Unusual Drill Vice

[SteveW1000]

Bought this Woden drill or machine vice from Ebay. Was surprised when it turned up to discover that the base and sliding jaw are made of Brass. Have seen planes made from brass were an an original was used as a pattern but can't see that being the case in this instance. Did Woden make Brass versions?

 

[MattF]

Brass/bronze are usually used for hostile environments or where sparks are a concern.

 

[penfold]

What he said; non-ferrous gear was/is to be found in places where there might be explosive atmospheres to avoid the risk of sparks(refineries, explosives manufacture/handling, weapons maintenance), or where magnetic signatures must be minimised(mine sweepers etc).

 

[SteveW1000]

Was aware of the anti spark properties. This one has steel jaws and slides on the base although probably been replaced in the past. Not seen a brass/ bronze vice up to now. Did Woden, Record etc offer them as special orders? Cant think the market would be very big although lots might has been made during the war when small munition factories were set up around the country.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

It is a Fuse maintenance vice.
Designed to be safe when working on shell fuses and such.

The slots on the base allow it to be clamped/ bolted onto different benches.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

During WW2 the Germans would "obtain" old British pennies and half pennies.
Why?

It allowed them to saftly adjust the fuse timming on their rounds, specialy the 8.8 cm KwK 36. They did it to reduce the time for maximum damage to our tanks.

 

[Screwdriver]

Silver coloured part looks a bit home made to me...

 

[Screwdriver]

It looks more home painted to me...

Possibly both.

Looks like a casting flaw from the N up. Not the sort of thing you would expect to come out of the factory. There are a few other casting flaws visible in that part.

In fact looking at it more closely, either that's an unusually nice paint job or its a cheeky home made aluminium casting.

 

[SteveW1000]

Strangle there are pictures of another on Google images which looks to be made of iron. That one has two elliptical holes in the base which made me think of someone casting a copy using the original as a pattern. Will check tomorrow whats under the silver paint.