Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

[Mrleft88]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

It's a door vise. Used for holding a door on edge while you plane the long edge for a proper fit.
All it really does is keep the door from wandering around as you fine tune it. It's an on site item, as opposed to being in the sash maker's shop, where a standard bench vise would be used.

[Canoeyawl]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

There was a PBS? show on replicating the Gutenberg press which used a large diameter wooden screw.
The man that made the replica did a layout on the round blank and carved it by hand. It was a lovely thing, an impressive bit of layout and carving

"The Machine That Made Us"

https://youtu.be/n-jkS5qOWS8

[Canoeyawl]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

It's a door vise. Used for holding a door on edge while you plane the long edge for a proper fit.
All it really does is keep the door from wandering around as you fine tune it. It's an on site item, as opposed to being in the sash maker's shop, where a standard bench vise would be used.

for narrow, thick doors...

[Chip-skiff]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

It's a door vise.

Lefty wins the spelling prize!

[JayInOz]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

There was a PBS? show on replicating the Gutenberg press which used a large diameter wooden screw.
The man that made the replica did a layout on the round blank and carved it by hand. It was a lovely thing, an impressive bit of layout and carving

"The Machine That Made Us"

https://youtu.be/n-jkS5qOWS8

I've made a wooden screw about fourteen inches long and two and half inch diameter- there are videos showing how it's done. I wanted it for a traditional style bench vice. The hard part- for me anyway- was trying to make the female thread to match it. I never did get around to finishing it.

[Tom from Rubicon]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

You guys have have got me going. What appeared to be a seat is a two piece affair. The upper wood plate is sacrificial the saw cuts are there and angled. The sale photos are great. I just dug through all my Eric Sloane books and came up empty.

Tom

[Peerie Maa]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

Construction details. Those rear legs splay out and have alot of shape at the vice end. I'm guessing the A part was a crook. A capable woodworker made that. It says they think early 1800's, south European.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]136922[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]136923[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]136924[/ATTACH]

Possibly used for snuggling floor boards together when laying a new floor. The saw cuts are because joiners will use anything as a saw-horse.

Then again, at over 2' high, it may just be a very portable joiners bench, the 19th C Workmate.

[heimlaga]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

To make wooden threads you normally start by making a tap. That is the only difficult part of it. Older taps were hand forged, square in section and tapering with the threads filed into the corners. Newer ones were factory made and fluted with all surfaces machined looking much like taps for metal.

Once you have a tap you make a threaded hole in a piece of hardwood. Cut out the threads through half the thickness. Cut an escapement for the chips and install a simple forged V-shaped cutter. Now you have a die that matches the tap.

Then make as many screws as you want.

I should have a few old taps and dies in the garage attic somewhere under a cubic metre of old wooden planes. There are plenty of them in the village museum. Some of the old hand forged variety.

[Edward Pearson]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

It's vice as it's in the UK. Though maybe vise, as it's an American Forum...

Vise is a local Americanism.

In Mechanick Excercises 1677-1703 Moxon describes it thus:-

Screenshot 2023-05-25 at 12.27.05.jpg

Vice not vise.

No ladies of the night to be used for workholding at the bench.

[Canoeyawl]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

your vith muft be fet up very firmly that it flake not and ftand upright

[Tom from Rubicon]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

The F's ain't F's. It's a S. Takes getting used to.

Tom

[Jimmy W]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

I have a copy of "The Travels of William Bartram". It was printed with those f's for s's. It was very hard to get used to.

[Nicholas Carey]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

I have a copy of "The Travels of William Bartram". It was printed with those f's for s's. It was very hard to get used to.

Thise aren't minuscule (lowercase) letter F. They are the medial/long letter S, as opposed to the terminal/short letter S. They resemble the lowercase F, but that's about it. Different letter completely.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_s

[birlinn]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

I remember reading an 18th century book about housekeeping and parenting? Or was it Shakespeare?.
I did a double take on the line "a babe is wont to suck" with the 18th century 's'

[Peerie Maa]

Re: Check out this early 19th century 'floor vice'...

I have a copy of "The Travels of William Bartram". It was printed with those f's for s's. It was very hard to get used to.

If you pay attention, the cross in the middle of the "f" extend to both sides of the up stroke, on the long s ⟨ſ⟩ it only appears on one side of the up stroke, if at all. Things were better back then

German printed word still uses the long S combined with a z for the sz sound, as in

it evolved into the more common ß.