Vintage wooden clamp

I'm not an expert and my terminology may not be correct, but it looks like an old leg vice. It would attach to a woodworkers work bench. It might date back to the 1800s. Not sure.

It's made of wood..... I'm smart like dat, me !
+1 on leg vise. The spacer block, if repeated multiple pieces are to be worked on, may be for raising/maintaining the worked piece above the jaws

Sonny

Thank you very much for the impu

Look at his feet, is it big enough to be a leg vise? I've never seen anyone use a spacer block, but I suppose it's feasible. If the hole goes all the way through the spacer isn't removable so it would be for a specific use, like maybe a board wider than the block.

Many things like this were adapted by a craftsman for a specific task, like in a production shop.

DrRobert said:

Look at his feet, is it big enough to be a leg vise? I've never seen anyone use a spacer block, but I suppose it's feasible. If the hole goes all the way through the spacer isn't removable so it would be for a specific use, like maybe a board wider than the block.

Many things like this were adapted by a craftsman for a specific task, like in a production shop.

Click to expand...

My thoughts as well, I am sure many of us will drive our survivors crazy when they go through our shops.

Moravian workbenches often had removable leg vises. I also dont understand what those two smaller square blocks are for...are the holes threaded?

The spacer block looks like it is slightly askew and may not be threaded. Maybe it is there just to limit depth and to protect the threads of the shaft. Maybe the previous owner only used it for thicker material. The other block looks like the one on the newer version. It is probably where the threads are and squeezes the two legs together for holding. I wonder if it slips into a notch of some sort when mounted?