Specimen 1

a typical handle of stopped spindle,
a typical handle of through spindle,
a typical ends of spindles; and
a typical jaw details; and
the maker's marks.

The pictures of the handles and of the chamfer were taken by John Adams, using a specimen with 8 inch jaws. They feature a quarter inch grid in the background, to enable dimensions of the handles to be estimated.

John Walter's book, "Antique and Collectible STANLEY Tools" has a woodcut that appears to show an acorn tip to the through screw, but this is not distinct. The maker's mark is the Eagle on the square end of the jaw. .

handle of stopped spindle

Handle of Stopped Spindle Note that the handle is slightly barrel shaped, with a shoulder at the end, and a gentle taper to the threads.

handle of through spindle

Handle of Through Spindle Note that this handle is a cylinder for about half its length, then tapers to a flat end, with no noticeable shoulder.

ends of spindles

ends of the Stanley spindles Note the marks left by the lathe.

Note also the rounded end to the through spindle.

jaw details

Jaw chamfer detail at back Note the rounded chamfer, with relief, along the edges of the outside, but not down the back.

Maker's Marks

Eagle Mark

Famous Eagle Mark of Stanley Tools The Eagle Mark of Stanley Tools is famous.

Specimen 2

through spindles;
jaw details; and
the maker's marks.

through spindles

Through spindles

The clamp has two through spindles. It's not clear whether these are original (not likely), or a user replaced a stopped spindle.

The spindles are just under 10 inches in length.

Note that this handle has a barrel for about half its length, then has a sperical cap.

Note also the rounded end to the through spindle.

jaw details

Jaws

The jaws are 8 1/2 inches long (an odd length). They have scratch beading up the nose, along the length, and across the end.

Maker's Marks

marks

The owner has stamped "G R R" on both ends; it's a fairly garish font.

However, the interesting part is the maker mark, very faint. I can make out an arch, with ????RU?? ampersand ??VE??, where each question mark indicates one or more obscure characters. My son can make out the presence of an inner arch, but with no discernable characters.

When I turned to the Galoots for help, the answer was almost immediate:

I put your photo in some tweaking software and tweaked a little, and I am now convinced: What you have here is a clamp stamped with a version of the "E" logo (1869-1874) of . . . (drum roll here):
STANLEY RULE & LEVEL CO. If I'm right, the inner arch should read "NEW BRITAIN" and then CONN in the middle. No sign of the spread- winged eagle in the equivalent logo shown in the bench plane type studies.

You may know different, but in my limited experience wooden handscrews made by Stanley are not common. To find one with a stamp from the early 1870s should be a special bonus.

Congratulations,

Tom Holloway

I offer special thanks to Tom. Unfortunately, there is no on-line version of the "E" logo. (Let's not talk about Patrick Leach and his troubles.)

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