This arrived at my door yesterday. When the mailman handed me the package I was surprised at how much it weighed.
The vise was patented by Charles E. Billings on August 28, 1894(no. 525,311) and produced by the Billings & Spencer Co. The DATAMP link is below.
http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?pn=525311&id=18791When I bought it I thought it was just another good quality unusual clamp on jewelers vise. After I bought it I looked up the patent and also searched the internet for any information. One of the old magazines had an article about the vise showing both parts.
It took a bit but the light finally came on and I realized that what I had was an extremely well made hand vise and a holder for it that could be clamped on the bench.
The captive thumbscrew on the bottom of the long tube turns a screw that threads inside the body of the hand vise,thus locking it at any position you choose.
The hole below the 1 1/2in. jaws allows a wire or rod of any length to pass all the way through, since the thumbscrew that tightens the hand vise in the holder is also drilled.
The jaws are self centering as are most hand vises. What is unusual is the offset position of the actuating threads that then allows the hole to be drilled through the jaw supports. A very unusual solution.
I have a number of small vises but this is one of the highest quality I have seen.
This must have been very expensive to produce because it is forged rather than cast. Even the thumbscrews are forged and nicely finished!
Total weight is 3 lb. 2 ozs., with the vise weighing 14 ozs. And the bench mount at 3 lb. 2 ozs.
There are a couple more variants that I want to show but will leave it fo another day.
Mike
