Record Vice…..What a bargain!
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I’m just about to build my workbench and of course have been on the look out for a decent vice, which being on a very limited budget makes it a bit tricky. Everyone says how old is best but looking on sites such as Ebay, people know that vintage is sought after and the prices often reflect this and are very high.
But as the old sayings go ‘Seek and ye shall find’ and ‘Patience is a virtue’ because after months of searching, I found this on Gumtree for the princely sum of £20 ($28.25 for our friends across the pond) and a 19 mile drive. The gent I bought it from said it was his fathers purchased in the fifties. I knew it was old as it has the design number RD664709 stamped on the jaw which I think they stopped doing on later models.
It works just fine but of course with a bit of fettling, cleaning off the rust and maybe even giving it a lick of paint and a generous dollop of grease, it will (now I’m 57) see me out and probably woodworking generations to come.Paul - A southern lad living up north - Nr York England
Definitely a bargain. I got a relative bargain myself on a Record 52 1/2 E. I paid £45 for it on eBay which was much cheaper than the regular £80-100 they were going for. The seller commented about how quickly the vice had sold and he probably should have made it more expensive xD
Just a suggestion, worth concideration.Instead of adding greece. Which attracts all sorts of metal fillings etc, which could halm your screw mechinism over time.
Concider, pulling apart your vice screw rod and engagments threads. Heat, not over board, and after cleaning apply as much parrafin wax as possibble. Excess will soon wear off, and your vice should be protected and lubricated, just a suggestion for concideration. cheers PeterThanks Peter, I had a quick look for Paraffin wax and found wax pellets used for making candles I guess this is the stuff. It wasn’t expensive so I’ll give it a try.
Paul - A southern lad living up north - Nr York England
Wow, that’s great, Pompeyexile. It looks like it could use a bit of cleaning up, but that’ can be half the fun, too. Good luck with that – I hope it serves you well.
I get too frustrated with e-Bay. Definitely not enough patience for that. I bought a Lee Valley vise when I build my bench. Only been using it for a few months so far, taking a little time to get used to it due to a different type of QR mechanism. I’ll like it better when I get used to it.
Matt, Northern California - Started a blog in 2016: http://tinyshopww.blogspot.com/
Nice find indeed you will like this vise. Mine is a little newer and I bought for about $100 brand new, now they are out od site. Wish I had another one.
Put some leather on the faces and I agree use a nice wax to keep screw lubricated.
Steve
Steve Massie, I live in the great State of Florida, US
Well here it is de-rusted, re-painted (I went for a sort of British racing Green instead of the ubiquitous blue) and fitted.
I tried the paraffin wax but I must be doing something wrong. I melted it in a jar and brushed it on, but within seconds it hardened and then when I wound the vice in and out it simply fell off.
Oh well, I’m still chuffed to bits and now I can really start woodworking.
Paul - A southern lad living up north - Nr York England
Try some paste wax rather than paraffin. A toothbrush is a good applicator and gets down into the threads. I happened to have a can of minwax special brown, so I use that, but any will do, I suspect.
You could also try a dry film moly spray like dri-slide. It sticks to about anything and after the solvent dries it leave a solid film. This is the lubricating additive added to gearboxes and differential gear oil. It won’t attract dirt or sawdust.
Thanks for your advice guys. I have some paste wax I bought do dip my screws in as Mr Sellers advocates and for finishing (didn’t occur to me to use that) but I’ll also buy a can of the moly spray too. I think I’ll use the wax on the threaded bar and the threaded quick release cradle and the moly spray on the smooth bars.
Paul - A southern lad living up north - Nr York England
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