# Vintage Woodworking Vise



## acowboy

Been looking for a good vise and there are so many to chose from, including prices.
Opted to go with an older "Made In The U.S.A." one.

Came across this one, but there is little information on the maker.
C. Christiansen is the name of the maker.

In the process of cleaning it up, have got the help from Dave Paine again, to further it's completion and install.

Here are some before pics, and anyone who has information on the maker...would be appreciated.


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## vinnypatternmaker

*Vise*

Hi!
Sorry we can't help you with more 411 on vise :huh:!
That vise you have is beautiful, indeed :yes:!
Hang in there, someone else on forum is likely to know!
Good Luck and Best,
Marena and Vinny


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## vinnypatternmaker

*Vise 2*

Hi!
Now that I think about it, C. Christiansen of Chicago manufactured workbenches, bench stops, and vises also.
This may or may not help you, but try this site and scroll down a bit, and you will see some interesting images, one even has the brand plate with the old Chicago street address :blink:.
http://search.aol.com/aol/imageDetails?s_it=imageDetails&q=C.+Christiansen&v_t=wscreen50-bb&b=image%3Fenabled_terms%3D%26s_it%3Dwscreen50-bb%26q%3DC.%2BChristiansen%2B%26oreq%3De9ec9ba64e6441ef94af2817a1392b8e&img=http%3A%2F%2Fcityboyforge.com%2Fimages%2Fchrist%2Fbench_01.jpg&host=http%3A%2F%2Fcityboyforge.com%2Fchristiansen.html&width=116&height=84&thumbUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ft1.gstatic.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcTbI3QT2QKBaBT19Wk-xzF0RaBM-qRRUWtHsAX8vwp4_Q3tEI66iNwFS_g&imgWidth=500&imgHeight=363&imgSize=52389&imgTitle=C.+Christiansen


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## vinnypatternmaker

*Vise 3*

Hi, again!
Hope this leads you somewhere closer :yes:!
Fellow OLD woodworking "nuts",
Marena and Vinny


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## DaveTTC

Cant say I am familiar with this type of vise. Looking forward to seeing what you do


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## acowboy

Thanks for the link and the interest. 

Did come across some old ads from Popular Mechanics from the early 1900's

And a couple of pics of the clean-up.


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## acowboy

*Update*

Clean up almost done,

May do a little more to "Ginger Bread" it.

Do have a little surprise coming from Dave Paine to make this vise fully functional.

Hope he shows his "how too" in this thread.


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## cabinetman

Nice find and rehab.








 







.


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## Gilgaron

Looks great! I think it is worth more than $2 now!


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## Dave Paine

Looking very good.

It just needs a little bit of wood "bling".

Not a lot to offer in the way of "How To".

To make a handle :
a) Go to a local hardware store and purchase a piece of ideally hardwood dowel of relevant diameter. Cut off a length, then glue or screw on a small block of wood on either end.

b) Have a friend who is a wood turner who has some available off cuts so that he can make this.









Into this with the help of a small piece of cherry scrap for a knob for the other end to allow installation.









The vise needs some wooden jaws.
a) Cut some pieces of 3/4in plywood to relevant size

b) Have a friend who is a wood worker who no longer used a short board of white oak, and has a good amount of walnut to be able to glue together to make nice thick jaws which can be drilled for 3/4in bench dogs.

The 4/4 walnut was ripped down the middle on the table saw.









The first jaw being glued. It does help to have a lot of clamps and a flat granite slab to clamp against.









The second jaw is presently being glued. Once the jaws are glued, then need to be planed or sanded to be flat and parallel.


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## SteveEl

I'll take some of that $2 action in the classified ad Acowboy posted. Nice find


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## Dave Paine

Todays progress. The jaws were glued, then sanded on my drum sander. Sad to say the drum sander made the faces nice and wavy even though I fed slow and very light pass.

Time to resort to tried and true hand planing.

The walnut faces after hand planing.









The shavings look like a lot, but not much thickness was removed, just getting reasonably flat.









Test fit for flat by placing together. I call this "NSB" - No So Bad. :laughing:









Next step mark out for drilling holes for bench dogs.

My compound table and milling vise make this an easy task. The combination holds the piece very solid. I am able to drill much cleaner holes with less burning since no vibration or movement.

Also no need to unclamp to move, just wind the handles to the next position.









Acowboy needs a spacer to increase the depth of clamping in the jaws. A scrap piece of cherry. I had to cut a piece of hickory. My other scraps of relevant size were not thick enough. The pieces ready for gluing.









Next step will be to mark and drill the jaws for the guide and screw holes.


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## DaveTTC

looking good guys

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## cms1983

That vise has real nice lines. That's what I like about the older vises they look and work great much better then modern vises. Very nice


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## Fastback

Great job on the vice. It's really hard to beat the quality of the old equipment.

Paul


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## acowboy

*Update*

Got a package from Dave Paine today..

Special thanks to Dave again....

Seeing is believing..

Still have to mount it and put a finish on the wood.


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## Rob Brown

*vise*

I just got a Wilton vise very similar to yours and in like condition. Mine has the little dog that slides up and down for clamping. I plan to put it at the foot of my bench as I have a modern version of it on the front of it. Nice restoration work.


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## acowboy

Here are a few shots of the finish applied, used Watco Teak oil for the jaws and dogs.

Handle has one coat of Watco Danish oil dark walnut, followed up with teak oil.

Could not resist to see how it would look with the walnut showing, still has the NSB fit with the jaws closed. Any thoughts...?


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## Dave Paine

acowboy said:


> Could not resist to see how it would look with the walnut showing, still has the NSB fit with the jaws closed. Any thoughts...?


I thought you may want the walnut showing to you and any visitors. :icon_smile:

Looking very good. :thumbsup:

It is desired for the jaws to close under pressure. If there is still an "NSB" issue when tightened, then my normal approach is to shim the rear jaw to remove the gap.


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## MarkE

Looking good!


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## acowboy

Finally got it mounted,
And before I get to much flack on my bench, it is what it is, a work bench for the outdoors, it is under a covered patio though.

Have to tip my hat to Dave for his contribution,
the vise does look out of place at the end.
And as soon as possible, a work shop and some new wood for the bench.. 

Here it is...:thumbsup:


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## Dave Paine

The vise looks good in the bench. A terrific restoration. I am happy to have been able to make a contribution. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

No issues with how the bench looks, at least you can see your bench. All my benches are covered in "stuff" which my wife would say is clutter, but what do our wives know about our valuable "stuff" which we have laying around.


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## DaveTTC

+ 1 on being able to see the bench lol

Yes it looks sweet ... been to a wood and working with timber show and thought I better have a look out for these types of vices. I saw some

Also saw some timber clamps and a similar vice to yours but with a wood screw










The vice holfing the clamps has a wood screw but the other end vice is steel


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art


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## Rob Brown

*vintage vises*

I recently got an old Wilton vise from a friend. It came out of a high school wood shop years ago, and was just taking up space in his basement. Now it is mounted to my bench. The odd part about it is a clutch assembly that allows it to slide in and out once the tension has been released. Once it is in place, just a short turn on the handle and tension is restored. It has a built in dog that raises with a pin on the front of the unit. I have photos in my phone, but need a remedial course in posting on line.!


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## acowboy

Would love to see it..:smile:


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## Fastback

The vice really came out good. I like the way Dave addressed the jaws. Looks like something I may want to do on mine when I finally make a new bench.

Paul


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## acowboy

I believe the way Dave made the jaws are ingenious, as the one jaw face is floating, or can even be removed for a different application.


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