Production date of a miter grip?

[jpdalton]

Had a great weekend to work on my latest restoration project (1954 Mark 5), and had a part (miter grip) arrive in a very timely fashion from an eBay vendor. I'm still discovering some of the variations in design for the earliest Mark 5's compared to later models, but had never seen this variation before:

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A 1981-vintage grip is displayed at left, while my mystery grip is on the right (all polished up!) with "PAT. APL. FOR" in the casting, rather than the familiar patent number reference. I know the patent (http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPa ... p?id=10275) was applied for in 1954 and granted in 1956, so I'm assuming this grip is of that vintage - anyone have any better information on the timeline of these variants?

By the way, this came from a vendor from whom I'd already purchased a number of VERY early (10-E era) parts and accessories, so I'm not surprised to learn how old this likely is as well.

Thanks in advance for the input!
- J

[sehast]

Looks just like the one I have from a 1955 Greenie. It is one of the few items I still have that are original. Sorry but I replaced the headstock long ago and did not note the serial number so all I can tell you is that it was purchased in 1955. At least that is what the original owner told me.

[jpdalton]

Thanks for the insights on your machine. As I mentioned, I’ve been restoring a 1954 model and have been lucky enough to have a 1955 model side by side as the restoration progresses, and it has illustrated some very interesting changes in parts between the model years. I’ll post some comparison pictures, and those might provide some indications whether your machine has parts from earlier than 1955...

-J

[chapmanruss]

I have several Miter Safety Grips. Older ones with Pat. Pending and others that are newer with the Patient Number. The Miter Safety Grip was a new invention made for and with the introduction of the Mark 5 in 1954. It is common for a tool or anything for that matter to be introduced and made available for sale before actually getting the patient on it.

The Safety Grip Miter was also made in a Model 10 version after its introduction with the Mark 5.