Bench Vise with Parallel Double Slide: Grimmitt, 1879

Thomas Grimmitt of Rockford, Illinois, patented this bench vise in 1879, US 214,907. The fixed jaw is bolted to the bench by a plate formed on its back. The movable jaw is fixed to the open ends of a U-shaped double slide whose arms pass through both jaws, so the two jaws always stay exactly parallel. A screw with a sliding lever handle, swivelled to the slide, works in a nut in the fixed jaw and moves the front jaw both ways. Detachable notched wooden jaws slip over the slide and screw to hold rectangular or round work, and the vise can be fitted on top of the bench for carriage and wagon work or reversed underneath for carpenters' and cabinet-makers' work.