Columbian 508 Vise History

[BullfrogJohnson]

I am in the process of restoring an old 508 vise. I have searched high and low for information on figuring the age of the vise. All I can find is they started production in 1926. I have also been looking for the original paint color with no luck. Upon tearing it down there were only two colors of paint, black and seafoam green, but not enough of it to be sure which was the original color.

Any of you vise junkies point me in the right direction?

 

[gatewaysysop]

Someone had to say it.

In all seriousness, some photos of the vise in question might help to better determine it's vintage. I seem to recall Catalyze(?) mentioning that whether or not the scripting on both sides was curved would indicate, roughly, pre- vs. post-WWII for example.

Here's one of mine, a later model 406, where only one side is curved:



Pics should certainly help if you can get them, I'm sure people wouldn't mind getting a look at an 8" Columbian restoration.