OF VISE AND MEN

THE CHARLES PARKER COMPANY NO.434 1/2 VISE

One of the greatest things about our work is the people we meet and talk to on a daily basis. A primary benefit of these conversations are the personal family histories we hear and how an early American electric fan has become a beloved  mechanical "member" of the family. People fall in love with their heirloom fans because the machines quite literally provided their service faithfully throughout the decades in numerous family members lives. But more importantly, these fans represent the cherished memory of Great Grand Parents, Parents, Uncles and Aunts, and the family gatherings that forever bonded the memory of those folks to the machine. A recent tool purchase reminded us of this and how vintage American engineering enables us to enjoy the use of quality products that are sometimes over 100 years old.

We recently attended a huge antiques festival in South Texas and one of the items on our "lookout" list was a vintage American made vise. We were in need of one for our "tear down" shop that was of a substantial size which allows us to place a whole ceiling fan motor in the jaws and hold it securely. We are no stranger to vintage American made quality. In fact, it is preferred by us. For most tool purchases, we would rather purchase a working or restorable vintage item rather than a new one made by a famous name that use to be  of high quality but today is a shaded facsimile of their former glory days forged, machined, or cast on the continent of Asia by communist labor.

On our first day at the antiques festival, we happened upon a dealer's tent from Illinois that had many items for sale from an old shop. Most of the items dated to the turn of the century and one that caught our attention immediately was a heavy and obviously vintage American made vise. As we surveyed it's condition we could see that it was in very nice condition and it looked to be from the 1930s or 1940s. It was made by the Charles Parker Company of Meridian, CT. ,patented in 1930 and our model is the model 434 and 1/2. The Parker Vise speaks of workmen of the past by its very existence and the substantial American engineering that it embodies. This is a man's vise and one whose history is deeply embedded in American manufacturing. As we further investigated it with the fervor of Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, it was easy to see that the $90.00 asking price was a bargain. We purchased it and brought it back to our Fort Worth,Texas shop.

1930s Century 60"Ceiling Fan Motor in the Grip of "The Bear", The 1930s-40s ca. Parker Vise

Our own Sam Morgan was thrilled with the "new" vise as he is an antique tool aficionado. Sam appreciates the ingenuity of the early tool makers and often brings tools to the shop for show and tell. He quickly began inspecting the new vise and mentioned that there was literally no wear on the beam. He pointed out the close tolerances used to make the vise a precision machine. A quick search of the Internet taught us that The Charles Parker vise was a very respected vise both then and now. Tool guys love them and many sell for 100s of dollars, re- enforcing what we already knew, that we had received a valuable tool for a bargain price. We also learned that Charles Parker was also the maker of Parker guns and he was quite the industrialist in 19th century America. He created 100s of jobs and his workmen produced a quality product, many of which are in use to this day across the United States.

 As I personally inspected the vise, I could not help but think of my grandfather who we called "Daddy Bob". The stoic ruggedness that embodied him and his generation was evident in the Parker Vise. Daddy Bob and his generation were among the great Americans that built this country with quality machines and defended the freedom when needed without hesitation. They realized what they had here and what made America special. The Parker Vise is a cast iron and steel testament to the quality of their work. A 1920s Parker Vise advertisement, proclaimed it "Gripped like a Bear" which it does and it reminds you of the American generations that were as rugged as a bear, built machiery as tough as bear and when needed they did not hesitate to fight like a bear to protect the American Constitution. What a great people they were and what a need we have to return to their industrious paths.