ebay unknown vise

[lovegrass]

I don't know if anyone could help me. I am interested in buying a vise on ebay but neither myself nor the seller appear to have much knowledge of a vise that is for sale. I wanted to buy an older USA made vise for a friend but apparently there are no markings on the vise. I did not know if it would be possible to have an expert from this forum look at it and hazard a guess. From reading posts on this forum before it seems that most USA made vises will have the manufacturer and or location on them. Anyway, appreciate reading the posts as they have been real enlightening.

 

[Zrexxer]

Without a link to a specific auction, there's no way anyone here could guess which one you're looking at...

 

[454ragtop]

My crystal ball got nothin'

 

[Zrexxer]

I did not know if it would be possible to have an expert from this forum look at it and hazard a guess.

OK, while we're waiting, I'll hazard a guess.

My guess is that it is the only known example of an extremely rare vise cast by the short-lived Eskimo company "Fire Wolf Foundry." An Inuit native named Agloolik became weary of hunting and fishing for a living, and always yearned to try his hand at the mechanical arts.

After studying the articles in his subscription to Popular Mechanics (which had to be delivered by dogsled, as Agloolik was miles beyond regular postal delivery routes), he decided to build a foundry and create the only American-made vises ever to be manufactured in Alaska. However, this being his first venture of the kind, he forgot to put the company name on the original pattern, which meant that it was not transferred to the molds.

Unfortunately, Agloolik had not considered that an iron foundry might not be an industry that was well suited to operating on ice floes, and as soon as the first ladle of iron was poured into the mold, the whole factory melted through the ice and disappeared into the frigid waters below.

Only one vise is ever known to have been recovered from the ill-fated Fire Wolf Foundry. A National Geographic expedition surveying the area picked up an odd sonar signal, prepared a team of divers to descend into the perilous waters, and found the wayward vise - yet unmarked due to Agloolik's oversight.

The vise was ensconced in the National Vise Museum in Reykjavik, Iceland, where it delighted museum-goers for decades. However, after an epic flood due to snowmelt caused by global warming, the vise was lost, along with the other two displays in the museum. Until NOW! Now it has shown up on eBay, a one of a kind testimony to Eskimo ingenuity, and rare beyond all description. Bid now, bid high, there won't be another one like this!

And THAT is my guess.

 

[CNGsaves]

Jimmy Hoffa knew quite a bit about vices/vises !!

Cheech & Chong were pretty knowledgeable about grass !!

. . . . . . but there are a lot of unknowns out there in the world !!

 

[Zrexxer]

OK, I will hang on to the day job!

 

[Carla]

Well, alright......it may not be such a mystery, actually.

The 'Lewis' Co. and presumably other, similar, firms, offered 'casting kits' for those who wanted to do the machine work in making their own vise, often as a school metal-shop project.

I bought one of those at a local estate sale, years ago, and later traded it off to one of our local machine folk.

Whoever had done the machine work had made a nice job of it. He had probably spent many hours fettling the castings ever so nicely, and rubbng-out the paintwork.

Unfortunately, it had become rusted before I got it, and was a 'restoration project'.

As I remember, it had a sort of 'generic American bench vise' appearance, without any particular 'distinguishing features', and, of course, no name or logo on the castings.

cheers

Carla

 

[LordPsychon]

OK, while we're waiting, I'll hazard a guess.

My guess is that it is the only known example of an extremely rare vise cast by the short-lived Eskimo company "Fire Wolf Foundry." An Inuit native named Agloolik became weary of hunting and fishing for a living, and always yearned to try his hand at the mechanical arts.

After studying the articles in his subscription to Popular Mechanics (which had to be delivered by dogsled, as Agloolik was miles beyond regular postal delivery routes), he decided to build a foundry and create the only American-made vises ever to be manufactured in Alaska. However, this being his first venture of the kind, he forgot to put the company name on the original pattern, which meant that it was not transferred to the molds.

Unfortunately, Agloolik had not considered that an iron foundry might not be an industry that was well suited to operating on ice floes, and as soon as the first ladle of iron was poured into the mold, the whole factory melted through the ice and disappeared into the frigid waters below.

Only one vise is ever known to have been recovered from the ill-fated Fire Wolf Foundry. A National Geographic expedition surveying the area picked up an odd sonar signal, prepared a team of divers to descend into the perilous waters, and found the wayward vise - yet unmarked due to Agloolik's oversight.

The vise was ensconced in the National Vise Museum in Reykjavik, Iceland, where it delighted museum-goers for decades. However, after an epic flood due to snowmelt caused by global warming, the vise was lost, along with the other two displays in the museum. Until NOW! Now it has shown up on eBay, a one of a kind testimony to Eskimo ingenuity, and rare beyond all description. Bid now, bid high, there won't be another one like this!

And THAT is my guess.

That's a pretty good guess (and a heck of a funny story too, great job!)

 

[Kevin54]

Zrexxer........Nice.....Damn near had me convinced

Lovegrass....if you would, please put your location or country in your profile. It really helps to answer questions like this. At least with no listing to an ad, not a pic, little do we know as far as where the vise may be. It could very well be something the Professor built in the island after the SS Minnow ran ashore.

Other than that, and I can't help you other than giving you a suggestion on how others may help you. Location plays a key part in a lot of questions. And no need for a city, but somewhere within a 100 mile radius of your city, in your state or country really does help. Plus it helps to make friends on here, s you may just have a fellow member right around the corner from you.

And above all.....Welcome to Garage Journal. You've found probably one of the best places on the web. And even if you don't think it's the best site on the web, at least you've found some of the very best and helpful people that you will ever run in to. I home you hang around for a long time and become one of the family of Garage and Tool people. And if you have two wheel toys, 4 wheel toys, propeller driven toys......post them up, along with the space that you get your tranquility from. We do like pics. We like LOTS of pics. We like pics so much that some of us don't even read, we just look at pics.

Seriously, we like pics, and we will bend over backwards to help you get your answer, but just a tad more info is needed. And above all....enjoy the site, and make sure you check out the other forums on here. Guaranteed to spend your time, and possibly spend your money.