Emmert Vise

maynah · Feb 23, 2015

This is on Maine CL. I know people go batty for Emmert vises. What is the function of this vise? Not the greatest pictures.
What makes them so desirable? Quality? Rarity?

https://maine.craigslist.org/tls/4904848842.html

maynah · Feb 23, 2015

Two more pictures. There is no asking price on this. Seller is looking for best offer.

L Vanice · Feb 23, 2015

I have never seen one with a swivel base that mounts on top of the bench, plus has three sets of jaws. That might mean it is much more rare than the rather rare "normal" version that mounts under the bench top. Those are patternmakers' vises with one wide jaw set with wood faces and one narrow jaw set for holding metal. The front jaw swivels for holding tapered parts. I think they are the ultimate woodworkers vise, and there were similar vises from Yost and maybe others.

Larry

PeteM · Feb 23, 2015

maynah said:
This is on Maine CL. I know people go batty for Emmert vises. What is the function of this vise? Not the greatest pictures.
What makes them so desirable? Quality? Rarity . . .

I had one of the woodworking vises. Yours is for metal; but with a similar ability to grab most anything and present it at an angle convenient for hand work. They might be useful for patternmaking (the wood one) and detail work (the metal one). However, I've had good luck with either a traditional vise or a vise on a big ball swivel rather than messing with an Emmert.

The originals are hard to find in good condition, which seems to be justification enough for a tool collector. Could be folks who post here like Bill R. and George W. might actually have work that justifies owning one.

Sequim Tool · Feb 23, 2015

Jim Bode Tools sold one like it for $1000. last year

John

Rock Crusher · Feb 23, 2015

It is one of the Emmert machinist vises. they made these in two sizes. They were sold at the same time as the Emmert patern makers vises and were priced a bit higher than the wood working vises. Not too many out there. I picked up the larger of the two sizes, a 4a, last summer for $300 and thought I'd done ok on the deal. It weighs about #100 and has a 4" wide jaw. The 6a is smaller and lighter. Here is a catalog cut. Ed.

Joe in NH · Feb 23, 2015

Infinitely adjustable is their attraction to woodworkers. At least one company is now making reproductions. (giving weight to my comment that if they're so damn'ed expensive, they certainly can be reproduced and find a market niche in repop.)

The range of adjustment is illustrated below

I'm content with standard bench metalworking vises in a traditional pattern, or my Craftsman knockoff of a Wilton for board work.

Joe in NH

Maltesehunter · Feb 23, 2015

Rock Crusher said:
It is one of the Emmert machinist vises. they made these in two sizes. They were sold at the same time as the Emmert patern makers vises and were priced a bit higher than the wood working vises. Not too many out there. I picked up the larger of the two sizes, a 4a, last summer for $300 and thought I'd done ok on the deal. It weighs about #100 and has a 4" wide jaw. The 6a is smaller and lighter. Here is a catalog cut. Ed.

Ed, did you happen to buy it at the Brooks Oregon Swap meet during the show? If so I remember seeing it on the floor.

These vises are commonly referred to as the "iron hand." It is hard to find them with the swivel jaws that were used to grab tapered work. Jake

Maltesehunter · Feb 23, 2015

Here is a great site with more info. Jake

Other Emmerts

Rock Crusher · Feb 23, 2015

Jake, Yes I did get it at Steam up last summer in Brooks. About the only thing I picked up there but I was pretty happy to find it. I had been hoping to find one for quite a while and there it was.... Ed.

sfriedberg · Feb 23, 2015

Rock Crusher beat me to it. Most often, "Emmert" refers to their lineage of extremely versatile woodworking vises. Those are desirable for the cool factor, for the utility (thousands were sold to patternmaking shops), and (because they are somewhat fragile when abused) for the collectable rarity. The Emmert 4A and 6A metalworking vises appear to be much rarer today than the woodworking vises, although I have no idea what the original numbers were. I'd guess a greater proportion of 4As and 6As were melted down or turned into doorstops 60 to 70 years ago.

I certainly wouldn't mind a 4A in my shop!

Rock Crusher · Feb 23, 2015

Here is another cut from 1913 showing sizes and vintage pricing. I also have a slightly later price list showing them at about 50% higher but it didn't scan too good. I have a hard time justifying a lot of the tools in my shop on a need basis...but I surely do enjoy them. Ed.

traditional-tools · Feb 24, 2015

The metalworking vise is rarer than the woodworkign vises. They are cool vises.

I use a clone woodworking vise on my woodworking bench, I adapted a handwheel to it. The originals are big and heavy, and tend to crack the casting easily, so you see them brazed quite often.

These metalworking models are more useful than a parrot vise, IMO. Not sure they're workth $1k though. My $0.02.

stephen thomas · Feb 24, 2015

Those Iron hand versions are quite rare these days.

I grew up just over the hill from Waynesboro, and used to ride my bike up sometimes. Never passed the factory on my bike, but drove by with parents at times when it was still operational. After Emmert went out of business, I had arranged to borrow a couple and was going to make patterns and reproduce the woodworker/patternmaker version in the late 80's/early 90's. Then the first oriental clone version of the smaller size woodworking vise came out, and wife, son & I moved to upstate NY & got too busy with the rest of life. It was in that period that I finished my first straight edge patterns, though.

.

Emmerts are sort of like the woodworker's version of a welding positioner. Some welders will never need or use one (Koike Aronson, e.g. type positioner) in their entire career. Some will use one most every day. I have a Koike Aronson C1000 with some interchangeable tables and a 6" York vise mounted on it to use it for scraping and sometimes woodworking & patternmaking. Never used it for welding. I do not have an Emmert.

Universal Balance | Positioners

My C1000 is on a 1" thick full steel base, with the casters under that. So it is quite stable.

SouthBendModel34 · Feb 24, 2015

Rarity of Emmert Machinist Bench Vises?

Gents,

In all my years of "Tooling Around" looking for old tools in many venues, I have seen exactly ONE of those Emmert Machinist Bench Vises. It was for sale at the C.R.A.F.T.S.-NJ (Collectors of Rare and Familiar Tools Society of New Jersey) Picnic about a decade ago. The price was far too high for me to consider it - after all, I already had a nice Parker and an old Wilton.

It is my belief that these are quite rare - I would like to learn how many forum members actually own one.

Complete and in good condition, an example would sell for big bucks.

Sign there's always the hope that one might turn up at an estate sale or yard sale......

John Ruth
I wonder if the late Antiquemack had one of these.

Grigg · Feb 24, 2015

SouthBendModel34 said:
Gents,

In all my years of "Tooling Around" looking for old tools in many venues, I have seen exactly ONE of those Emmert Machinist Bench Vises. It was for sale at the C.R.A.F.T.S.-NJ (Collectors of Rare and Familiar Tools Society of New Jersey) Picnic about a decade ago. The price was far too high for me to consider it - after all, I already had a nice Parker and an old Wilton.

It is my belief that these are quite rare - I would like to learn how many forum members actually own one.

Well, add me to the list

Tell me about the C.R.A.F.T.S. meeting in NJ?
I ask because the vise above was given to me by a very good friend about 2002 , 3 or 4 as a graduation present for completing my apprentice training as a machinist. This friend lived in NJ and was seriously into old and interesting tools, Emmert vises being one of his major vices.

Grigg

P.S. more Emmerts in a picture from a Richmond, VA antique tool club meeting several years ago, couple of them are mine but surely not all.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/R3YxPdWm5JmOEzx2lEUBz9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink

Frank R · Feb 24, 2015

I picked up two for free a few years ago in exchange for helping a shop owner sell some machinery at higher prices than they were asking.

One was in good shape, one was disassembled. I sold the good one at the NAMES show a few years back. It was an attention getter; lots of people stopped to take a look. I sold the parts vise at Cabin Fever two years ago. Only one person noticed it on the floor of my booth. I said "you have a very good eye to notice that". He gladly bought it.

I recommend that you go buy that vise. They are not made anymore and they are pretty rare.

sfriedberg · Feb 24, 2015

Gary Martin, of Martin Model in Portland, OR, has made Emmert and/or clone woodworking vise parts in the past. I wonder what it would cost to get some castings made to reproduce a 4A? Professional patternmaking ain't cheap, but it probably wouldn't cost $1000, and the per-each casting set cost would be less than a decent Wilton bullet vise.

Someone on the web (I would give proper attribution if I had it handy) had a really extensive photo gallery of a fully disassembled Emmert machinists vise, which I quickly saved away for reference. That would probably be quite sufficient to draft plans for a clone. Not a project I intend to launch into any time soon, but maybe in a few years ...

Added in edit: I added proper attribution in a later comment below.

Frank R · Feb 24, 2015

I don't think there is a demand for reproductions of the machinist vise. The woodworking community is far larger and they find them somewhat practical and it has become a status symbol to have one.

Hardly anyone knows about the Emmert machinist vises. I have never seen anyone use one either.

depmco · Feb 24, 2015

Frank R said:
I don't think there is a demand for reproductions of the machinist vise. The woodworking community is far larger and they find them somewhat practical and it has become a status symbol to have one.

Hardly anyone knows about the Emmert machinist vises. I have never seen anyone use one either.

That doesn't always stop Gary (master patternmaker) and his merry band of patternmaker wannabes. :-)

-- Greg

Emmert Vise

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Cast Iron

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Cast Iron

Cast Iron

Hot Rolled

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Hot Rolled

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Hot Rolled

Stainless

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Stainless

Aluminum

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