Spruce Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Hey all, Picked this post vice up a while back, and am in the middle of turning my garage into a smithy. Today I started going over the vice. I picked it up cheap, and didn't have time to really go over it - now that I've got it home and taken apart and cleaned up some, I can see it's definitely not in perfect condition, but is hopefully useable. First of all, can anybody tell me what it is? Who made it and when? Second of all, you can see that some of the screw threads are flattened out. They're kind of mashed flatter and wider. So far it still seems to work though. Think this will be a problem? And, is there a way to fix the threads? I've been reading up on these guys - I know you can buy acme threads and nuts, but is there any way to fix the male threads if needed? The screw box itself is definitely a little damaged on the leading and trailing edge of the box, but the threads for most of the length of the box seem to be fine. Can anyone tell if this is machine cut or brazed? As you can see from the pics, it's had some repair done to it before, and has some non-stock parts for sure. Can you guys tell me if the collar, which the spring is welded to in the pics, is an original part, and if so, where it went? It seems to me that this whole piece is jerry rigged. Also, can anyone tell me if the big collar, which acts as the 'washer' between the handle knurl and the front/moveable leg, is aftermarket? I think that this thing is just a black pipe plumbing fitting of some sort, which is taking the place of a real washer. I believe that the moveable leg is also a bit bent - as in closed so tightly that it tweaked back a bit, cause it's no longer in a nice straight line - do some have a bend in this leg, or is mine tweaked? So far I cleaned it up some and made a new spring for it, and got rid of that ridiculous coil spring. Now I have to finish mounting it, scrounge up or make any parts which are missing or inadequate, and hopefully that's it - hopefully the threads will hold up for a while longer and the bent leg doesn't hurt anything. Any help is appreciated - here are the pics Spruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric sprado Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 There is an old thread on here somewhere that shows that washer being replaced by an appropriate sized bearing race. They work GREAT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyanchor Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Spruce, Out of curosity where are you located? The flattened screw threads are more than likely from where it passes thru the movable jaw and has rubbed over the years. As long as the vise closes up tight, no problem, the "working" part of the threads looks fine. The chipped edges on the screw box shouldn't cause any problem, I have a couple vises with the same type of chipping. I figure sombody tried to tighten something in the vise with minimal thread in the box and it chipped out. I don't think your screw or box is original to the vise, but if it works use it. I'm know there are vise gurus here, hopefully one of them will offer you some insight on make and age. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 The screw in your vice has been replaced with one from a "screw jack" or building jack. The box or female thread is also most likely adapted from the jack also,as long as it works use it. As far as the make of the vice,it might be a an "Ironcity" long ago I had one very similar to it with the same mounting bracket. Look on the side of the legs for a star shaped stamp with the words ironcity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spruce Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 Cool, thanks for the replies guys. For now I'll use the vice as is, but maybe try to get a thrust bearing at some point to replace that weird collar. It seems to work fine for the most part - once I get it mounted more securely, cleaned and greased I think it will work as a first post vice - I'll keep my eye out for another floating around in the meantime. I haven't been able to find a mark anywhere on this thing - it's got plenty of hammer marks and other dings though, so it could be obscured. Would be cool if it was an iron city - I lived in Pittsburgh for more or less 8 years. Now I'm based in a little desert town a few minutes outside Las Vegas. I got the vice at an antique dealer in Colorado though, along with a 150# mousehole anvil. There were a couple more anvils as well - not the greatest price, but in Vegas I haven't been able to come up with anything else. Spruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Danger Will Robinson! That weird collar might have been added just to make sure the battered threads didn't get jammed into the screwbox messing it up; replacing it with the proper thin thrust washer may end up causing different problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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