A guy at work was going to scrap this vise, I talked him out of it instead:





It's seen plenty of use. It has a bunch of weld on the spindle (?) and a big crack:





But it seems to work fine.

He also thru in this little anvil:





I figure I just saved the anvil from the scrapper for a few days, but what about that vise? Worth hanging onto?

The vise might be worth something because of its size, but it'll need a lot of work.

Both items have had a rough life. The vise appears to have been one that the rear jaw would swivel to clamp irregular objects. Unfortunately it looks like the rear jaw has been welded to the main body. The pin behind the rear jaw could have been pulled and the jaw would have pivoted on a hidden pivot.

Kevin Scott is the guy that could make that vise look like new again, no idea what that would cost though. The rear jaw doesn't look welded to me.

I never considered that the rear jaw may swivel, but that kinda makes sense now. There is a hollow on the bottom, underneath, and there is a big nut there. I don't have a picture of it, though. I just noticed it when I rolled the thing out of the back of the truck

No such thing as a bad Prentiss vise!!!!!!!

That "big nut" is actually the top of a tapered pin that keeps the rear jaw in a fixed position. If you can get it out, then the back jaw swivel either side. Getting the pin out can be either relatively easy, or extremely difficult. My guess is yours falls in the extremely category.

If you remove the slide then you will find that you will be able to see the other end of the tapered pin. Drive the pin out that holds the main nut in place and remove the nut. Depending on how much "crud" is in the dovetail slot, you may have to drive it out. Be careful as the nuts are cast. Once the nut is out of the way you'll be able to get a better look at the bottom of the pin.You can try tapping it with a hammer, but you can't get a very good whack at it due to the limited room.

A better way is to get one of the little machinists jacks and push the pin out from the bottom. Obviously this is easier said than done. Be very careful that you don't break the sides of the dovetail that holds the nut.
While you're getting all this setup, make shire to spray around the top of the pin with PB Blaster or Kroil.
Put as much pressure as you can on the bottom of the pin. Use your favorite hammer, and tap the casting around the pin. This may be enough and the pin will come out. Keep in mind that, depending on how much pressure your jack is exerting on the bottom of the pin, that when it lets go, it is going to go somewhere in a hurry. Don't be looking down on it when using your hammer.
If this doesn't do it you may have to resort to your torch to warm up the area around the pin. This should expand the hole enough to free the pin. Try to keep the heat away from the pin.

As Lou pointed out, there is no such thing as a bad Prentiss vise!

Good luck, Mike

Personally, I'm more interested in the little 40lb Vulcan anvil, that guy's a cutie :3

Don't suppose you're anywhere in Minnesota, and looking to part with it?

Quote from: Twilight Fenrir on September 18, 2017, 08:55:44 AM
Personally, I'm more interested in the little 40lb Vulcan anvil, that guy's a cutie :3

Don't suppose you're anywhere in Minnesota, and looking to part with it?

Well, I'm in Utah. I haven't really decided about it yet, I'll let you know when I do.

And thanks to everyone else for the info on the vise. I'll give everything a good soaking with Gibbs (my preferred brand) and see what happens.

 Pritch,  glad to see someone else besides myself that likes Gibbs, I started using it before the guy who who startedthe
  company sold out to  another company.   

  no matter what brand you use, it is not quick working, it is spray, let set, tap lightly, sometimes you have to repeat the process.