Picked up a Snap On Wilton 1760 today, but is it made in USA?

[Catamount]

I picked this big boy up today for $150. Seemed like a good idea at the time and I think I'll keep it regardless, but I just read somewhere that mid-90s Wilton production moved overseas for a while? Any idea if this vise was made in the good ol' US of A or not? There is not a single USA mark on it anywhere.

Looks like it was made in February of 1995.

 

[1982fxr]

doesn't really help but are the fasteners sae or metric?

 

[pault28]

I have a snap on 1750 with that same plain jane badge. Mine also has no coo on it. I'm pretty sure ours are not made in the usa. My jaw insert screws are metric.

 

[ADSR]

That's a nice vice!

There is no way it's made offshore.

 

[nine4gmc]

Is the handle chrome or just bright steel?

 

[drivesitfar]

i didn't know any Wiltons even the ones rebadged had their dates stamped on the hub. usually they are always on the slide under the dynamic jaw. did you pull yours out to clean it off and see if a date is stamped on the slide?


my thoughts are that style is made in China unless it has made in USA in the cast, but they are some of the best vises from that part of the world so you still did great at that price.

 

[Catamount]

i didn't know any Wiltons even the ones rebadged had their dates stamped on the hub. usually they are always on the slide under the dynamic jaw. did you pull yours out to clean it off and see if a date is stamped on the slide?

I just went and took a look. "1 95" is stamped under the slide.

 

[Mr. Brooks]

Just a rebadged wilton. USA made.

 

[drivesitfar]

thanks for sharing. i have a 6 inch Wilton Tradesman made in 1989 that is also probably made in China, but i doubt i'll sell it because it is a great vise.

here's a picture of mine

 

[Mr. Brooks]

thanks for sharing. i have a 6 inch Wilton Tradesman made in 1989 that is also probably made in China, but i doubt i'll sell it because it is a great vise.

here's a picture of mine

I have a hard time thinking any legitimate tradesman vise (badged blue point, SO, wilton) is coo china (I know there are knockoffs). I don't see any china Manu stamping the keys with Manu dates. Now the line below tradesman is majority china.

 

[drivesitfar]

I can't answer that 100% because i don't know all the Wilton history yet. i do know that Wilton also made vises for John Deere and several other companies, but i don't think they ever did so with their Bullet line that has always been made in the US as far as i know.

i'm curious to know the answers and I've talked to several guys that have owned many many Wiltons and they don't know for sure.

since Wilton is still in business maybe you can find somebody at the company that works there now or did in the 80's and 90's to give you the 411.

good luck and keep us posted if you find out a definite answer.

 

[garthg]

I have a Wilton 1750 I bought new in about 1992. I was looking for a USA vise at the time. My vise does not have a marked COO on it as far as I can tell, but I am absolutely sure that it was marked on the box as made in USA. I would not have bought it otherwise. This was from an industrial supply in Southern California. (California Tool, I think). I compared it with the identical vise that Snap-On was selling at the time for about 30% more.

It wasn't cheap at the time. List price was $331 when you could get a China-made for about $50. I think I paid about $180. You can see that it is more or less identical (save the red color and 1/2" width) to the 1755 that Snap On still carries (and still listed as USA COO) for $549:

 

[Catamount]

i'm curious to know the answers and I've talked to several guys that have owned many many Wiltons and they don't know for sure.

since Wilton is still in business maybe you can find somebody at the company that works there now or did in the 80's and 90's to give you the 411.

good luck and keep us posted if you find out a definite answer.

UPDATE: I just called Wilton. They had terrific customer service, and the rep put me on hold for about 5 minutes while she found someone who knew the answer.

Here is what she told me.

Wilton COO:

• Before 2000, every single vise was made in the USA
• After 2000, "mechanic" vises and under are made in China
• After 2000, vises above "mechanic" in the line are still made in the USA

I'm sure that Wilton has very high quality control measures in place so that even their Chinese vises are of the best quality, but it's nice to know for SURE that the mid 90s vises without any COO in the casting are all USA made.

 

[drivesitfar]

Catamount: that almost sounds too easy, but happy you got a response from Wilton. we've talked about this on the vise thread and i don't remember the issue ever being resolved so since i think you just posted your vise over there would you mind posting this information over there too?

i'd like to hear what some of the guys say if you don't mind.

thanks again for making the effort and glad to hear there is an answer.

 

[Catamount]

Sure thing. To be honest, the sales rep rattled the information off pretty quickly and the person she got the information from may have "dumbed it down" for her a little bit, but I am only relaying what I'm told.

 

[johninct]

It doesn't matter where that vise is made, just use it. My friend broke his Snap-On vise and he got another one on warranty.

 

[garthg]

It's USA.

 

[Todd.Brock]

Nice vise! I have that same one. I don't even remember what year it is. It's from the 80's I think. I painted it green. Mine looked like yours. I think I paid 35 or 50 bucks. I drove almost an hour for it!

 

[Catamount]

Well, I wasn't going to "restore" (paint) this vise but I got bored today and so I did some sandblasting.

Do you guys think I should paint it the original Snap On red, or go back to the traditional hammered green that Wilton uses? I'm torn. It was originally red, but I also like the classic & timeless Wilton green.

I found an interesting mark under where the tag goes. Looks like they identify which casting or mold it originated in? Just guessing at what the "1" means.

 

[drivesitfar]

you might be able to buy the Snap on sticker from Snap on or maybe one of the members of GJ has some extra ones to sell you. that's if the original one is not usuable.

i understand about the wanting to change color so i'll tell you what i do and tell everybody else. your vise so your color choice and even though it's a nice Wilton why not paint it your favorite color even if that is blue, yellow or burgundy? or Snap on might even sell you some of their red paint which might not be cheap if you want original color.

the #'s 121027 are just Wilton's part # so they can match up the vise parts during assembly. the alien one under where the snap on sticker was might just be a casting defect.

looks great so far. good luck.

by the way was there a single pin holding the vise nut in place or two smaller pins? easy to take out or just a little extra effort and time needed?

 

[warmpancakes]

Call Wilton they will mail you decals snap on or Wilton ones

 

[garthg]

Maybe it's worth more as a red Snap-On vise. Nothing wrong with red.

 

[Catamount]

Well, here she is all cleaned up. I'm just waiting for new labels from Snap On and this will be finished. Cleaned up the chrome parts, shot it with Rustoleum Sunrise Red and put it back together. I've decided that I'm not a fan of red vises. Oh well, at least it's "original".

Before:

After:

 

[garthg]

 

[DXN1EL]

You could have also close the jaws with the can even and empty can. If one of the jaws breaks is a Chincom vise, LOL

 

[Art From De Leon]

I have two of the Snap-on versions, and I was always under the impression that they were made in the USA.

 

[oldldh]

Ya Dun Gud, Bubba!!!

 

[Catamount]

Final update. Snap On does not stock the stick on tags for these Wilton vises, but Wilton is able to send you a pair of the Snap On branded ones. I finally received them and stuck them on. This was a fun little project.

 

[balane]

Looks great, nice job. Question on the badges; You just called Wilton directly and they mailed them to you? You called their main office and talked to whoever answered the phone? Did they charge you, how much? Credit card? I really need to get a set of Snap On badges for a vise so thank you for the info.

 

[Catamount]

Question on the badges; You just called Wilton directly and they mailed them to you? You called their main office and talked to whoever answered the phone? Did they charge you, how much? Credit card? I really need to get a set of Snap On badges for a vise so thank you for the info.

I called Snap On, thinking I could order them. The customer service rep took my information and got back to me a few days later saying that they don't stock the tags but if I gave him my name & address that he'd have some sent. He had them sent at no cost to me.

A week went by and I had an envelope from "JPW Industries" (which looks to be the parent company of Wilton) with the tags inside.

 

[drivesitfar]

Catamount: nice job restoring the vise and those Snap On tags just finished it off. they also tone down all that red so i bet you even like it a bit more now than in an earlier post when it was all red and you didn't?

 

[balane]

OK, excellent. I'll give Snap On a call this week. Thanks.

 

[Catamount]

Catamount: nice job restoring the vise and those Snap On tags just finished it off. they also tone down all that red so i bet you even like it a bit more now than in an earlier post when it was all red and you didn't?

Great point, the silver badges do help to tone down the red. I'm glad I kept it the original color it shipped with but I am still on the lookout for a Wilton that I can paint hammertone "Verde".

OK, excellent. I'll give Snap On a call this week. Thanks.

Their customer service was excellent again, as always. I'm sure you will have a similar experience.

 

[garthg]

Very nice. You could have painted it blue and put Wilton badges on it, but personally I like it better, and think it's more valuable, as a Snap-On vise.

 

[1982fxr]

don't see why it would matter but i think the pipe jaws are upside down compared to the stock photos i have seen...

 

[Dust Devil]

Man that came out SWEET!

Great job. Looks like it matches your toolbox.

 

[JohnPa]

I picked up a Wilton / Snap On 1760 at an auction site and have a question for others with this model.

The dynamic jaw casting is not symmetrical and is obviously wider on one side than the other.

Has anyone else noticed this issue and if so have you done anything with it or just left it alone?

Everything else on the vise works correctly and this is seemingly just a cosmetic issue.

 

[merkyworks]

Have a 1760 and before the facelift it was not symmetrical as well, looked just like yours. Used a grinder flap wheel and files to even things out.





As for your vise, functionally the dynamic jaw not matching the static jaw will not effect performance. Really comes down to how much does this bother you and are you willing to spend the time grinding and painting.

 

[JohnPa]

Have a 1760 and before the facelift it was not symmetrical as well, looked just like yours. Used a grinder flap wheel and files to even things out.





As for your vise, functionally the dynamic jaw not matching the static jaw will not effect performance. Really comes down to how much does this bother you and are you willing to spend the time grinding and painting.

Thanks Merkyworks - I called Wilton Customer Service and have not heard back from them yet. It looks like my solution is going to be the grinder and flap wheel - I was trying not to repaint it but now I will be doing the full Monty on it!

 

[JohnPa]

Thanks Merkyworks - I called Wilton Customer Service and have not heard back from them yet. It looks like my solution is going to be the grinder and flap wheel - I was trying not to repaint it but now I will be doing the full Monty on it!

The date on this vise is 3/92 - I will post before & after photos once I'm done