So when I was a kid I remember going to the garage and clamping down my hotwheels in there to work on them, even squished one to give it a chop top. After he passed 20 years ago I got his old vice, I have used it many time in its rusty old format, I finally decided to pull it apart and clean it some and throw a new coat of paint on the externals. This is a huge heavy hitter, weighs in about 200 lbs roughly. Has a big 7 on one side and the Rock Island logo on the other, I am thinking this thing has to be 100 years old probably. Still working good and should last longer than any of us will be here. Anyone else have a Rock Island Vice ?
Absolutely gorgeous! I’m a sucker for old tools and equipment. No one makes a good vise anymore. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Your grandfather knew quality. That bad boy is a prize! I've owned many old USA vises and Rock Island is as good as they get. It's not as fancy as a Parker, but the slide to base fit is as tight as any I've found. YES, agree, it's absolutely gorgeous. NO, can't agree. There are still good vises being made; just expect to pay $1500 - $3,750 for one of the quality of that Rock Island. jack vines
One thing I noticed, though maybe it's a parallax error from the photo, when locating a vise on a bench it's usually installed at the point where the rear jaw face is exactly parallel with the side of the bench. That way, long items can be clamped vertically if desired. The vise in my garage must be closed all the way minus 1 turn, so that the handle hangs straight up and down, when I'm done with it. Why? I dunno. It bugs me if it isn't though. This goes back to Mr. Torkelson's shop class. We had those big square wood tables with a vise on every corner for every man, and I remember him after class walking through and straightening those out sometimes. Dang kids!
You should check out the "Vises of the Garage Journal" thread over there. It has over 68,000 replies and has been viewed almost 10 million times.
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