Vise Drill Anvil [Restoration]

In this restoration I restore a vise drill anvil combination tool. This odd tool was manufactured by Rock Island Mfg. Co. from 1915-1930s when the company went out of business. You can see the original patent here: patents.google.com/patent/US1...
This tool was sent to me by a viewer in hopes of getting everything back in order. The only part missing was the "hardy" tool for the anvil, but those can be easily made. I would not recommend using cast iron as an anvil material though as it will most likely shatter. The entire concept of this combination tool is something that is not synergistic and is actually just a poor anvil, drill, and vise. Nevertheless, these are somewhat common and must have been popular with at least some number of customers.
I replaced all the old japanning with new coats of japanning. I tried to slap on more layers of japanning as an experiment to see if I could get a smoother finish. The anvil portion had some cracks that needed to be brazed and the vise jaws were machined off and completely replaced with soft metal ones. I personally use soft jaws more often.
To use the drill you have to turn one handle to advance the bit and another to spin the drill. It's a very odd experience, but neat nonetheless.
Since this tool was sent to me, I would love to pass it along one day, so if you are interested, let me know!
I would like to thank Evapo-Rust for sponsoring this video.
Wrenches are now for sale at www.handtoolrescue.com
Help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
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Podcast (with Jimmy DiResta and Andrew Alexander) - anchor.fm/fitzall

[@arduinoversusevil2025]

These where ahead of their time. We'd all have one rusting away outside the door if Billy Mays had seen this wizz-bang-gewgaw.

[@OscarSturgess]

what on earth is the man himself doing here down in the doobly do with but a 6 likes? shameful display

[@HandToolRescue]

You can also use it as a wrench if you are strong enough.

[@arduinoversusevil2025]

@@HandToolRescue *IT'S* *WHISPER* *QUIET*

[@arduinoversusevil2025]

Mosquito season just about over there in Saskabush?

[@bobnotman5154]

That contraption gives the term “keep yer d!ck in a vise” a WHOLE new meaning!

[@donjohnson3701]

I have two of these trying to put together enough parts to put it together and now I find out that I am still missing the drill table! Thanks for the video of an excellent restoration and clearing up how it is supposed to look and work.

[@1DY.]

Headbutting the blasting cabinet cracks me up every time. As soon as I see him putting things into it I'm like... ooooh wait for it. The anticipation in this episode was intense ha ha

[@TheCoffeehound]

He sees you shiver with antici... ...pation.

[@pauln2661]

He should sneak in a montage clip of banging his head on the sand blaster screen from 5 or more older videos.

[@roastingpeanuts]

@@pauln2661 yes🤣🤣2

[@johnathonmontie2234]

Caught me off guard haha Pans to blasting cabinet: “Ok cool let’s blast some shit now”. . . . . . . . . *THUMP” “Jesus Christ, that had rebound” 😂

[@andrewcarpenter270]

when he turned on the mill, my power flickered, and I thought, 'man that mill takes some juice, eh'. then I remembered it was only a movie.

[@charleshanson9467]

That's like the "printer faxer copier" of the machine shop. Not really good at anything.

[@MoraFermi]

Hey, at least "printer faxed copier"s are great at one thing: wasting your money!

[@xenonram]

Printer fax copier is a horrible example.

[@wtfiswiththosehandles]

What? We have a printer/faxer/copier that is an absolute beast of an office machine, the only reliable tool in the factory.

[@Nicmadis]

But wait! It does more!

[@steadfasttherenowned2460]

@@wtfiswiththosehandles I think they mean the consumer models not the commercial ones

[@ThePostApocalypticInventor]

Just the other day I found a piece of railroad track and had the idea of making an anvil from it AND then braze a vise to it. Little did I know this already existed a long time ago.

[@oldgreyman5994]

That'd be a great video to watch!

[@aboelishes]

can't wait to see it!

[@TreyCook21]

If you weren't who you are, people would be saying, "That sounds dumb as hell!". Yet, here you are, being the who that you are and we should expect no less when left to your own de-vises.

[@FOMI1970]

Pretend that you didn't know and post a video ... we'll watch it.

[@reigninoel]

Hell, I'd watch that, new idea or not.

[@BH-rx3ue]

For all who are wondering, to get a sand blaster to work at maximum efficiency, you must assert your dominance as demonstrated @5:18

[@davidf7883]

Every muscle in my body clenched during the tablesaw scene. My mind was screaming "Brace for impact!!". I don't even like ripping wood on a tablesaw, I can't imagine a 2X2 piece of aluminum. Bravo Sir!

[@tonymannion5743]

Fair play to you including the accident with the tap - a lot of guys would edit that out in fear it would make them look less than perfect to their audience (you know who you are!!)

[@richardlayton1603]

I make a new one!

[@scruffy6151]

I was waiting for it to happen been there done that more then once. Those that never show things going wrong are only lieing to themself.

[@NitFlickwick]

I believe that would be Jimmy Diresta, according to his recent Instagram stories about editing. 😂

[@Mister_Brown]

@@scruffy6151 whats funny is we've all been there and done that but we keep doing it over and over cause hand tapping is painfully slow and most of the time drill power tapping works.

[@1978garfield]

@@Mister_Brown Just like Sex Panther "60% of the time, it works every time."

[@aserta]

I've always liked the 1910's to 1950's patent browsing. The number of ... weird, quirky, odd, sometimes adorably dumb things you find knows no end :))

[@dimitar4y]

Is there a youtube channel dedicated to showcasing the weirdest patents?!

[@Shoorit]

Imagine what the 1910’s inventor would think if he saw the patent for some of the crap on amazon.. or an iPad.

[@Thematt11]

I can hear the guy selling this from a cart just yelling, "Do you want everything you do in the workshop to be fractionally harder and more frustrating? Well get rid of all those dull old 'designed for the job' tools and buy our unidentifiable homonculus of three of them"

[@dimitar4y]

wordsmith!

[@noworldable]

Its so strange it makes me wonder if this is for some highly specialized application with the soft metal jaws and all.

[@lukasdon0007]

I think you mean chimera instead of homunculus?

[@modergav]

That is a funny joke

[@barthanes1]

Japaning always looks so good. If it wasn't so labor intensive I would like to use it on a vintage GE motor I'm restoring.

[@tomasn3]

Your intro cracks me up every time! I love it. Such a throwback and nostalgia if you were a kid in the 80’s and watched sitcoms. Bravo 👏🏼

[@thomaslevy2119]

You have the knack for finding and restoring the strangest tools. Would have never guessed that the vice-anvil-drill even existed. Keep it up!

[@davidsholts]

Multi-tools have come a long way, they'll fit in your pocket now.

[@clubsoda85cook55]

Yeah but none of the ones that fit in your pocket have an anvil or a vise on them.

[@Tinker001]

Just need BIG pockets.

[@MazeFrame]

Beginning of the video: What is that good for? End of the video: Why does this exist?

[@zippy-zappa-zeppo-zorba-etc]

This guy has the coolest garage sales

[@radracer2033]

That has to be one of the strangest vises I've ever seen

[@fourkings7897]

Or drill

[@fourkings7897]

Or Anvil

[@AnttiBrax]

I have a theory... The drill part is not intended to be used by one person only. It needs two: one person holds the work piece while the other spins the drill and, at the same time, applies constant pressure with the vise screw. It's pretty pointless with wood but if you put a steel work piece in there it starts to make a bit of sense. I don't see why it would make sense as a regular drill. The vise bit is just a "handy" add-on then since it has a lead screw and all.

[@tomt9543]

@@AnttiBrax definitely designed by union people! A ploy to employ (no pun intended) 3 people to do a one man job. GENIUS!,

[@isaiahshaffer]

@@AnttiBrax I was thinking what you were, we also take things like battery powered tools nowadays for granted so If something was being done away from town/power you’d have a mini drill press available even if it took two people, tools weren’t exactly small or light back then, just judging by the way things are pinned and chained the idea very well might have been “portable”

[@Gr8DaneH]

I inherited one of these from my Grandpa. Such an interesting piece of equipment. Mine is missing the drilling pieces, but the vice parts still work. The rail on mine is also bent, haha. I'm guessing they didn't design it to handle angry-farmer-at-2am-during-harvest ft-lbs. Nice job on the restoration, it looks fantastic. With the vice bolted to a table the drilling would at least make a little more sense. It seems like a big design oversight though that you can't clamp something in the vice and then drill it...I guess that would have required another set of threads and an extra crank, making this even more of an unwieldy Frankenstein's monster.

[@kellyhill1265]

My thoughts exactly.just clamp your material and use a brace and bit to drill your hole being in the early 1900s a brace and bit is what you would use to drill anyway . So why incorporate it into the vice where you have to keep tightening the material with each turn of the drill? Seems like a laborious way to drill a hole even in the 1900s . But beyond that it’s a fantastic restoration of a redundant tool.

[@stevekreitler9349]

A lady handed me a rust encrusted pair of scissors to sharpen, recently. I tracked down some Evaporust, soaked them overnight, and was able to return gleaming hella sharp scissors! I'm a convert!

[@TomokosEnterprize]

Worth every penny !

[@frank-t6857]

I thought "Don't knock you forhead on the blasting cabinet" and seconds later it bounced even harder 🤣

[@GraduatedIn]

It was funnier after I read this and checked back on the video lol

[@iamgerg]

Me: Watches Adam Savage on Tapping. Me: Watches HTR using a drill with a smaller diameter tap. Me: Noooooooooooo! HTR tap: *crack*

[@deltafactory]

After watching Adam's video (just prior to this one) I knew exactly what was going to happen once the scary music started...

[@Sjackson2369]

Watched that one as well. As someone who can break the big taps fairly regularly, small taps make me nervous

[@martylawson1638]

@@Sjackson2369 Best way I've found to break taps is to flex and bend them. The best way I've found to NOT break taps is insure they're never flexed or bent. I.e. use a "tap press" or if you're in a mill, chuck up a dead-center and place it in the centering divot of the tapping tool. I also prefer to do 50% depth threads in steel instead of 75% threads. Way less tapping torque and holds well enough. (oh, and use TapMagic. cuts the torque in half)

[@Sjackson2369]

Marty lawson don’t dick up the threads and don’t use a tap - best way to not break one lol

[@allangibson8494]

And that is when you buy a tap destroyer... (which is basically a deep hole plasma cutter).

[@ColorBirb]

These intros keep getting better and better

[@jasoncanterbury6899]

you have kept me up numerous hours. but you also have help me sleep numerous hours. thank you. please keep doing this

[@JDLarge]

A shop teacher back in the day had one of these (very similar) set up in my high-school metal fab shop! 79! Hadn’t ever seen one before OR since. There wasn’t much he couldn’t do using that, as it was HIS preferred vise. Awesome to see one again, and as usual you’ve done an outstanding job bringing her back to life, I especially like the brazing scars, they give it some more class😉! But now I’m kinda feeling a tad bit old-er... 🥺✌🏼

[@madmodder123]

What was his main use for it?

[@corydriver7634]

I like this restoration because it reminds me of your earliest work, simple and short, but Lamp chain? Come on man you’re better than that. Definitely a specialty tool.

[@jobuda10]

Never forget 9-11-2001 I have so much stuff in my garage because I want to be like you. Great videos.

[@prestongoss6824]

That is such a weird vise...thing. The drill part didn't look tedious at all... Thanks for another great video. I always enjoy your intros!

[@singJJBplay]

REMIX!!! THROW YA HANDTOOLS IN THE AIR! WAVE 'EM ROUND LIKE YA JUST DON'T CARE!!!

[@metalbob3335]

Hit the deck

[@MrLeatherman23]

Promenade and back to your corners.

[@nathanstevens6351]

Seven injured in a hand tool dance party gone wrong today...

[@damienbusnarda6184]

I rly like what u do . Keep it like this . No talking . Machine and other sound . Awsome

[@brardshepp]

Hands down best restoration channel

[@windyhillfoundry5940]

Gives adjustable feed rate a whole new meaning. Love that finish Eric👌

[@djguy314]

Strange configuration, not sure what you would need this for. Beautiful work as always my friend.

[@chrisparola3949]

I laugh uncontrollably every time I see the sand blasting cabinet and know that your head bouncing off the glass is coming...

[@horstszibulski19]

Best scene was the glass changed to cling film some videos back... :-D

[@---Michael---]

I never even got to that joke because the videos are so relaxing that I'm asleep after 5 Minutes 😂

[@heitordutramartucci7938]

Great intro. Looking forward to see more of your work!!

[@patjohnson3100]

Thank you for saving this rare oddball tool. I've never seen one. The brazing and straightening of the beam would have stopped me. The job looks really good.

[@TheFurriestOne]

Ah, earthquake-edition intro, very fitting for 2020! That is probably the strangest vintage tool I've seen yet!

[@drewstotts7087]

What an incredibly tedious tool to have to use. Shocking that the company that made them went out of business Looks excellent restored though! GGs

[@Gnarledreaper]

It was a time before powered drills.

[@pressb]

Pretty sure you are supposed to lock the wood in place with the vice and then drill. If you were drilling a lot of the same hole e.g. in wooden droppers for wire stock fencing, this thing would be a massive boon over just a hand crank drill.

[@feelspazman5860]

Not a big tool/handyman type of guy, but these videos are always incredibly interesting.

[@HandToolRescue]

Thanks!

[@shamrock1961]

A++ video as always. Enjoy your projects a great deal 👍. Thanks for your dedication to restoration!

[@Rooster1172T]

That is a very interesting tool? I completely thought the drill portion would have advanced by itself while drilling but upon realising that I did remember the spindle is held in place with washers and no screw mechanism. To crank the vice then drill then crank the vice and vice versa is a bit of a pain, but it's definately an incredible piece non the less so great job!

[@broadstken]

Well, that is definitely one of those, and definitely the first one of them I've seen. I can't help thinking "but, why?" And now I want one for no other reason than the sheer wtf value

[@aaronb485]

Came out great as usual. I like the smaller projects you do. Fun to watch

[@yorkshirejoinery2869]

Radical new start! Very street, the young ones will love it!

[@silviodeon6476]

Top muito bom incrível cada vez melhor!

[@BigGrabowski]

Why, this is a fabulous gewgaw, a wonderful whatchamacallit, dare I say a spectacular oojamaflip. I bet the original owner had to pay three easy payments of $9.99 for it.

[@MrLeatherman23]

Nope... half down and half a month for 9 years.

[@1978garfield]

I'm shocked it didn't have the Craftsman brand on it. Sears...your home for solutions to problems that may not in fact exist.

[@marcelo90z]

Hey, mr HandToolRescue, I just want to say that we at home love your content. I watch your content with my mom because we love repairing videos, we love when stuff gets fixed or gain new life, but we particularly love your videos because of your humor. It is special because my mom doesn't like to watch much english content because the doesn't know the language (we are non-native speakers of english, we are from Brazil), but you are one of the few channels in english that she actually likes to watch. Simultaneous translation kind of became part of the routine for translating your jokes to portuguese... hahahaha Love your videos. Your humor makes you special.

[@moisesferreira1812]

Bela restauração. Ferramenta incrível. Parabéns.

[@CanadairCL44]

I have never seen a vice like that before, and you made a great job of the restoration as usual. Some suggestions, you could really benefit from a hand press and or a fly press, Perhaps you could find one of each to restore? Also, using hand taps in a drill or machine is always going to end in disaster. Use machine taps if you are going to tap holes using a power tool - they don't break, especially if you use some lubricant. Always tap at a low speed.

[@westa1979]

HTR: These jaws are weird Jaws: You're weird

[@scruffy6151]

I never grow tired of watching what you do and the humor is spot on. Have a great day and God Bless.

[@HandToolRescue]

I appreciate that

[@thomasklugh4345]

I just love it when I see it all coming together... Really nice job... again!

[@youtubeuser5402]

I absolutely loved the intro😂😂

[@ShinoPuppy]

I'm starting to think that his true goal is to scare off as many people as possible by incrementally making the intro more and more trashy with every new post. …pun intended.

[@HandToolRescue]

Of course! If I wanted a more general appeal I wouldn't be making 30min videos with no talking!

[@frank-t6857]

@@HandToolRescue I think you hands express a lot more sense than most most people's mouth here on YT

[@reigninoel]

This one looks like it was filmed with a camera placed on a flimsy stool or something while someone is breaking up the concrete floor around it with a jackhammer.

[@Scouts_Honor]

Can't wait for the techno remix ft. Nelly. That jam is gonna be hot!

[@scruffy6151]

@@HandToolRescue what you talk well i will be dammed lol. Going to take more than a little shaking before i leave this channel lol. Have a great day.

[@ingmarfris8175]

Very interesting restoration. Great work as usual!

[@ricosuave1647]

Bro I’ve been itching for you to put out a new vid!!! Thank you you made my day with this one!!

[@jeff1176]

I guess if you want to drill a straight hole horizontally this is the vise for you. Seems like quite a bit of work though. Very nice restoration, keep up the great work Eric.

[@Pest789]

Has a mill. Still drills things he literally just had set up on the mill by hand.

[@brucepierson9941]

And then uses a sanding belt to trim them to length. 🤣

[@magicoddeffect]

I kept yelling this at my screen. Plus the fact that he keeps tapping holes with a drill...that terrifies me. Doing it by hand not only makes for better video but it's way less likely to snap taps

[@donjohnson3701]

Thanks for a great video! I have two of these that I bought several years ago but they do not have the support for the drill press attachment. I didn’t truly understand the function of the vise until I saw your video. Now that I know how it is supposed to to work it will be my next project.

[@subvet694]

Such attention to detail is commendable 👍

[@jasonsummit1885]

Wasn't expecting the die grinder to sound like a screaming woman!😂

[@djfaber]

Have you considered using longer cotter pins?

[@HandToolRescue]

I'm trying to find longer ones actually.

[@clubsoda85cook55]

Fastenal has them up to 6” and up to 1/2 diameter.

[@scruffy6151]

🤣🤣🤣

[@00dmb5]

@@clubsoda85cook55 :O

[@stoutlager6325]

@@clubsoda85cook55 Nice.

[@861LJ]

Wait for it...wait for it....yes! Quick face plant at the sand blaster! Night made!👍🏻😆 Versatile little vice..even has an anvil on it! Nice resto! Good job!!

[@MercuryWagons]

I seriously can't wait to see your next videos! I have watched every video on this channel and I am always amazed by the work you do! Thanks for preserving history.

[@HandToolRescue]

Thank you so much 😀

[@MercuryWagons]

@@HandToolRescue you are welcome. Seriously it's my privilege to watch what you do! Keep it up:) I'm always a fan🇺🇲♥️🇺🇲

[@thomasthompson6799]

Unusual old vise that must have had a very specific job. Nice job restoring it but I think I would have cleaned up the jaws and left them as original. I like the Japanning.

[@thegougler]

I love how the microphone only picked up the annoying frequencies from the die grinder.

[@HandToolRescue]

Right?! Was so happy to hear that.

[@ronthacker211]

Good job. Nice to see tools that I've never seen before.

[@88ElevenShop]

That's some great content and production value. That kit looks great.

[@DUxMORTEM]

So question, how often, if even at all, do you change that bucket of evapo-rust?

[@MarekLewandowski_EE]

Every time the corpses stop dissolving...

[@williamreininger7546]

Not going to lie, I’d have laughed if that second tap broke.

[@TrojanHorse1959]

I have never seen that type pf vice before and it turned out rather nicely, thank you

[@jbuffalo65jb]

I've got one just like this. So far all I've done is derust it. It's missing the drill base but otherwise in decent/well used shape. Great job on the restoration.

[@oldenslo4141]

May I ask a question? Did you finally take down the swag lamp in your living room? Dang, it! I wondered where you got that chain!

[@HandToolRescue]

Hahaha. I should keep a stock of small brass chain for things like this.

[@davidregis592]

@@HandToolRescue Sash chain also seems like it'd be appropriate

[@zumbazumba1]

@@HandToolRescue what abrasive do you use in your sandblaster and on how much pressure?

[@mikejose8966]

I swear that vat of Evaporust STILL gets larger every episode. You’re gonna end up with a swimming pool of the stuff.

[@jessefoulk]

I noticed that on this one. It was filled more than I remember.

[@oliverhorner930]

That opening segment earned my sub, amazing.

[@mattymmmm2362]

So I’m seeing a whole bunch of machines we have not seen before. New workshop tour video!

[@gabrielbarbosa6543]

Essa eu nunca tinha visto muito top👍👍👍

[@asvarien]

I'm more confused than a homeless guy under house arrest.

[@70tdc12s]

You have the best restoration videos.

[@TacosTasteLikeBlue]

THAT REMIX KILLED ME, thank you HTR. I needed that.

[@TysyTube]

😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

[@Jankki420]

7:36 sounds like someone screaming 😂

[@funkyspacecow]

I love the dramatic build up in the music when the tap broke... and then the fake out with the other tap!

[@LaKema]

Wow muy bueno!

[@RinoaL]

ive never heard of this type of tool lol.

[@ThePostApocalypticInventor]

Hello there! Seems like this is the place to be.

[@ThePostApocalypticInventor]

@ItsYaBoi ErrSkinnYP3n15 I was simply amazed to find both AvE and Rinoa in the same comment section. Channels I have been in contact with for a number of years.

[@HandToolRescue]

I am the missing link! Haha

[@HandToolRescue]

It needs to be more things.

[@ThePostApocalypticInventor]

@@HandToolRescue The missing link! Yes that's it. You obviously are completing some kind of very strange mosaic right here. (mumbling:) Riddles in the dark...

[@dankeebler6171]

I have this same vise missing the drilling table and could not figure out how the drill part worked

[@chrisbourgeois175]

Do you have the Hardy Tool for this Vise? its seen here on page 4 of this PDF (Top Left corner) vintagemachinery.org/pubs/732/7246.pdf

[@andyblyth923]

After seeing this do you really want one?

[@paulfox3532]

I'm still not sure we know. The only way it would make sense, as a tool, is if the vice actually held the item to be drilled, and it doesn't do that, like, at all. It makes you wonder if a piece is missing or backwards or something's broken. what an odd implement.

[@jaybeam9553]

So glad to see no powder coating. It looks great

[@brianbrown1955]

Your restorations are masterful, great work!

[@123Shel12]

The cheap chains were the only replacement items I didn’t like. Otherwise, A+ for the restoration.

[@katar0t0]

Taps in a drill, I see you also like to live dangerously :)

[@fungunfanatic]

It's a Boy!!

[@westa1979]

As a Californian I find this very triggering.

[@Lyric.S-]

@@westa1979 california boooiiiiiii

[@luiscardozo1419]

Beautiful tool!!!! Amazing restoration

[@donaldmclean1645]

Love your vids. Always great work and I find some of them educational.

[@nynexman4464]

I wonder if this was meant to be used with short drill bits, seems so odd you'd have to hold the work by hand in a vice.

[@InfiniteCraftsman]

What brand light saber are you brazing with?

[@HandToolRescue]

Sith

[@amilcarmoncada1801]

Excelente restauración de esta pieza, muy interesante las dos funciones en una sola herramienta, un poco digamos dificil al momento de ejecutar sus funciones, saludos desde Venezuela.

[@supergeten2]

Never seen an wooden handle before and we have made a lot of anvils in the past in Sweden. I´ll never seen anything like it. Cool!

[@Leib33]

I don't know why but at 3:38 i was starting to expect that Eric was next going to pull out either a Volkswagen or a shark

[@martinpanev6651]

I like the "Its a boy" Pencil : D

[@otterlyrediculous.]

Its a secret hint.. theres a mini handtool rescue coming

[@edka1031]

Un artefacto de veras muy curioso, y una restauración muy bien lograda!

[@ShelXanadar]

That beginning had me laughing, ACTUALLY LAUGHING and not just breathing harder through my nose! THANK YOU! I NEEDED THAT!