vise id

[poopdeck]

At christmas dinner my brother surprised me with my fathers old vise. I was wondering if anybody can identify the make and model. There are no markings on the vice, I'm estimating that its 10 to 15 years old, it is a rotary vise, and it seems to be very well made. The jaws, with the two thumb screws, seem to hold a wide variety of hook sizes. It needs a little cleaning but is otherwise in great shape so I'm going to nix the plan to buy a new vise. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[sniperfreak223]

the design of the jaws looks like the Griffin design, but nothing else really looks familiar to me...maybe an early Dan-vise?

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Griffin Superior 3ARP.

http://www.griffinenterprisesinc.com/vises.html

 

[poopdeck]

Man your good! That's it!! Well I cleaned it up today and it looks brand new. Glad I got it when I did since he must have been storing it in a dank basement. It came with a ton of feathers, dubbing, hooks, chenille, thread, bobbins, scissors, botkins, whip finishers, and a portable tying desk. The tying desk has very crude and rough construction and is actually comical in its appearance and cheapness. Pop was a simple man and function counted more then form ever did. Since I have been a hobbyist woodworker for 30 years and have a fully appointed workshop with lots of different hardwoods at my fingertips I was going to build a tying desk for myself. Now I'm gonna use Pop's desk. If it was good enough for him its good enough for me. I can still see him sitting behind it with his ball cap equipped with a clip on magnifier which I also have. I don't need that quite yet but at least I'll be ready for when I do. Looks like I owe my brother a pastrami sandwich.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

That is such a cool story!

Kudos to you for honoring your Dad by continuing the tradition. Back in the day, that was one of the top vises - very well made. That vise was one of the more expensive ones too, so your Dad knew the value of investing in good equipment.

Every fly you tie on that will have a bit of your Dad's wisdom in it. He's gotta have a big grin on his face looking down on you.

 

[nfrechet]

it could be an early version of the griffith superior 3arp vise shown below (doesnt look the same as todays version), but it could also be a version of a carter vise from the 80's

vise by efton carter (my tying instructor used one so it is/was real) hard to find actual photos

http://www.google.com/patents/US4216948

 

[Maurice]

Thats the vice I have used for over 25 yrs.

 

[poopdeck]

it is an earlier version of the griffin superior 3arp. The vise part is exactly the same the only difference is the stand pole or whatever its called. I have been tying on it and what a difference from the old Thompson master. I really like the jaws on it. Pops desk is working flawlessly as well.

 

[nfrechet]

Maurice wrote:
Thats the vice I have used for over 25 yrs.

which one? griffin or carter? can u post a photo if its the carter?

thanks

norm

 

[Maurice]

griffin

 

[poopdeck]

Maurice, if you look at the picture you can see a second set of O ring notches up closer to the jaws. What is this for? I'm I missing an O ring?

 

[nfrechet]

here is what the o-ring does on a renzetti vise but ill assume it functions in a similar way on the griffin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSEo1nbA2Yw

take the vise head to your local big box hardware outlet and replace the o-rings with fresh ones. should be good for quite a long time. if they have silicone o-rings the better.

while your there get a small can of wd40 and spruce up that vise so it looks nice and new.

 

[poopdeck]

There is an O ring on the rear notches already and it seems to be in fine working condition. I noticed another set of notches and I'm wondering if there is a second O-ring needed or if the second set of notches are there to move the one O-ring too for specific applications. It did have some minor surface rust on the non-vice parts. I already took it apart and cleaned it up with a little WD40 and fine steel wool. Looks brand new and the finish is still 98% intact.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

There's a cam operated Griffin vise that is very similar to the 3ARP called the Patriot, and that one uses an o-ring on the front notches.

Maybe that's the purpose for the front notches, maybe not. I'll bet if you emailed Griffin, they would tell you.

Another possibility is that they're for use with a spring type material clip like this: