like green, and enjoy restoring and working with nice equipment.

 

[Arc Tourist]

Here's a visual comparison of the 6" & 4 1/2" vices on my Mill's narrow 6" wide table. The front overhang of the 6" would limit inward travel on the Y axis, so bigger isn't always better for a smaller machine. Sorry about the dark photo, I need a new camera.

 

[MattF]

Nowt wrong with a nice, dark green. A nice, traditional tool/machinery colour. I'm partial to it myself.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Sorry about the dark photo, I need a new camera.

Or Photoshop.

 

[Arc Tourist]

Or Photoshop.

I'm low tech at most everything and don't know how to do that. I couldn't even program a VCR, and they are obsolete, lol.

 

[Arc Tourist]

Nowt wrong with a nice, dark green. A nice, traditional tool/machinery colour. I'm partial to it myself.

I like the colour for sure, but I like the paint more. It's called "One Shot", a sign painters paint, but is not available any more as it was originally formulated with lead when I made my purchase. The paint is very durable and doesn't chip easily.

I'm not worried about the health and safety aspect, as I do not chew on my tools.

 

[MattF]

I'm not worried about the health and safety aspect, as I do not chew on my tools.

You can't beat the old lead paint for tenacity. Boat yards and such still apparently sell white and red lead, for adding to paint.

 

[Dieselman 63]

I remember when they made Creosote illegal (the oil based not the watery replacement) there used to be a diy shop near me, you could turn up with a pail and ask the bloke for 'some of the good stuff' and he'd run down to the cellar and fill it for you. Fence didn't show any signs of needing re-staining in all the 6 years we lived at the house before we moved. Oil based products ftw

 

[tinman123]

I purchased it from GandMtools. With vat and delivery it came to under £112.oo, which I think was a good price considering its condition. I have a 6" Abwood if I need it, but its a heavy beast and I think a bit much for my present mill. The 4 1/2" J&S appears to have had a swivel base at one time, but I wasn't interested in one, as I have a swivel based Elliott vice and my Tom Senior mill is a universal model with a swing table. Looking back, over the years I've never had need for a swivel vice; besides, I could always have mounted a vice or the work to the rotary table if necessary. I do like green, and enjoy restoring and working with nice equipment.

it was cheap at 112, its in mighty nick.
i see your set up now and yes indeed your better off with the 4.5 there.
im using a bridgeport where the 6" looks at home.
my one is a j&s swivel one and as you say, i have never used it either, i never bothered taking it off but i might sometime.
on smaller work it gives a bit of clearance on the table rather that it being up right n close, i work as much with the spindle home.

i ended up geting the vertex 3 way vice, all in all its cost me €425 but ill get 50 of that back in vat so €375, no big steal for something that ill probably be used as often as the swivel on the 6"....
the man that said "once you buy a mill, your doomed" was on the money.

 

[Arc Tourist]

...................... the man that said "once you buy a mill, your doomed" was on the money.

One day the man said..... "the glass is half empty."
On another day the man said....... "the glass is half full."
It was all a matter of his perspective at the time.

 

[Maker]

One day the man said..... "the glass is half empty."
On another day the man said....... "the glass is half full."
It was all a matter of his perspective at the time.

The glass is completely full, but half is a gas.

 

[Andy the fixer]

So I acquired this wood work vice for free and it's a nice wide opening vice with all the original paint I took it apart and examined it and it's had hardly any ever hard use I want to know if or were someone could source a quick release for it all reply much appreciated

 

[Dieselman 63]

You can only fit a qr if the casting allows. Show us more pictures. If it's the lever that's gone you might get lucky like me and find a broken vice to steal it from - or weld your own into the lug. The spring assembly costs a lot more to replace, Record seem to be the only people selling spares and no joke, it'll be over fifty quid.

As I say, more pics needed. Also I think the thread on some qr vices is different from plain, so you may be out of luck if attempting to convert.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

You are right DK, the thread on a QR vice is a buttress thread which stops the half nut slipping whereas the thread on a non QR vice tends to be a square thread.

 

[Andy the fixer]

Yes lads it's the lever and shaft going to the half thread that is missing

 

[CwazyWabbit]

In which case if you aren't able to source those they would be easy enough to make.

 

[Dieselman 63]

In which case if you aren't able to source those they would be easy enough to make.

Presuming the spring and little hex nut thing it grabs onto is still there. I actually have a spare one I would give you but I am rather far away! The shaft is just flat bar, the lever is a bit trickier (Until I sourced a replacement lever I was using a bit of turned rod with a ring-spanner on the end - it was a temp measure but it worked).

 

[DennisCA]

Does this count?

Sadly no metalworking vise at all. Used market is pretty dried up and I don't want to buy a new one. Considering building one based on John Heisz's plans.

 

[bigbadbugga]

Does this count?

Sadly no metalworking vise at all. Used market is pretty dried up and I don't want to buy a new one. Considering building one based on John Heisz's plans.

Looks like a very nice bit of kit for dead tree tickling.