Columbian Vise - Age?

[lakeview2628]

Vise Guys,
Can anyone tell me how old this 503 vise likely is? Clearly it was manufactured when "hardware" was still in the Columbian name so at least as far back as the mid 1920s. Thanks for your help!

 

[Fierljeppen]

That's an unusual casting / jaw / swivel setup, I've never seen before. Usually, I'll only date a vise to an era, without a date-stamp. But in your case, I think we can get pretty close.

My theory is based on printed and dated data from old catalogs and magazines, paying attention to the casting / jaw / swivel setup.

Sometime around 1922, Columbian Hdw. pioneered the universal base, allowing the main base casting to be either a stationary or swivel model. About 1926, Columbian Hdw became Columbian Vise & Mfg Co. They also incorporated the "T" style jaws at that time. Your vise has the Columbian Hdw casting with the Universal base + the "T" style jaws. I believe your vise is from 1925-1926. Final answer.

I dropped you a timeline of photos, based on the data I have. Fun puzzle.

 

[autopts]

That almost looks like M3 behind 603. I think the M3's are their current model. That's if the screws go thru the faces of the jaw. I think. update I digress, I think its a 2

 

[Fierljeppen]

That almost looks like M3 behind 603. I think the M3's are their current model. That's if the screws go thru the faces of the jaw. I think. update I digress, I think its a 2

It looks like an M2 to me as well. It's definitely a old Columbian Hdw casting, so it's gotta be pre-1926 or so. I've found several examples of the "M" casted on the vises with the new universal base from that era, with the Columbian Hardware casting as well.

I never saw any "M" casting on the Columbian Vise & Mfg. casting until about 1959, when they started to look like the Craftsman of that era.

That's all I got.

 

[lakeview2628]

Thanks for the great info, guys. Fierljeppen, thank you for the very logical estimate of the year it was made. Your knowledge of Columbian vises is really impressive. A couple more questions and then I promise I'll leave you guys alone until after Christmas. What does the "M" mean? There's also a "C" on the other side. Any idea what that means? Those are probably easy ones for you guys. Here's a difficult one: The lettering on my vise is a lot less visually appealing than others I've seen, including the pics posted by Fierljeppen. They could have used the entire side of the vise to spell out Columbian and Cleveland as they always do but they instead abbreviated Columbian and Hardware. Have you guys seen that before? A couple of theories: 1) maybe this vise was a prototype and not intended for retail sale. Hence the lettering is not as pretty as other vises. 2) perhaps it was part of contract production for a third party, maybe the military. Maybe the contract specified that they leave that space open so the third party could mark or label them there. Any thoughts on this? Thanks again!!

 

[gh6095]

when did they start using the swivel back jaw...I have a 404.5 in great shape painted in semi gloss black.