Vise find and some old hand tools

[SMOKEEATERFF]

I went down to my grandmothers house with my mom to do some landscaping yesterday. My grandmother has dementia and lives at home but is in the nursing home for a few days. Since we have hired sitters 24/7 I figured I would look through my grandfathers old barn to see if there was anything I could use before it walked off. The barn is in pretty bad shape but still standing. His old workbench is a cluttered mess due to my aunt never throwing anything away. She passed away last November after a short battle with leukemia. My dad passed away November 2011 after battling depression. So my grandmother has outlived both kids and now my mom is her primary care taker. Anyways I was looking to buy a vise soon and remembered that my grandfather had one but I had no clue the brand, size or what shape it was in. It turned out that it is a Wilton Cadet 9145, its in decent shape with some rust. Also found a pile of wrenches, some sockets, screwdrivers and a few ratchets. 2 of the ratchets are snap on along with a few sockets. It's mostly a mix of s&k, craftsman and wright. I plan on going back ina week or so with a roll off dumpster and going through the shop front to back and clean it out and see what else I find. I'm gonna disassemble the vise spray some oven cleaner on it and then dunk it in evaporust, reassemble and paint it. Where can I find parts for it? The jaw screws look pretty rough. Also on the snap on ratchets I believe both are missing a screw and they are both pretty stiff. Where can I find a screw and how hard is it to disassemble and clean? Sorry for the long post.

Short version found some old tools of my grandfathers including a rusty vise.

 

[Roberts210]

Good for you for getting the tools before they got scavenged, or worse--thrown out.

 

[Tomthumb717]

The Wilton doesn't look abused and should clean up well if that is your goal.

 

[jimreed2160]

I have cleaned up and rehabbed many tools. Total rustbuckets get de-rusted and sometimes painted. But family tools or others in good shape get better treatment to save the patina. There my goal is to make them look like they just came out of granddaddy's workshop. You have a great specimen for that treatment. Clean it up gently and bring out the patina so it can be a reminder of how granddaddy left it.

 

[G-ManBart]

Respectfully, do whatever YOU want to do with the vise. It's still your grandfather's vise, even if it's cleaned up to like new. Not every agrees heritage is always erased with spray paint. Only you can judge whether the condition is good enough to simply clean and press on, or go for a full restoration job.

I lean towards preserving things if they're really nice, but sometimes old and dirty is just old and dirty.

 

[FJ 432]

Respectfully, do whatever YOU want to do with the vise. It's still your grandfather's vise, even if it's cleaned up to like new. Not every agrees heritage is always erased with spray paint. Only you can judge whether the condition is good enough to simply clean and press on, or go for a full restoration job.

Well put. Grandfather stories can be told either way.

Grandfather may have been embarrassed to see his tools fall into disrepair.

 

[454ragtop]

Maybe when Grandfather used it, it was pristine. Then after he passed, and the barn deteriorated, it's condition went down hill. If you want to restore it, restore it, and think of your grandfather whenever you use it.

 

[notlob]

Obviously, it's a personal choice what to do with the vise. With my father's tools, I cleaned and restored/returned them to the well-maintained condition they were in when he used them. They had been unused and neglected for many years due to his age and illness. I felt returning them to their rightful condition was an act of tribute and respect for a man who worked with and took care of his tools for decades, and I greatly enjoy using them and keeping certain of them on display in my shop.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I wish I had gotten my fathers tools when he passed. But that is another long story.

 

[SMOKEEATERFF]

I bought some oven cleaner to degrease it with and soaked it earlier. I'm gonna see how it turns out and go from there. I soaked several sockets and the snap on ratchets in the evaporust and they are looking better. I'm gonna try to find a model number and see if anybody has a rebuild kit for them or at least find the missing screw for each one. I also found a 2 man saw that I'm gonna hang above my work bench. It's in great shape other than the handle needing a little sanding due to a couple of rough spots. If I do paint the vise where can I find the jaw screws and new swivel handles as these are bent? I'll update the progress Sunday as I will be at the fire station tomorrow.

 

[JUNK-MAN]

Wow, nice stuff! looks like the wrench on top in the front of the last pic is snap on as well.

 

[SMOKEEATERFF]

It's been a while since I updated the post. I got some oven cleaner and evaporust and cleaned up the vise, primed and painted it. I had to pick up new screws for the u shaped washer and the jaws. Also had to buy some new swivel lockdowns. Probably been cheaper to just use some regular nuts as I won't use the swivel function very much. There is a small crack in the dynamic jaw I believe but it's not gonna see much abuse. Also cleaned up the hand tools. Going back this weekend to pick up all the other tools I found. Nothing very exciting as far as they are concerned. Mostly files both metal and wood.

 

[G-ManBart]

It's been a while since I updated the post. I got some oven cleaner and evaporust and cleaned up the vise, primed and painted it. I had to pick up new screws for the u shaped washer and the jaws. Also had to buy some new swivel lockdowns. Probably been cheaper to just use some regular nuts as I won't use the swivel function very much. There is a small crack in the dynamic jaw I believe but it's not gonna see much abuse. Also cleaned up the hand tools. Going back this weekend to pick up all the other tools I found. Nothing very exciting as far as they are concerned. Mostly files both metal and wood.

Pictures man, we need pictures

 

[SMOKEEATERFF]

Pics of a skillet that I cleaned up and seasoned...

 

[bluebolt]

Nice job on the vise!

 

[Smokeshow69]

Really great job on the vise! Nice to see it next to your most used tool in the garage The bottle opener

 

[joel63]

It's been a while since I updated the post. I got some oven cleaner and evaporust and cleaned up the vise, primed and painted it. I had to pick up new screws for the u shaped washer and the jaws. Also had to buy some new swivel lockdowns. Probably been cheaper to just use some regular nuts as I won't use the swivel function very much. There is a small crack in the dynamic jaw I believe but it's not gonna see much abuse. Also cleaned up the hand tools. Going back this weekend to pick up all the other tools I found. Nothing very exciting as far as they are concerned. Mostly files both metal and wood.

Your Grandpa would be most proud. enjoy.

 

[SMOKEEATERFF]

Haven't used the bottle opener yet, been popping the ole tabs. Never know when you might need an opener though. Thanks for the kind words and advice guys.

 

[oldldh]

As I have posted several times on this forum...

When you use your Grandfather's tools...

That you are an arrow that he shot into the future, where he couldn't go...

Every time you use something that he used, your touching him, and he's right there beside you...

And remember, he's watching what you're doing, and and how you're doing it...So do it right...

 

[Tomthumb717]

Smoke - Kudos on the restoration

 

[Empty Pockets]

The after pictures on the vise look really good. Nice job. Your grandfather would be proud

 

[SMOKEEATERFF]

Thanks again guys. I degreased and evaporusted the vise and primed it with 3 coats of primer from Advance Auto used for engines. I then used engine paint and sprayed 3 coats but it seems really soft. I barely nicked it putting it on the bench and the paint chipped off. Don't think it will hold up very long. Ideas anybody?

 

[maxpower_hd]

Looks good to me. I would use it until it needs a repaint. Then I would strip off the engine paint and use implement paint. It takes a while to fully dry/cure but it is a very durable paint. Tractor Supply carries it around here.