The VISES of Garage Journal

[Private Lugnutz]

Lugnutz: This is not the tiny vise you posted but it does have features in common with yours.

It sure does! Lends credence to the concept not being a one-off and a place to start looking. Thanks for posting!

 

[TheRealZeus]

Saw - and left behind - this massive Columbian (I didn't measure and guy didn't know, but looked at least like 8" jaws) this morning. I couldn't read the model number. Posterity pics.

Beautiful find Man. Looks to be a 608.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Saw - and left behind - this massive Columbian (I didn't measure and guy didn't know, but looked at least like 8" jaws) this morning. I couldn't read the model number. Posterity pics.

That looks like it could be a 608 Lugz. That's why I roll the swaps with a heavy duty cart so I never have to leave one of those big monsters behind... Oops I see TheRealZeus beat me to it. Ed.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Looks to be a 608.

Yes, I can see it now! Thanks.

That's why I roll the swaps with a heavy duty cart so I never have to leave one of those big monsters behind...

It wasn't the size - he was on the closest table to the PL, but the price. I only have a dozen or so vises and all of them were "steals", where the seller was uninformed, badly underinformed, or informed enough but letting things go low.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Well, unjustifiable cost is consideration I fully understand Lugz. I regularly pass up overpriced vises as well. Mostly gold plated Wilton bullets. Ed.

 

[micahd1997]

The reunion of two of the greatest items of American vise history ever found...

At the risk of being longwinded but for the sake of being thorough, I want to document the history of the items in these pictures with as much detail as possible. Nearly 4 years ago, my passion for American history intertwined with an unexplainable appreciation for vises. Ever since then, I've dedicated innumerable hours to the research, discovery, and publication of the history of vises in America - most prominently, the history of the Prentiss Vise Company. I don't say any of this as someone soliciting a request for applause but as an unremarkable, obsessive, 28 year-old family man from Texas who enjoys the thrill of discovery and fears the sad reality that material things like these are destined for the scrap heap if they're not preserved. Ok, moving on...

What you're looking at is a genuine, 53" long wooden advertising model of the renown Prentiss Patent Vise, topped with a 47" long, double sided, wooden sign advertising the same. The model and the sign were both located separately, having changed hands and sporadically surfaced several times over the course of digitalized history. After becoming aware of their existence, I spent nearly a year attempting to locate each one. After months of searching and several incredible strokes of luck (a story too long to document here), I located both. I was lucky enough to obtain the sign for my personal collection, and I was doubly lucky to discover that the model was owned by a friend of mine. Even though the sign and the model are part of two separate collections, we were determined to reunite them for, perhaps, the first time in over 100 years.

When were they made? - With 99% certainty, both the sign and the model were made between 1876 and 1878. Despite Mason Prentiss patenting his revolutionary swivel-jaw vise on March 17, 1868, the earliest known mention of the manufacture of Mason's vise didn't surface until May 11, 1876 (over 8 years later). It was on this day (and also a week later on May 18, 1876) that both the Corning Journal and the Watkins Express newspapers announced that James F Hall of Hoosick Falls, NY had recently moved to Havana, NY in order to "manufacture the adjustable jaw vise". The smattering of newspaper articles that came in the following several years confirmed that this "adjustable jaw vise" was indeed Mason Prentiss' patented swivel-jaw vise. Though the finer details of the early days are not yet clear, what is confirmed is that the manufacturing of Prentiss's vise began as a product of the partnership between James F Hall and Elbert P Cook, both residents of Havana, NY. The partnership between these two men was known locally as "Cook & Hall", and it was under this company name that the first visual depiction of a Prentiss vise ever saw the light of day on February 24, 1876 (which just so happens to be my birthday). See the very last picture for a snip of this advertisement. Cook & Hall operated in Havana, NY for only a little over a year until General John E Mulford (a resident of Havana, NY) and Mortimer G Lewis bought out Cook's interest in the business, officially incorporated it the Hall Manufacturing Company on September 10 1877, relocated its offices to 23 Dey Street in NYC, and contracted with Bagley & Sewall of New York City to produce the company's vises (there are reams of other supporting details to back this up, but they are too lengthy to include here).

In both the 1876 advertisement and the vise model, you'll notice the funky little growth on the driver's side of the dynamic jaw. From numerous other photos, contextual clues from the time period, and a teaspoon of deductive reasoning, we know that this was an oil plug, an access point to allow the user to oil the vise screw (similar to the oil plug/hole in later Reed vises). For unknown reasons, the company decided to do away with this oil plug very early on. This is most clearly seen by comparing the April 1879 and May 1879 issues of the American Machinist where the Prentiss Patent Vise is advertised. Not a single feature of the advertisement is changed between the two issues except that the oil plug disappears, never to be seen thereafter. Given the presence of the oil plug on the vise model, we can conclude that it was very likely built during the Hall Manufacturing era (the company didn't change their name to the Prentiss Vise Company until April 18, 1881).

Additionally, you'll notice two distinct holes in both the vise model AND the vise sign (the black pipes that connect the two are not original). The distance between both sets of holes is exactly 22 1/4". Combined with similarities in material, color scheme, and age, this observation leads us to conclude without a doubt that the vise model and the sign were 1) both manufactured at the same time and 2) displayed together.

There is SO much more that could be said (all of which I look forward to posting incrementally with time), but I'll cut the post off here. Please always feel free to reach out with any questions about the history of the Prentiss Vise Company or about your specific Prentiss vise, and I'll very likely be able to help you, and do so happily.

 

[TheRealZeus]

Whelp.. that is a contender for the coolest post of the day.

 

[bryson]

The reunion of two of the greatest items of American vise history ever found...

At the risk of being longwinded but for the sake of being thorough, I want to document the history of the items in these pictures with as much detail as possible. Nearly 4 years ago, my passion for American history intertwined with an unexplainable appreciation for vises. Ever since then, I've dedicated innumerable hours to the research, discovery, and publication of the history of vises in America - most prominently, the history of the Prentiss Vise Company. I don't say any of this as someone soliciting a request for applause but as an unremarkable, obsessive, 28 year-old family man from Texas who enjoys the thrill of discovery and fears the sad reality that material things like these are destined for the scrap heap if they're not preserved. Ok, moving on...

What you're looking at is a genuine, 53" long wooden advertising model of the renown Prentiss Patent Vise, topped with a 47" long, double sided, wooden sign advertising the same. The model and the sign were both located separately, having changed hands and sporadically surfaced several times over the course of digitalized history. After becoming aware of their existence, I spent nearly a year attempting to locate each one. After months of searching and several incredible strokes of luck (a story too long to document here), I located both. I was lucky enough to obtain the sign for my personal collection, and I was doubly lucky to discover that the model was owned by a friend of mine. Even though the sign and the model are part of two separate collections, we were determined to reunite them for, perhaps, the first time in over 100 years.

When were they made? - With 99% certainty, both the sign and the model were made between 1876 and 1878. Despite Mason Prentiss patenting his revolutionary swivel-jaw vise on March 17, 1868, the earliest known mention of the manufacture of Mason's vise didn't surface until May 11, 1876 (over 8 years later). It was on this day (and also a week later on May 18, 1876) that both the Corning Journal and the Watkins Express newspapers announced that James F Hall of Hoosick Falls, NY had recently moved to Havana, NY in order to "manufacture the adjustable jaw vise". The smattering of newspaper articles that came in the following several years confirmed that this "adjustable jaw vise" was indeed Mason Prentiss' patented swivel-jaw vise. Though the finer details of the early days are not yet clear, what is confirmed is that the manufacturing of Prentiss's vise began as a product of the partnership between James F Hall and Elbert P Cook, both residents of Havana, NY. The partnership between these two men was known locally as "Cook & Hall", and it was under this company name that the first visual depiction of a Prentiss vise ever saw the light of day on February 24, 1876 (which just so happens to be my birthday). See the very last picture for a snip of this advertisement. Cook & Hall operated in Havana, NY for only a little over a year until General John E Mulford (a resident of Havana, NY) and Mortimer G Lewis bought out Cook's interest in the business, incorporated it the Hall Manufacturing Company on September 10, 1878, relocated its offices to 23 Dey Street in NYC, and contracted with Bagley & Sewall of New York City to produce the company's vises (there are reams of other supporting details and concrete support to back this up, but they are too lengthy to include here).

In both the 1876 advertisement and the vise model, you'll notice the funky little growth on the driver's side of the dynamic jaw. From numerous other photos, contextual clues from the time period, and a teaspoon of deductive reasoning, we know that this was an oil plug, an access point to allow the user to oil the vise screw (similar to the oil plug/hole in later Reed vises). For unknown reasons, the company decided to do away with this oil plug very early on. This is most clearly seen by comparing the April 1879 and May 1879 issues of the American Machinist where the Prentiss Patent Vise is advertised. Not a single feature of the advertisement is changed between the two issues except that the oil plug disappears, never to be seen thereafter. Given the presence of the oil plug on the vise model, we can conclude that it was very likely built during the Hall Manufacturing era (the company didn't change their name to the Prentiss Vise Company until April 18, 1881).

Additionally, you'll notice two distinct holes in both the vise model AND the vise sign (the black pipes that connect the two are not original). The distance between both sets of holes is exactly 22 1/4". Combined with similarities in material, color scheme, and age, this observation leads us to conclude without a doubt that the vise model and the sign were 1) both manufactured at the same time and 2) displayed together.

There is SO much more that could be said (all of which I look forward to posting incrementally with time), but I'll cut the post off here. Please always feel free to reach out with any questions about the history of the Prentiss Vise Company or about your specific Prentiss vise, and I'll very likely be able to help you, and do so happily.

Cool! Why does the sign say "Prentiss Patent Vise." If the company name didn't change until after the sign was built? Was the Prentiss name used for the vise itself before the company name was changed (since it was after all the designers name)?

 

[TheRealZeus]

The reunion of two of the greatest items of American vise history ever found...

At the risk of being longwinded but for the sake of being thorough, I want to document the history of the items in these pictures with as much detail as possible. Nearly 4 years ago, my passion for American history intertwined with an unexplainable appreciation for vises. Ever since then, I've dedicated innumerable hours to the research, discovery, and publication of the history of vises in America - most prominently, the history of the Prentiss Vise Company. I don't say any of this as someone soliciting a request for applause but as an unremarkable, obsessive, 28 year-old family man from Texas who enjoys the thrill of discovery and fears the sad reality that material things like these are destined for the scrap heap if they're not preserved. Ok, moving on...

What you're looking at is a genuine, 53" long wooden advertising model of the renown Prentiss Patent Vise, topped with a 47" long, double sided, wooden sign advertising the same. The model and the sign were both located separately, having changed hands and sporadically surfaced several times over the course of digitalized history. After becoming aware of their existence, I spent nearly a year attempting to locate each one. After months of searching and several incredible strokes of luck (a story too long to document here), I located both. I was lucky enough to obtain the sign for my personal collection, and I was doubly lucky to discover that the model was owned by a friend of mine. Even though the sign and the model are part of two separate collections, we were determined to reunite them for, perhaps, the first time in over 100 years.

When were they made? - With 99% certainty, both the sign and the model were made between 1876 and 1878. Despite Mason Prentiss patenting his revolutionary swivel-jaw vise on March 17, 1868, the earliest known mention of the manufacture of Mason's vise didn't surface until May 11, 1876 (over 8 years later). It was on this day (and also a week later on May 18, 1876) that both the Corning Journal and the Watkins Express newspapers announced that James F Hall of Hoosick Falls, NY had recently moved to Havana, NY in order to "manufacture the adjustable jaw vise". The smattering of newspaper articles that came in the following several years confirmed that this "adjustable jaw vise" was indeed Mason Prentiss' patented swivel-jaw vise. Though the finer details of the early days are not yet clear, what is confirmed is that the manufacturing of Prentiss's vise began as a product of the partnership between James F Hall and Elbert P Cook, both residents of Havana, NY. The partnership between these two men was known locally as "Cook & Hall", and it was under this company name that the first visual depiction of a Prentiss vise ever saw the light of day on February 24, 1876 (which just so happens to be my birthday). See the very last picture for a snip of this advertisement. Cook & Hall operated in Havana, NY for only a little over a year until General John E Mulford (a resident of Havana, NY) and Mortimer G Lewis bought out Cook's interest in the business, incorporated it the Hall Manufacturing Company on September 10, 1878, relocated its offices to 23 Dey Street in NYC, and contracted with Bagley & Sewall of New York City to produce the company's vises (there are reams of other supporting details and concrete support to back this up, but they are too lengthy to include here).

In both the 1876 advertisement and the vise model, you'll notice the funky little growth on the driver's side of the dynamic jaw. From numerous other photos, contextual clues from the time period, and a teaspoon of deductive reasoning, we know that this was an oil plug, an access point to allow the user to oil the vise screw (similar to the oil plug/hole in later Reed vises). For unknown reasons, the company decided to do away with this oil plug very early on. This is most clearly seen by comparing the April 1879 and May 1879 issues of the American Machinist where the Prentiss Patent Vise is advertised. Not a single feature of the advertisement is changed between the two issues except that the oil plug disappears, never to be seen thereafter. Given the presence of the oil plug on the vise model, we can conclude that it was very likely built during the Hall Manufacturing era (the company didn't change their name to the Prentiss Vise Company until April 18, 1881).

Additionally, you'll notice two distinct holes in both the vise model AND the vise sign (the black pipes that connect the two are not original). The distance between both sets of holes is exactly 22 1/4". Combined with similarities in material, color scheme, and age, this observation leads us to conclude without a doubt that the vise model and the sign were 1) both manufactured at the same time and 2) displayed together.

There is SO much more that could be said (all of which I look forward to posting incrementally with time), but I'll cut the post off here. Please always feel free to reach out with any questions about the history of the Prentiss Vise Company or about your specific Prentiss vise, and I'll very likely be able to help you, and do so happily.

I would check the underside of the wedge to see if there’s remnants of a dowel that went completely through, landing where the hole is.
Sorry for the poor doodling.

 

[micahd1997]

Why does the sign say "Prentiss Patent Vise." If the company name didn't change until after the sign was built? Was the Prentiss name used for the vise itself before the company name was changed (since it was after all the designers name)?

That’s exactly correct, Bryson. From the very beginning (see the 1876 advertisement, for example), the company referred to the vise as the “Prentiss’ Patent Self-Adjusting Bench Vise”, “Prentiss’ Patent Adjustable Jaw Vise”, and “Prentiss’ Patent Vise”.

I would check the underside of the wedge to see if there’s remnants of a dowel that went completely through

Hey, Real Zeus, thanks for the input! I actually did check at the time, and the hole goes straight through to the slide as you pointed out in your drawing. However, the jury is out on whether the rod was steel or wood (though, like you mentioned, I tend to think it was wood)

 

[Maui]

Does anyone recognize this No. 140 vise? I believe it may be an Iron City vise. The jaws measure 4" across and the overall length is about 15". The owner claims it weighs 106 lbs which seems a little over the top to me. Can anyone here verify if this is infact correct?

 

[Outlawmws]

Do A search on "Star of David" in thread, I've seen that before.

 

[micahd1997]

Does anyone recognize this No. 140 vise? I believe it may be an Iron City vise. The jaws measure 4" across and the overall length is about 15". The owner claims it weighs 106 lbs which seems a little over the top to me. Can anyone here verify if this is infact correct?

The 106lbs is definitely not accurate. It’s not a common brand, but I’ve heard these were made by Nippon Industries in Japan around WWII. They’re basically a Japanese copy of Morgan’s. It seems Nippon might’ve also made these vises for Milwaukee at one time (notice the “Made in Japan” in the ad).

 

[Maui]

Hi Outlaw, I did the search and Iron City kept coming up so it looks like I was probably right. But I've never seen a 4" vise weigh more than 85 lbs, so I think the weight the seller is claiming is simply wrong.

 

[M635_Guy]

Whelp.. that is a contender for the coolest post of the day.

In one of the most interesting and unique threads on the internet... (IMHO)

 

[Beerhippie]

Does anyone recognize this No. 140 vise? I believe it may be an Iron City vise. The jaws measure 4" across and the overall length is about 15". The owner claims it weighs 106 lbs which seems a little over the top to me. Can anyone here verify if this is infact correct?

I think what the seller means by "106 lb" is "Damn this thing is heavy!"

 

[Maui]

He claims that he weighed it and it measured 106 lbs. No bueno.

 

[TheRealZeus]

️ N
Here is a related thread of a 150 of that model/series, and their findings.
Post in thread 'Vise Identification'
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/vise-identification.458710/post-8604066

 

[CRSINMICH]

Micahd: Here's another wooden model of a vise.

​

 

[micahd1997]

Micahd: Here's another wooden model of a vise.

​

Thanks for sharing, CRS! That’s an amazing one. I wonder if it still exists. I have a friend who owns a postcard that depicts (what I believe to be) the same Athol vise model but earlier in their history (attached)

The only other wooden advertising model I’m aware of is this Parker model. A true beauty as well, though admittedly I don’t have quite the investment in its history as I do for the Prentiss model

 

[jopy]

How much should a vise stand weigh if the vise I'm going to put on it is 400kg?

 

[micahd1997]

How much should a vise stand weigh if the vise I'm going to put on it is 400kg?

Do you have a picture of the vise?

 

[Jazz1]

This beastly vise on my bench has no makers marks but it’s been quite handy over the years
I was given it, never seen another.

 

[TheRealZeus]

******* kit vise I think… one second.

 

[Outlawmws]

never seen another.

I have a similar one, different mounting, but looks the same -clamped in a 4" Parker 974

 

[TheRealZeus]

For review/comparison;

 

[TheRealZeus]

******* kit vise I think… one second.

I am seeing a couple declarations that the patent no. 142,546 but unable to dig at this time. Good luck!

 

[micahd1997]

I am seeing a couple declarations that the patent no. 142,546 but unable to dig at this time. Good luck!

Spot on. I couldn't find any available pages for it, so I pulled them from the USPTO's database

 

[RTM]

I am seeing a couple declarations that the patent no. 142,546 but unable to dig at this time. Good luck!

Beware, that is a design patent number, as @micahd1997 shows. If you lead with a D at google parents, or DATAMP, it will come up.

I have one also, this site pointed me to ******* also. I prefer to call it a Baby Cole, maybe we can start a craze, drive the price thru the roof...

 

[Jazz1]

Mine is the deluxe edition with the “pipe clamps” . Likely worth a kings ransom
there are stamped #’s. 2 on mounting side, 5 on the other

 

[RTM]

Mine is the deluxe edition with the “pipe clamps” . Likely worth a kings ransom

Mine too, keep pushing the Baby title, maybe double king's ransom.

The VISES of Garage Journal

The way the lettering is cast in place makes me think that at one time there was a “National Defense School” probably during wartime WWII. partial winner...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[rustyedge1]

I picked up this Wilton 1740 yesterday at auction, anyone know what the WF2 on swivel base stands for ?

 

[elmer]

A Friend of mine came across these two vises while cleaning out his father's barn. I am looking for any useful information on these vises.
THANKS

 

[Patrickm82]

@elmer tell him you want both!! The Starrett is very nice and quality. One of the best. The Wilton is “home owner” but still a nice quality vise.

 

[elmer]

@elmer tell him you want both!! The Starrett is very nice and quality. One of the best. The Wilton is “home owner” but still a nice quality vise.

Thanks Patrick I knew the starrett was a really nice vise but was not sure about the Wilton. I am hoping he hangs on to the starrett since it is from his dad.

 

[jawstight]

Not technically about vises, but I finished this today to make using my drill press vises easier to lock down.


The orange is the original table on my Wen 12" drill press. I drilled the 5/8" holes in it a year or so ago to make it easier to use my Stronghand clamps usable on it, rather than attaching screw type clamps to it each time I needed them. But the original table was really too small and it wasn't always possible to have a clamp on both sides of my work when I was drilling. The gray plate is the new table that I fabricated out of 1/4" x 12" x 12" mild steel. It did come with the corners rounded. I drilled and tapped four 1/4 - 20 holes so I could fasten it securely to the stock table.


I added four additional holes on the new plate, one to each corner, to supplement the four I drilled to line up with the holes I had previously drilled in the stock table. These Stronghand Tools clamps are quite nice. Quick to deploy and take off.
I'm waiting on a 1" drill bit to make the center hole larger, but other than that the new table is done.


There just wasn't enough real estate on the factory table to get clamps on both side of a vise. And this Wilton is smaller than my Palmgren tilting vise that is even wider than this one. Now I've got plenty of holes to make a solid hold on just about anything I put on the table.

edit: My drill press is actually a 12", not a 14". The 4214 model number had me fooled.

 

[micahd1997]

I finished this today to make using my drill press vises easier to lock down

Looks great! I definitely like the raw steel look over the original burnt orange

 

[Beerhippie]

Not technically about vises, but I finished this today to make using my drill press vises easier to lock down.

I need to do something like that to make more real estate for my mag-base DP vise--and then I could have a single, round hole in the DP table!

 

[jopy]

Hello fellow vise collectors

I’ve decided to undertake a substantial school engineering project on making a large 12 inch 400-450kg cast steel vise, however the foundry cost could be as high as 15k for one set of castings which is going to be a bit out of my price range so I am asking if some of you would be interested in a monster vise made by a 15 year old and his dad. I am still in the very early planning and if I’m going to hopefully follow through with this I would probably start shipping them by next year.

P.S I’m sorry if that isn’t formatted very well as writing isn’t one of my strong points

Jeremy

 

[jawstight]

Looks great! I definitely like the raw steel look over the original burnt orange

Thanks Micah. The top of the factory table wasn't painted. It was machined. But too small, even on such a relatively small drill press.