Abstract: The housing of a test piece gripping device is rectangular and includes two raised pad surfaces extending across the width of the housing at different locations. One of the raised pad surfaces extends across the housing at its upper front face while the second raised pad extends across the back of the housing. The planes of the raised pad surfaces are parallel with the plane of the associated housing faces. A faceplate is recessed in the housing to form a flush relation with its front face. The faceplate includes a continuous longitudinal slot to both guide a control member used to move cams within cam surfaces formed in gripper jaws and to expose part of the jaws for visual observation during the gripping of a test piece.