Day 16, A pair of handscrew clamps
I have several wooden handscrew clamps, of which these are a pair that came to me for less than $5 each.
(It might be beginning to dawn on you that I buy stuff for not much money). Honestly, I don't often use
handscrew clamps all that often, but they are occasionally useful. Most often the way that I use them is
to hold a board vertically as a make shift vise. You lay them flat on the bench, and clamp the work vertically,
and then clamp the clamp (ooh, recursion) onto the bench. There are lots of other uses though, and so I keep them around
so they can be quite handy.
The first example is a R14 clamp made by Wetzler of Long Island, NY. They were founded by Max Wexler in 1928, and were exclusively (as far as I know) a manufacturer of both wooden and metal clamps. They are pretty highly prized as good quality clamps. In the 1980s, they were sold out of the family and were relocated to Pennsylvania, and in 2002 the company folded. Not sure about the manufacture date, but probably at least forty and maybe more than sixty years old or even older.
The second is a Hargrave clamp, made by the Cincinnati Tool Company. It is also a 14" clamp, with the main body made from maple. The Cincinatti Tool Company was founded in 1877. The circled H trademark samped on this clamp indicates that the clamp was designed by John Morris Hargrave, who I believe was the son of one of the founders. In 1925, the company was renamed the Hargrave Company, which suggests that this clamp was made before then, making it a century old or more.
Both clamps came to me with some significant paint spatters and the like. I cleaned them. The Wetzler has an obvious burn near one end, which seems pretty odd. Somebody was using it in a stupid way. Wish I knew the story.
Interesting clamps, which easily provided me $5 worth of entertainment looking up their history.
Happy Thursday.