A Nice Recycle Shop Find

Stuart Ablett

Member
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15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
Today I went out to Super Viva Home, the DIY place I like, to get a variety of things, I have more projects coming. On the way home I stopped by this recycle shop that my wife found on the net, the guy will take our old fridges, air cons or what ever for free and dispose of them. He is just outside the limits of the Tokyo Met area, so he can do this. Usually to dispose of an old fridge or AC unit etc you have to pay from about $50 to over $100, this is AFTER we already have to pay a special recycle tax when we buy the unit ::) As long as I take the units outside of the Tokyo Met area and take it to a registered recycle place it's all legit and it saves me money too! This guy usually has next to nothing of interest to me at his shop, used washing machines, old CDs or DVDs etc, or some truly awful art work. Today when I dropped off an old fridge and AC unit I took a quick look inside and I found this.....


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A very nice well made old metal working vice.


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The only markings I can find on it besides the name of the company cast into the side.
I'm thinking the 1969 might be the year it was manufactured...? I just looked online and the JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) were first passed in 1949, so it could very well date from 1969.


I found almost the same vice for sale used online for $150, and it was in not near a nice condition, I got this vice for $30, that was the price the guy had marked on it, I did not even haggle.


I found a similar vice also made in Japan JIS 125mm size for $500 new, so I think I did OK.


Sometimes it pays to check things out even in small shops that you would not think have anything worth your while.


Cheers!
 
I had a vise about that size that I inherited from a granddad. I moved it from house to house for years without ever having a bench to mount it on. When we moved into the current house in LA, a friend came over to help me with some welding and cutting on a metal gate, and I gave him the vise in exchange for the help. I didn't know at the time that within less than a year, I'd be setting up a shop, and could have put the old vise to use. Ah well, it went to a good home where it was appreciated and used in a metal shop.
 
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