One of my vices is vises. Trojan

A sad old neglected and abused vise.  According to Garage Journal, Trojan was the economy line for Parker. The ones I see online usually have a cast-in model number.

 This one was outside at a local antique market, rusting away with a broken base and seized up, a shame. 

A substantial flange is broken off the base, it should be like the view below.

Model Tool kit by Mason and Parker

Nice wooden box with a lovely label. The tool set is not complete and I expect some of the tools aren't originally from the kit. The Model Tool Chest for boys was made by the Mason and Parker Mfg  Co.

H. N. Parker and Orlando Mason started the company in 1899, their first products were metal horse-drawn wagon toys, but added wooden toys in 1907. This type of Boys tool box was a popular product for the company over the years. We’ll use this post as a base to collect the tool kits as they were presented through the years. By the airplane that sits nonchalantly in the shop, this kit might have been from the twenties?
 

Gilbert and Parker Portable Gas Pump

I don't think the idea caught on...

 

One of my vices is vises, Parker No 31

Small Parker vise with 3" jaws. 

 

Sidecar Sunday

Cristine Somer-Simmons. The American Motorcycle Girls:1900-1950. Parker House, 2009

 Mrs and Mr Roy Smith on their trip from New Jersey to Miami. C'mon kids, look happy!

Yamaha GTS1000

These don't turn up very often, the James Parker-designed front end was not a big sales success. Looks good in yellow!

 

Motorcyclist Magazine, June 1940

Cristine Somer-Simmons. The American Motorcycle Girls:1900-1950. Parker House, 2009

 A little cheesecake for the vintage motorcyclist... reused as the frontispiece of the book The American Motorcycle Girls:1900-1950.

Parker 51

 Do people still value a good pen?

Suzuki Colleda Seltwin

The Seltwin was a new-for-1959 spine framed 125 cc two stroke twin with "modern styling".  It was sold till 1963. 

Ray Battersby, Team Suzuki, Parker House 1981

Roy Bacon Suzuki Two Strokes Motorbooks 1981

One of my vices is vises, C. Parker No 5 1/2

 I dropped in to visit the Waterloo Central railway in St Jacobs today (more on that later) and was greeted by this big old Charles Parker Number 5 1/2 vise sitting out proudly by itself in the middle of the yard. It's obviously had a long hard life and it's good to see it still working!

One of my vices is vises. Prentiss Vices

Prentiss Vice was organized by John and Edwin Mulford in Montour Falls, NY in 1877. It appears that they had acquired the Hall Manufacturing Company, who employed a man named Mason Prentiss, who held US Patent 75,576, issued March 17, 1868 for a bench vise. 

Although the ad mentions a NYC address, this seems to be only the sales or head office,  Prentiss Vises were manufactured by Bagley & Sewall in Watertown, NY. 

 As is common with this era of tool manufacturers many companies became intertwined and in 1925 the Prentiss Vise Company completed the purchase of the Henry Cheney Hammer Company.

In 1947 The Prentiss Vise Company, including the Cheney Hammer division, was sold to the Charles Parker Company of Meriden, Connecticut.

Valvespout Oilers and the Sad Story of Parker-Hale

Below, my little Valvespout Oiler.  It used to be very handy when filled with threading fluid for tapping holes.  Sadly, the plastic bulb has become brittle with age and cracked, so it's been retired to ornament status in the shop.

My version was made in England by Muller & Co.

The spout has a nicely knurled end that, if turned clockwise, opens the spout, and closes it when turned in the opposite direction. Hence "Valvespout."

1934

A British patent on the device was taken out in 1931. (My example is curious because the brass stem says "Pat. Pending" but the bulb is made of plastic.  I don't think this kind of plastic was around prior to 1931. Maybe they just never bothered to update the stamp.)  The patent was awarded to the Parker-Hale Company, the famous Birmingham arms manufacturer:

1938.  Source:  Grace's Guide

1940

1953

1973

As such, the oiler was offered in various configurations.  It also appears to have been sold under license in the U.S. by the Continental Arms Corporation of NYC, a distributor of guns, gun supplies and even juke boxes!

Boys Life, 1952

Continental Arms renewed the American "Valvespout" trademark in 1965, but let it expire in 2008.  I don't think that U.S. company is around anymore, at least not in its original form.

Across the pond, the Parker-Hale story didn't end well.  Founded in 1880 and once the largest producer of high-power sporting fire arms in the UK, the company had its ups and down through the last century.  It was perhaps most famous for "Parkerifling", a system by which old gun barrels could be renewed, or larger caliber ones could be sleeved down.  The company was facing some rocky financial times in the 1990's when the Dunblane school massacre occurred in Scotland in 1996. A teacher and 16 children were killed. The British government responded with new legislation severely curtailing gun purchases and ownership.  As the website above explained:

Events following the tragic Dunblane incident in 1996 are well documented, but public awareness to the consequences affecting people working in the gun trade was less forthcoming. The national ban on handguns brought further pressure on an already troubled industry and the closure of allied trades received little sympathy.

In the end, this drove Parker-Hale under. Parker-Hale was eventually sold to the Midlands engineering group, Modular Industries. In 1992 Modular sold the gun firm to Navy Arms of West Virginia which then sold it again to the Gibbs Rifle Co, also of West Virginia.  Both U.S. firms make historical replica firearms (as did Parker-Hale--see the 1973 ad above).  On the Gibbs website, they state, "The production facilities purchased from Parker-Hale were ideal for taking worn-out curio and relic firearms and upgrading them to Historical Remake™ arms."  

The Birmingham firm's abandoned factory was visited by urban explorers, who documented its lamentable state in photographs. You can see these at 28 Days Later, specifically visits in June 2010, later 2010, and 2012.  For machine-tool lovers, it's heartbreaking to see this precision machinery left to the depredations of vandals and then to the ravages of the elements.  (It was eventually moved out and sold, mostly for scrap.  The company's historical documents were reportedly taken out into the yard and burned in a giant bonfire.)

Anyway, it turns out that Valvespout oilers are still available from Production Equipment Limited in the U.K.  Maybe one of these days I'll treat myself to a new one.

Another Charles Parker vise

 Found in a Bargain Barn in Searsport Maine. Since the post last week, I've been looking for one for the shop. This one? Not for sale!??

One of my vices is vises, The Charles Parker Co. 1921

Railway Mechanical Engineer, June 1921

Charles Parker was born in 1809 and became one of Connecticut’s leading industrialists.  He started his manufacturing career inventing and producing coffee mills in a small shop in 1832. By 1860, he owned several large factories and employed hundreds of people, in and around Meriden. Vises were only one of his products, Parker products included hardware and house wares, flatware, clocks, lamps, piano stools and benches, coffee mills, industrial machinery, and, after 1862, guns. His descendants carried on his businesses until 1957. 

I mentioned the Parker vise to a tool-centric friend who took me down to see the one he has had for years. About a hundred years old now, still doing fine.

When tool makers used to be proud of their city of origin

There was a time when hand tool manufacturers acknowledged the city where their tools were made, not just the country:

Athol, Massachusetts: 

L.S. Starrett Company
(1905 and still around, although most of

 its manufacturing today is located in Brazil and China)

Beverly Hills, California:

Bruno Tools (defunct)

Bridgeport, Connecticut:

Bridgeport Hardware Manufacturing Corporation 
(1895-1960, acquired by Crescent-Niagara; defunct)

Brink & Cotton Manufacturing Company 
(acquired by the Warren Tool Group, defunct)

Forsberg Manufacturing Company 
(1921-1960's, defunct)

Brockville, Ontario:

James Smart Manufacturing Company
(1891-1965, acquired by Brock Engineering, Montreal.  Defunct) 

Brooklyn, New York:

J.H. Williams & Co. 
(1884-??? Acquired by United Greenfield, 

now still used as a brand by Snap-On)

Buffalo, New York:  

Barcalo Manufacturing
(1896-1963;  tool division acquired by Crescent-Niagara, then by Mohaso Industries which moved it to North Carolina; defunct)

Chatham, Ontario:

Glen Purvis
(defunct)

Chicago, Illinois:

Armstrong Tools
(1890-1994; Acquired by the Danaher Group, which became part of the Apex Group in 2010 where Armstrong remains as a brand)

Blue Point Tool Company, at some point became a brand of Milwaukee-based (now Kenosah, Wisconsin-based) Snap-On Tools

Chicago Specialty Manufacturing Company 
(?-1960's, when acquired by Beatrice Foods, then eventually spun off to American Brands in early 1990's.  Defunct)

Chicago Tool & Engineering Company 
(1919-2013;  Acquired by C.H. Hanson, where the Palmgren brand is now applied to tools mostly made in China.)

Indestro

Penens Corporation
(1941, becoming Fleet in the mid-1960's ?  Defunct.)

Walter E. Selck & Co.
(?-late 1950's.  Defunct.)

Cincinnati, Ohio:  

Cincinnati Tool Company
(1877-1962.  Acquired by the Warren Tool Group.  Defunct.)

Cleveland, Ohio:  

Bingham's Best
(1841-1960's.  Defunct.)

Columbian Vice & Manufacturing Company
(????.  Bought by the Warren Tool Group.  Defunct.)




Fairmount



National Telephone Supply Company

Detroit, Michigan:  

DESTACO (Detroit Stamping Company)
(1915-present)

Schultes Level Inc.
(???  Defunct.)

Duluth, Minnesota:

Diamond Tool & Horseshoe Company
(1908-1981.  Acquired by the Triangle Corporation.  Defunct.)

Erie, Pennsylvania:

Erie Tool Works
(1902-present as Lakeview Forge)

Freemont, Ohio:

Herbrand Tools
(1881-1993, when Cooper acquired what was left of them)

Galt, Ontario:

Greenfield Tap & Die (Canadian Division)



Shurly & Dietrich
(1873-1973 after being purchased by H.K. Porter.  Defunct.)



Shurly-Dietrich-Atkins Co. Ltd.

Greenfield, Massachusetts:

Greenfield Tap & Die

Hartford, Connecticut:

Billings & Spencer

High Bridge, New Jersey:

Exact Level & Tool Company
(???? - 1991.  Defunct)

Indianapolis, Indiana:

E.C. Atkins & Co.
(1855-1961 after acquisition by Borg-Warner.  Defunct.)

Jamestown, New York:

Crescent Tool Company







J.P. Danielson Company, Inc.
(1903-1947 when acquired by Plomb Tools)

Los Angeles, California:

Proto Tools

(1907-1964 (acquired by Ingersoll Rand) then 1984 (acquired by Stanley)

Long Island City, New York:

Wetzler Clamp Company
(1928-2002?)

Maspeth, New York:

Merrill Brothers
(1906-1991; Acquired by McGraw-Edison in 1984)

Meadville, Pennsylvania:

Champion DeArment



Channellock

Millers Falls, Massachusetts:  

Millers Falls Company

Newark, New Jersey:  

Lowentraut Manufacturing Company

New Britain, Connecticut:  

New Britain Machine Company

Stanley Works

New York City:  

Ultra Manufacturing Company

Oakland, California:  

Druge Brothers Manufacturing Company

Orange, Massachusetts:  

Union Tool Company

Orillia, Ontario:  

Rae Vise

Ottawa, Ontario:  

J.S. Imlach

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:  

Defiance Manufacturing Company

Portland, Maine:  

Diamond Wrench Company

Portland, Oregon:  

P&C Tool Company (1920-late 1960's, ultimately swallowed by Stanley)

Poughkeepsie, New York:  

Lanebro Manufacturing Company

Providence, Rhode Island:  

Lawrence H. Cook Inc.

Federal Products Corporation

Rochester, New York:

National Rule Company



Upson Brothers. Inc.

Rockford, Illinois:

General Cement Manufacturing Company

Roxton Pond, Quebec:

A. Monty

Sabina, Ohio:

Mac Tools (Mechanics Tool & Forge Co.)

Saginaw, Michigan:

Lufkin Rule Company

Sherman, New York:

Duplex Manufacturing Company

Sioux City, Iowa:

Albertson & Company (later Sioux Tools)

(1914-1993.  Acquired by Snap-On.  Defunct.)

Springfield, Massachusetts:  

K. Miller Tool (& Machine) Company

St. Catharines, Ontario:  

Engineering Tools & Forgings Limited

St. Louis, Missouri:

Lincoln Engineering Company

Sycamore, Illinois:

Ideal Industries, Inc.

Tenafly, New Jersey:

Vari-Line Industries, Inc.

Toronto, Ontario:  

Gray Tool Company

Staroba

W.H. Dunne Skate Company

Torrington, Connecticut:

Union Hardware Company

Utica, New York:

Utica Drop Forge & Tool Corporation

Welland, Ontario:

Canforge (Canada Forge Company Limited)

West Haven, Connecticut:

West Haven Manufacturing Company

Wichita, Kansas:

Sands Level and Tool Company

Worcester, Massachusetts:

Parker Manufacturing Company

After 6 years of helping Mister G to publish this blog, I'm calling it quits.  So this is my final post.  I hope you enjoy it.

I've enjoyed researching the various posts.  However, the response from visitors has been tepid at best.  In fact, we have only received one comment for every 1333 pageviews.  So, basically less than one visitor out of a thousand has seen fit to leave us any feedback.  Of those, a discouraging minority have only wanted us to give them free information on the worth of their items.  Those people, as Oscar Wilde quipped, know the price of everything and the value of nothing.  A pox on them.  In contrast, I would like to thank the very few visitors who took the time to leave useful comments, to correct my errors, and to engage in discussion or badinage.  You folks were the ones who kept me going.