Swindens vice

[breezer]

an old gentleman via freecycle gave me a samsonia perfect vise recently (he even delivered it) 7" jaws and it weighs a ton. Quick release all in lovely condition. Made my 6" britool engineers vice look TINY.

I've not bothered repainting it as I reckon I would only succeed it making it look worse. It has pride of place in my garage and is a joy to use.

 

[Premiershipman]

Got a samsonia perfect vice myself, mounted on a stand made from box section with my bench grinder. Quality item !

 

[TAITSIE]

Still trying to find a maker for this monster

 

[penfold]

Ban this engineering filth! It's disgusting; grown men leering at pert, shapely lumps of cast iron. You've just exposed me to another bad habit I can catch.


Where can I find these cool vices?

 

[TAITSIE]

Nothing pert about that red brute

 

[MattF]

an old gentleman via freecycle gave me a samsonia perfect vise recently (he even delivered it) 7" jaws and it weighs a ton. Quick release all in lovely condition. Made my 6" britool engineers vice look TINY.

I've not bothered repainting it as I reckon I would only succeed it making it look worse. It has pride of place in my garage and is a joy to use.

You jammy devil. Nice one. I can fair imagine that one being a best, at 6". The Parkinson's/Samsonia's are my favourite of the vices. Seem to have that little bit of something which even Record & Woden couldn't match. Plonk a photo up. Like dangling an invisible carrot just mentioning it without a photo.

Got a samsonia perfect vice myself, mounted on a stand made from box section with my bench grinder. Quality item !

Honestly, we're gonna have to teach you lot to add photo's with your posts. Show us a pic.

Still trying to find a maker for this monster

[...]

Nothing pert about that red brute

Oh, I don't know. Look at those lines....

Ban this engineering filth! It's disgusting; grown men leering at pert, shapely lumps of cast iron. You've just exposed me to another bad habit I can catch.


Where can I find these cool vices?

If just one person has been subverted with vice porn, my job is done.

 

[MattF]

Oops. Forgot to mention. No-one seems to have a clue on that one of yours Taitsie. Yanks seem to think it's likely European. I still think it's Yank. Unless there are any identifying marks or numbers on that one, it looks like it may remain one of those unknowns for the time being. Nowt I've seen so far has overall similar characteristics.

The Soderfors turned up today too. Made in April 1921, weighs 8 kilo's and 100mm jaw width, (they put all of the info on the tag at the front ). It's a nice looking piece. Seems well made, leadscrew appears to be almost mint and jaw surfaces seem quite good too, (no replaceable inserts on this one). It's buried under two layers of paint, but this one doesn't look like it's led a hard life, judging from its condition.

 

[Premiershipman]

Honestly, we're gonna have to teach you lot to add photo's with your posts. Show us a pic.

Sorry my bad, I need to take photos of a number of little projects, welding bench, vice and grinder stand, sandblasting cabinet etc....

Will get that sorted soon !

Shady

 

[MattF]

Good show. Can't have too many photo's of equipment and machinery.

 

[TAITSIE]

Oops. Forgot to mention. No-one seems to have a clue on that one of yours Taitsie. Yanks seem to think it's likely European. I still think it's Yank. Unless there are any identifying marks or numbers on that one, it looks like it may remain one of those unknowns for the time being. Nowt I've seen so far has overall similar characteristics.

The Soderfors turned up today too. Made in April 1921, weighs 8 kilo's and 100mm jaw width, (they put all of the info on the tag at the front ). It's a nice looking piece. Seems well made, leadscrew appears to be almost mint and jaw surfaces seem quite good too, (no replaceable inserts on this one). It's buried under two layers of paint, but this one doesn't look like it's led a hard life, judging from its condition.

Having spent a good few hours recently sitting on my backside after surgery I have been able to try and find a maker for my monster vice.
I have came across a few sales brochures from the early 1900,s which show an Athol vice which looks similar to mine, will have to do more digging.
Another which looks similar is the Parker oval slide

 

[MattF]

Definitely seems to have more American design traits than any other, doesn't it. The slide section is of similar design to some of the Record engineering, (I think), vices too, so it seems to be a conglomeration of many styles. It'd be nice to find out who made that one, at some point. It's definitely hit curio status now.

 

[TAITSIE]

Curio is one word for it
If it has been made by a company why no makers name or model number on it ?
Its not something which has been made in a shed by a keen diy,er or made during someones lunchbreaks.
Another thing that occurred to me is that maybe its been made for army use but I would expect to find some kind of serial number in place of makers name .

 

[MattF]

If it was military, it would likely still have all of the standard manufacturer markings. The Ministry used to assign their own numbers, so that would likely have been added elsewhere else been substituted for the OEM serial. The ministry tended to put some type of marker on them too, usually a stick arrow, crown or suchlke.

 

[PaulC7]

No luck at the car boot sale today regarding a nice vice...

Instead I picked up a qualcast b1 mower.

 

[CRS51]

Matt, we have one of those swindons vices - it came on the front bumper of a Leyland Martion we once had and now resides on the welding end of the bench !
Chris.

 

[penfold]

It would have a crow's foot on it if it were government issue

Matt, we have one of those swindons vices - it came on the front bumper of a Leyland Martion we once had and now resides on the welding end of the bench !
Chris.

Now that's a workbench!

 

[MattF]

Now that's a workbench!

Not half. Bl**dy expensive way of getting a vice though.

 

[TAITSIE]

Not half. Bl**dy expensive way of getting a vice though.

But its very mobile

 

[TAITSIE]

Found an old ad for a Parkers vice which shows a lot of similar parts Its the one top right

 

[penfold]

Looks similar but yours is made in more parts, with a bolt-on fixed jaw, also pads out to the side for extra fasteners. The shape is the same though, so it might be the same maker, but they've developed a better vice for engineers, or altered the manufacturing process for economy as cored castings can be a pain.