# Craftsman vise bidding is getting high.



## woodchucker (Dec 8, 2017)

There's this beautiful craftsman vise, someone refinished it and made it look like a piece of art work. Bidding has gotten very high for a 3 1/2 inch vise.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Cr...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649 
Now at 127.51, I wonder if I take a vise and scotchbrite it down and clear coat it if I can make a some good change.. Nah, not for the amount of work. She is purty though.


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## Z2V (Dec 8, 2017)

I have that model vise but it does not look like that! I need to clean mine up. Well, maybe


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## Bob Korves (Dec 9, 2017)

woodchucker said:


> There's this beautiful craftsman vise, someone refinished it and made it look like a piece of art work. Bidding has gotten very high for a 3 1/2 inch vise.
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Craftsman-Vise-Old-Pipe-Vice-Anvil-Steampunk-Machinist-Tool-Gunsmith/282760403162?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649
> Now at 127.51, I wonder if I take a vise and scotchbrite it down and clear coat it if I can make a some good change.. Nah, not for the amount of work. She is purty though.
> 
> View attachment 249217


I have that same p/n Craftsman vise in good original condition.  It is made in Japan.  About 45 years ago I found a rusted and broken old Craftsman vise in an empty field and took it in to Sears on a nice Saturday afternoon and asked for a warranty on it.  The place was full of men shopping for tools.  They quietly told me it was not under warranty.  So I said in a loud voice "ARE YOU SAYING THIS CRAFTSMAN TOOL HAS NO WARRANTY?"  Lots of heads turned in my direction.  The clerk said he would ask the manager, and came back with that vise for me, new in the box.  Of course I went to church and confessed my sin...  8^)  I have been using it ever since, and often not gently.  I have beat on it pretty hard.  It is made of ductile iron and it is tough.  It still looks close to new, no bent handle, no chips out of it, jaws still perfect, just worn red paint.  A couple years ago I was looking for a bigger vise and found the big brother to that vise, a 5" jaw version of the same model, beat to death but not broken, not even damaged.  I rehabbed it, milled the anvil portion, painted it Craftsman red, and it is now pretty and ready for the new workbench when I get a round 'tuit.  The ones with that supplier number (391) series are damned nice vices.  391-5180 is the 3 1/2" one, 391-5181 is the 5" version.


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## higgite (Dec 9, 2017)

I don't believe that vise is intended for any duty more strenuous than being displayed as a conversation piece. Sorta like art work. But, I could be wrong. I was once before. 

Tom


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## markba633csi (Dec 9, 2017)

Some people have too much time (and too many scotch-brite wheels) on their hands.
My Dad had a Columbian vise like that- lasted a loooong time till the nut stripped. I remember buying a new nut for it. Apparently the nuts for those are no longer available from Sears 
Mark


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## Dave Paine (Dec 9, 2017)

The vise does look too pretty to use.  Nice job on the finish.

Looks like a Wilton Columbian vise sold under Craftsman name.

I have a 4 1/2in model 391.5186.

I have used the vise for years.    It has given me good service, but I never liked the locking nut/handle.

I replaced the original hardware with a carriage bolt and a coupler nut.






I used a coupler nut to get the height so I could tighten this with a wrench.


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## Bob Korves (Dec 9, 2017)

I have the paperwork for my vise.  It is made in Japan.


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## Silverbullet (Dec 9, 2017)

Spit and polish my boy, remember what PT Barnum use to say.. THERES A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE.  And then a fool and his money will soon be departed . Gotta love nice tools , but really a cheap vise with a bit of polish .


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## 4ssss (Dec 9, 2017)

I wonder what I'd get for a Parker if I buffed it out.


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## chips&more (Dec 9, 2017)

Nice vice, but, I like my 6” Wilton bullet better, that’s mounted on a 24’ long work bench with a tabletop of (3) 4X12’s.


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## Bob Korves (Dec 9, 2017)

chips&more said:


> Nice vice, but, I like my 6” Wilton bullet better, that’s mounted on a 24’ long work bench with a tabletop of (3) 4X12’s.


That sounds stout enough, Dave.  Does the bench hold the weight all the stuff you have on it?  Is there anywhere left to set something down?


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## woodchucker (Dec 9, 2017)

Now at 153 for a small vise.. , It's starting to look like it does pay to make one pretty.


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## kd4gij (Dec 9, 2017)

Looks like some members might be breaking out the polisher for there craftsman vise if the thing goes much higher.


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## FOMOGO (Dec 9, 2017)

Even at the current price, his hourly rate would be woefully low. Mike


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## richl (Dec 10, 2017)

A stark contrast to a vise someone showed from a craigslist add a couple months back, the guy was asking 200-300 for what he called a "professionally restored" vise. He painted white spray paint over every part of the vise, no cleaning... Nothing. 
This one is the complete opposite, very impressive looking, nice to see someone do such a creative job...


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## Bob Korves (Dec 10, 2017)

richl said:


> "professionally restored"


"Professional" means doing it for money.  "Restored" can mean almost anything.  Your quotation marks are appropriate, Rich.


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## chips&more (Dec 10, 2017)

Bob Korves said:


> That sounds stout enough, Dave.  Does the bench hold the weight all the stuff you have on it?  Is there anywhere left to set something down?


LOL’s, I have maybe 1/sq ft of space on it…maybe. Sometimes no space. Never more than 2/sq ft. When I made the bench I called my wife and told her to look at it and remember how clean and not cluttered it was. Because it will never be the same again!!! It’s like a magnetic crap collector. Every time I turn around the bench has got more crap on it. I can’t figure it out? I think I will set-up a hidden camera to see how it happens.


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## Bob Korves (Dec 10, 2017)

chips&more said:


> LOL’s, I have maybe 1/sq ft of space on it…maybe. Sometimes no space. Never more than 2/sq ft. When I made the bench I called my wife and told her to look at it and remember how clean and not cluttered it was. Because it will never be the same again!!! It’s like a magnetic crap collector. Every time I turn around the bench has got more crap on it. I can’t figure it out? I think I will set-up a hidden camera to see how it happens.


Mine is about the same.  Strangely, in my house I do not allow "stuff" to collect on horizontal surfaces.  Crammed in boxes and piled up in closets, yes.  But in the shop, any recently cleared area (and I clear them off often) immediately fills up again...


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## woodchucker (Dec 10, 2017)

Now $181  interesting? I'm in AWE, this is way over the value of this vise.


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## hman (Dec 11, 2017)

chips&more said:


> LOL’s, I have maybe 1/sq ft of space on it…maybe. Sometimes no space. Never more than 2/sq ft. When I made the bench I called my wife and told her to look at it and remember how clean and not cluttered it was. Because it will never be the same again!!! It’s like a magnetic crap collector. Every time I turn around the bench has got more crap on it. I can’t figure it out? I think I will set-up a hidden camera to see how it happens.


Ya' know ... it's pretty likely that at least some of that crap is aluminum.  So you might well have (unknowingly) invented the elusive "aluminum magnet"!  Maybe you can get a federal research grant to finance a scientifical investigation


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## RandyM (Dec 11, 2017)

woodchucker said:


> Now $181  interesting? I'm in AWE, this is way over the value of this vise.



It is not the vise you are paying for, it is the amount of work he put into it.


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## chips&more (Dec 11, 2017)

hman said:


> Ya' know ... it's pretty likely that at least some of that crap is aluminum.  So you might well have (unknowingly) invented the elusive "aluminum magnet"!  Maybe you can get a federal research grant to finance a scientifical investigation


Ya’ know…there is such a thing as a non-ferrous magnet. I made one about 50 years ago. Still have it! It’s in a pile somewhere?


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## GarageGuy (Dec 11, 2017)

It looks pretty nice!  I could see someone buying it for their desk or book shelf in a shop office.  For the current price, it looks like other people may have had the same idea.

GG


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## woodchucker (Dec 11, 2017)

Well, if you didn't see the final price.. WHOLLY Crap.


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## randyjaco (Dec 11, 2017)

Wow, where is my polishing lathe B-) 

Randy


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## woodchucker (Dec 11, 2017)

He just put another one up. This must be lucrative enough.


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