Help me figure out what I've got!

[chris fullen]

Hey guys,
I picked this up at an auction today. Only labled as "Cabinetmakers vise"

Its super cool and I picked it up very cheap.

I honestly have no idea what it is. Any help would be much appreciated.

311935
311936
311937
311938

[bridger berdel]

blacksmith's post vise

[Jim Koepke]

+1 on what Bridger said.

My reply was it is only a cabinet makers vise if the cabinets are made of wrought iron.

jtk

[Shawn Pixley]

That one looks very nice. Clean it up, de-rust, repaint and lube it up and it will go for another hundred years. I found one for 20 dollars and It was some of the best money I've spent. You'll need to fabricate a socket for the post end. Not very useful for woodworking, but for metal work (particularly Blacksmithing) You can put amazing torque on it and bend some thick metal. Make yourself some holdfasts.

It looks like the mounting bracket is bent. Let me know if you have trouble with anything fixing it up. They are pretty simple but there are a couple of tricks.

[chris fullen]

Awesome! Thanks for the information.

I was looking at this thing thinking, "where will this fit in my shop?"

But I have a buddy that has recently taken an interested in blacksmithing. I think he would like to have this guy more than I.

[Mel Fulks]

You might find maker's name and even a date on it ...somewhere.

[Judson Green]

Awesome! Thanks for the information.

I was looking at this thing thinking, "where will this fit in my shop?"

But I have a buddy that has recently taken an interested in blacksmithing. I think he would like to have this guy more than I.

Trade it for a pair of future holdfasts.

[george wilson]

I have seen many,many of those,and have a few myself. One is 18th. C..

However,I have not seen one that has that cylindrical shaped head on the screw. Wonder if it is a very old replacement" Also,yours has a very unusual method of attaching it to the bench. Most have a horizontal plate that screws into the top of the bench.

Anyway,there are 2 types of these: Forging vises and filing vises. Filing vises are lighter types that you should not go beating on. Yours is a filing vise.

Since yours has a decorative,though crude,finial covering the end of the screw,I'd say it's fairly early,though I don't think it is 18th. C. Hard to say in that your vise has unusual elements in its design.

[Jim Koepke]

Also,yours has a very unusual method of attaching it to the bench. Most have a horizontal plate that screws into the top of the bench.

It looks to be a way to allow the vise to swivel in use.

Not sure about the P on the bolt head. Made me think of my vise, which is pre-WW II, made by Parker.

Here is something found on another forum about Charles Parker:


Chas. was a member of the Parker family that produced the Parker line of double barrel shotguns . The vises were made with as much care for the article it was as were the Shotguns. The gun company had designed much of their own shop tools and though asked to do so declined to get into additional lines of goods. So the story goes, Chas. recognised a place where he could be management, too, and went in to the vise business. Remington bought the gun company in the thirties...

jtk

[george wilson]

Bugatti made their own factory bench vises. It is a goal of avid Bugatti owner/mechanics,to own a Bugatti vise. They are nice vises.

[Jim Davis]

Blacksmith's for certain, but I have always read and heard "leg vise," rather than "post vice." Maybe I read and listen to the wrong people...

[george wilson]

The terms are interchangeable.