This section is from the book "The Home Cyclopedia Of General Information", by Charles Morris. Also available from Amazon: Home Cyclopedia of Necessary Knowledge.
[Fr. vis, a screw.] An instrument with two strong jaws, closed by a screw, lever, or cam, for holding things firmly when being filed. In the blacksmith's vice the front jaw reaches down further than in the machinist's and is loosely fastened at the bottom. Carpenters use wooden vices.
 
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