Hey all,
I picked up a 4 1/2" post vice in Northern California (Oroville area), missing the bracket and spring, the leg is broken and the screw is frozen. I picked it up for $120.
I haven't had a chance to clean it up much, so the only identifying mark that I've found is a B stamped where the top of the spring would sit. It has chamfered legs, the screw cap looks like a Columbian or Indian Chief but it isn't drilled through the end. The edges of the plates where the pivot screw goes through are square, not chamfered, it has a square nut and a carriage-type bolt head that was shaped by hand, it's not machined or cast, it has hammer marks.
The leg was broken off at some point, the leg is straight (as in not bent) at the break point and the break face is straight across but rough, so it wasn't cut, it looks like a brittle failure.
From the research I've been able to do, it's starting to look like it might have parts from several vises, in which case it would be even more valuable to me as that means somebody used it a lot and put the time and effort in to keep it in service.
The screw box has small (1/8"ish) holes drilled at regular intervals around and along it.
The vise is frozen closed but the screw is loose, the handle won't turn but it has side to side movement, so the screw is stuck at the cap end and the legs are stuck at the pivot screw.
Any help on identifying it, even as a probable frankenvise, would be appreciated, I'll try and post some videos in a couple weeks.
John