Chas. Parker No. 7?
- Thread starter Bill_993
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Packard V8
Well-known member
1. AFAIK, there isn't a Chas. Parker #7. Do you have info othewise?
2. Even if there were a #7, that vise doesn't have the typical Parker collar.
jack vines
2. Even if there were a #7, that vise doesn't have the typical Parker collar.
jack vines
Thanks Mr. Vines. The seller on Craigslist, believed it maybe a Chas. Parker. Here is the full seller's description.
"I have completely restored this vise. It was given a chemical bath and taken down to the bare metal. There is absolutely zero damage or repairs anywhere on this vise. It has a very unique mounting system that only requires you to drill a single hole in your work bench. To swivel the vise you loose and tighten the knob under the counter. You can see it in the photos. This vise is extremely heavy, I don't know how much because I don't have a scale but it's heavy, you'll see. Very well made like they used to make them, much better than any of the foreign junk you see in stores today. This is made to last several lifetimes. It works buttery smooth with great action. I could not find a single thing wrong with this vise and I inspected every square inch of it inside and out. I put fresh grease on the main screw so it's ready to go. This is an excellent deal on a vise you can pass down to your children and their children.
The vise has 3.5" Jaws and opens to 5.5" The only marking on it is No. 7. I believe it was made by Chas Parker sometime in the early 1900's. This is a vise you will be proud to have on your work bench."
"I have completely restored this vise. It was given a chemical bath and taken down to the bare metal. There is absolutely zero damage or repairs anywhere on this vise. It has a very unique mounting system that only requires you to drill a single hole in your work bench. To swivel the vise you loose and tighten the knob under the counter. You can see it in the photos. This vise is extremely heavy, I don't know how much because I don't have a scale but it's heavy, you'll see. Very well made like they used to make them, much better than any of the foreign junk you see in stores today. This is made to last several lifetimes. It works buttery smooth with great action. I could not find a single thing wrong with this vise and I inspected every square inch of it inside and out. I put fresh grease on the main screw so it's ready to go. This is an excellent deal on a vise you can pass down to your children and their children.
The vise has 3.5" Jaws and opens to 5.5" The only marking on it is No. 7. I believe it was made by Chas Parker sometime in the early 1900's. This is a vise you will be proud to have on your work bench."
bl00
Well-known member
The seller posted the same question here:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174660
I think he stumped us, but I agree with Packard that it does not appear to be a Parker.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174660
I think he stumped us, but I agree with Packard that it does not appear to be a Parker.
balane
Well-known member
Yes, it's mine and I have no idea who made it. I wish somebody knew for sure. Saying I thought it might be a Parker was a guess on my part. Feel free to come look at it.
Edit: I removed the reference to Parker in my CL listing since that doesn't seem to be the case. This is a real mystery to me.
Edit: I removed the reference to Parker in my CL listing since that doesn't seem to be the case. This is a real mystery to me.
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MP&C
Well-known member
Of all the Charles Parker vises I have seen, they all had the name in the casting. I would think this is another manufacturer...
balane
Well-known member
This is why I though it might be a Parker. I looked at hundreds of vise photos trying to pin down the manufacturer and this one, while much larger, was very similar in appearance and mounting method. It was the closest thing I found.
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Morgan, I believe was the only other MFG that made that combo and of coarse Morgans don't have the collar and they have forged on jaws. That could be a very early rebranded Morgan also. I might have the pipe jaws for that vise. I had a 87 Combo that was broken and I trashed it after selling the collar.
balane
Well-known member
Thanks Autopts. If it ends up not selling I'll get in touch with you about the pipe jaws and we can compare measurements. Nothing wrong with a Morgan!
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Autpts; If those Morgan pipe jaws don't fit Balane's mystery vise, I might be interested in the for a reed I picked up last week.
Speaking of Reeds Balane .that Vise of yours has the Reed style main screw head... Just sayin... (Of course other also used that head style also)
Parker used the collar, and a different main screw head style, as does the other similar vise you posted. A lot of rip offs went on back then for styling though. (look at Reed, Athol and the Prentiss Bulldog main body styles...).
Speaking of Reeds Balane .that Vise of yours has the Reed style main screw head... Just sayin... (Of course other also used that head style also)
Parker used the collar, and a different main screw head style, as does the other similar vise you posted. A lot of rip offs went on back then for styling though. (look at Reed, Athol and the Prentiss Bulldog main body styles...).
balane
Well-known member
If you want them then please be my guest. I have a pipe vise I use so if I got them it would only be for appearance sake.
More confusion!!!! 
The vise that's not meant to be known.I guess I will resurrect this thread. There IS in fact a C Parker No7. I have one. Or at least there are some out there that say "C Parker Co. Meriden CT" on one side and "No 7" on the other. Mine has two holes in the base. But that blue one and the grey one did not. I know the old swivel vise's mounted with a single center bolt through the table. There IS a center hole, and it's threaded,so I think some previous owner drilled those holes on mine. I don't know who this "Chaz" guy is though. Maybe Chaz and Chase(who sometimes gets credited with making these vise's) are the lesser known Parker triplets.
Its interesting that his does not have the company name on it. Perhaps some previous owner ground it off for some reason? I can't imagine why though.
Its interesting that his does not have the company name on it. Perhaps some previous owner ground it off for some reason? I can't imagine why though.
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
Interesting Tie in!
Adding to my earlier comments on the min screw head style - I discovered in later years, that If you go early enough in the Parker family tree they were using the ball head rather than the cylindrical head commonly seen. - I now have a CP #3 (with all three of the 1854 adn 1867 patent dates) and it had the ball head screw.
Another similar Brand -that used Parker jaw inserts... - is Oswego, which was also a combo vise.
Adding to my earlier comments on the min screw head style - I discovered in later years, that If you go early enough in the Parker family tree they were using the ball head rather than the cylindrical head commonly seen. - I now have a CP #3 (with all three of the 1854 adn 1867 patent dates) and it had the ball head screw.
Another similar Brand -that used Parker jaw inserts... - is Oswego, which was also a combo vise.
I took it apart and found a tiny chip out of the dovetail that holds the screw, which isn't too bad. I'll probably just braze that too and then file it to the right dimensions.
The slide as you can see was used for an anvil. Surprisingly it was not distorted or severely mushroomed. Also surprising is that it looks like that was NOT what caused it to crack. You can see in the second picture the flattened and ever so slightly mushroomed corner where it was dropped. That's probably what took the chop out of the dovetail as well. The good news is, the slide is straight with only the slightest but of mushrooms at the very top edges. Once I took those little ridges off, the width of the slide is uniform to 5 thousandths over it's entire length. The metal around the crack is actually buckled up slightly and a few thousandths convex which accounts for the gap at the back end of the crack. I'll V it out and braze it with RBCuZn-C filler, which is the recommended way to repair ductile iron without converting it to grey iron which would pretty much destroy the vise. I just have to watch the temp so as not to overheat it. If it goes cherry red it's all over.
The slide as you can see was used for an anvil. Surprisingly it was not distorted or severely mushroomed. Also surprising is that it looks like that was NOT what caused it to crack. You can see in the second picture the flattened and ever so slightly mushroomed corner where it was dropped. That's probably what took the chop out of the dovetail as well. The good news is, the slide is straight with only the slightest but of mushrooms at the very top edges. Once I took those little ridges off, the width of the slide is uniform to 5 thousandths over it's entire length. The metal around the crack is actually buckled up slightly and a few thousandths convex which accounts for the gap at the back end of the crack. I'll V it out and braze it with RBCuZn-C filler, which is the recommended way to repair ductile iron without converting it to grey iron which would pretty much destroy the vise. I just have to watch the temp so as not to overheat it. If it goes cherry red it's all over.
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RTM
Well-known member
Just to put a pin in this, here is a catalog cut showing a No 7 by Parker, from 1922.
Parker Vises : Catalogue : Charles Parker Company : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
80 p., illus., 22.2 cm, trade catalog
archive.org