I'm looking to buy a new, slightly heavier, more beefy bench machinist's vise than the one I consider my current "best" vise which is a made-in-England Record brand 6 inch jaw model. I have several other vises including an old beater Wilton 3 inch bullet model that has seen better days. My question is, does the extended jaw on brand new Wilton bullet models sag when opening the jaws to grip? Clearly, the one I have is old and worn, but just opening the jaws more than a couple inches causes the jaw to begin sagging. It is nowhere near the fully open capacity of the vise when it sags. Some of my other vises have a sort of a shelf the jaw slide rides on to help keep it from sagging and I was wondering if this sagging is inherent to the round tube design of the bullet models. All replies appreciated.
Wilton bullet vise jaw sag
- Thread starter RH2506
- Start date
partsproduction
Well-known member
I hate it the way people won't answer, so I will. What exactly do you mean by "sag" Is the dynamic jaw dropping below where it is when closed? I don't own a bullet vise yet, but typically there isn't that much wear.
The movable jaw that opens the vise noticeably starts dropping or "sagging" below the level of the stationary jaw as the vise is opened. I read somewhere there is a key and a keyway inside the bullet housing that helps keep the jaws in alignment as the vise is opened, but never having used a Wilton like this, I don't know if this is an inherent issue because of the vise design, and a buyer can expect this jaw drooping or sagging, or if my vise is just an old beater.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
RH: your first post in 5 years as a member? your Record sounds like a nice vice BTW and can you post any pictures? i use the paperclip above where you are writing your posts to attach them like you would on an email.
can you post pictures of your wilton vise with the dynamic jaw pulled out? it is probably missing the keyway or maybe it has a broken part, but not sure just by your description.
look at this drawing to see if you see anything missing. or take a look at the Vise Repair 101 thread or the Wilton date stamping threads in this section for more information.
Usually Wilton bullet vises have very tight tolerances which is why they sell for big $.
can you post pictures of your wilton vise with the dynamic jaw pulled out? it is probably missing the keyway or maybe it has a broken part, but not sure just by your description.
look at this drawing to see if you see anything missing. or take a look at the Vise Repair 101 thread or the Wilton date stamping threads in this section for more information.
Usually Wilton bullet vises have very tight tolerances which is why they sell for big $.
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The Record 6 inch vise IS a well-made vise in most respects. I have 3 of them; the 6 inch, a 4 in. and a small 3 in. model. I bought them about 15 years ago, all new, along with a Record 55 lb. anvil. They all still have the factory cosmoline on them and just days ago took the 6 inch out of it's original box. The others were simply shipped in very heavy rolled-up cardboard bundles which were strapped. They have been resting comfortably on a shelf since I first bought them.
I have no idea what a "paperclip" is to send pics of my beater Wilton.
I got the idea for a larger, more solid vise after seeing Frank Ford's 600 series Wilton bullet with self-modified jaw inserts. Although that's a "whole lotta money" right there, something THAT BEEFY with specialized jaw inserts might be right up my ally from being able to handle small intricate filing jobs to holding a go-cart axle for the grandkids. I've also been pouring over some of the Yost brand Made in America vises as what appear to be a good value.
Yes, technically I've been a member of The Garage Journal for a couple of years, how many, I don't know because I joined before I picked up the habit of writing passwords and usernames on index cards before I forgot all of them, which is exactly what I did in this case. I've certainly been here many, MANY times since then, and now that I have my password re-set...well, here I am.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
RH: first of all do you have pictures downloaded to your laptop or computer? if you do the paperclip method is what i use. so next time you post on this thread look to the right of the Fonts and A and you'll see a paperclip. ok so far? click on it and a drop screen will come up so you can download pictures. you click the browse button, find a picture you want to download then click ok. after you have 1 to 7 pictures found then download them and once you submit your post with a few good words you will have posted pictures which i'm sure you like as much as we do when looking at threads.
do your Record vices say made in England on the side or just Sheffield England? even if they weren't made in England i still like those vices.
i hear you about having a big vise for the little to huge jobs and my favorite is a Reed 4C and i have a Reed 2C and a Wilton baby bullet on a power arm for the smaller jobs. if you can't find a good 150 pound vise and might want to buy one of my spares PM (private message) me and i'll email you some pictures with prices.
take care and if you still need help with the pictures just ask. also happy to see you are renewing your password so you can participate in the forum more.
cheers
do your Record vices say made in England on the side or just Sheffield England? even if they weren't made in England i still like those vices.
i hear you about having a big vise for the little to huge jobs and my favorite is a Reed 4C and i have a Reed 2C and a Wilton baby bullet on a power arm for the smaller jobs. if you can't find a good 150 pound vise and might want to buy one of my spares PM (private message) me and i'll email you some pictures with prices.
take care and if you still need help with the pictures just ask. also happy to see you are renewing your password so you can participate in the forum more.
cheers
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Technically speaking they all sag, just depends on how much. Do you have the means to measure diametrial clearance and or amount of sag which could be triangulated?
Speaking along the length of the slide, the key just controls roll or rotational slop. The slide to bore fit is what controls pitch and yaw or sag.
Speaking along the length of the slide, the key just controls roll or rotational slop. The slide to bore fit is what controls pitch and yaw or sag.
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Well, I think I would have all the indicators, holders, feeler gages, surface plate and measuring tools to measure wear in my vise, but, I don't think I want to take it that far. It's a real "beater" which had been given to me after probably having spent the larger part of it's useful life on a truck hitch getting wrenched, twisted, heated up and welded on. I was just inquiring if others had newer bullet vises to see if the movable jaw had noticeable "drop" or "sag" as it was extended. Although I've never put a number to it, mine has what I would call "a lot" of jaw sag. None of the vises I currently own exhibit this problem, including an old round-tube Taiwanese rotating-jaw vise which is probably 40 years old or so. I don't have any experience with Wilton's beyond my worn-out example and I see all these photos of the beautiful larger bullet models on my machinist's sites. I'm wanting to buy something larger than what I currently use and would prefer not making a BIG money mistake. Thank you for writing, and one of the other members helped me with posting photos on this great site, so I'll send some pics of some of my vises and an illustration of what my Wilton is doing. It's probably just plumb worn out.
Here are a couple of very hastily taken photos of my RECORD vises. I have to state a correction to a message about them a few posts above this one. It's been approx. 15 years or so since I purchased them plus the RECORD anvil. As they've been on a shelf, unused and out of sight, out of mind, I had forgotten that while TWO OF THEM and the anvil were brand new, the smallest one, the three inch, was probably NOT new, and I must have bought it separately from the rest. I do remember now however, WHY I bought the 3 inch vise without the rotating mount. In a 1987 knife making book written by Robert Loveless on page 146, there is a small Wilton mounted vertically on the workbench on a homemade mount that I thought could be mighty handy in certain situations, hence, I bought it. You'll have to forgive the photos; they are awful and foreshortening distortion makes the Crescent linesman pliers look as large as the vises themselves.
