American Scale Co. manufactured a combination vise-drill-anvil, combination vise-anvil, and machinist vises in 1922. The firm dated to 1895, with a main office in Kansas City, MO, and plant at Pleasant Hill, MO. The company used the brand name Red Seal on the body castings of its vises.

In late 1953, following the death of company president William S. Swift, the American Scale Co. was sold to Cromb & Gagel, Inc., which operated it as its American Scale & Vise Co. division. In 1961 the plant was shut down and the business entered bankruptcy. In 1963 the American Scale & Vise Co. was purchased by the Marley Co. and became a division of that firm. Production of vises, at least, were resumed, and production continued until about 1971 when ads and directory listings cease.

Information Sources

• Hardware World, Vol. 17, No. 7, July 1922. Pg. 65.
• Hardware World, Vol. 17, No. 10, Oct. 1922. Pg. 147.
• Archived page from ToolArchives.com American Scale Co.
• 1954 issue of Foundry (Volume 82, issues 1-6 page 46).

  Purchase Scale Company—American Scale Co., Kansas City Mo., has been purchased by Cromb & Gagel Inc., 2000 Walnut St., Kansas City, Mo., and will become its American Scale Co. division. The acquisition includes physical assets and inventory of the firm's Pleasant Hill, Mo., plant and foundry and its trade name and products.

• The MyCompanies wiki page on the American Scale Company says that they were founded 1895 in Independence, Mo., then moved to Pleasant Hill in 1913. "In October 1953 the company was acquired by Cromb & Gagel, Inc. By October of 1961 the company plant shut down."