I was wondering if someone here could help me with info (age, manufacturer, specifications) of this large vise. It has 11 inch jaws and weighs at least 400lbs. The scale I used only went up to 400lbs. Appears to be much heavier. 

Google lens found a math on this guy's museum site, but there is no written info about it.  He has it on pinterest too.

https://www.pflugmuseum.ch/hammerschmiede.php?Lang=en

Specifications? take a tape measure to it and take notes.  Though you MIGHT have some luck searching the patent servers.

I'm curious about the apparent hinge mechanism on the back of the floor plate and what it was used for. I strongly doubt it was for impact work like hammering, there is no upper support flange so all impact energies would go straight to the hinge pin and cast socket.

I wonder if the hinge looking part of the base plate meant it was designed to lay over away from the user but the apparent bolt holes in the front of the base say probably not. 

Even when almost every metal shop in America had a post/leg vise and they were being manufactured on a huge scale most makers didn't ID them and they were modified with almost reckless abandon by the users and often passed through several user's hands before being forgotten in the back of Grandpaws old shed.

On a last note. Iforgeiron is NOT a freebie identification service for people looking to shortcut honest research. I've made a couple suggestions for where to look. I assume you HAVE tipped it over and read the bottom of the base plate. No?

If you do discover the, who what were and when of it we'd love to know.

Good timing Lee, I was about to submit this. That sure looks like a similar beast though it's more robust. There is somebody else to ask for your ID info.

Frosty The Lucky.

3 hours ago, Frosty said:

Specifications? take a tape measure to it and take notes.  Though you MIGHT have some luck searching the patent servers.

I'm curious about the apparent hinge mechanism on the back of the floor plate and what it was used for. I strongly doubt it was for impact work like hammering, there is no upper support flange so all impact energies would go straight to the hinge pin and cast socket.

I wonder if the hinge looking part of the base plate meant it was designed to lay over away from the user but the apparent bolt holes in the front of the base say probably not. 

Even when almost every metal shop in America had a post/leg vise and they were being manufactured on a huge scale most makers didn't ID them and they were modified with almost reckless abandon by the users and often passed through several user's hands before being forgotten in the back of Grandpaws old shed.

On a last note. Iforgeiron is NOT a freebie identification service for people looking to shortcut honest research. I've made a couple suggestions for where to look. I assume you HAVE tipped it over and read the bottom of the base plate. No?

If you do discover the, who what were and when of it we'd love to know.

Good timing Lee, I was about to submit this. That sure looks like a similar beast though it's more robust. There is somebody else to ask for your ID info.

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks for your response.

I guess I should have been more specific when I said “specifications.” I have seen in pasts posts on this forum of old technical diagrams of vises and other tools. I have searched the US patent server, but there is over 45,000 patents listed when searching for “vises.” This vise is in Central America and most of the old tools (anvils, vises, sawmills etc.) seem to originate from Europe. Might not show up in US patents.

I agree with your observation about the hinge pin. Although the pin is 2 inches in diameter, the casting would be a weak point if hammering with great force.

I removed about 6 coats of paint from the vise, looking for any stamps or maker’s marks and didn’t find any. Each separate piece is stamped with the number 19, but I would imagine that it was to identify the individual forged pieces to their unique unit. 

Regarding your “last note.” While researching this vise, I was referred to this forum as a great resource because many of the members have experience in metalworking and blacksmithing and are experts in the field. I appreciate the post from LeeJustice, but I had already reached out to the Pflugmuseum in Switzerland and the poster on Pinterest a few weeks ago, but they could not help.  And of course, when I was removing the paint, I did look on the underside for markings and couldn’t see any. 
I will continue hunting for information. It is a very interesting vise and would like to learn more about its history. I will post any findings here if anyone is interested. 
Thank you Frosty The Lucky for your response.

There are more patent registries than just the US registry or are they available for us to search free or reasonable? 

So it's a big list, use one of the image search engines like IIRC Lee mentioned when he produced pics of a similar vise. If it isn't a patented devise it may be so common and ancient a design nobody bothers with names, originator, makers, etc. 

I understand tossing general questions out there to get leads or luck into THE answer. I do it, I love research like this I not only get to learn things about the original . . . thing but I get enticed down rabbit holes galore. I'm the kind of guy who cant look up Just the word or topic I got the reference out for, I end up reading it like a novel.

As different as I am, hanging out with hundreds if not thousands of polymaths means there are no hidden or undecipherable things. 

Its why I hang out here. 

Frosty The Lucky.

I’m going to take a guess, more or less educated.

the base looks cast. The legs look either cast or drop forged from the grinder marks on the flashing. The screw box has a parting seam, which may indicate cast or drop forged.

I would estimate 19th or 20th century. That’s my unprofessional opinion based on these factors

I agree, the base is almost undoubtedly cast. If not I'd LOVE to see the Dies and forge! The legs and jaws are probably forged in several steps in different dies, front and read jaw/leg. Note the offset in the hinge pin for the mobile jaw? Different dies entirely. 

I'd love to see a video of these being made.

Frosty The Lucky.

It's an odd design. I suspect that it's from the transitional period between fully forged and fully cast vises. Compare with the 580-pound German "Super Vise" which looks farther down that evolutionary path:

(Here's the video from Mt Philip Metal Works where I got the screenshot: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1128341909461099)

 

There are links to this one or one like it being restored. Beware the rabbit hole has a slippery slope!

Frosty The Lucky.

9 hours ago, Ridgeway Forge Studio said:

I’m going to take a guess, more or less educated.

the base looks cast. The legs look either cast or drop forged from the grinder marks on the flashing. The screw box has a parting seam, which may indicate cast or drop forged.

I would estimate 19th or 20th century. That’s my unprofessional opinion based on these factors

The base and the screw box are definitely cast and the legs are drop forged. When taking the paint off with wire brush it seemed at first like there was grey paint that wasn’t coming off. Turns out the imperfections in the cast parts were filled with lead and filed smooth.

Lead fill eh? That predates Bondo so what 1965 or earlier? Auto shop teachers didn't have much good to say about Bondo type fillers around then, maybe later.

Frosty The Lucky.