Help Identifying a Vise

[emmerthal]

I came across this vise and I'm considering buying it. I only have this one image, no measurements, etc. I'm hoping the shape of the vise may trigger a thought on the manufacturer? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance...

 

[SkyPuncher]

Looks like a Parker 974B to me.

Vise Info Thread

Chas Parker 974B Made by Union MFG CO. 4" jaws that opens to 8" and weights 60lbs.

www.garagejournal.com

Here is one for sale for $55. It is missing the jaw inserts and notice they do not have the jaw angle of the old Charles Parker vises.

 

[emmerthal]

Looks like a Parker 974B to me.

Vise Info Thread

Chas Parker 974B Made by Union MFG CO. 4" jaws that opens to 8" and weights 60lbs.

www.garagejournal.com

Here is one for sale for $55. It is missing the jaw inserts and notice they do not have the jaw angle of the old Charles Parker vises.

Wow! Thank you! You nailed it.

 

[SkyPuncher]

You are welcome, Happy Friday!

 

[emmerthal]

Well I visited this vise tonight and decided to buy it! The jaws are 5" and in good shape. On the large side panel you can see faintly "Parker Vise Div", "Union..." so it's definitely the same origin that SkyPuncher described. I do see a 975 possibly followed by a letter on the bottom of the swivel base making it a Union/Parker 975. Also the swivel wrench is intact and labeled as Chas Parker. I didn't have a scale handy but it is one heavy vise. I've included a few pics. Would anyone happen to have a link to a Union era Parker Vise Div. Catalog? Again, thanks for your help!

 

[ChefRex]

Looks pretty sweet, what did you pay if you don't mind?

 

[emmerthal]

Picked it up for $75. The guy I bought it from needed a large vise to hold some exhaust piping he was going to weld. He found the vise at a yard sale for $75. He finished the exhaust work and didn't need it any longer so after minimal haggling he just wanted to cover his costs. I'm happy with the purchase,

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That is a pretty good deal!

 

[SkyPuncher]

Couldn't find a catalog but here is a tiny bit of info. http://www.vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=10612&tab=0

Union Manufacturing Co., commonly called Union Mfg. Co., was founded in 1866 to manufacture disparate products, comparable to conglomerates a century later. Union manufactured lathe chucks and metal shears circa 1914-1915. In 1957 Union bought Charles Parker Co., and moved Parker vise production to New Britain where it had a large foundry. In late 1984, Union began closing divisions before selling the remainder of Parker to Scovill Inc. The details of the company's end are unclear, but some trademarks expired in 1992.

 

[Fierljeppen]

Here's the best catalog representation I could find for your Union Parker no. 975B vise, it's from a 1969 Woodbury catalog.



I would say that your Union Parker 975 vise, was the last vintage version of the venerable Parker Eclipse machinist vises. In the 1970's, Union got rid of the vise wrench and changed the jaw style for the machinist vises.



Nice to see the link by SkyPuncher for http://vintagemachinery.org/ . Mark Stansbury does a great job over there providing the masses with pertinent information about so many different vintage companies. I highly recommend that site for your historical and catalog data needs. Mark has also provided hundreds of vise catalogs at https://archive.org/search.php?query=vises. He is truly a gentleman and a scholar and is to be commended.

 

[emmerthal]

Thanks Fierljeppen! I appreciate the page from the catalog, the identification (Eclipse Machinist) of the vise model and the revision history of it and pic of the newer version. Very cool!

 

[RTM]

fMark Stansbury does a great job over there providing the masses with pertinent information about so many different vintage companies. I highly recommend that site for your historical and catalog data needs. Mark has also provided hundreds of vise catalogs at https://archive.org/search.php?query=vises. He is truly a gentleman and a scholar and is to be commended.

When I made my annual donation to archive.org. I flagged the ITCL in my why I donated. Think I used his name too.