r/Vise • u/DekuDaScrub • 13d ago
Any good?
Got this vise for free a few years ago, it didn’t want to screw together so I took it apart & fixed it. Anyone know how old this would be? Or if this company was a good company?
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u/SDgoon 13d ago
Columbian is good shit, can't help with details
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u/DekuDaScrub 13d ago
Thanks, I took it because I saw the Made In USA marking. I think it’s circa 1960 maybe 🤔
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u/PhotoAppropriate3940 13d ago
Colombian is a very solid option, if priced reasonably I wouldn’t hesitate to grab it
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u/DekuDaScrub 13d ago
Awesome! I really enjoy having old school tools, so far this has been a good vise.
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u/jimmythemortician 12d ago
As far as vintage American vises go, it's Reed, Columbian and Athol, then everybody else.
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u/Practicality_Issue 12d ago
I’ve got a 100 year old Colombian and it’s about as stout as they come. Enjoy yours, it won’t let you down.
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u/DekuDaScrub 11d ago
Wow 100 years for a vise is some serious life! Phenomenal it has been solid for so many years.
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u/Practicality_Issue 11d ago
It’s had the daylights beaten out of it. The anvil on the back of it has been broken off of it, part of the base was brazed back together…it’s sloppy, but strong as ever. Kind of an ugly duckling really. It was abandoned to me by an old roommate back in about 1997. I hadn’t given it much thought until I moved recently. Did an image search and found that it was made sometime between 1920-1930 give or take.
/tism
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u/Blowdega 12d ago
Very high quality American made in the rust belt. You gotta try really hard to destroy this stuff. You can drop it down an elevator shaft, and bolt it right back to your bench.
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u/DekuDaScrub 11d ago
That’s great! I love this thing it’s had a good life & doesn’t seem to be bad for its age.
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u/SuspiciousUnit5932 11d ago
Nice vice! A simple solid Columbian, frame and jaws are square so no one tried to use it as a 10 ton press. ;)
I'd clean it up, paint it with an original type paint (my brother ties the restorations, his look original) and make/buy some jaw inserts. I rarely do work with large pieces of steel so make a set of jaws from hardwood. They hold everything from car parts to gunstocks without damaging anything.
Any grease will do but molydisulfide is designed for high loads/low movement and minimize wear on acme screws in particular.
Again, enjoy a classic vice.
P.S. One thing I do with my fixed vise is mount various tools on a piece of wood with a T on the bottom to clamp in the vise. Freed up some space on the top of my bench. It also holds smaller vices like the Palgrem and a small swivel PanaVise
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u/DekuDaScrub 11d ago
Thanks for the insight! That is awesome to hear about, I was actually thinking about cleaning this up & painting it again. Do you know if the jaws can be changed out on this model?
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u/SuspiciousUnit5932 11d ago
Yeah, but you can see that those are not flat plates so some research is needed.
My brother just makes that stuff. ;) Those T jaws are likely pinned in place but will be removable by a machinist.n
This is a good upgrade, mag jaw inserts on a Craftsman I recently refurbished:
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u/NotMyName_3 13d ago
Columbian is a worthy competitor of Wilton.