Modie

Mr. Gray iron, Good eyes! Actually, that's my last name. My father purchased the vise at an estate sale 30 years ago and he passed away last year. He always marked everything with either his name or the last 4 of his SSN (in case of theft). I'll always think of him when I use it.

Mr. Frosty, Yes sir, I understand that the lever on the swivel base is the locking mechanism for the swivel base. But the pin on top can be removed to allow the jaw on the fixed part of the vise to pivot left or right for the purpose of holding an odd shaped object; I just can get the darn thing to come out yet. I have seen drawings like the one you speak of and it shows the pin removed and the jaw adjusted. There are no threads on the pin so it should just pull out, but I'm still working on it:).

I recently acquired an old 4" Prentiss bench vise. It works perfectly, except that I can't remove the pin in the top that allows the fixed jaw to swivel. It has a wonderful patina (I know, that just doesn't sound manly does it?), with only the slightest of surface rust in a few spots. I don't know if these vises were ever painted from the factory, but I would like to preserve the patina (there's that word again) so I need some advice on what to use to clean it with. I have wiped it down with WD-40, but would like to give it a good once over with something to remove some of the caked-on grease. In other words, I need to use a cleaning agent that isn't abrasive enough to get down to the bare metal. Also, can someone recommend a good lubricant/grease to use? Thanks! "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." ~ Proverbs 27:17