Odd Vise

[Plyerman]

No idea. How big is it Dowds?

[john k]

I agree it is a jewelers item, or maybe a silversmith.   The anvil placed there is a head scratcher. 

[Bill Houghton]

One of the things that confuses me about this design is that the anvil could have been more conveniently located on the other side of the vise.

Sooner or later, someone's going to come along and explain what it was/is used for, and we'll all say either, "Oh, yeah!" or "Oh.  Really?  Wow, that's strange."  In the meantime, it's one of the many reasons this is a worthwhile place to hang out.

[junkfisher]

I cant prove it but I would say jeweler's vise as well.

[johnsironsanctuary]

Lynn, does the hole under the upper vice line up with the lower vise? Like a sort of stone age bar feeder? I am assuming that both vices are intended to hold round stock.

[skipskip]

the guy who buys my gold and silver is a jewelry maker.

He has a  serious shop and has been doing this for a LONG time.

I took him a pic of this vise and he said  "dunno" never seen it in the jewelry industry.

He guessed it is a one off unit for a specific  industrial part or parts

[fflintstone]

the guy who buys my gold and silver is a jewelry maker.

He has a  serious shop and has been doing this for a LONG time.

I took him a pic of this vise and he said  "dunno" never seen it in the jewelry industry.

He guessed it is a one off unit for a specific  industrial part or parts

 I was pretty sure it was not anything to do with jewelry. Like I said previously I feel it is part of a much larger machine to hold something else for machining or another purpose.

[dowdstools]

No idea. How big is it Dowds?

The base, excluding the tab on the end, is 10 3/4 inches long and 3 1/16 inches wide. The tab on the end is actually hinged, and folds up underneath the base. The top vise opens to 1 3/4 inches (measured across the very top edge of the jaw) and the bottom vise opens to 1 9/16 (measured the same way).

[dowdstools]

Lynn, does the hole under the upper vice line up with the lower vise? Like a sort of stone age bar feeder? I am assuming that both vices are intended to hold round stock.

Yes, to both questions.

[Helleri]

I seen gun vices before, for rifle's and shotguns that are similar in a few respects. They have a lower vise to hold the lower part of the stock, and a higher piece space apart to hold the upper part of the stock or barrel. And the shotgun ones in specific tend to have a middle piece for holding. I would think that hole might hold a bar that can nestle a shotgun in the open position...but, all the vise I see that look like that are horizontally adjustable for distance between the two clamps. maybe it was for a shotgun? but for only one kind? like a factory floor thing, built to spec to only help produce a very narrow range of product?

[Billman49]

Gunsmith's (armourer's) vice does not seem unreasonable. The fact that the jaw levels are not adjustable, as in the image below, suggests it was made for a specific use, i.e. one type of weapon - which leads to 2 possibilities 1) a manufacturer's jig, 2) a military armourer's vice  - who else deals with large numbers of identical weapons???