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Found A USA Vise Doing A House Demolition

Bighead38

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2012
Messages
5,612
Location
Rockland County NY
Wrecking this house the other day. I was sorting the last few buckets of debris to get the dirt out and saw this in my bucket. I threw it to the side and hopped out to put it in my truck. Unbelievably it’s not broken and everything works. Going to clean it up and put it to use in the new work area I’m setting up at home.

Prentiss Vise Co
No 20
New York, NY
3-20
F5F0F50C-DA81-4C6F-BA55-27AA097A548C.jpegEE301C8D-D49B-4000-871B-208F751437FA.jpeg360B29BF-45EC-477F-BDE0-E6FF828E0693.jpeg376D2070-00BB-4D6A-966D-A99B0E81FDD9.jpegB70CFB79-2790-46BE-8C73-9872182ECC54.jpeg3182E3DD-94B0-483E-A7CD-4408A59DA1A1.jpeg80AC8F91-51BE-4E4E-BAAA-476B46A1FFFD.jpeg2768F5EA-53AE-4481-989B-4E88B758B7AE.jpeg
 
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thehorse13

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Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Messages
3,477
Location
Jefferson County, WV
Wrecking this house the other day. I was sorting the last few buckets of debris to get the dirt out and saw this in my bucket. I threw it to the side and hopped out to put it in my truck. Unbelievably it’s not broken and everything works. Going to clean it up and put it to use in the new work area I’m setting up at home.

Prentiss Vise Co
No 20
New York, NY
3-20
F5F0F50C-DA81-4C6F-BA55-27AA097A548C.jpegEE301C8D-D49B-4000-871B-208F751437FA.jpeg360B29BF-45EC-477F-BDE0-E6FF828E0693.jpeg376D2070-00BB-4D6A-966D-A99B0E81FDD9.jpegB70CFB79-2790-46BE-8C73-9872182ECC54.jpeg3182E3DD-94B0-483E-A7CD-4408A59DA1A1.jpeg80AC8F91-51BE-4E4E-BAAA-476B46A1FFFD.jpeg2768F5EA-53AE-4481-989B-4E88B758B7AE.jpeg
I just noticed that you're from Rockland County. I was born and raised there. Small world.
 

AreBeeBee

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Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
415
Location
Wisconsin
Great find! (When I read the thread's title, I wondered, "How's he demolishing a house using a vise??")

Good luck restoring it!
 
OP
B

Bighead38

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Joined
Nov 11, 2012
Messages
5,612
Location
Rockland County NY
Took a few years but finally got a you **** lol. Thanks.
I just noticed that you're from Rockland County. I was born and raised there. Small world.
What town?
That is a swivel-jaw Prentiss vise. Nice and rare.
I have a bunch of vises but none are swivel jaw models. Should be a nice addition.

I meant to ask about the jaws. Are they available or is the only option having some made?

I cleaned up a small vise a few years ago. Just wire wheeled and clear coated it. Debating if I should do the same, bare metal but semi polished, or a color. Any opinions?
 

SweetD

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Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Messages
3,265
Location
Rhode Island
Nice find! That vise was likely made a bit up the road from you in Watertown, NY where Prentiss had their factory back in the day. Likely made early 1900s.
 

thehorse13

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Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Messages
3,477
Location
Jefferson County, WV
Took a few years but finally got a you **** lol. Thanks.

What town?

I have a bunch of vises but none are swivel jaw models. Should be a nice addition.

I meant to ask about the jaws. Are they available or is the only option having some made?

I cleaned up a small vise a few years ago. Just wire wheeled and clear coated it. Debating if I should do the same, bare metal but semi polished, or a color. Any opinions?
Suffern. Right off the NYS Thruway.
 
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thehorse13

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Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Messages
3,477
Location
Jefferson County, WV
Also wondering if there is any way to figure out it’s age.
There are several clues to the approximate age. My guess is later 20s, early 30s.

Clue 1:
The jaws are screw on, not cast as part of the vise body and dynamic jaw. This means post 1910 because this is when Prentiss switched over to removable jaws.
Clue 2:
The knob on the handle. This is the "thin" version which first shows up around 1920. Prentiss made a larger version on their earlier vises which were almost identical to the early Rock Island vises.
Clue 3: The style of the logo. This version was seen first in the 20s and into the early 30s.
 

ChefRex

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
3,711
Location
NJ
All of the ones I have ever found in the wild had frozen up locking pins. They can be “quite challenging” to remove.
Which is why I asked, I've read some of the stories of freeing them, lol.
 

Patrickm82

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2021
Messages
800
Location
Massachusetts
Does anyone know how the jaw swivel works? The “knob” in particular, which way is it supposed to move?
If it’s original it “should” pull straight out it’s just a tapered pin. If when you take apart the vise you can see the hole from the inside and try to punch it out. They can be pretty stubborn to get out. I had one that took 2 days between kroil, heat and 4 lb hammer and punch. Good luck and awesome find!
 
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