I’ve looked at hundreds of old vises. Some in person and lots more online. I’ve noticed that of all the different brands more specimens by “The Prentiss Vise Co” of New York are broken than any other. Is it because they weren’t as good as other makes or more of them were abused? Probably neither. [...]

A while back I picked up this old vise by The Charles Parker Co. http://industrialglenn.com/tools/?p=241 Some things I’ve done to it besides cleaning and lube… 1. Made a new handle for the swivel base. You can see it in the pic above. 2. Re-activate little mechanism in the hub that keeps the handle from sliding [...]

Everyone knows about Wilton ‘bullet’ style vises. Known for great strength and the fact that the screw is completely enclosed in the slide. If you look up the patent though (d131498 ) it’s for the ornamental design of the vise and doesn’t mention the mechanics of it. Here’s the inside of one. The guy who [...]