I am trying to locate information about three wood clamps similar to the one in the attached photo. They seem to be made from solid blocks of maple. In all cases, the screws are about 15” long. The overall width of the clamps differs in turn: 23”, 25.5” and 28.5”. That means the interior maximum size is about 18”x 8”, 21”x 8” and 24”x 8”.
While they look to be in rather new condition, they do not have any manufacturer’s name on them and their “style” seems antiquated.
Would you be able to shed some light on what their origin might be?
Thank you for your consideration and assistance,
Jeff
Replies
It's quite possible they were handcrafted by the owner. Once upon a time many Craftsman commonly made many of their tools
Of course it's possible that they are hand-made, but all of the screws/handles are identical, as are the blocks - other than width. Either they were machine-made or the guy was one heck of a craftsperson.
I haven't been able to find any others which use rectangular blocks like these except on very old (19th century) clamps and, while I've had these for over 20 years, they look nearly new.
Jeff
Could be clamped to a bench and used as a twin screws vise.
I guess they could be, but it seems a lot of clamps for one vise and the fact there are three identical units - except for length, made me believe that they were a set.
Jeff
Even though they don't look old doesn't mean that they aren't old. Some people take care of their stuff. I'm thinking some precursor to hand screws. They look like something manufactured but if not then by someone who knew how. Maybe made for or by someone for some specific purpose and maybe even for one specific thing and never used again. Could be not even for woodworking. But something that tapers - laminating boat rudders.. a Stanford White designed laminated ironing board for Henry Clay Frick.. They wouldn't be hard to make..if you've got the tap and die and a lathe. They look pretty handy. I can think of lots of uses for those. I vote on mid to late 19th century.
They are bookbinder's clamps. It's really hard to guess their age from the picture. They could be old and gently used, or pretty new.
I do believe you're right - they look like pictures of bookbinding clamps. These weigh 15-19 pounds each (depending on their length. I inherited them from my father, who "collected" tools, but don't know their origin.
Thank you to everyone for your assistance.
Jeff
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled