Never seen before ?

[RSjG]

A neighbor that had just moved in to our neighborhood asked me if I would be interested in clearing this out of their garage if I could use it .
I cannot find anything on the internet about this style of vice . It's big , bench mounted ,is solely operated by foot pedal and tensioned by spring only .
I intend to fully restore and use this . Is this a rare gem ?

 

[redragoon]

The spring and foot pedal means it does not need high grip strength, and the work needs to be adjusted/repositioned frequently.
If the jaws were thicker or wood, I would say it could be a shaving pony. However, the mounting and shape does not fit this well.

I'm going to bet that it is probably some sort of all metal stitching pony for leather. The thin jaws provide enough hold to pull or stretch the leather for working. The foot release allows quick adjustments of the work while stitching pieces together.

 

[timgunn1962]

Looks like it would be ideal for sharpening saws?

 

[RSjG]

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction . After a fast search, what you are saying makes total sense . I'm seeing that most are made from wood . I am excited to get started on this restoration and will document the progress for upload here . I will try to figure out an easy way to measure the clamping force ( any suggestions ? ) Again, Thank you .

 

[FMB4]

Yep, for HD leather work. Cool item tho.

 

[1cargarage]

The "leather work" supposition seems reasonable enough, albeit excessively heavy duty. If you look up "Stitching pony" or "leather stitching clamp", you'll find all sorts of different styles and sizes of them. Often, depending of the type and size of leather work one does, a specific size and type is needed. The large area under the jaws makes easier accessing and holding the leather article's outer edge (to be stitched) without crushing the rest of it.

Edit:
After a second look, I doubt it was used by a saddler or leather worker.

• The jaws appear to be smooth, which is consistent with leather work, but they have a very sharp edge at the top. All the stitching ponies/clamps you're likely to see have thin, rounded jaws that are typically wrapped in leather or something equivalently soft/nonmarring
• The jaws have a lot of cutting/filing/grinding marks that run perpendicular to the jaw opening - which would be more consistent with saw sharpening work
• Usually saw sharpening vises have very thin jaws that span a broad area, as they are just clamping against flat, thin sheets of metal. Their thin form allows the worker and his/her tools to get very close to the blade unrestricted

 

[wrenchguy]

Handsaws.

 

[neophyte]

It looks like a saw vise, for sharpening saws, but appears larger than is typical.
Maybe for sharpening really larger lumber handsaws, since these would have thicker blades and larger teeth.
The other option might be for sharpening something similarly flat, possibly also with a file, where a vise would be needed, like a large flat blade of some kind.
The depth of the jaw is 10” and the width is 11”.

 

[RSjG]

Started teardown. Will upload a detailed picture of the jaw surface after an overnight soak in evapo-rust to see if they are smooth or if there is any cross hatching /knurling after the "neglect crust" is gone. No signs of Jaws or inserts so far. Thanks to all for the input. Spending hours on research, learning along the way..

 

[hop up]

I have to agree with the others and saw vice and very cool. I have a Winchester vice but not nearly as beefy as yours. This is my stitching horse and have been looking for a early steel jaw one