OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Off Topics Dawn Vice - Show me Your Restoration

Hi Guys

Not outdoor equipment related but very much Australiana stuff which I know you guys like.

I got this Dawn Vice from my aunty's late father, its at least 50 years old, he was an engineer. Actually the working mechanism was really good, I just pulled out the split pin and cleaned it up and but new grease on the mechanism.

i stripped it back with paint thinner and wire brush on drill and angle grinder. Also used flap disk to polish a bit the handle and the flat part and the vice jaws. Taped up with masking tape and painted. I think I put a bit too much paint as bubbled in a few spots. Will become my everyday workhorse once I mount it so not too worried about a little bubbled paint.

Is bubbling paint normally because of too much paint ? Maybe a bit damp between quotes or too little time

I used a steel hollow pipe with a slot cut in it as per photo to put the washer and spring back with new split pin, i tries using a pipe wrench to hold back the washer and spring for the split pin but the slotted pipe is so easy.

Dawn vices are beautiful stuff and made in Australia in Melbourne for over 100 years.

Anyone got any other Dawn vice stories ?

Cheers lads

Hi Ted12,

Here's a small one I found on a kerbside rubbish pile.
Any general guide on where the best place is to.mount it on a three metre work bench that's on the back end of the garage?
That's why I haven't put it on yet and would like to.

Good job giving yours a new lease of life.

Nice find, I never see anything good on kerb collection. Yes unfortunately I dont have 3 metre bench but I will mount on the back wall.

That brand on yours is Carter

MF,
one thing that controls where you mount a vice on a bench depends on whether you are left handed or right handed

Norm, Im in a bit of a predictament on where to mount. My bench is about 1.8 metre long and buts up to the wall on the right hand side.

I could either mount at the left hand end (more suites to left handers ) or 3/4 of the way along to the right, neither ideal

Good point NormK but I think I'm ambidextrous when it comes to using a vice. I write with my right hand but throw with my left , yet bowl a cricket ball with my right arm.
That's an important consideration all the same.

Actually now i think about it , it probably should be at the left hand end because if you were planning something you want your right shoulder aligned with the bench

Left end is usual if you're right handed

Or if the bench runs wall to wall, about 1/3 along from the left end seems to work OK.

Being a lefty, my vise is mounted at the right hand end of my bench;



The job in hand there is silver soldering T-handles on to set screws, for a wee 'build project' I've got on the go.

Hi Gadge,
nice offset vice you have there but for me they have some limitations particularly if you are cutting with a hacksaw on the left hand side. Like all tools sometimes you need a couple of them to cover all situations

First project on the restored vice!

rethreaded the bolts that hold on the work bench to the brick wall on the back wall of garage . I was going to mount the vice on this bench but the previous owner had the work bench bolted to the wall at 96cm (must have been a giant) Im going to drop it down to 84 cm.

When I knocked out the old bolts ( really old ) cleaned up the shaft with wire brush on drill and rethreaded with a die as I must have damaged the thread knocking out the old bolts or could have been a bit damaged already. Still once cleaned up and re threaded i cant see any point of spending $3 on new bolts and they are a bit custom in size. Will just cut a 5mm thick plate for the outside of the garage and drill lower holes and use again.

Vice came in handy for re threading and for a 60 year bolt they nut goes smooth as

For sure Norm; ideally I'd have a lefty offset vise [Dawn do make these, but they're seriously exy].

However, what I intend to do to cover the 'odd' situations, is to set up a blacksmith's leg vise I have on a 'post mount', so that I can walk all the way around it.

Hi all,

I must admit I feel that an offset is the most usable vice and that is because one can place things in it vertically which is not possible in an upright engineers vice.

I've probably got around 10 different Dawn units which include the 10 inch quick release carpenters units and right through to the big Daddy of them all, the huge 8 inch (200mm) fabricated Offset which is still sitting here totally unused. This was Dawns most expensive vice along side the SG 150 Offset.

Oh and BTW for all you Australian made lovers, most of Dawns products are now sadly made offshore with only a handful still being cast in Melbourne and Adelaide, yes even Dawn has outsourced their casting now since their last ownership change a few years ago when Gobal offloaded the company.

Cheers,
BB.

Is Carter well regarded as well? It has Australia prominently stamped on the side. It's helped me out even without mounting it yet.
There is a bigger rusty one out in the back yard that I use sometimes.

This is my Dawn vice. Was originally our next door neighbours. He kept everything in pretty good condition, garden immaculate, but was a bit of a pr*ck to be honest (eg looks over fence to check you have washing on the line then starts incinerator).

Anyway, 13+ years ago he went down to the shed for an afternoon nap and passed away in his chair. Few years ago (14/7/16) the builders were about to rip the place down and said I have the weekend before demo to take what ever I wanted from the sheds, garden etc.

Found the tennis balls he never threw back over the fence, hand tools, brass sprinkler heads, the vice and about 15x 40 year old rose bushes almost broke my back getting them out


Vice was undercover but morning sun and water covered in the rain for the last 10 years after the back of his garage was damaged and was never fixed. Stored under cover now and I will be restoring soon.

Looks like you got rewarded for the pain Tyler and revenge! He would have hated seeing his stuff being rummaged though by his quarry from above.
Good metal under the coating of rust and spilt paint.

Should make a plaque in his honour to further the torment haha.

Yes his roses are flourishing as well - not sure he would be happy that they survived (as he loved them) or furious someone else has them. Had a few die early on, then one spontaneously dropped dead 2 months ago - maybe a sign

Funny thing I noticed was the ones at the front of the house transplanted better - I put that down to the limestone the front verandah was built on giving them fertiliser from 2007-2016 as they received nothing except occasional water after that. They were getting 6x4 trailer loads of manure mix every 2 months when he had them

Probably was more peeved when they knocked down his shed full of 2007 homebrew. Stank to high heaven. Would have liked to keep a few of the glass bottles, but the smell had permeated.

Back to the vice, it was seized up but I have regreased and use it occasionally

How can a miserable old b###**d have such beautiful things. I guess it was a balancer if sorts?

They were literally his pride and joy MF - spent a lot of time on them. Then neglected for 10 years and now looked after again (not to same standard but well).

He had some moments of niceness (especially if you recently complimented his garden) but overall... (Don't like to talk ill of the dead but still)

The other I remember was him going off at the driveway cleaner guy as his pressure washer blasted dirt into the duco of his ute (ancient rusty Datsun parked 20m away) and demanded he payed for a paint job.

As you said moments. Mafia dons are nice guys while they plot to wipe your family out!