I'm going to do a quick search and see who makes quality vises currently. My guess is......not too many available.
American manufacturers currently include Wilton, Yost and Morgan. I'm not sure if all of the Wilton or Yost products are made in the USA though. Morgan is Milwaukee Tool & Equipment Co. not affiliated with the Milwaukee power tool brand. Also NOT inexpensive.
Nice! I was looking for a small older vise for the shop. From everything I’ve read, any new vise for less than about a hundred dollars isn’t worth buying, just something that will break sooner or later. So I looked on Facebook Marketplace for something older. There wasn’t much in the under $100 price range. Then this Chas. Parker 93 1/2 popped up in my search. I couldn’t find ANY references or photos of this model online whatsoever (though I found lots of references and photos for a 63 1/2 model) so I went to take a look based on the cool photos in the listing. This afternoon I brought it home. Neat little vise. It's really too small to do much (look at the photo of it in my hand) but the Art Deco style and it's condition for an antique was too cool to pass up. The owner had run it through an electrolysis tank so no rust, dirt, grease or even original paint. 3 1/2" jaws. Jewelers size anvil top. I’ll do minor stuff with it, holding small stuff for drilling, bending, etc. I have no idea if it has any collectors value as I can’t find any info on it. There aren’t even any examples of this model on eBay or elsewhere I could find for sale.
Looks good Brian. Not much out there after a quick look on the net. Could be a bit collectable. To the right collector, they might trade a bigger and beefier vise for it. Craftsman made a similar style that are popular with collectors. It looks well used and not beat on, so you should get a lot of service from it. Good score.
That's beautiful! Mine has 3" jaws but I plan on using it to hold the chainsaw while sharpening and for other tasks too. I've got pics in my Stihl 034 Super rebuild thread. I finally got around to installing the vise in this thread onto the bench as well as installing a bench vise to hold the machinist vise. Thread here: Workbench - FBMP Thanks! Super excited to finally use it now. Will be super handy while restoring this chainsaw.
That vise looks almost new. Someone was nice to it for many years before it found its way outside. Personally I’m a beater Never baby my tools. Bought one of those cheap Chinese vises when I built my house. Was whacking away on something, missed and that’s when I found out there’s a ton of bondo on those things to make them look smooth LOL
Oh yeah, that's worth well over $100, probably a lot more. I just sold a much less known brand for $75.
I ain't selling! Too much satisfaction bringing it back to life. Although, I might sell the second one......but maybe not! Hahahaha.
Nice vise. I don't know much about the old ones but I like seeing them around. Occasionally they'll come into my shop to get blasted. This one did catch my eye a couple years back....
Yeah, that’s one of the primary reasons I got this one, and it works perfectly for chainsaw sharpening.
Well I put the vise to use today. Sharpened the RS chain on the 028. Cleaned the bar, cover, air filter, carb area. It was an absolute joy to use the vise. Super stable, just an enlightening experience. Finally.
Nice! Ive used my vise to hold the bar like that to sharpen. Sometimes the chain comes off and put right in the jaws for more control when sharpening.
Thanks. When I first started sharpening I was doing it way too hard, thinking I needed force to sharpen. Now I know angle the right position and angle is way more important and lo and behold with minimal force you see the bits of metal flying off. I *wouldn't* say I run my chains tight. I leave a tiny gap between the bar and chain with the tip of the bar raised up and the nuts loose on the cover. Then I tighten the nuts while still holding the tip up. When I pull the chain it still moves a tiny bit after I release. How tight ight or loose is your chain?
