Quick-grip vice for attaching to a lathe, made by Joseph Bramah, c. 1780

Joseph Bramah was an inventive Yorkshireman who had settled in London making new types of pumps, water closets, hydraulic machinery and locks. The locks were of a novel and especially secure pattern. They required new tools and accurate manufacturing methods developed by Henry Maudslay, who became manager of the Bramah works. Much of this special machinery was said to have been kept out of sight in a locked workshop.