Vise Info Thread

[KMScott]

Wilton Glisenti W-G. Built in Italy. 5” jaws (125mm) that opens to 6-1/2”. Missing swivel base.

 

[CRSINMICH]

BIRTMAN VISES
Birtman Electric Company

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[CRSINMICH]

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[CRSINMICH]

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[four.cycle]

@CRSINMICH -

"Birtman" is not currently in my list, so this is a new one for me. (I will get it entered.)
Have you sent those screenshots to Mark at ITCL?
Was "Birtman" the OEM manufacturer on those last two "farmer vises", or were they outsourcing those?

 

[TheRealZeus]

*Birtman merged with rock island I believe.. poo. Brain failure..
let me get my facts straight.

 

[TheRealZeus]

Bl00 was all over this one.
Post in thread 'Rock Island Vises - History/Info?'
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/rock-island-vises-history-info.124285/post-1859310

 

[CRSINMICH]

four.cycle: The 1931 Birtman catalog is already on the ITCL It was archived on February 25, 2025. That's where I got it. I'm fairly certain that ALL the vises were Rock Island.

p.s. The Rock Island story doesn't stop there. Stay tuned.

 

[CRSINMICH]

ATLAS VISES
Atlas Press Company Kalamazoo, Michigan
(Not related to Atlas Vise Company, Lowville, NY)

Atlas released catalogs in 1937 and 1940. There was a number change on Combinations vises by 1940.
Notice that all the model numbers begin with RI as in Rock Island. RIMCO stands for Rock Island Manufacturing Company





Atlas Press Company was succeeded by Dake Engineering Company of Grand Haven, Michigan
Dake also made presses.
(Grand Haven and Kalamazoo are only 80 miles apart)

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[CRSINMICH]

KMS: This is the last big dump of vise information I have (at this point). Most of the other information I have will be single items.

 

[KMScott]

CRS. Keep them coming. Sure appreciate it.

 

[Outlawmws]

Atlas Press Company was succeeded by Dake Engineering Company of Grand Haven, Michigan
Dake also made presses.

Did Dake buy Atlas or did Atlas buy Dake? Note that Atlas bought Clausing (Lathes) but kept the Clausing name, and dropped Atlas at some point.

 

[CRSINMICH]

Outlaw: Just judging by dates, I'd say Dake acquired Atlas. I knew about Atlas and Clausing but I stopped rabbit holing before it was too late.

 

[CRSINMICH]

As promised, here's a single vise item
ROTO-VISE
Bulova Watch Company
Not to be confused with the EMMERT Roto-Vise


It's too late or too early to clip this ad as a hint for Christmas but Father's Day is coming up

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[Outlawmws]

Man, that Roto-Vise sure looks like the Panavise. These were on the bench of every tech in Silicon Valley, along with a Kennedy 520 7 drawer machinist's box, and sets of Xcelite drivers during the glory days of Silicon Valley's development and manufacturing era.

I wonder if Bulova changed its name, or contracted with Panavise?

 

[RTM]

Outlaw: Just judging by dates, I'd say Dake acquired Atlas. I knew about Atlas and Clausing but I stopped rabbit holing before it was too late.

I agree with this. My Dake arbor press has an Atlas number 001, and I deciphered my Atlas number 0 into a later Dake catalog (or something like that). Early Dake catalogs had nothing but hoists, 1944 was dual marked.

Dake Atlas Arbor Presses : Catalog No. DA44 : Dake Engine Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

9 p., illus., 27.4 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

The 1937 atlas catalog had an arbor press on the front, and said they sold them, but none inside

Atlas Vises and Machinists Tools : 1937 [excerpt] : Atlas Press Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

6 p., illus., 27.1 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

1950 Dake has not dual marked.

Dake Presses : Catalog 350B : Dake Engine Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

16 p., illus., 27.9 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

 

[CRSINMICH]

RTM: I saw that 1950 Dake catalog and noticed that it had been overprinted with 'STERLING MACHINERY EXCHANGE' and it even added www.SterlingMachinery.com. Since there were no dot coms in 1950 I assumed Dake had changed hands again. Notice that the presses have DAKE on them. The information for Dake presses is probably accurate, though. It was at this point that I decided to stop chasing rabbits down holes.​

 

[RTM]

RTM: I saw that 1950 Dake catalog and noticed that it had been overprinted with 'STERLING MACHINERY EXCHANGE' and it even added www.SterlingMachinery.com. Since there were no dot coms in 1950 I assumed Dake had changed hands again. Notice that the presses have DAKE on them. The information for Dake presses is probably accurate, though.​

Sterling is a reseller of new and used equipment. I suppose Dake gave them a few hundred catalogs with the overprint, to give to their customers. Or Sterling stamped, or had a local shop stamp their logo. And then someone added the .com when they scanned it. Could be Reed G., or Sterling themselves who added it before passing it on to Reed G. Vintage Machinery supplied the catalog to ITCL, and Reed gave it to VM.

Buy, Sell, Trade New and Used Metal Working Machinery | New Used Hydraulic Press Brakes, Shears, Presses | Fabricating Machinery | Lathe, Milling Machine, Saw, Grinder | Sheet Metal Rolls | Fiber Laser Sterling Machinery Sterling Machinery Sterling M

Sell your used machine to Sterling Machinery, we make the process easy. ✓ Submit photos and specs for your machine and we'll give you a quote.

www.sterlingmachinery.com

 

[CRSINMICH]

RTM: Thanks. That's about what I thought. I just didn't feel like chasing it any further. Uh..... do they resell vises?

 

[CRSINMICH]

KMS: One of these American Red Seal vises just came up on the main vise thread. I noticed that most of them were missing from the spreadsheet. Have fun.

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[CRSINMICH]

STRANGE'S PATENT COMBINATION VISE AND DRILL
STRANGE'S MACHINE WORKS, TAUNTON, MASS.
(The puns write themselves)

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[twagler]

HECSHARP Model 2-1/2 Clamp-on Hobby Vise
- Jaw Width 2-1/2"
- Opens up to 1-1/4"
- Weighs 2lbs, 2oz
- Country of Origin = Germany
- Stationary jaw at front, dynamic jaw to rear, similar in style to a Boley or Leinin watchmakers' vise but seems rather inexpensively made (minimal machining) so I would place it in the hobby vise category, not jeweler/watchmaker vise quality.

Hecsharp is already listed in the spreadsheet with a single entry showing a smaller model with 1-1/8" jaw width but thought that I would show off and document my recent acquisition of a larger model. It still has a good amount of its original paint, a rather nice green "hammered" finish.







HECSHARP appears to have been an American-based import company only. The true manufacturing company within Germany is unknown. This same inexpensive hobby vise was brought to North America by other importers and sold branded as Strong Boy, Steelcraft, and Betterbuilt. In fact, my vise has no sticker left on it, so I'm calling it a HECSHARP just because that is the most commonly found version.


From a Google search I found pictures of a wide variety of tools branded as HECSHARP, including pliers, axes, wrenches, socket sets, hand planes, etc., but nothing about the company itself. I then used Google Books to do a bit of deeper research and found out that HECSHARP is a USA trademark granted to the H.C. Schaerf Corp., so it would appear that the name is a bit of a play on words on the initials and last name of the company owner. The H.C. Schaerf Corp. was strictly an import company, with a Manhattan address, and never an actual manufacturer. The trademark was listed as first being used in 1951 and then cancelled in 2001. The company was listed as "Hand Tools - Europe, Asia" which matches well with what type of things that have been branded as Hecsharp and country of origin (Germany most common, then Japan, and others. H.C. Schaerf was listed as the President and Head Buyer. It would appear that they just sourced tools from many manufacturers and imported them into the USA via New York, although I found my vise in Ottawa, Canada.

The name H.C. Schaerf pops up again in the 1983 edition of the California Who's Who book, so it would appear that after his career as a successful importer and businessman, he likely retired to California.

 

[PghJKB]

STRANGE'S PATENT COMBINATION VISE AND DRILL
STRANGE'S MACHINE WORKS, TAUNTON, MASS.
(The puns write themselves)

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For his work, Emerson C. Strange was granted Patent #361600 on 19 Apr 1887.

 

[ranger08]

Very early Australian Carter 4 inch cast iron circa 1950s I think

 

[CRSINMICH]

WARE'S SWIVEL STEEL YOKE VISE
Manufactured under contract for J L Ware, Minneapolis, Minn.
Two sizes - 5 inches at 125 lbs. and 6 inches at 165 lbs.

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There is a bit of information in the 1921 Chilton item about how the steel yoke was cast in place.

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[CRSINMICH]

The James Smart Manufacturing Co. Ltd. of Brockville, Ontario, Canada
also manufactured a Steel Yoke Vise under Ware's patent

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[Outlawmws]

Man, getting that U bend bent accurately to fit both the vise body and D-jaw must have been a MFG nightmare to get done properly.

That leg stand is cool though.

 

[four.cycle]

How did I already have James Smart Mfg. Co. Ltd in the list, but not Ware?

Smart / James Smart Mfg. Co. Ltd., Brockville, Ontario, Canada / hammers, edge tools, "Ware's Patent" vise / patent 673228 Apr 30 1901 Joseph Lemuel Ware / http://www.yesteryearstools.com/Yesteryears Tools/Smart Mfg. Co..html /

 

[CRSINMICH]

WARE'S 1903 patent has detailed information about manufacturing the Steel Yoke Vise

 

[four.cycle]

Ware's vise was manufactured by Smart in Ontario:

US Patent: 745,746 - Method of manufacturing vises

US patent 745,746 Method of manufacturing vises was issued to Joseph Lemuel Ware of St. Paul, MN. It was granted on 12/01/1903. This manufacturing patent is intended for the vise in patent {673,228}. See also Canada patent {CA-72,266}.

datamp.org

Was it also being manufactured by Ware here in the U.S. ?

 

[1Bad55Chevy]

Man, getting that U bend bent accurately to fit both the vise body and D-jaw must have been a MFG nightmare to get done properly.

That leg stand is cool though.

I wonder how many got tweaked with regular use making them difficult (or impossible) to open and close!

 

[TheRealZeus]

The U form was the achieved before the casting process even starts. That is quite a unique patent as the patent itself gives a glimpse into the casting process, since inclusive as the patent a ‘was method of manufacturing vises.’

 

[TheRealZeus]

Highlighted quickly sorry if messy.
Fig 2 mold form;

An interesting step in innovation.

 

[four.cycle]

Okay, but....
What I was trying to ascertain was whether Joseph Lemuel Ware actually hung out a shingle in Minneapolis.

patent 673228 is shown on datamp.org as only having been manufactured by Smart in Ontario.
patent 745746 is shown on datamp.org has only having been manufactured by Smart in Ontario.

Note the "news announcement" (post #4465) states the vise is being "manufactured under contract for".

Collectively, that leads me to believe Ware himself wan't necessarily making anything in Minneapolis.

 

[CRSINMICH]

It certainly seems the place of manufacture was deliberately obscured.

This 1900 item said the vise was, "put on the market" By JL Ware (also that it was Patent pending).
This 1920 item said the vise, "is a product of JL Ware".





Minneapolis is a long way from Brockville, Ontario​

 

[neophyte]

Man, getting that U bend bent accurately to fit both the vise body and D-jaw must have been a MFG nightmare to get done properly.

That leg stand is cool though.

I would presume they bent the rod, with somewhat equidistant ends,
Then, used a press with dies with top and bottom grooves to match the rid diameter, and pressed the u-bent rod down till the parallelism was the correct distance, even after springback.
Only once the dimensions were correct, would the rod ends be cut be cut and threaded, for the dynamic jaw.
At least, this would be my guess.

 

[neophyte]

I should have read the patent first.

 

[Outlawmws]

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.

 

[CRSINMICH]

I spoke too soon.
This 1907 item in The Iron Age clearly states that The Steel Yoke Vises were manufactured by JL Ware.
Plus, it adds some details not mentioned in other ads



These journal items from 1910 and 1912 show that Ware was very much invested in manufacturing​

 

[TheRealZeus]

I spoke too soon.
This 1907 item in The Iron Age clearly states that The Steel Yoke Vises were manufactured by JL Ware.
Plus, it adds some details not mentioned in other ads



These journal items from 1910 and 1912 show that Ware was very much invested in manufacturing​

Nice find Man. This is the only equipment I found for how they manufactured the U in the round stock, prior to casting.. More of a working theory…