Recent content by micahd1997

I was very grateful to’ve recently received this 1932 Athol Machine & Foundry Catalog № 38-A from a friend in a different state. According to him and his knowledge of Athol/Starrett catalogs, this was Athol’s first catalog in this “pamphlet style”. It has six pages, but is a single, continuous...

A couple pieces of Prentiss paper I received this past week…interested to see if my fellow members have anything similar: The first is a May 5th, 1906 letterhead to the Cox & Sons Company of Philadelphia, PA, manufacturers of steam engines and gas-fitters’s tools. The letterhead is a response...

That’s a nice one, Peter! I had a № 90 pass through my hands earlier this year with the original mounting hardware still attached (see pictures). I also have a source where you *might* be able to find the original wing nut. I’ll shoot you a PM

Any markings? How wide are the jaws? Columbian manufactured a similar style at some point, but it essentially looks like two static jaws of a Prentiss woodworker’s № 169 or № 69 (depending on jaw width). Guessing the dynamic jaw of one/both broke at some point and the owner made a lemon with...

Not taken as a dispute at all, just a piece of the puzzle! Compared to you and others here, I’m woefully uneducated on Rae vises. Beautiful vises. So are you saying that Dawn was absorbed by/predated Rae?

The best proof I have of the dates is from the Postage Stamp Guide (see link below) that indicates that the 2 cent stamp on the envelope that the catalog came in was issued in 1954...

Thanks for sharing here, Kevin! I’ve never had the pleasure of owning one, but I’m glad to hear your assessment of their quality. Coming from you, that says a lot There isn’t any date on the papers but the stamp on the envelope from McCoy Foundry that the catalog was mailed in looks like it was...

A few photos of a recent Rae vise catalog I purchased. Only 5 informational pages but all beautiful

Congrats! Never had the pleasure of owning one, but they’re meat vises. And at that price…no brainer Even though the paint is old, it’s not original. No vise manufacturers I’ve ever seen (understandably so) painted the slides of their vises, and that one shows clear traces on the slide. That...

Your commitment to accuracy is much appreciated, @four.cycle. Ebay sellers and others are one of the biggest reasons I rely so heavily on the OEM catalogs. I’m sure you have too - I’ve even seen many wholesale hardware catalogs that advertise a specific model, style, or size of vise that, per...

@four.cycle I think I found the source of the confusion - it looks like the September 1910 publication of The American Blacksmith was incorrect. Hard not to go wrong when the source documents appear to be the issue! The attached 1910-05-31 article from The Evening Republican of Meadville, PA...

Some neat history on the Barrett Machine Tool Company from a 1912 publication: Historical and Industrial Review of Meadville, PA

It looks like at one time, the history for the Meadville Vise Company on Vintage Machinery included a 1910 reference to Yost having bought the company, but it looks like that reference was later corrected and updated to the Williamson Vise Co. Could this be the confusion...

Unfortunately the video that I attempted to post didn’t go through (I forgot that GJ doesn’t allow videos). I’ve attached a couple pictures that should give a better idea. Essentially, there’s an interior hub that allows the nut itself to swivel. Whether from a newspaper reference somewhere or...

Mechanically speaking, one of the neatest vises I’ve ever personally owned. This is a 4 ⅛” jaw, 58 ½ lb. № 30 Barrett “Adjustable Jaw Machinists’ Vise”. What’s amazing about this vise is that unlike any other adjustable vise you’ve ever seen, the dynamic jaw swivels…NOT the static jaw (unlike...