mainspring vise

[straggler]

Comrads,

Quick (I hope) question.

How do/would the CW era mainspring vise differ from the current mainspring vise?

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: mainspring vise

Hallo Kamerad!

I assume you mean the U.S. originals versus the modern repro's?

Mainspring vices were not intended for the common solider but rather for the NCO's.

In general, U.S. mainspring vises can be divided into two groups:

Pre 1855- with curved bars, checkered pads, and crossbars attached with spanner nuts rather than screws.

Post 1855- with reinforced crossbars that are attached with large headed machine screws, pads that are smooth (the 1862 manual incorrectly shows differently).

The U.S. 1855 Mainspring Vise was the standard from M1855-1888. These were "U.S." as well as contractor made, and vary slightly on some features such as the size of the "thumb-piece," how dished or concave it was, whether the screw to thumb-piece area was concave, convex, or flat where the two meet, whether the body is flat sided or has faceted/bevelled edges, etc.

I have had several of the modern repro's and they vary somewhat according to the maker (mostly in degree of finish- some well done, others having mold seams, scratches, etc.

At any rate, comparing and contrasting originals to the repro's, in general:

1. The originals are color case hardened with either solid or mottled colors. The repro's are blued (or "blackened").

2. The originals are usually stamped with varying sizes of small "U.S." usually upside down, sometimes just on the "thumb-piece," sometimes on the side of front of the body, sometimes on the front of the crossbar, and sometimes even in all three places. (Contract made pieces often have a small letter stamp- possibly an inspector or sub-inspector's.
Repro's usually have no "U.S." markings but will usually carry the makers logo or stamp on the body. (I have one with a power horn, another with a North Star, and one with no markings.)

3. The thumb pieces on my three repro's are too small, and have three raised horizontal lines to act as "grips."

IMHO, the repro vise can be "improved upon" by going to the hardware store and finding a replacement screw with a larger, more oval, thumb-piece (or at least one that can be shaped and made like the originals. Or a larger screw that can have the threads recut smalled to fit the body of the vise if the available screws from the hardware store have too small a thumb-piece area.
Or, at a very minimum, file and polish the three raised horizontal "non-skid" lines off of the face of the thumb-piece.

Having one color case hardened, by, itself can be pricey. However some services will greatly discount their fee if it is added to an exisitng "firing" of other parts and there is some extra space... ;-)
One may have to wait until there are sufficient parts to warrant a firing, or until one has a batch of Enfield lock plates and hammers that need re-colored- but the savings are worth it.
At the least, heat bluing or bluing helps the look a little for those who do not know or care (not right though)...

Curt-Heinrich Schmidt

[KentuckyReb]

Re: mainspring vise

Curt, what's a good source for a repro vise, or if the originals aren't aren't too expensive (I know, fat chance), a source for one of them? Lodgewood?

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: mainspring vise

Hallo Herr Micah!

Originals have become pricey from Civil War "vendors" because of supply (always going down) and demand (always going up).

IMHO, one can sometimes "do better" ($25-$50 or so range, maybe depending upon Region and Show) by going to gun shows where a random one or two might found on a table of a non Civil War seller...

There are a number of vendors who sell repro's, and something is sticking in my mind about someone here on the Forum either working on a quality repro or already have one out (missed it if he did...).

I would recommend, and I REALLY HATE using this term (and should not),
"de-farbing" and cleaning up, a repro. (If for no other reason, I would hate to an original pop out of an implement pouch when someone takes a hit at a reenactment...)

Curt-Heinrich Schmidt