What did you do to your non-G body project today? [2019]

[pontiacgp]

I mowed the lawn with the little John briquette today it didn't melt down but the deck fell off on the front lawn so now I have a dirt stripe. Oh well
Tonight's dinner smoked big eye and bluefin tuna
View attachment 115418View attachment 115419
And I picked up a mountain bike for Lauren or Lexi from a neighbor and got it working seams to be a nice bikeView attachment 115420View attachment 115423
It runs good I took it for a rip threw the trails behind the house.

with all that food you eat you need to pedal that bike to burn it off......😎

 

[Winkernod]

I've been itching for a small side project to meddle with, so I'm gonna try to fix up this Prentiss vise I have. My Dad bought it at a yard sale about 40 some years ago with the work bench for $25. It's a Prentiss #21 5.25" swivel jaw vise. Big heavy sumbitch, around 100 lbs. It's probably my single favorite tool I own. I have no idea how old it is ('40s or '50s maybe?) but I've used it countless times, probably more than any other tool I own.

That said, it's not without it's problems. It's seen some serious use. Both swivels are seized up tight, they were seized when my Dad bought it. My Dad and I have both tried over the years many times to unstick them, even whacking it with a sledge to no avail. Also the front lip has been ground off of the front jaw. My Dad said it was that way when he got it.

Today I began by taking apart what I could and unbolting it from the bench. The jaw faces are a little rough, but new ones are about $100, so I'm going to try to clean them up and reuse them. Someone tried to weld the front jaw face in place at one point so there is a big bead of weld to grind off of it. The screws for the rear face were stripped and seized and had to be drilled which was a bit of a pain, but once the face was off, the remains unscrewed cleanly.

Next I've got to strip the paint off of it and soak it in either vinegar or rust remover or something then get a torch and heat it up so I can try to bust it loose. Hopefully I'll have better luck with it this time. Stay tuned.

I love how it has 'New York, NY' cast into the side.
View attachment 115455

You can see the ground off front lip here-
View attachment 115457

The jaw faces-View attachment 115456

The remains of the jaw face screws-
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Inside-View attachment 115453

Awesome old vice with many years of service left in it. That is a perfect piece to clean with electrolysis. Cleans ever nook as clean as the day it was cast. it will remove all of the rust and old paint and grease. Just Google rust removal electrolysis

 

[Clutch]

I

with all that food you eat you need to pedal that bike to burn it off......😎

Don't eat it all in one sitting lol this week I'll make turkey soup and some chowder

 

[joesregalproject]

Well it took a lot of heating and hammering and PB Blaster, but I have the vise completely apart. It actually wasn't quite as difficult as I thought it would be but I was completely covered in grease and dirt when I was done lol.

The only casualty was the lock for the base swivel. I'm gonna have to find one or otherwise make one. But all in all not too bad. The base swivel came out pretty easy once I got the bottom nut off. The jaw swivel wasn't as easy. I first had to get the tapered pin out which I eventually did with a c-clamp and some sockets, basically made a mini ball joint press to get it out. Then it took a lot of hammering to get the jaw to move and eventually to separate. There were some specks of mint-ish green paint inside, that appears to be the original color. Not sure if I'm gonna replicate that or do something else yet. There are a bunch of letters and markings stamped into the parts, I'll try to get some pictures of them later.

Next I've got to strip the paint off and degrease the whole thing. I may or may not do some type of chemical de-rusting, not sure yet. Winkernod, I've done electrolysis before with good results, but my new battery charger won't work with it. Its a "smart" charger and thinks there is a short. I might try to take it to work and bead blast it, but the narcs have been cracking down on personal projects at work lately. It would be great if I had access to a lathe and a mill to reproduce some of these pieces but I don't. Maybe my machinist would be willing to make some of these pieces for me?

You can see some of the greenish paint at the edges here-

Base swivel-

Tapered Pin for the jaw swivel-

Lock for the base swivel-

Female threads-

 

[DRIVEN]

Those old vises are awesome. I was given one about that vintage a couple years ago. I didn't restore it but did take it all apart to clean and lube everything.
They truly don't make em like that anymore.

 

[fleming442]

I bet Bob would hook you up, especially when he saw the project.

 

[joesregalproject]

Those old vises are awesome. I was given one about that vintage a couple years ago. I didn't restore it but did take it all apart to clean and lube everything.
They truly don't make em like that anymore.

They really did build them to last. It's 70 years old at least, gets beaten on regularly and takes it better than a brand new one would.

I bet Bob would hook you up, especially when he saw the project.

I'm hoping he will. I'll ask him when I pick up the engine this week 😎

 

[joesregalproject]

So today I took the plunge and bought a gallon of Evapo-Rust. Neat stuff. It was $26 and change but it seems to be working pretty well. One gallon isn't a lot but I have the swivel jaw as well as all the small pieces soaking in it, plus some small pieces for my engine. Tomorrow I'll see if I can get the base submerged in it. Also that greenish color that I suspected may be original almost certainly is. I keep finding more and more of it and a Google search turned up this-

Parker bought out Prentiss-

 

[Clutch]

I

with all that food you eat you need to pedal that bike to burn it off......😎

Don't eat it all in one sitting lol this week I'll make turkey soup and some chowder

So today I took the plunge and bought a gallon of Evapo-Rust. Neat stuff. It was $26 and change but it seems to be working pretty well. One gallon isn't a lot but I have the swivel jaw as well as all the small pieces soaking in it, plus some small pieces for my engine. Tomorrow I'll see if I can get the base submerged in it. Also that greenish color that I suspected may be original almost certainly is. I keep finding more and more of it and a Google search turned up this-
View attachment 115566
Parker bought out Prentiss-
View attachment 115567

I gotta look and see if I can read anything on that one I picked up. It's just so rusty

 

[Turbolq4]

That evaporust is reusable I think. Filter the heavy stuff out and put it in a bottle to use again.