Vice identification: NS Co - No 2

[OffroaderCJ]

Hi all,

First post. I found this vice at a thrift store for $45. I have been unable to find much information on it. There is another discussion on here about one that someone found and also one from a Craigslist ad, but I was hoping to find some more information about manufacturing year(s) and anything else. From what I can gather, the NS Co might stand for Norfolk and Southern Railroad? Even with that information, I can't find any literature, patents, etc., on it. It is maybe 60-70 pounds.

Here is the link of the discussion: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/found-old-vise-ns-no-2.450173/
An old Craiglist post: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/vise-repair-101-all-vise-repairs-lubricants-sources-for-parts-and-the-tricks-to-fix.252830/page-3#post-4168533

From the GJ post on the second link:

Blue: here's what the Craigslist ad said so i can pull the name off when i put it in the vises legend on Post #2. thanks for the post.

"Large Heavy Vice... says NS Co. on side. Might be from train system... Norfolk Southern Railroad, not sure. Mounts with one hole, large 3/4 inch bolt sticks out of bottom, has large washer and T-nut. Very heavy duty! Think it weighs over 50 pounds. Works perfectly. Needs minor repair of aluminum jaw protectors or you can just remove them. I beleive it opens to over 6 inches or more. See photos. Email for more information."

Here are the pics of mine. Thanks for any help.

OffroaderCJ

 

[OffroaderCJ]

Been searching and searching. Is it possible that this is a "Norvell-Shapleigh Hardware Co" vice? I ran across this old catalog and it looks pretty close. The M4 1/2 or M5? The image below mentions Prentiss. Could this just be a rebadged Prentiss? I have also seen people discussing their Keen Kutter brand but on the images I have seen, they usually have an obvious Keen Kutter logo.



This looks pretty similar, but obvious Keen Kutter logo.

 

[OffroaderCJ]

Anyone?

 

[RTM]

Norvell Shapleigh and Keen Kutter were separate entities prior to 1940, so it's possible not to have the KK logo on it.

Think this download might help with dates.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=http://www.thckk.org/history/shapleigh-history.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj-s4vx3_j_AhWxIzQIHS6WBNIQFnoECA4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2Mj_LIgnnh7Ej1VSr2dr9W

You might look in ITCL for NS catalogs to see what you see.

 

[SweetD]

I don't think it's a re-badged Prentiss. And the fact that it has a cylindrical end for the handle-hole on the lead screw indicates it's not as old as one might think a vise with a single mounting post might be. Unless the lead screw has been replaced along the way (unlikely).