Photo Index - Arthur J. O'Leary & Son - Post vise

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Arthur J. O'Leary & Son
Chicago, IL

True Manufacturer:
Arthur J. O'Leary & Son, Chicago, IL

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Metal Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Other
Machine Size:	3"
Submitted By:	Jim McCarty

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Post vise
Date of Manufacturer:	1919-1942
Serial Number:
Last Updated	4/26/2023 10:17:32 PM

Comments:

Bought this at an antique store for $80 in almost perfect condition other than the typical marks from chisel work. It even has the crosshatch marks on the jaws. I've bought a number of these post vises for blacksmith work but this is the first I've seen from this company. In fact most have no manufacture name on them. I was able to find some info on this company, which is now part o Wozniak Industries:
History of CFP
1874 — Arthur J. O’Leary and Charles Smith start a small forge shop on Chicago’s North Side called Smith & O’Leary.
1903 — Arthur’s son (also Arthur) joins the business. Arthur J. O’Leary & Son opens a new shop on Chicago’s Lake Street, adding punch presses and small hammers to meet higher volume demand.
1906 — Business expands and the O’Learys move to the Clearing Industrial District (now Bedford Park) on Chicago’s far southwest side.
1919-1942 — Between the wars, O’Leary continues to add hammer capacity to meet the demands of the railroad and farm industries. A popular product of the day was the 70-pound blacksmith vise sold to Montgomery Ward and used by America’s farmers.
1943 — O’Leary becomes Kelly O’Leary Steel Works, and to meet wartime demand new capabilities include gravity and steam hammers, upsetters, bulldozer presses, and fabricating work. Products include artillery shells; mortar housings, casings, and "Bailey Bridges" used by the Allies in their dash across Europe.
1944 — Now Kelly Steel Works, expansion of the upset forging capability continues. Kelly has 1.5- to 6-inch upset forging machines for ordnance work, preforms for the hammers, fasteners, and sheet piling anchor rods.
1946-1986 — Kelly is sold to Commercial Shearing renamed Commercial Stamping and Forging to reflect various manufacturing processes now taking place in Bedford Park — stamping, fabrication, and forging. Expansion of forging capacity continues with addition of three 8-in. upsetters and the elimination of the hammers.
1986 — Commercial Shearing sells the operation to Wozniak Industries Inc. of Oakbrook Terrace, IL, and the name is changed to Commercial Forged Products.
1990 — Commercial adds a fourth 8-in. upsetter.
1996 — Commercial achieves ISO 9002 certification.
1999 — Commercial updates its quality systems to QS 9000.

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Comments: Can't tell if this is 50 or 501
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