Mystery Tool No 334

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Well the mystery to me is that Editor Neil has never knowingly seen a Hand Vice before! many of which have a hole through the handle and bolt so that you can work on the end of a long length of material.

Well I suppose it is better to have two images of that than more like the first three images of people standing in an exhibition hall.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Oh dear …

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, just as JasonB says, mine is a newer design, which I bought from RDG Tools years ago, and which they still sell.

Very handy for working on small pieces, like a bit of filing etc.

Regards Nick.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I don’t know how old mine is but seem to remember using it as a teen when making plastic models and it has come in handy ever since, might have come from my Dad or even Grandad. Must clean that spray paint off it!

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Might be tempted to call it a pin vice ?  Noel

[peak4Participant @peak4]

The trickier bit might be to work out the maker.
Certainly the general overall design seems old, particularly the ball on the end of the thread.
I’ve not managed to find another photos of one which has all the same design features.

There’s a couple similar here, but subtly different

https://www.daveswatchparts.com/PinVises.html

My own is likely the same as Jason’s, an Eclipse 110, but not so well painted.
They seem to still command a high second hand price today

Catalogue Here

Bill

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Noel, I have always thought of  a pin vice as one with a collet much like all the others in the top row Bill’s image with the knurled handle, lower row would be pin chucks as they hold round (pins) work

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

I think the most interesting [and differentiating] feature of the “mystery” item is the shape of the handle.

Ignoring the bruised end … the important aspect is that it is [it would appear] tapered.

Drill a hole in the bench and you have both hands free

MichaelG.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Or just grip the parallel knurled handle in a bench vice then you can hold it firmly at any angle, at least that is what I sometimes do.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

So it’s not tapered ?

Forget I mentioned it … we appear to be having two different conversations.

MichaelG.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

No same conversation I was talking of the usual parallel knurled handled ones which are easily held in a larger vice where they can be rotated or angled. Saves drilling a mass of random holes in your bench to poke a tapered handle into.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Great for holding pcbs whilst your soldering the components in. Hold the parallel handle in the bench vice. One of these days I’ll get round to making a spring loaded affair so I can just push down a button and spin it to whatever angle I want

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

As the tool’s styling is steam punk, I immediately thought of threading bicycle spokes – Penny Farthings!

 

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Given the probable age and use before plastic modelling ie aimed at clockmaking the tapered handle in a hole fits with a workshop that didn’t have the luxury of a bench vice and lathes that were likewise mounted with a singe bolt hole.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Just had a look at my Strelinger & Co catalogue of 1895 and they have a dead ringer for the one in Neil’s pictures.

The octagonal handle is indeed tapered but the enlarged end would seem to make stuffing it into a hole a bit diffcult

They have a few other hand vices including the type where the head & jaws screw down onto the handle and the jaws run up a tapered section that applies the closing pressure. Followed by several pages of bench vices.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Very close, Jason … but surely not ‘a dead ringer’

There is no ball on the end of the screw, and the ‘enlarged end’ is much more prominent than what I suspected was bruising on the one photographed.

MichaelG.

[SillyOldDuffer]

On SillyOldDuffer Said:

As the tool’s styling is steam punk, I immediately thought of threading bicycle spokes – Penny Farthings!

 

On The Repair Shop recently saw a chap using one of these to make new spokes for an old bike.

Interesting that even that long ago (c1920) the spokes were rolled rather than cut.

John

[JasonB]

On 15 November 2023 at 07:28 JasonB Said:

Well the mystery to me is that Editor Neil has never knowingly seen a Hand Vice before! …………………….

 

Having just read the article it would seem that the SMEE have also never seen a hand vice before as it was on their stand which is even more worrying!

[Journeyman]

On Journeyman Said:

On SillyOldDuffer Said:

As the tool’s styling is steam punk, I immediately thought of threading bicycle spokes – Penny Farthings!

 

 

Interesting that even that long ago (c1920) the spokes were rolled rather than cut.

John

Interesting that the one in your image looks to be fitted with a die stock and die rather than the 3 wheeled heads used for rolling

[JasonB]

This begs the question of ‘why the ball at the end?’

On JasonB Said:

The octagonal handle is indeed tapered but the enlarged end would seem to make stuffing it into a hole a bit difficult.

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

At this point may I register an ‘expression of disinterest’ in ever seeing a facsimile reprint of a historic article on thread rolling bicycle spokes..

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Could be to stop your hand from sliding off the smooth taper when you are using the vice to pull against something which is less likely with a knurled handle. They can be useful to grip small woodruff keys and short pieces of keysteel when you want to get them out of a keyway slot.

[peak4Participant @peak4]

This begs the question of ‘why the ball at the end?

I did wonder about that myself, and haven’t managed to find a good answer, but my own thoughts.

Appearance
Protection of the end of the thread, to avoid damage to itself, or the sharp thread crest scoring a workpiece.
Easy alignment of the wingnut to avoid cross threading,

It’s something I’ve only noticed on quite old items.

The various photos I’ve seen of old pin vices such as this, often seem to have some sort of bulge at the end of the octagonal handle. My much later Eclipse 110 in contrast, has a groove and short taper.

Edit; just spotted Jason was replying at the same time as me.
The ball I was referring to, is the one on the tightening bolt.

Bill

[JasonB]

On JasonB Said:
Interesting that the one in your image looks to be fitted with a die stock and die rather than the 3 wheeled heads used for rolling

Oops, that will teach me to look more closely at what I have found rather than rely on the description. Should indeed have something like this in place of the die.

Sorry for confusion.

John

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I was shown it by a SMEE member who has a theory that it was made or adapted for a special purpose; published to see what readers think.

My own thought is it is intended as a type of pin vice.

Perhaps if any readers had offered suggestions for the previous two mystery tools I would have been more reluctant to use something more familiar.

So if you’re all so clever, what was the mystery tool in MEW 333? (As I let 332 out of the bag) 😁

 

[Author]

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