Dawn 125mm Offset Cast Semi-Steel Bench Vise Vice Refurbishment Review

By /

Today I am cleaning up a Dawn 125mm offset cast semi-steel engineer’s vice (often found on eBay AU in new or used condition).

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

As found it was missing jaws and had received a rattlecan all-over paintjob at some point in it’s life.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Next to my 100mm SG offset:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Someone missed while welding?

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Old grease, new grease:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Nut – looking a little furry:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

The paint covered the sliding surfaces too:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Dynamic jaw removed:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

The usual Dawn arrangement behind the handle – washer, spring, washer, split pin:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

While it’s a bit beaten up there do seem to be more inclusions than you normally see in Dawn vices in the casting surface – note the pits that would normally be hidden by the jaws:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

A few cuts taken too far:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Some bonus metal on the slide:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

After the extra metal was removed where relevant and the paint stripped, some jaws were knocked up out of some scrap plate:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

The inclusions were left as-is – no filler here! Some fresh paint:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Lubed with some Castrol Spheerol LMM:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

The handle is 5/8″ in diameter and 10 ½” end to end (15.8mm and 267mm respectively). Next to the SG again:

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

As a long-standing fan of the offset vice (holding long things vertically comes in handy regularly for me) I would heartily recommend this style of vice over the standard engineer’s vice. My daily vice is an offset 100mm SG unit and it has stood up to quite a beating in the time I have had it. Weighing in at a little under 40kg, it’s certainly not a small or light vice but it is Australian-made quality and with care it’ll still be working well in another 50 years.

Specs-wise, the jaw width is 125mm, the max opening is 145mm, the closed length is 492mm, it’s 294mm wide and 231mm high. The currently available part number is 60180.

As far as age goes – this one is post-metrication, so post-1970 or thereabouts – beyond that I can’t say for sure. Perhaps the markings on the nut would provide more information there but I am not aware of any specifics regarding that. The quality of the casting surface on this particular vice is not up there with the best of the Dawns I have refurbished but it does not appear to have hindered this vice from withstanding a lot of use/abuse and in the short time I used it it performed admirably with little slop and great clamping ability.

Here are some photos of a restoration or refurbishment of a Dawn 125mm cast offset engineer's bench vice or vise.

Check out what offset vices are available on eBay AU or check out some of my other Dawn refurbishments and restorations here.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top