Vise Info Thread

[KMScott]

Pretty amazing how they cast this formed 1-1/2” bar in the mold. Using a thin shim of Asbestos for the slide clearance on the Static. Bending the 1-1/2” bar was done by form Die and built by a top notch Die Maker.

 

[KMScott]

Prentiss #308. No Spec’s.

 

[CRSINMICH]

From a 1910 Prentiss catalog

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[KMScott]

Thanks CRS, I already have the Anchor line added. I’m getting old and forgetful.

How about this one.

Belknap Bluegrass Vise. No spec:s

 

[CRSINMICH]

KMS: This is the only Belknap information I have at this point. I'll look for some more in the morning.

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[four.cycle]

^ Pretty sure all Belknap / Bluegrass was outsourced, no?

Thanks for digging up the Ware information. I think from that it's reasonable to conclude he was manufacturing these in Minneapolis as well as Ontario, which is what I was wanting to establish.

 

[neophyte]

It would still be a PITA to get them completely parallel regardless of the cast in place method used. heck just the heat of the casting process would change things.

This was what I was thinking, although annealing and stress relieving the U-Bar after forming, and then tweaking the bar to ensure parallelism might prevent warping.
If the stationary and dynamic jaws were actually cast steel, a piece of sheet steel could probably be used to keep the open U-end parallel as the metal was poured around it.
Another trick might have been to use the castings, once cool, as a “die”, to straighten the two arms, in case of warping.
Basically, cast the two vise jaws, the push the U-bars back and forth, (using a press), thru the stationary jaw, both the remove the asbestos and to straighten the bar and match it to the holes in the stationary jaw.

 

[CRSINMICH]

ROCK ISLAND PISTON VISE
Rock Island Mfg. Co, Rock Island, Illinois

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[mr.reed mr. ruh]

American Scale #2 2-3/4 jaws and weights 10lbs.

Does anyone know the diameter and thread size for the main screw or where I could find any reference material ? Thanks

 

[CRSINMICH]

mr.reed: I don't have that information specific to American Scale #2 but I own a #3. The diameter of the main screw is 5/8" with 7 TPI. I'm not expert on thread types but it's likely Unified. I think it's fairly likely that an American Scale #2 would have the same main screw. Making two or three models using the same screw would have been a time and money saver and these vises were at the low end of the line. Let us know how you make out.

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[KMScott]

Bench Vises used three types threads. Square, Acme and Buttress threads. I’ve heard they use standard threads but I’ve never seen one used in a bench vise.

 

[1Bad55Chevy]

ROCK ISLAND PISTON VISE
Rock Island Mfg. Co, Rock Island, Illinois

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Stupid question. What does the "Auto Vise" look like?

 

[CRSINMICH]

1Bad55: Here's a 1915 ad for Rock Island's Autovises. They seemed to be a general service vise but aimed at 'car guys'. There were a couple of other vise companies that marketed auto vises too. It seems like even back then, marketers wanted to get with the latest thing. There was even an Electric Vise and, a few years later, a Radio Vise.

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[Outlawmws]

1Bad55: Here's a 1915 ad for Rock Island's Autovises. They seemed to be a general service vise but aimed at 'car guys'. There were a couple of other vise companies that marketed auto vises too. It seems like even back then, marketers wanted to get with the latest thing. There was even an Electric Vise and, a few years later, a Radio Vise.

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Correct! Parker, Hollands, and many others had vises setup with a more serious "anvil" on the back side aimed at early mechanics and garages. Many homeowner's vises still carried a vestige of that for many decades, and still do.

 

[mr.reed mr. ruh]

American Scale #2 2-3/4 jaws and weights 10lbs.

Hey KMScott is there any information or resources on information regarding the American scale co number 2 vise ? I have one that I’m trying to find a replacement screw for and with the wear on the internal threads of the static jaw and tight space it’s in I’m really struggling to measure the thread dimensions the threaded exit hole of the static jaw appears to be around 5/8” or 16mm however I’m having a hard time even confirming if it’s square thread/acme/buttress etc. if I had to guess I’d guess 5/8 and maybe 6 or 7tpi. Anyhow literally the only info I’ve seen was a sales marketing flyer but it didn’t have anything specific on there so I would greatly appreciate any information or resources someone could help me find.
Thanks for the time and any advice or information you may have.
Thanks
-Jeff

 

[mr.reed mr. ruh]

Heuer 75, 3" jaws, opens to 2-7/8", weighs 6 lbs. This is an early Heuer, newer ones are a little different.

Thanks for sharingIve always liked the heuers a lot, been wanting to get one of the heuer made and brownell branded vises…also similarly there’s a company out of turkey that makes one similar to the newer style heuers but they’re called Kanca forging and the model I’m referring to is the Kanca k2 plumbers parallel vise. Even sell the swivel base and lift or elevators which I’ve always liked

 

[ranger08]

columbian 143 1/2 photo for the sheet, missing swivel base

 

[CRSINMICH]

From a 1927 hardware catalog

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[CRSINMICH]

Zanetti Vise
Fortonato Zanetti - inventor
Sadly, it seems it was never in production



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[four.cycle]

^ but was it actually produced? (apparently not)

previously mentioned in this thread here

 

[CRSINMICH]

I have to remember to do a SEARCH before I post these oddball vise items. That previous post was much more informative.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I need to remember to READ posts before responding to them. I looked that up before I noticed your line about "Sadly, it seems it was never in production"

 

[neophyte]

^ but was it actually produced? (apparently not)

previously mentioned in this thread here

At least one of the vises was probably made, maybe a few more.
You would probably have to be incredibly lucky to find one if any still exist.

 

[four.cycle]

^ We know for sure that all kinds of items in "Scientific American" for which there are write-ups were in fact not actually ever produced. This has become an on-going issue for the stewards at datamp.org, as some of the articles which were published allude to a given item actually having been manufactured, when in fact it was not.
Apparently "Scientific American" had people on the payroll whose business was "advertising" new inventions which had been patented, looking to make a score by selling the patent rights to somebody on an item that had not yet gone into production.

I do not know if that same issue comes up with "American Machinist" as well, but that text in the above-cited article causes me to wonder.

@RTM - your take on this one?

 

[RTM]

^ We know for sure that all kinds of items in "Scientific American" for which there are write-ups were in fact not actually ever produced. This has become an on-going issue for the stewards at datamp.org, as some of the articles which were published allude to a given item actually having been manufactured, when in fact it was not.
Apparently "Scientific American" had people on the payroll whose business was "advertising" new inventions which had been patented, looking to make a score by selling the patent rights to somebody on an item that had not yet gone into production.

I do not know if that same issue comes up with "American Machinist" as well, but that text in the above-cited article causes me to wonder.

@RTM - your take on this one?

Honestly, never seen it. Usually I have a patent number on a tool, or a date. It's rare for me to be reading SA just randomly looking for stuff.

So no real opinion.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I CC'd Jeff's reply to you on that one. S/A seems to be the sketchy one. The "American Machinist" organization apparently wasn't using the same practices, per Jeff.
Which begs the question: has anyone actually seen one of these in the flesh, or even a photo image of one?

 

[CRSINMICH]

This time I did a search before posting

Leet Manufacturing Co. vises
Based on patents of William Northall
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These Leet Manufacturing Co vise ads and journal items are all from 1884 except one from May, 1885. The vises are based on
1884 patents granted to William Northall. He was granted 4 patents for vises. Two were assigned to C.S. Leet and two were unassigned. DATAMP has the notation, "Not known to have been produced" on all of them.

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It looked like another case of ads and items, which were basically press releases, leading to the question, "Were these vises ever produced?"

UNTIL ... I found this item in a book detailing the exhibits in the Fifteenth Exhibition of Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association held in September and October of 1884. This cut shows the "REMARKS OF THE JUDGES". Eureka! The judges were reviewing the vise in the exhibit, ergo there is proof positive that at least one of these vises was actually produced!

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And then... I found the Fourteenth Edition of the Exhibition from September and October, 1881. It has the same information about The C D Leet vise exhibit; the precise word-for-word information. In both editions, the Leet information was on the bottom of p.89 and a few lines were continued on the top of page 90. The 1881 exhibit would have been 3 years before the patents were granted.

Something is not adding up!

To paraphrase Michael Corleone, "Just when I think I can stop researching, they pull me back!"

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[four.cycle]

RE: (CRSINMICH):
These Leet Manufacturing Co vise ads and journal items are all from 1884 except one from May, 1885. The vises are based on
1884 patents granted to William Northall. He was granted 4 patents for vises. Two were assigned to C.S. Leet and two were unassigned. DATAMP has the notation, "Not known to have been produced" on all of them.

^ what are the patent numbers?

 

[RTM]

^ what are the patent numbers?

From Datamp, under person Northall

292135
298225
331905
332209

 

[CRSINMICH]

The patents assigned to Leet were granted in 1884. The unassigned patents were granted in 1885
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[four.cycle]

thanks!

 

[four.cycle]

^ I'm not well-versed enough on vises - or reading patent documents - to be able to figure out from the claims made in the patent documents which patents were actually used in the manufacturing of the Leet vises.

What a short trip down this rabbit hole did turn up for me, though, was that:
- C.S. Leet was apparently the son of C.D. Leet
- Charles D. Leet and one Henry A. Chapin (both of Springfield, MA) together were issued patent 208247 Sep 24 1878 for "Metallic-Cartridges" for firearms. Apparently Mr. Leet had previously been involved in the firearms (or rather ammunition) business as early as 1862.
-C.S. Leet (son of C.D. Leet) was awarded patent 250083 Nov 29 1881 for a "Call Whistle" (a whistle made in the shape of a rifle bullet.)

It looks like Mr. Leet had his fingers in more than one pie. I did not find a connection between Northall and any of the firearms/ammunition making activity.

044 BGI – Bridgeport Gun Implement Company | The Whistle Gallery

Spotlight > Specific Manufacturer > United States > BGI > 044 In SPOTLIGHT number one we looked just a little at the Bridgeport Gun Implement Company ( i.e. BGI ) bullet whistle under American made production whistles prior to 1900. If you remember it was a production whistle, not a 'trench'...

thewhistlegallery.com

Union Metallic Cartridge Company Pinfire Cartridges

In 1866 Schuyler, Hartley & Graham, a sporting goods firm based out of New York bought C. D. Leet and Crittenden & Tibbals and turned them into a new company called Union Metallic Cartridge and Cap Company.

aaronnewcomer.com

C. D. Leet & Company Pinfire Cartridges

Frankford Arsenal received permission on February 20, 1862 to buy 200,000 pinfire cartridges with the higher powder quantity “equal to those of Colts army revolvers” from a different manufacturer. So on February 28th, Captain Crispin contacted C. D. Leet to order 250,000 pinfire cartridges. This...

aaronnewcomer.com

Spotlight: 009 C.S.LEET’S BULLET MODEL 601 | The Whistle Gallery

Spotlight | An article describing the design of a bullet case used for a whistle, its original patent under BGI Co. and showing that it is not a trench whistle.

thewhistlegallery.com

https://william-branham.org/data/people/roy_e._davis/publication/union_metallic_cartridge_company_-_wikipedia,_the_free_encyclopedia.pdf

 

[KMScott]

William Friedrichs. Clamp-on Jewelers vise. 2-1/8” jaws and weights 3lbs and 6 ounces.

Possibly English made?

 

[Outlawmws]

Possibly English made?

I'm thinking German - seen several similar from Germany.

 

[KMScott]

I'm thinking German - seen several similar from Germany.

I thought the same and asked the owner his thoughts. He came back with this pic.

 

[Outlawmws]

I thought the same and asked the owner his thoughts. He came back with this pic.

Hmmm, those type of blacksmith vises are normally forged. Maybe not for the smaller clamp on's, or possibly WF imported and re-branded. Not a lot of infor there so far for a solid determination.

 

[RTM]

William Friedrichs. Clamp-on Jewelers vise. 2-1/8” jaws and weights 3lbs and 6 ounces.

Possibly English made?

Here is a similar series in a German catalog.

Meister & Schlingensiepen : Edition 1928 : Meister & Schlingensiepen : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

182 p., illus., 23.2 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

And a different catalog

VBW Werkzeuge : Liste Nr. 31 : Vereinigte Beckersche Werkzeugfabriken : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

150 p., illus., 21.6 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

And a 3rd

ARICO Katalog : 1928 : ARICO : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

232 p., illus., 28.5 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

More From a Hungarian source.

Kahn és Heller : Árjegyzére [Catalog] : 1900 : Kahn & Heller : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

480 p., illus., 45.3 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

 

[Outlawmws]

That ARICO Katalog : 1928 - #3 - also has the spiked anvil on another style vise. interesting coincidence...

 

[CRSINMICH]

Apparently Ridge Tool Company took over Desmond Stephan Simplex in 1964
This is the back cover of the catalog

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[CRSINMICH]

It turns out that Ridge Tool Company
issued two #86 catalogs. One in 1964 and one in 1967.
The Simplex name has disappeared but not the vises


One of these vises is not like the other​