The Simplex Tool Co. of Woonsocket, RI, was active by mid-1916 and was incorporated in 1917, with president and general manager Thomas Shaw. In 1923, they introduced the Simplex Gray bench vise with an all-steel slide intended to eliminate breakage. The company was taken over in 1931 by Simplex Corp., also of Woonsocket, who continued production of Simplex vises. Later in 1931, the Simplex vise line was sold to Desmond-Stephan Manufacturing Co. They made Simplex steel slide vises until 1964, when they sold the vise division to Ridge Tool Co.

Information Sources

• 1916 The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer, page 1368, lists "Woonsocket Wagon Mfg Co Inc 1907 Capital $10,000 Pres E J Cleveland Pres F. J. Cleveland Treas 25 employees".
• 1916-06-29 American Machinist page 206, lists "Simplex Tool Co., Woonsocket, R. I." as a provider of Hobs and of Jigs and Fixtures. The same issue has a small text ad from that firm on page 180: "Accurate Punches and Dies / 18 years' experience in the making of small accurate punches and dies have given us a complete knowledge of the business. Plain or sub-press—if high-class work is desired, you will profit by sending your inquiries here. The Simplex Tool Co., Woonsocket, R. I."
• 1917-02-27 The Iron Trade Review, page 490.

  Woonsocket, R. I.—The Simplex Tool Co. has been incorporated to make tools and machinery with $50,000 capital by Thomas Shaw, Fred L. Cleveland, and George W. Green, North Smithfield, N. J.

• April 1917 Machinery has an article on Simplex Tool Co.'s Simplex V-Blocks. On pages 833-4 of the May issue (same volume as the April 1917 article linked above) is an article on their Simplex Independent Chuck. Mentioned briefly elsewhere in the same volume are Simplex Tool Co.'s angle-plates and plug gauges.
• 1918-11-29 The Iron Age has a brief illustrated article on a cast surface plate from Simplex Tool Co., "A Bench Plate for the Inspection Shop".
• 1920 book The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Biographical, by Thomas Williams Bicknell page 343.

  Thomas Shaw, president and general manager of the Simplex Tool Company of Woonsocket, situated at the corner of Social and Worral streets, is an important part of the industrial life of this community. Mr. Shaw was born in London, England, January 21, 1888.

  The childhood and early life of Thomas Shaw was passed in his native country, where he attended the public schools and afterwards took a course in the Borough Polytechnic Mechanical School at London. Here he became an expert mechanic and devoted his time to a mastery of the craft of tool making. Upon completing his education in this line Mr. Shaw came to the United States and settled at Bridgeport, Conn., where he made his home for a short time. It was not long, however, before he left that place and came to Woonsocket and here secured a position as tool maker with one of the local factories. He continued to follow this line of work until the year 1915, when, being of an ambitious nature and very anxious to be engaged in business on his own account, he organized the nucleus of what is now the Simplex Tool Company of Woonsocket. At the time of the organization the concern was indeed small, but the industry and business judgment of Mr. Shaw soon caused it to developed rapidly until on February 7, 1917, it was incorporated with Mr. Shaw as president and general manager. Shortly afterwards the plant was moved to its present location, where large and adequate quarters were provided for it, and equipped with the most modern machinery, and all the most recent appliances for carrying on this work. The plant is modern in every particular. A new building with twenty thousand square feet of floor space and lighted entirely by daylight has recently been erected. The building is so arranged that as many as two hundred hands may be employed there at one time, but here the finest grades of tools for all sorts of mechanical purposes are turned out. The Simplex Tool Company does a very extensive business, not only with all the States of the Union, but with most of the European countries as well and with Canada and South America. It is one of the best equipped plants of this kind in this country and its products enjoy a reputation through the world second to none.

• 1931 issue of Machinery, Vol. 38, Pg. 80.

  Simplex Corporation, Woonsocket, R. I., has taken over the Simplex Tool Co. The new company will specialize in the manufacture of the Simplex line of steel slide vises developed by the old company in 1924. It will manufacture the Simplex machinists' vise, coach-makers' and combination pip vises, and the new production foot-operated vise, as well as the Simplex utility line of home and garage vises. The personnel of the new company remains the same.

• 1931 issue of Machinery, Vol. 38, Pg. 400.

  Desmond-Stephan Mfg. Co., Urbana, Ohio, has succeeded the Simplex Corporation of Woonsocket, R. I., in the manufacture and sale of the complete line of Simplex machinists and utility vises. This line of vises will be manufactured at Urbana in addition to the regular Desmond line of grinding-wheel dressers and cutters.

• 1936 American Brass and Copper Co. Catalog No. 36, Pg. 164-165.
• Archived article by Todd Werts (ToolArchives.com) Desmond-Stephan Manufacturing Co.
• Garage Journal post on Desmond-Stephan vises. The catalog pictures have been converted to a pdf; they match a 1952 catalog seen on Worthopedia.