I just receved an old herters vice. the stem is long as heck and is chromed as is the vice houseing. the vice jaws are shaped nice but they donot hold the hook well. nomatter how tight i try to adjust them they donot clost completly axcept for the very tip yet the hold pressuer isn’t great. is ther a way to fix this?
Who in the heck knows…but that could be a collectible:cool:
It has been a long time since I used a Herters vise. If it is one of the early models that looks like a Thompson A vise then there should be sume adjustments to either the vice jaws (screw then in or out) or to a shaft towards the back of the jaws that can be screwed in either direction. That should change the angle that the jaws close.
Larry —sagefisher—
I have done that but they just dont close all the way. its like they close at a angle. like a > with the very tips compressing but hot the rest. it is the one like the model A
Most vice jaws will only compress the tips together as this is where the hook is held. The metal bars to the jaw tip should have a small gap & be like = with the tips coming together like >. The hook goes inside the tip point & is held tightly. Most times the parallel metal bars will have an adjustment at the end opposite the tip point to spread the metal bars apart to get more pressure at the hook holding tip point. 
The best way to fix that vice is to JUNK it. I tied on one of those things for a good number of years and it was a fight every time I tied. I finally broke the jaws where the cam was pinned. Best thing that ever happened. I got a Regal which I am still using and I have since added a Renzeti Master.
You are better off putting it in your collectable collection and getting a good vice to tie on.
fishbum
That’s the vice I learned on, Charlaine, although I haven’t used it in many years
…it just never held the hook well.
Drove me nuts until I figured out that it was the vice, not me.
I’m going to junk it well all but the shaft. I have a thompson model a that i’m very happy with. i just liked the jaw style on the herters.
CharlaineC- sent ya a pm. Randall