Show us your bench vice(s)

[winchman]

Just spent an hour rooting, now is a Record 35 any better than my 1930's Fortis?
I like the Fortis the only down side is if you hold something vertically in the jaws it catches on the casting?
So I have both which should I keep and why?
Looking on Flea bay I assume the record is worth a lot more?

 

[CwazyWabbit]

That depends on which Fortis it is, got any pictures?
Better is also subjective, do you mean stronger? More useful? More precise? More expensive?

 

[winchman]

From memory the Fortis is a lot heavier
Will look for a photo

 

[winchman]

record 35 is just clicking and the QR lever jumping when I try to undo it any ideas?

 

[Viceman]

Sounds like the half nut is not engaging properly on the screw thread. Could just want stripping down and a good clean, oil and grease. Also oil the spring on the Quick release and make sure its working freely. If still no joy try putting more tension on the spring by adjusting the nut by the spring on the quick release.
Hope this helps

 

[winchman]

Thanks will have a mess with it later in the week, trying to strip it for a refurb, apart from some surface rust its in excellent condition?

 

[Maker]

I hate this sodding vice?

Out of square parts need clamping to the jaws (As above). And small parts need an additional lump of similar thickness on the other side of the jaw.

 

[Robbie260]

Here is another one, not mine but one of the local garages.

 

[Phil_D]

Here’s mine, record no.3 I got from a member on here a while back.

Just cleaned it up a bit, paints in pretty good nick but not really interested any restoration as I use it day to day an often hit it with the angle grinder anyway!

 

[winchman]

Sons bought a job lot of vices to renovate and sell but he has fell in love with the Record 75 amongst them, so should he keep it and whats it worth, it works fine but would look better painted.

 

[SwanseaRoadBikesInstagram]

Sons bought a job lot of vices to renovate and sell but he has fell in love with the Record 75 amongst them, so should he keep it and whats it worth, it works fine but would look better painted.

Which other ones doe he have? I personally don't like the 74 and 75. They are perfectly fine vises but I just don't like the ''homeowner'' theme around them. I like the pure industrial ones like the 114, 36, 84 etc. I also really like the basic mechanics' vises. I have 2 No.4's, a No.2 and a Paramo ''Hi-Duty'' No.1, would like a No.6 but cannot justify another vise just for the hell of it. A No.8 would be pretty hard to turn down though .

 

[Viceman]

Sons bought a job lot of vices to renovate and sell but he has fell in love with the Record 75 amongst them, so should he keep it and whats it worth, it works fine but would look better painted.

Should get over £100 easily for a nice refurbed/repainted one. You may need to replace the tube clamp vice jaw (underneath the main jaws) as this is often missing as it is a loose insert.

 

[Turbo]

Which other ones doe he have? I personally don't like the 74 and 75. They are perfectly fine vises but I just don't like the ''homeowner'' theme around them. I like the pure industrial ones like the 114, 36, 84 etc. I also really like the basic mechanics' vises. I have 2 No.4's, a No.2 and a Paramo ''Hi-Duty'' No.1, would like a No.6 but cannot justify another vise just for the hell of it. A No.8 would be pretty hard to turn down though .

I like the 74/75 vices, it must be the mechanic side of me it appeals to. But the Scottish part of me stops me from paying the crazy prices they fetch. The same goes for a swindens, I like the idea of the rotating head but too expensive!
I too would like a No 8, would have to build a bigger bench to fit it onto!

 

[winchman]

Which other ones doe he have? I personally don't like the 74 and 75. They are perfectly fine vises but I just don't like the ''homeowner'' theme around them. I like the pure industrial ones like the 114, 36, 84 etc. I also really like the basic mechanics' vises. I have 2 No.4's, a No.2 and a Paramo ''Hi-Duty'' No.1, would like a No.6 but cannot justify another vise just for the hell of it. A No.8 would be pretty hard to turn down though .

He has
A Record 75
Two Record No 35's both Quick release.
Record No 5
Record No 3
No 50 wood vice
Record floor board vice not sure of number but its big and heavy
A Pamero with about 2" jaws
a Woden about 3" jaws
I have a few spare in my Brothers house so will have to have a look, Ones a 1890's Parkinson, Record 1 Ton and a big wood vice
I have in my keeping collection a 114 ( Half restored) , Couple of Imps, a No 3 and a large Fortice Unbreakable.

 

[MattF]

Sons bought a job lot of vices to renovate and sell but he has fell in love with the Record 75 amongst them, so should he keep it and whats it worth, it works fine but would look better painted.

To ascertain value, checking out the sold listings on Ebay would be your best option. They tend to ask silly money for what they are, but what they actually sell for, I honestly couldn't say.

 

[MattF]

Fitted a vice to the new bench today. The vice is bolted to a piece of butchers block which is then screwed to the bench from underneath. Gives me some leeway if I decide to put a different vice on there.

 

[MattF]

This is where the other half of that block ended up.

Trying to decide whether to mount the other Swindens on the plinth it's sat on.

 

[Dieselman 63]

He has
A Record 75
Two Record No 35's both Quick release.
Record No 5
Record No 3
No 50 wood vice
Record floor board vice not sure of number but its big and heavy
A Pamero with about 2" jaws
a Woden about 3" jaws
I have a few spare in my Brothers house so will have to have a look, Ones a 1890's Parkinson, Record 1 Ton and a big wood vice
I have in my keeping collection a 114 ( Half restored) , Couple of Imps, a No 3 and a large Fortice Unbreakable.

Keep a 35. Good vice, unbreakable (either cast steel or sg iron), nice little anvil on the back.

 

[Dieselman 63]

I have a 34 and I'm very happy with it. Plain screw (acme) delivers impressive power and the anvil doesn't mind being hit one bit.

This vice had lived outside for some time when I got it. It took a bit of work to get it back to the condition you see today. I never bothered sanding the tommy bar; I have used this vice every day since May 2016 and it has polished up too a beautiful patina, bumps and dings included.

 

[SwanseaRoadBikesInstagram]

I just bought a No.36, cast iron. It had a lot of weld splatter around the base and at the back of the slide (mostly on the painted portion than the machined part). It doesn't open all the way, starts to stick at about the last 5 cm. I thoroughly inspected the machined surfaces and ground off all high spots with a small grinding stone (in a drill at 3100 RPM, don't have a die-grinder ). For some reason it still doesn't open. On a better note, the jaws came off without a fight, thanks to my patented method of turning tight jaw screws.

The problem with small fasteners is not the torque required, it's being able to apply the torque without quickly destroying the drive interface, in this case slotted . And what's the hardest thing about applying torque to slotted screws? pushing the damn driver FORWARD about a million times harder than you're twisting it. It suddenly occurred to me that this is the perfect scenario for tight slotted screws, just clamp the driver in the vise and turn with a wrench!

I dicked around for a while with turning those screwdriver bits with an adjustable, and then vise-grips until admitting a 1/4'' AF wrench was needed, so I bought a 1/4'' drive sliding t-bar and a set of AF sockets (although I only needed the 1/4'' size, I thought what the heel?).

In action on a No.23 (Second image in next post)

Much better setup by the time it was the No.36's turn. This one was so tight I had to use a cheater, the tip got twisted and the slot gouged but it could't slip out, and that's satisfying!
(First image in next post)

Anyone know how I can put up a video saved on my computer? The ''Upload a file'' option only works for photos.