Record 52 1/2 and 52 1/2 E
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Tagged: Record vise
- This topic has 20 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 4 months ago by Glenn Philipson.
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14 November 2017 at 2:32 am #365891
I’ve been having a poke around on eBay and such and I know that Paul’s suggestion is the 52 1/2E vise, however I’m just wondering if anyone knows what the differences are between that and the plain old vanilla 52 1/2? both are 9″ wide 13″ deep QR’s are they not?
14 November 2017 at 1:58 pm #366188I’ve been looking into a vise also. However, I am in the US and it is much more difficult to find used Record vises around here. I am thinking of a 10-1/2 inch WoodRiver vise with a dog and quick release. I saw some reviews, however about folks finding that their quick release vises would give and not hold well after a while. (Not WoodRiver, different brand.) I want this to work for a lot of years and still be worthwhile. Almost wish I could find a large vise without a quick release.
Any thoughts on this?- This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by SmokyRick Crawford.
14 November 2017 at 2:55 pm #366232i think the 52 1/2 E is the quick release the 52 1/2 is not it is also not the big vise , this one is the 35 pounder or 9 inch the 10 inch is 40 pounds
smokeyrick google jim bode tools he has a couple used ones for saleSmokyrick, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding good, older American made vises in your area. Wilton, Columbian, Shelton, Morgan and others made excellent woodworking vises back in the day and they can usually be found very reasonably priced. The red Japanese made Craftsman vises are very good too. Incidentally the non-QR American vises open and close more quickly than their non-QR English counterparts, thanks to thicker screws with fewer threads per inch. Have a look at Craigslist for local deals so you can avoid the shipping costs on 40 pounds of cast iron.
Dave
14 November 2017 at 7:17 pm #366448For the, er, Record:
Record 52 – Jaws 8″ depth, 7″ width
Record 52 1/2 – Jaws 13″ depth, 9″ width
Record 53A – Jaws 15″ depth, 10.5″ widthAnd @deanbecker is correct, the E is the quick release version, ED is quick release and dog. However some have quick release and no ‘E’ designation – best way is to thoroughly check photos for the little curved handle to the lower right of the tightening arm.
- This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by Nicholas Newble.
14 November 2017 at 8:06 pm #366497Ahh, hence my confusion, I saw this one available and the front jaw suggests a vanilla 52 1/2 but it clearly has the QR with 9″ jaws and 13″ depth.
It’s got no dog and no cover over the screw. It’s also got the bulb shaped bar holder (the correct name escapes me) which seems to have been an older design before they just made them flat ended.
I’ve seen other plain 52 1/2s that indeed don;t have the QR, do have the flat ended bar holder and have the revised casting on the jaw.
- This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by Darren Page-Thomas.
15 November 2017 at 9:56 am #366968That looks a nice example.
The one I bought unfortunately had the spring (a flat coil) completely rusted through, so the Quick Release didn’t work at all – luckily I found a replacement spring on Amazon UK and after a lot of messing around managed to swap it in, works perfectly now.
15 November 2017 at 8:03 pm #367820@nicknw it seems others agree, it’s already at £37 with 8 days left! I’ve a few I’m keeping an eye on so the spring information is useful to retain. There’s one someone painted lime green though. Eugh.
It looks like they changed casting for the front jaw at some point and after that they started including D or E or whatever on the jaw as a way to identify them. There must be someone somewhere who either has some old catalogues or knows when it all changed!
15 November 2017 at 9:56 pm #368011Record vices which feature the bulbous end AND the registered design number appearing on the front of the vice are (very roughly) pre-1950s, the one pictured above has lost the RD number so probably 1945-1963, as the flat end apparently started appearing in the early 1960s.
The 53E replaced the 53A in 1964 (an improved design, apparently).
I used to have a lot of info saved about these things and in a computer changeover unfortunately lost it. When I was looking to buy one I wanted to be sure of what I was getting too!
- This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by Nicholas Newble.
- This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by Nicholas Newble.
15 November 2017 at 10:20 pm #368051Ahh very interesing. Maybe the flat end coincided with the change in design of the front jaw from the one shown above to this one. I don’t think I’ve yet seen one with either the new jaw and bulbous end, or old jaw and flat end.
It seems at one point they did include version numbers on the old jaw, as I found this 52 1/2 A which has the old jaw design and bulbous end.
Fascinating.
I bought a QR record vise (from the 90s) and installed it on the bench. I can understand why the moveable jaw is canted in. My problem is with the jaw on the body of the vise. When the vise is installed on a bench shouldn’t the fixed jaw be square to the top of the bench? I doubt this is a defective vise so how do I make adjustments? One more reason why I don’t get a square edge joining edges 😉
18 November 2017 at 8:20 pm #373855When you add wooden pads you can make the jaws cant anyway you want.
19 November 2017 at 6:22 pm #374868Well I’ve managed to secure myself one of the old style (post patent no, pre new front jaw/flat end) for the measly sum of £37.27 including postage! We’ll see how it turns out.
Makes up for buying a mint in original box Stanley #80 yesterday!
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