Fixing up an
Emmert patternmaker's vise | |||||||
One Friday,
I was having my morning coffee and perusing several local on-line want ads
when I come across an ad that says: "Emmert Patternmaker's vise $150" and
a phone number. I waited till about 7:30 AM to call. The fellow who
answered told me that he had bought it 20 years ago and then never mounted
it on a bench. He said it had no damage and some light surface rust. When
I asked about the tilt lock parts I was told that "it never had any thing
like that". In the pictures of Emmerts I've seen, the stanchion and
sliding rod looked like they'd be fairly easy to fabricate functional
equivalents so this wasn't a show stopper. I made an appointment to see
the vise that evening.
After
driving 45 miles through some of the worst rush hour traffic that
California has to offer, I arrived and met John, the owner. We went down
the narrow stairs to his basement shop and I see an array of early 60's
tailed devices and a small assortment of hand tools. He said he was a
carpenter by trade. We lift the vise from a dark corner to the top of the
bench. It was dirty, cobwebbed and rusty. The second thing I noticed was
the mounting plate was MIA! I asked why hadn't he mentioned this on the
phone and he started playing stupid "I didn't know it was missing".
I guess we know why he never mounted it to a bench now, don't we? I'm a
bit peeved finding this out after driving all that way. I continue to
check things out. I don't find any damaged parts and everything moves as
it's supposed to. All 4 dogs are present and the screw had been well
greased many years ago. In spite of it's run down appearance, it seemed
mechanically sound. I find it's got USN stamped in the top of the rear
jaw, so I guess it's done a hitch in the navy. I figured that even if I
couldn't find the necessary mounting hardware, I could probably part it
out for $100. I offer the $100 & he comes back with $120. As I thank
him for his time and head for the door, I hear "O.K.
$100".
The first
two pictures show the vise as I purchased it. The next day I sent a
message to the OLDTOOLS mailing list asking for help and a few
measurements so that I could make the parts I needed. I soon had all the
information I needed. One list member even disassembled his vise and sent
me CAD drawings. Galoot magic strikes again! The third photo shows the
hinge plate I fabricated. It's made from a piece of 3/8" X 3" angle iron
with two 1-1/8" hinge knuckles welded in place.
CLICK
HERE to see the
drawing of the hinge plate.
CLICK
HERE to see the
drawing of the stanchion and link. It won't be mistaken for an original,
but it works great and is a bit stronger. The fifth picture shows the tilt
lock stanchion and rod I fabricated. The hinge pins haven't been pressed
all the way in in these photos.
I
disassembled and cleaned all the other parts, I repainted everything
machinery gray. Some will no doubt scoff at the repaint, but I found it
had been poorly spray painted over rust and
dirt at some
time in the past anyway.
Along the
way, I did find out that there are 2 old tool collectors that have a few
parts for these vises. Neither had a hinge plate for my vise. I also
learned that the made in Taiwan clone of the Emmert being sold by
Woodcraft and others is a true copy of the smaller sized vise. This might
be helpful if you are looking for parts for one.
I
occasionally receive E-mails from individuals looking for parts for their
vises. There is a gentleman in Pennsylvania who told me he manufactures
cast replacement parts and usually has a vise or two for sale. His E-mail
is
csmachinery@zoominternet.net If you're
interested in Emmerts or patternmaker's vises in general you really should
take a look at The Iron Hand by Carl Matthews. He's done a wonderful job of documenting the
various changes in a type study. There's lots of pictures and general
documentation.
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