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I Forge Iron

American Chain Co #12 Bench Vise


DeepwaterForgeWorks

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All I can find out about it is what's tagged on the vise itself. Got it from a retired blacksmith who was a friend of my uncle. I was hoping to find out more about it. Any and all knowledge about such a vise is appreciated. Weighs about 80 pounds, only has on jaw. Other side is smooth, screw is in great condition. Also has weld spots on it. 

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On 2/9/2020 at 12:10 AM, DeepwaterForgeWorks said:

I was hoping to find out more about it.

That is some beautiful iron.

Sometimes posts get lost in the high traffic on this site, glad that I tabbed it. Hard to get info on this tool:  There are no less than three ACCO's that come up, and two are American Chain Company, but completely separate enterprises (I think?:wacko:)

Have you any further thoughts/observations, concerning that one bald jaw?

Good luck,

Robert Taylor

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Well, here's some library of congress photos of the inside of the ACCO chain plant in the early days  https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.pa1309.photos?st=gallery

They had their fingers in so many things that it's hard to get a good date but in a hacked up post I found:  "American Chain Co. Bridgeport, CT - ... This company's vises come from their purchase of the patents and business of the Lowville Machine & Vise Company in 1929.  Prior to being known as the L. M. & …"  

Lowville Machine & Vise actually came from Fulton Vise company, an earlier iteration of the company, and vises before about 1924 are Fulton branded.

I can't yet find anything about ACCOs vise production years to help date yours. There are some hints that they farmed out production but nothing certain enough to say that's for sure.  Some other people searching on their vises have hit the same wall.  

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6 hours ago, Anachronist58 said:

Have you any further thoughts/observations, concerning that one bald jaw?

 

The one jaw doesn't have holes so it's not a removable insert, whereas the other jaw looks to be. Most vise I've seen are which happen to be newer vises, have a removable insert on both sides. 

 

And to "Kozzy" thanks for the info, you provided more than I could find. When i searched for any info it only gave me info about the chain the company produced. I have seen other acco vises but they are considerably smaller. I've only ever seen on other post about this specific vise but the picture dont look the same and it went for sale a few years back. Other than that I know nothing about this vise. 

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49 minutes ago, DeepwaterForgeWorks said:
I've only ever seen on other post about this specific vise but the picture dont look the same and it went for sale a few years back. 

Because you now know that ACCO bought Lowville Machine & Vise for the patents, you might try a patent search for both Lowville and Fulton--That might explain some of the jaw questions or help date the vise toward the early end of product vs later.  I tried doing a quick search and it didn't come right up.  However, there was one link from the patent office that tied Lowville to a name the patent was actually under...implying Lowville was the assignee.  Didn't dig it out though.

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