Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Old Vise
David Hammond, in Powder Springs GA
>Anybody know anything about such a vise? It's an old, smaller machinest looking vise with the following written on it:
AM Coathol
MASS USA
No. 79
1894
Is there any way it is really that old? The mechanism doesn't back the vise jaws apart, and never was intended too. Kinda cool, and it was free, so I was just curious what I had on my hands.
Thanks,
David Hammond
My Dad & Me, Inc.
Re: Old Vise *LINK*
walt quadrato
>that's Athol Mass...home of Starrett and a few other older companies...can't place an AM company though..Standard Tool was out of Athol though 1882-1905..maybe some of you other galoots will remember
walt q
brass city toolworks
Re: Old Vise
Jim Crammond in Monroe, Mi
>David,
One possibility is that your vise was made by Athol Machine Company. According to the Directory of American Toolmakers, Athol Machine Company made calipers, dividers, levels, vises and wrenches. They used a variety of marks on their tools including A. M. CO.
Athol Machine was formed in 1868 by L. S. Starrett and others. Starrett left the company in 1878, but later purchased it(1905) as a part of L. S. Starrett. They started out making food processing tools such as choppers and presses and washing machines. About 1882 they acquired or founded(facts aren't quite clear) the Standard Tool Co. which made machinist tools.
The Directory of American Toolmakers was published by the EAIA and edited by Bob Nelson, a sometimes poster on Wood Central. Best wishes to Bob for improving health and I'm hoping to read more of his informative posts in the near future.
Jim Crammond
Re: Old Vise
Wade
>Yes, your vise was indeed made by Athol Machine Company. They got bought out by Starrett some time ago, perhaps 1950s? Some of their tiny vises were a bit lightweight, but all else was top quality. The 1894 is a patent date of course, likely made within 20 years of that date.
I have 4 vises by them, from about 1 pound to 80 pounds. 3 have a quick release mechanism whereby if there is no tension on the screw, you can tilt the front jaw down which pushes the screw out of the (half)nut, and slide it back and forth. I have not heard of one which wouldn't move the jaw back and forth, yours may be missing a part.
Wade