VISE REPAIR 101 all vise repairs, lubricants, sources for parts and the tricks to fix

[GETRIDAONE]

Thanks for the reference, got excited as the 1 1/2 balls were only $2.14 each, but then they wanted $12.50 to ship them. Ouch!

Maybe you could find an "ornamental iron" supplier near you.

 

[CRSINMICH]

I went to an estate sale today. I got a Rock Island 573 and a stand. I posted pictures of both on the vise thread. The nice man threw this item in free for the asking.

 

[Fretters]

You're sorted then. Amazing how things turn up when needed and least expected. Just goes to show, we all get the odd bit of good luck occasionally.

 

[CRSINMICH]

You're sorted then. Amazing how things turn up when needed and least expected. Just goes to show, we all get the odd bit of good luck occasionally.

"Good luck" was meeting my wife. This was one of life's many happy little tidbits. They are fun when they happen, though.

 

[McBrownie]

CRS: It might. One of our clever members did that nice artwork. I think it was MCBrownie but not positive. Good luck

That's right! I even asked for caption ideas. There were some good ones.

 

[Shiftless]

Unstuck!

Thanks to all who made suggestions and/or offered encouragement.
My 4 inch Bullet is now unstuck.

I used just about all of your suggestions in combination to achieve success.
Plenty of Kroil.
Daily pounding with a soft hammer.
Heat from electric heat gun on one side and propane torch on the other, followed by Sea Foam Deep Creep.
Serious pulling force with 3/4 inch all thread. (see picture)
Hammering with the time honored low tech BFH.

 

[Shiftless]

Here is another pic of the rear end of that vise.

If anybody wants to know, a one inch washer ALMOST fits inside the main body casting. (2 1/2 inch ID.) In order to make the puller idea work, I removed about 1/16 inch from the diameter and it slid right in. I stacked 2 of the reworked one inch washers and 2 stock size 3/4 inch washers together. One 3/4 inch nut and we're ready to pull against the back end of the slide.

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: Great news. I have a picture of a naked bullet if you might want to strip it and coat with BLO.

McB: Good to know I still have some of my memory left. BTW I haven't forgot your package and was actually pulling out some boxes today. Cheers

 

[Fretters]

Glad to hear it's parted. I bet there was practically ****** all surface corrosion holding it too?

 

[Fretters]

BTW I haven't forgot your package and was actually pulling out some boxes today.

That's begging to be a double entendre.

 

[Shiftless]

Glad to hear it's parted. I bet there was practically ****** all surface corrosion holding it too?

Strangely enough, I saw NO corrosion on the slide. Looks new. Just dark discoloration.
It was night time when I finished and felt more like having a pint than cleaning and investigating the inside surfaces of the main body casting. Maybe there is rust there and maybe not. After all surfaces are clean, I will oil it up and try to slide it back in. If it still sticks, it has to be bent, right?

Date on bottom...

Guar. Exp. December 1962

 

[Fretters]

Bent, possibly. I'd be looking more at the key and way initially though, if there's still a problem after cleanup and lubricating. It's one hell of a task to bend a slide. Pop a straight edge on the slide. That'll tell you quickly enough whether it is bent or not.

 

[Shiftless]

Everyone:

It was a learning experience...

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: I really doubt your Wilton is bent. The jaws looked to nice. Also on the date stamp my guess is it says Guar 12/30/62 or more likely 12/31/62. Can you see the day or has it rubbed off? Again nice work and a learning experience for you and some of us.

Fretters: Not sure what you mean old chap. English please?

 

[Shiftless]

Bent, possibly. I'd be looking more at the key and way initially though, if there's still a problem after cleanup and lubricating. It's one hell of a task to bend a slide. Pop a straight edge on the slide. That'll tell you quickly enough whether it is bent or not.

I found my machinist straight edge and the slide seems really straight
The key is fastened with 3 pins, one of which is protruding a bit. That might be the problem. I will file it flush before refitting the slide.

 

[Shiftless]

Drives:
Thanks!
Jaws are like new!
The Date was not evenly stamped and is a bit worn. Difficult to see clearly and even tougher to photograph. Any suggestions?

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: sometimes a little elbow grease will uncover the 30 or 31 a little more and a sometimes a camera with a flash or no flash will pick up the date when you can't see it with the naked eye. once you know it's there you might see it in better light.

again nice job taking your time to unlock that gem.

 

[Shiftless]

Drives:

I'm going to clean it up with acetone and then rub some black ink into the stamping to see if that makes it clearer.

 

[GETRIDAONE]

A case of patience pays off. If it were me it would have come out a long time ago or be broken Just kidding I have an American Scale that is a big hunk of rust and will be a challenge to get the slide out. It lived on a steel post outside and when it became inoperable was pulled up and put with a bunch of old tractor parts at the edge of his field. Right now it would make a good 180 lb. boat anchor but I'll fix it one day.

 

[vintage nut]

Good to see you got it out!
My guess is that there is probably a little burr somewhere, probably in the keyway or on the key. Probably wouldn't hurt to run a little fine sandpaper over the edge of the key to make sure it's all smooth. I'd also probably wrap a dowel with scotchbright, chuck it in a drill, and use it like a hone in the inside of the body. Spray it down with wd40 good too. This should clean out any rust or little bits of **** in there. Wipe it out with a rag, rub the slide down with scotchbright, oil it up and try sliding it in. My bet is it will slide in like a new vise.

Sent from my C1904 using Tapatalk

 

[Shiftless]

Good to see you got it out!
My guess is that there is probably a little burr somewhere, probably in the keyway or on the key. Probably wouldn't hurt to run a little fine sandpaper over the edge of the key to make sure it's all smooth. I'd also probably wrap a dowel with scotchbright, chuck it in a drill, and use it like a hone in the inside of the body. Spray it down with wd40 good too. This should clean out any rust or little bits of **** in there. Wipe it out with a rag, rub the slide down with scotchbright, oil it up and try sliding it in. My bet is it will slide in like a new vise.

Sent from my C1904 using Tapatalk

vintage:

That's an excellent idea for another home made tool to clean up the inside! THANKS!
I was thinking that a set of cylinder wall honing stones would be inappropriate. Then I read your post. Whoever invented Scotchbrite is a genius! I use it a lot. I wonder if it was an engineer at 3M or some guy working independently who then sold the idea to the big corporation?

BTW...
If anybody is interested, here is a link to a chart showing the specifications of various colors of Scotchbrite. I didn't know there was such a wide variety on the market. I have used white, green, maroon, and brown.

http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/biophysics/technotes/fabric/finish.pdf

 

[Shiftless]

A case of patience pays off. If it were me it would have come out a long time ago or be broken Just kidding I have an American Scale that is a big hunk of rust and will be a challenge to get the slide out. It lived on a steel post outside and when it became inoperable was pulled up and put with a bunch of old tractor parts at the edge of his field. Right now it would make a good 180 lb. boat anchor but I'll fix it one day.

Old time farmers seem to do that a lot.
My uncle (who farmed all his adult life) had a couple hundred acres that he inherited from his father who farmed through the Depression. There was a big hole under an old tree where they tossed bed frames, hopelessly broken farm implements, etc. As a child, I used to visit my uncle and we would go out to this dump when he needed some piece of scrap. A mile or two away was the local blacksmith who welded stuff for area farmers.
I wish I would have taken a few pictures with my little Brownie back in the '50s.
The blacksmith probably had one or two big vises!

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Congrats! Glad you got it out I'm betting a quick clean then all will be good again and you'll have a nice solid vise.

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: i'll post this Wilton bullet with the BLO on it and if you want more pictures of the cool welding table just ask and i'll email them to you. sadly the table didn't go home with me because a few years ago i didn't have the tools to move it. maybe my favorite vise is this Reed 4C that you might have seen me post a time or two with 3 coats of BLO.

good luck

 

[Shiftless]

Thanks, Drives!

 

[Pupuhd]

Shift: i'll post this Wilton bullet with the BLO on it and if you want more pictures of the cool welding table just ask and i'll email them to you. sadly the table didn't go home with me because a few years ago i didn't have the tools to move it. maybe my favorite vise is this Reed 4C that you might have seen me post a time or two with 3 coats of BLO.

good luck

Not to change the subject, I've just started a build for a welding/multipurpose metal table on which I will mount my Columbian vise on it. From your photos what is the purpose of the vertical articulating metal arm you have moubted opposite of the vise? Thanks

I "see" said the blind man to the deaf man as he picked up his hammer and saw.

 

[drivesitfar]

Pup: unfortunately i never owned that table. It was owned by one of the guys that worked on a very succesful hydroplane boat racing team. My guess is for hoses but not sure. He had the bin for welding rod and i really liked his chair too. He said he stripped the paint off his Wilton bullet when new because he didnt want any paint coming off on his projects.

I started a welding table build in fabrication you can look up under 26 x 63 inch and my neighbor and i will get to finishing mine this spring because he bought a new motorcycle. we have had a long summer this year so he's been busy riding. We did build one welding table for him and we are building two more for me so i can use them like sawhorses on big projects.

Good luck

 

[noisenormajean]

Shift: i'll post this Wilton bullet with the BLO on it and if you want more pictures of the cool welding table just ask and i'll email them to you. sadly the table didn't go home with me because a few years ago i didn't have the tools to move it. maybe my favorite vise is this Reed 4C that you might have seen me post a time or two with 3 coats of BLO.

good luck

So many notables:
That Reed 4C.
That puppy's 1000-yard stare.
That table though.... Les Desírables.

I respectfully request more photographs of the table, please. Email to my username @ gmail.com. Thank you in advance.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[noisenormajean]

So many notables:
That Reed 4C.
That puppy's 1000-yard stare.
That table though.... Les Desírables.

I respectfully request more photographs of the table, please. Email to my username @ gmail.com. Thank you in advance.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Also, I see a stand of some sort in one of the photos with a wheel/rim at the base. I'm looking to find/make one myself. Looking for ideas.

Thanks, Drives!

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Outlawmws]

Drives, what was the purpose of the articulated arm on the "front" of that welding table?

That's a nice setup; all it needs is a rack for three or four 4-1/2 grinders for wire wheel, hard grinding/cutting disk, Flap disk etc.

 

[drivesitfar]

NJ: thanks for the kudos. I cant post pics or links off my ipad and my laptop is dead most of the time now.

So I started a thread on vise and grinder stands in fabrication section so if you want some ideas check there and post upmyour remarks. There are some awesome designs in that thread.

As i mentioned in a post earlier today more pics of that awesome table i never owned is on my welding table build thread also in fabrication. There are other really cool tables in that thread for you to check out too. Good luck

 

[drivesitfar]

Outlaw: pretty sure it was meant to be on the side and probably for hoses, but not certain. Its still one of the nicest tables ive seen in person. Wish i owned it, but i didnt have a lift or pallet jack at the time 3 years ago.

 

[scooternut]

Just liked this pic! Hitting the Reed 106 handle and screw with the cupped wire brush. What better to hold it. Love working outside on a nice fall day.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

 

[Shiftless]

Frankenvise on Halloween?

The mystery deepens!

After meticulously cleaning the slide and the inside of the main body with Scotchbrite, (thanks vintage) and oiling everything, I expected to be able to slide it back together. NOPE!

The slide goes in a few inches with no trouble, then starts to get tight, and totally binds up with the jaws 3 inches apart. Acts like I'm sliding into a taper.
To assure myself that the key wasn't binding I removed it from the slide and slipped it all the way through the key way. No problems. I tried the slide into the vise body without the key. Same binding with 3 inches still to go.

New discovery...see picture

There is some original grayish paint on the main body where the Ford blue has come off with all my penetrating oil.
I became curious about what is under the Ford blue on the dynamic. A little paint remover and I see bright red! Rubbing through the red, I'm pretty sure I see bare cast iron. No Chicago era grayish paint. And no red paint on the main body.

I can only assume that sometime in the past, a a guy put two halves together, halves which were not manufactured at the same time or even in the same plant.

This might be why the fit is not good and why it was so stuck in the first place.


The date on the key says Guar Exp 12 31 62 which leads us to believe that the dynamic was cast in Chicago. But no grayish paint. (The main body says "Chicago")
I'm betting the key is not original to the dynamic. Further evidence for that is damage I saw on the middle pin securing the key to the slide.

Do I have a Frankenvise?

Is it fixable?

Does anybody want to offer words of wisdom?

 

[Outlawmws]

No clue on the Franken Vise answer but I'd guess there si either damage you are not seeing or that as you suspect two bad vises were used to make one bad vise...


First some measurements:

is the slide on the Dynamic concentric throughout it's length? (mic it or use calipers)
is it straight (use a straight edge on 4 sides

Is there hidden damage in the static base bore? galling? other issues? (Inspect and get some light in there...) is that bore straight? (hard to do, but again with the straight edge)

if it has galling (look at that 3" mark...) that needs to be addressed

 

[Egapgt]

Came across this little 825 2.5" stamped 9 46 a month or so ago. Lightly used and smooth. Finished the restore last week...straight forward and fairly easy. Found a trace of the original paint in the static to base mounting holes...no surprise...light green. Disassembled, wire brushed, corrosion inhibitor applied to the internal cavities, lubed the nut and reassembled the static (nut, nut retainer, pins and end cap). Taped up surfaces not to be painted, wiped with acetone, dusted, primed with zinc chromate, finished with 3 light coats of flattened to a satin sheen acrylic enamel, final lubed and completed the assembly. Added a pair of Yost aluminum jaw caps. Now mounted to one end of a workbench and ready for work.
Tom

 

[Shiftless]

No clue on the Franken Vise answer but I'd guess there si either damage you are not seeing or that as you suspect two bad vises were used to make one bad vise...


First some measurements:

is the slide on the Dynamic concentric throughout it's length? (mic it or use calipers)
is it straight (use a straight edge on 4 sides

Is there hidden damage in the static base bore? galling? other issues? (Inspect and get some light in there...) is that bore straight? (hard to do, but again with the straight edge)

if it has galling (look at that 3" mark...) that needs to be addressed

Outlaw:
Yes, I checked the slide all around with a straight edge and a flashlight behind looking for a gap somewhere. Long before I got it unstuck, I speculated that the slide might be bent.
I used my straightedge inside too, and it seems straight, but like you say, that's pretty hard to see tiny variations.
Definitely no galling.
My vernier caliper shows no variation in OD for the slide.

I suspect either a slight bend or an out of round condition in the middle of the main body (What force could do that?)

Again...an interesting learning experience.

 

[drivesitfar]

EGA: awesome job on that old Wilton. did you buy those nice aluminum Yost jaw covers new from Yost or do tell?

Shift: not sure, but i think the date on your slide is close to the time Wilton moved from Chicago to Schiller Park and maybe Bluebolt can chime in on that. that said Wilton might have had leftover Chicago stamped vises in inventory and the jaws look too similar to be a Frankenvise. my guess is like Outlaw mentions that there is some damage either inside the slide or on the end of your dynamic that needs to be filed off or maybe a dremel can get inside there.

you'll get it so don't give up on it because it looks solid and too nice to part out.

cheers

 

[Shiftless]

egapgt:

Beautiful restoration job on that (almost) baby bullet! Love the color
Do you use an airbrush?

 

[Fretters]

Shiftless: Cover the slide in engineers blue or similar and look where the clear spot is when it jams. Whichever part is binding/catching should be minus the blue when it comes back out.