Bench Vise

I picked up this little Columbia vise (3-1/2") at the flea market about 3 months ago for $30. It was in great shape but I decided to clean it up a little and oil blacken the shiny parts. I finally put it back together today. Gonna mount it to the bench tomorrow.

 

I'd like to find a vise like that. My Craftsman Chinese vise loosens and wobbles... but maybe I should have a press brake so I don't need to bend brackets in the vise.

Is there a reason you removed the pipe clamp?

 

The pipe vise jaws are removable, there not bolted in only sit in. I have them in a drawer of my toolbox. My big Craftsman has them built in so I don't really use them in the smaller vise. How old is your Craftsman, my Craftsman is American made, about 1989-90 or so.

 

I sandblasted the the whole vise, its painted with safety red Rustoleum industrial paint, about 3 coats. The jaws and handles are blackened by heating them with a propane torch (about 400*) and then dipping them in used motor oil and then reapplying the heat and burning the motor oil, you do this several times until the surface is blackened from the burnt oil. The oil penetrates the surface and provides a cosmetic and protective coating against rust. This is the way a lot of tools used to be blackened in the old days, Starrett and other tool companies used to do this in the 20's thru the 40's on most of their tools.

 

2007ish. I assume it's Chinese - I bought it for the bench I built when I moved in to the current house.

 

I've picked up some old hand tools here and there, and have a couple old Plumb brand box-end wrenches with the blackened oil finish. They have "war finish" stamped on the back side. I like the old stuff sometimes!
-Donny

 

Purty!

 

Picked up a Wilton WS5 they were throwing out at work. Called them up and had a piece sent to me on warranty and the vise works great. I wiped it down with oil and greased up the inside and its smooth. It needs a new handle (old one is bent real bad) and a nice solid heavy workbench under it, but Ill get there in time.

 

Nice job. Looks better than new.

 

Clean and nice. I use 2 tools like this, coming from my grand-fathers workbench. They are quite old but still working well.
My grand-fathers were born around 1880. One was working in leather (his parents had a small factory for working shoes, wood+leather) then at the age of 15 he left not happy and came to Paris, he worked in clock manufacturing then specialised in photo. The other one was in the metal work and had various activities, at the end in copper alloy industry.
I kept some of their tools, some of them which I don't really understand!

 

Every time I find one of those they want $250 for it..

 

Nice work! Good lesson on the oil and heat.