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Lil Richard here found one of these in almost mint condition and sold it to me, just one of the many items I've bought from him, and one of my favorites. Absolutely perfect for lots of tasks, including carving stocks and many of my other hobbies.
It has taken up an almost permanent residence on my bench. So handy and with the myriad of holding configurations, I can always be comfortable and have good leverage and control.
" The founding fathers weren't trying to protect citizens' rights to have an interesting hobby." I Learn Each Day 1/18/13
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OMG - Just ordered one. thanks for posting
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(09-09-2016, 08:25 PM)Ray Newman Wrote: JimReed: where did you find that vise? I always thought that one should be in my shop and your thread rekindled my interest for one.
These vises are all over the internet. Mine came from ebay and was less than $50 delivered. Prices and quality vary. Shipping can be expensive. Be sure to judge quality of product when deciding on your deal. I wanted to try one of these vises out in my shop and the price seemed right to a bottom feeder like me. But the higher quality vises have their place also.
I have heard stories of poor quality products that break. Certainly a bad casting job would not last long. But the nature of these vises means that they have an above average chance of diving to the floor. A nose dive is likely to crack something, so I am working on a method to secure my vise when not in use. As for broken jaws, my guess is aggressive use of force. There are dozens of vises of all descriptions in my shop. Some are small (.5 lb) and some are large (65 lbs). Each has a specific range of action and each has force limits. When a vise is used as a press and is beyond its rating, it is likely to break. When torqued down with a cheater bar, the vise is likely to break. I think this parrot vise is limited to fine chisel work (paring) and sawing. In my opinion, it should not be used in lieu of a good bench with dogs. A good example is mortise operations. Banging away with a mortise chisel is best done on a sturdy surface.
But I digress. I think this little vise will find plenty of jobs in my shop.
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(09-09-2016, 09:05 PM)Boatman53 Wrote: Not my idea but I put this together this past spring. I think Timberwolf has one set up like this and someone else that I can't remember.
Jim
I have an unmounted "parrot" vise laying on the floor of my garage somewhere, Jim but I just clamp it to my bench when I need to use it....I like your "set-up" mounted on that Wilton hydraulic power arm. Those parrot type vises used to be pretty common and I have had several of them over the years..got them pretty cheap at flea markets etc...More suitable for woodworking than metal work because of the way they racked when tightened...IIRC Chas. Parker Company and Athol both made a vise for "sheet-metal" work with jaws designed like that, but it is a heavy brute and very expensive and desirable. I wish I had one.
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I bought a similar one (Grizzly?) and mounted mine similar to yours. I had to do a bit of tweaking with a file to get things working well. The jaws were slightly racked and didn't close flush. I use mine for shaping and carving. The ability to rotate and position the vise is really a marvelous help, especially with saw handles.
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Wow. I just looked - the original Gyro Vise, from Columbian, and the similar but somehow different Versa-Vise (cute marketing name) from Will-Burt (boy, that company specialized in cute names, didn't it?) are getting very respectable prices on That Auction Site! Time to find an unopened case of them at a yard sale...preferably in the free corner.
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(09-12-2016, 04:51 PM)Bill_Houghton Wrote: Wow. I just looked - the original Gyro Vise, from Columbian, and the similar but somehow different Versa-Vise (cute marketing name) from Will-Burt (boy, that company specialized in cute names, didn't it?) are getting very respectable prices on That Auction Site! Time to find an unopened case of them at a yard sale...preferably in the free corner.
Yep. probably find a pallet load of em in the same garage sale as where the 1955 vette is, stored since Grandpa died.
Steve
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09-13-2016, 10:49 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-13-2016, 12:19 PM by lilrichard2.)
This little beauty will soon take up residence in another Woodnetters workshop, where I'm sure that it'll receive the attention it deserves - already spoken for - already shipped.
r2
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GyroVise paired with a Wilton PowrArm
See ya around,
Dominic
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