I collect, restore, and sell old bench vises. Everyone should have a good American made bench vise so show us yours.

Here are the ones I currently have in my possession:

Columbian D45 M5 - Got at an estate sale for $40 and it was in mint condition. Damn near NOS.



Next up is my Columbian 205 M. Since it's an M I would place it around 80 years old. Weighs 95 lbs. Paid $110 (most I've ever paid for a vise).



A 1910-1925 Samson vise. Now this one is unique. Samson was the housebrand vise sold by Sears Roebuck before they trademarked the Craftsman brand for all their tools. This vise was made by Rock Island. Estate sale price: $30



Now my pride and joy and the rarest of them all. A 1970 Wilton "Wilt-O-Matic" Hydraulic 6" 146 lbs vise. It acts like a regular wilton execpt it has a hydraulic cylinder at the end of it. You set the jaws for about 1/8" clearance to the part you will be inserting multiple times (or more of the same part) then you step on a pneumatic pedal that sends air pressure to a hydraulic booster (big pneumatic piston pushing small hydraulic one to multiply pressure). This equates to 6800 lbs of clamping force. Best part of all is I got it for $50!



Video of it in action:

Last edited on Sat Jul 21st, 2018 08:51 pm by sheltonfilms