The VISES of Garage Journal

[Shiftless]

I think that was mainly just a shift to new model no's.

Thanks Outlaw
That’s probably right.

 

[micahd1997]

Today is a monumental day that marks an incredibly BIG WIN for the worldwide vise community. Against all odds, this holy grail of American vise history has survived for over ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS, and it will FINALLY be reunited with the vises that it was made to advertise.

It is the latest addition and the undeniable centerpiece to my personal collection – an 1876-1879 smalt, 47” x 6”, double-sided Prentiss Patent Vise sign.

This sign memorializes Mason Prentiss’ revolutionary swivel jaw vise, patented March 17, 1868. The earliest known records of the production of Mason’s vise date to 1876 when Elbert P Cook and James F Hall formed a partnership under the name Cook & Hall, later incorporated as Hall Manufacturing Company in 1877. In August of that year, Cook would sell his interest to John E. Mulford, and the company would relocate to 23 Dey St. in NYC, adding three more shareholders – William S Morrow, Mortimer G Lewis, and Edwin Mulford. Shortly thereafter, the company’s five shareholders officially changed the name to the Prentiss Vise Company on April 18, 1881. Four weekly publications of The Daily Register (a New York newspaper) were instructed by the order of the Supreme Court of New York to inform the public of this change. Several other publications (including the American Machinist and local newspapers) followed suit. Curiously and humorously, the two volumes of Trow’s New York City Directory spanning May 2, 1880 – May 1, 1882, listed them as the “Prentiss Patent Vise Co” before correcting this mistake in volume 96. While Mason’s patent was something that Prentiss unabashedly referenced in their catalogues thru the end of the 1940s when they were bought out by Charles Parker, the exact phrase “Prentiss Patent Vise” was something advertised verbatim and with regular occurrence especially in early newspapers and a phrase which graced the cover of their 1902 Catalog X. Given my knowledge of the company’s history AND a piece of information that I’m not at liberty to disclose just yet, I date this sign between 1876 and 1879.



Was it exhibited proudly at the 1881 New England Mechanic’s Institute fair in Boston, MA where the Prentiss Vise Company was represented (Carpentry and Building, Nov 1881, pg. 209)? Was it hung in the office or warerooms of 110 Lafayette St in NYC, overseeing the skylit vise displays and English quartered oak floors of the company headquarters (Montour Falls Free Press, Oct 13, 1910)? Unless an enlightening photograph emerges, we may never know, but we can have absolute confidence that this sign did exactly what it was made for – catch the eye of passersby, many of whom would ultimately commit to the purchase of their own Prentiss patent vise.

 

[colmal]

Today is a monumental day that marks an incredibly BIG WIN for the worldwide vise community. Against all odds, this holy grail of American vise history has survived for over ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS, and it will FINALLY be reunited with the vises that it was made to advertise.

It is the latest addition and the undeniable centerpiece to my personal collection – an 1876-1879 smalt, 47” x 6”, double-sided Prentiss Patent Vise sign.

This sign memorializes Mason Prentiss’ revolutionary swivel jaw vise, patented March 17, 1868. The earliest known records of the production of Mason’s vise date to 1876 when Elbert P Cook and James F Hall formed a partnership under the name Cook & Hall, later incorporated as Hall Manufacturing Company in 1877. In August of that year, Cook would sell his interest to John E. Mulford, and the company would relocate to 23 Dey St. in NYC, adding three more shareholders – William S Morrow, Mortimer G Lewis, and Edwin Mulford. Shortly thereafter, the company’s five shareholders officially changed the name to the Prentiss Vise Company on April 18, 1881. Four weekly publications of The Daily Register (a New York newspaper) were instructed by the order of the Supreme Court of New York to inform the public of this change. Several other publications (including the American Machinist and local newspapers) followed suit. Curiously and humorously, the two volumes of Trow’s New York City Directory spanning May 2, 1880 – May 1, 1882, listed them as the “Prentiss Patent Vise Co” before correcting this mistake in volume 96. While Mason’s patent was something that Prentiss unabashedly referenced in their catalogues thru the end of the 1940s when they were bought out by Charles Parker, the exact phrase “Prentiss Patent Vise” was something advertised verbatim and with regular occurrence especially in early newspapers and a phrase which graced the cover of their 1902 Catalog X. Given my knowledge of the company’s history AND a piece of information that I’m not at liberty to disclose just yet, I date this sign between 1876 and 1879.



Was it exhibited proudly at the 1881 New England Mechanic’s Institute fair in Boston, MA where the Prentiss Vise Company was represented (Carpentry and Building, Nov 1881, pg. 209)? Was it hung in the office or warerooms of 110 Lafayette St in NYC, overseeing the skylit vise displays and English quartered oak floors of the company headquarters (Montour Falls Free Press, Oct 13, 1910)? Unless an enlightening photograph emerges, we may never know, but we can have absolute confidence that this sign did exactly what it was made for – catch the eye of passersby, many of whom would ultimately commit to the purchase of their own Prentiss patent vise.

Excellent work, love your passion and along with a few others here, thankyou for making me feel not so so strange after all.

The history and trying to work out how things stood generations ago, allied with hopefully a fine example is what draws me in more than anything else.

 

[Shiftless]

micahd1997:
That is indeed a rare find. Was that found just up in the rafters in an old barn or ???
Or a big ticket auction item or ???

I know that there are several members with way more Prentiss vises than I have.
Just to to contribute a bit and to possibly get the ball rolling on “let’s see your old Prentiss swivel jaw”, I will post a pic of the only one I have (2 inch jaws).
Is that the smallest of the series? What’s the approximate vintage of this one?
There is a very faint curved Prentiss stamping still visible on the front of the dynamic jaw tower.

 

[CRSINMICH]

Shift: Here's my Prentiss No.10 swiveler and a catalog cut from 1896.
Another cut from the same catalog has the answer to your question.

 

[Shiftless]

Thanks CRSINMICH
Another example of great research.

 

[micahd1997]

Colmal: Sure appreciate it, @colmal! Not strange in the least to love your country enough to be passionate about its history. Nothing like old, American-made tools, and there’s folks in this group who’ve been passionate about them for longer than I’ve been alive. I couldn’t agree more on the draw to uncover the mystery!

Shiftless: Thank you, @Shiftless! And that’s a beautiful Prentiss. I’ve tried to track the hands that the sign has passed through, but unfortunately the trail goes cold at about 10 years back. I’d like to think it was owned originally by someone in management at Prentiss or at Parker (after Parker acquired the company in the late 40s). To your request, I’ll post a picture here of some of my most beloved Prentiss vises (roughly half of them swivel jaws). The 2” jeweler’s vises were the second smallest that they made. They also made 1 ¾” watchmaker’s vises. I’ll include a picture of one of mine as well. The style of your 2” Prentiss was used from the 1880’s through the the early 1900’s, so a little hard to narrow down. That said, it’s in beautiful condition for how old it is. I only hop I look as good when I’m 100 years old!

 

[micahd1997]

Shift: Here's my Prentiss No.10 swiveler and a catalog cut from 1896.
Another cut from the same catalog has the answer to your question.

BEAUTIFUL example!

 

[ALLFAST]

tool_scrounge, I have seen a dove tail broken in the back side because the slider was opened where it was inside the Static then pressure is applied on the Dynamic and with no support on the square slider the nut takes all the stress. Adding a cap screw underneath is one way to fix it. It is what you are comfortable with on what kind of repair you do. Here is a way I fixed a 6-1/2" Parker with broken out dove-tails. Maybe someone else has another method.

Hello Kevin,

I’ve got an American Scale 66 with the broken dovetails on the back edges…do I understand this old fix of yours to be that you drill and tap the holes in the bottom of the base, then you machined this stepped looking bar to bolt/capture the dovetail nut with from the interior, rear edge ? Is the dovetail nut basically rock solid with zero play/backlash after this mod?

Can you please paint a picture with words of how you did this. A somewhat brief description of the fix is ok. I appreciate your help!

Best regards,

Shawn

 

[ALLFAST]

tool_scrounge, I have seen a dove tail broken in the back side because the slider was opened where it was inside the Static then pressure is applied on the Dynamic and with no support on the square slider the nut takes all the stress. Adding a cap screw underneath is one way to fix it. It is what you are comfortable with on what kind of repair you do. Here is a way I fixed a 6-1/2" Parker with broken out dove-tails. Maybe someone else has another method.

I think I have it now after studying the pictures some more! You machined the top edge of the rear nut with a shelf, and you fabbed the stepped bar to hold the nut fully seated in its home position, and the counter dunk cap screws lock it down from on top ( drilled/tapped with access from the bottom?) ?

 

[Hoorn]

My wife was watching an episode of The Twilight Zone today as I walked through the room. The episode, "Living Doll", is semi-famous and I recall it from my childhood. A step-daughters doll, "TalkyTina" tells the step-father, played by a young Telly Savalas, that she is going to kill him. After she continues to taunt him he snaps and puts her head in a vise and breaks out a blowtorch to take care of Talky Tina once and for all. It was then that I saw that it was a Rock Island vice, probably a 574.






Notice the visible Birtman badge to the right of Talky Tina.



He could not crush her head in the vise, the blowtorch did absolutely nothing and he tried several times to cut her head off with a radial arm saw. Sparks went flying, but Talky Tina weathered all this abuse.

This was a nice shout out to Rock Island when the episode aired in 1963.

For those that need to know, Talky Tina trips Telly Savalas down a flight of stairs and kills him.

 

[ALLFAST]

Pretty cool Hoorn !

 

[Shiftless]

I know ALLFAST has a Rocky or 2 standing by if he ever has to crush a dolls head or ???

 

[ALLFAST]

They are too small even at 6”

 

[john.k]

If I had the time and money,I d like to make a collection of the repaired vises that appear on FB .....horrible welding ,massive brazes,cuphead wood bolts ........some are pure desperation ,others flippers turning $2 into $200.............repaired vises are always ''collectable,classic,rare''

 

[Outlawmws]

Collect the pics. That's cheap and easy...

 

[ALLFAST]

You’ve got enough varieties of vices to crush anything from an ant up to a nerf ball

 

[KMScott]

I think I have it now after studying the pictures some more! You machined the top edge of the rear nut with a shelf, and you fabbed the stepped bar to hold the nut fully seated in its home position, and the counter dunk cap screws lock it down from on top ( drilled/tapped with access from the bottom?) ?

Yea there is many ways to repair broken dovetails. This one I did for Demoman on his Reed 107. I wanted to have fun with this repair since it reminded me of plastic injection mold repairs.

 

[ALLFAST]

Yea there is many ways to repair broken dovetails. This one I did for Demoman on his Reed 107. I wanted to have fun with this repair since it reminded me of plastic injection mold repairs.

Great stuff. Thank you Kevin! Stay safe

 

[Shiftless]

This one I did for Demoman on his Reed 107.

Kevin:
We haven’t heard from Demoman in over 6 years. He had lots of good sized vises and used to be a regular contributor to this thread. Are you still in contact with him ?

 

[KMScott]

Kevin:
We haven’t heard from Demoman in over 6 years. He had lots of good sized vises and used to be a regular contributor to this thread. Are you still in contact with him ?

I have not spoken with Brad for some time. He still has his large vise collection and I bet it has grown since his company demolishes buildings and has gathered vises when he is working out of state. Here is just a few of his vises.

 

[ALLFAST]

That is a site to behold !

 

[colmal]

After coming across this when I was looking into the Stanley Victor, liked the presentation/box -and hoped I could get a few similar.

That happened, arrived today original paint, remnants of front sticker, used but looked after and 'The Box'

Unsure if it is before or after Record bought Fabrex in 1961 thou.

 

[dannyr]

After coming across this when I was looking into the Stanley Victor, liked the presentation/box -and hoped I could get a few similar.

That happened, arrived today original paint, remnants of front sticker, used but looked after and 'The Box'

Unsure if it is before or after Record bought Fabrex in 1961 thou.

interesting to see the Fabrex box - has 'Made in Sheffield' - as Fabrex was a Leicester (city about 75m S of Sheffield) company making tools for the cloth industry (Fabrics) and some home-use tools - including two clamp-ons like this and a couple of much scarcer vises - I guess they out-sourced the vises to one of the many Sheffield vise-makers

 

[colmal]

interesting to see the Fabrex box - has 'Made in Sheffield' - as Fabrex was a Leicester (city about 75m S of Sheffield) company making tools for the cloth industry (Fabrics) and some home-use tools - including two clamp-ons like this and a couple of much scarcer vises - I guess they out-sourced the vises to one of the many Sheffield vise-makers

Are Record Sheffield based ?

 

[colmal]

I do have another, Cast in P brand, made in England Vice ? Merchandise item ?

Solid cast iron, well made, really nice movement, replaceable jaws, .860 lb, 390 gm,

Smaller than the similar vice in next post 30cm jaws, 10 cm, 4" long



And on second look, the P inside a spade is same as described below, but cast

 

[colmal]

 

[colmal]

The stamped in P is more common than the cast

 

[four.cycle]

so... is this "Bessey" worth $95 ? (NOT that I really need another vise)

 

[RTM]

so... is this "Bessey" worth $95 ? (NOT that I really need another vise)

It’s probably a newer Chinese import, but looks like minimal cleanup needed.

 

[four.cycle]

ahhh okay... hard pass.
I have a big Parker in the kitchen... I just can't get TO the workbench to mount it... too much clutter piled up.

 

[Beerhippie]

so... is this "Bessey" worth $95 ? (NOT that I really need another vise)

I have nearly the identical vise, branded Roughneck. It gets 90% of the use in the shop. The rotating jaws are something you'll wonder how you did without. I did completely rebuild mine recently, but it had been in use for thirty years.

 

[Shiftless]

I have a big Parker in the kitchen

I assume you are single…

 

[four.cycle]

^ Very much so currently, yes. Tools all over the house. (Well, except for master bedroom, bath, and hallway.)

 

[colmal]

^ Very much so currently, yes. Tools all over the house. (Well, except for master bedroom, bath, and hallway.)

I can say except for Bath

Surprisingly not single somehow.



Unsurprisingly she does have her own house,

 

[four.cycle]

^ Well... neither condition was by choice. I had to bring all the tools out of the garage and into the house to get them all sorted out - there's just no space out there to do anything.

 

[Wiz02]

I can say except for Bath

Surprisingly not single somehow.



Unsurprisingly she does have her own house,

Now those are some seriously awesome tchochkes.

 

[Shiftless]

My wife and I recently celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. My collection of vises takes up most of one room but in my defense it IS a room in the basement.
(Regular readers of this thread have seen this pic before, but it seemed relevant to the current conversation)

 

[colmal]

My wife and I recently celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. My collection of vises takes up most of one room but in my defense it IS a room in the basement.
(Regular readers of this thread have seen this pic before, but it seemed relevant to the current conversation)

I have something to aspire to

Posting my pic has prompted me to upgrade, found them this morning and after I sneakily said I was going to buy 3, (he was good at 2 but jumped in with a delivery offer after 3 (store selling good quality, tidied up seconds), the seller has offered to deliver, Will make things a tad posher. replacing the cheapy cabinet on left and 2 bookshelves that are starting to strain under the weight with 2 display cabinets and a large bookcase same style as the nicer display cabinet near the window

 

[colmal]

My wife and I recently celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. My collection of vises takes up most of one room but in my defense it IS a room in the basement.
(Regular readers of this thread have seen this pic before, but it seemed relevant to the current conversation)

Oh, and like very much, I have around 1 and a half tons of tools to move, pretty sure you have me covered.