The Record Imp 80 is the brilliant tiny cousin of the Record #74 Auto Vice. I use my Imp frequently – they really are very useful indeed, despite their small size (the jaws are only 2 1/4” wide. If you are in the UK then you can still get them for around 20-30 quid on … Read more The Record Imp 80 Vice
Record’s 74 Auto Vices still show up fairly regularly in the UK – this one is a bit grotty but in otherwise good condition, the only minor issue being that at some point the pin that retains the washer/spring used to hold the handle against the moveable jaw had broken and the washer bent as … Read more Record 74 Auto Vice Cleanup
1877 Wilson Riley and and an unknown inventor working for Smith, Marks & Co applied to patent two different quick-release (QR) vices in 1877. Both inventors were living in Keightley, Yorkshire. Riley’s invention was purchased by Entwisle and Kenyon and marketed as the ‘Lightening Grip’ vice. The same design was produced by Massey under license … Read more the Record 52 1/2 vice – a timeline
Following the last few posts on the history of the quick release vice that covered the major developments in the UK over the past 100 years or so, here are a couple of honourable mentions. the ‘Twentieth Century’ vice a memorable face design: The main aspects of this unusual vice’s history were uncovered by a … Read more the ‘Twentieth Century’ vice
Record quick-release vices have long been a favourite amongst woodworkers around the world and for a while during the early 20th century Record were making a version that has arguably never been bettered in either design nor quality1)incidentally, the Record woodworker’s vices were available 3 jaw widths: 7”, 9” and 10 1/2″. For reasons … Read more the Record 52 1/2 vice
You may recall from an earlier post that Francis Young – writing in the early 1880s – recommended a couple of the first ever quick-release vices. We covered the first – the Entwisle & Kenyon ‘lightening’ instantaneous grip – in the previous post, and the second is the ‘Standard’ instantaneous grip vice, made by Smith, … Read more Syer’s Standard Instantaneous Grip Vice
The next two articles are about a couple of important quick-release vices that predate Parkinson’s design: Entwisle & Kenyon’s (Accrington) Instantaneous Grip Parallel Vice the Standard Instantaneous Grip invented by Smiths Marks & Co, Keighley and sold by Thomas Syers and co. Both vices are described by Francis Young in Everyman His Own Mechanic. which was originally … Read more Entwisle & Kenyon’s Instantaneous Grip Parallel Vice
As part of this survey of the history of the quick-release woodworker’s vice, Richards Wilcox of Illinois deserves an honourable mention for their clever design. Before Wilcox was purchased by Richards in 1910 they produced a continuous screw vice. The newly formed company created an improved version that featured a simple and rather elegant … Read more Quick-release vices from the USA – Richards Wilcox
… it turns out that Steel Nut & J. Hampton ltd (aka Woden) filed a patent in 1906 that aimed to resolve potential issues with the cast sliders first used by Parkinson (they suggested adding rollers to reduce wear and friction). I doubt it ever got made, though, since US manufactures had already come up … Read more The W C Toles Vice
Welcome to part I of this potted history of the quick-release woodworking vice – a history that will culminate with the venerable and arguably never-bettered Record 52 1/2 vice. Many of us own or have used one of the quick-release woodworking vices but I wonder how many people are familiar with the history? We have … Read more Parkinson’s Patent Perfect Vise