I will say that I used a Starrett machinists bench vise for while and it was a piece of junk. The construction was of high quality but the jaws didn't tighten down evenly no matter how tight you cranked it down. One side was tighter than the other and your work piece would slip/pivot around every time. Maybe it was a fluke, as I know the old Athol vises were well made. I'm glad I was just borrowing it from my neighbor, and I was glad to return it when I got the big Reed.
That has to be the granddaddy of grandaddy's. What a beast and find.Big wilton. 8" jaws, about 31" overall length. Not mine, it's a friend's. MSC sells it for about $6k. He got it for $300. View attachment 136967
This is the vise @longleaf was talking about...
Reed 206R. Jaws are 6" wide and opens up to 10 1/2" while still having full engagement in the nut.
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I have a smaller Reed mounted on a homemade tripod that I keep under the lean-to for doing heavy grinding. Keeps my dirty shop a little cleaner that way.
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Neither one has a lick of paint. I just try to rub some boiled linseed oil on them occasionally.
sameI live 30min from starrett in athol mass.......
How you been Mike?
Here’s a vise I made a while back to grind drags got the idea on the web and a couple other vises I have
I think that this is worthy of its own thread. Maybe a video?Here’s a vise I made a while back to grind drags got the idea on the web and a couple other vises I have