G-ManBart, you have the second 12-30-66 date, Twertsy has a 5" standard bullet on post 265 with the same date. Their are no GUAR EXP dates in 1965 or 6 - 30 - 66 so far. Mistake by someone maybe? We have seen that before, there was a Guar Exp for 1936 LOL, someone obviously switched the stamps on that one.
Wilton Bullet Vise date stamping. show yours with or without EXP on slide
- Thread starter drivesitfar
- Start date
Man...the second one? I thought I had something unique! I guess I can say I have the first swivel jaw with that date. Do I at least get a line in the spreadsheet?
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Man...the second one? I thought I had something unique! I guess I can say I have the first swivel jaw with that date. Do I at least get a line in the spreadsheet?
My guess is the same person stamped yours and Twertsy's.
I do need to do a massive update on the spread sheet.
thejudges69
Well-known member
I was loading at a place the other day and saw this bad *** little Wilton. I couldn't find a date stamp on it but here are some pics. It was in great shape for being used daily. I took a pic with my buddies phone next to it for reference. Any information???
If you get to look at it again, unscrew the slide all the way out, flip it upside down and check the flat key for a date stamp.
Prices on the 2" and 2.5" bullets have gone crazy...I bet that would easily bring $350 on eBay. Lately it's more common to see the 2" than the 2.5" models, and not many with Schiller Park markings.
thejudges69
Well-known member
I unscrewed it as far as I could and wiped the bottom off, if didn't have any markings that I saw. It was a very cool piece and worked smooth as silk.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Drives,
Thanks for tipping me off to this thread.
Here are some photos of a "CHICAGO" (both sides) era 4" vise with "2-49" stamped on the key.
Based on my understanding of your recap, this must be a date of manufacture (or the beginning of a 5-year warranty period), correct? It can't be a 5-year warranty expiration date, because that would make the date of manufacture 2-1944, and you said you guys deduced that they weren't stamping them with dates until after the war.
Also, I wish someone would tell me what the "WE" signifies, as well as the little sheet steel data plate riveted on the bottom with a "135" on it. In my experience (not necessarily referring to vises, but vintage tools, machines, and even vehicles in general), these are usually serial numbers. But someone else suggested it might be a part number (I would expect a part number to be forged-in or stamped). So I am looking for assistance. I am assuming this is not the first Wilton bullet to show up with one of these data plates riveted to the bottom.
Thanks for tipping me off to this thread.
Here are some photos of a "CHICAGO" (both sides) era 4" vise with "2-49" stamped on the key.
Based on my understanding of your recap, this must be a date of manufacture (or the beginning of a 5-year warranty period), correct? It can't be a 5-year warranty expiration date, because that would make the date of manufacture 2-1944, and you said you guys deduced that they weren't stamping them with dates until after the war.
Also, I wish someone would tell me what the "WE" signifies, as well as the little sheet steel data plate riveted on the bottom with a "135" on it. In my experience (not necessarily referring to vises, but vintage tools, machines, and even vehicles in general), these are usually serial numbers. But someone else suggested it might be a part number (I would expect a part number to be forged-in or stamped). So I am looking for assistance. I am assuming this is not the first Wilton bullet to show up with one of these data plates riveted to the bottom.
OP
drivesitfar
Well-known member
LUG: you'll be a little less fuzzy on the date stamping as you read this thread and find more old Wilton bullet vises. i can't recall a WE cast on any Wiltons, but maybe some of the other members can. i also can't recall a plate attached on the base either.
do you have any history to share about your vise that you already might know?
do you have any history to share about your vise that you already might know?
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Nope. Flea market purchase yesterday. The coppery brown looks to be the original paint with a layer of lime green primer underneath, but I was planning on seeing if any other 40's era vises had a similar finish as I go through the thread.
OP
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Lug: the older Wiltons were painted sort of a KEY LIME PIE green color. since i don't paint my vises i can't tell you which paint can to grab, but olive satin comes to mind.
good luck with your research and hoping this thread and maybe I helped get you started.
good luck with your research and hoping this thread and maybe I helped get you started.
MissileBear
Well-known member
Read through this thread and I'm not sure if I am more/less confused than before.
Picked up a No.6 at an estate sale - the woman running things said that her father owned it when she was a child, and I suspect she was in her late 60's. It has "WILTON TOOL CORP CHICAGO" on one side, "WILTON VISE No. 6 PAT PEND MADE IN USA" on the other. Lined jaws. No date stamp on the keyway or anyplace else I can see. It's very dirty and appears to have 2 different silver paints on it, greay & red paint on the base, and possibly two different coats of yellow on the endcap.
I'm going to start cleaning it up today - I think there is a pound of tractor grease inside the thing (stinky stuff!)
Picked up a No.6 at an estate sale - the woman running things said that her father owned it when she was a child, and I suspect she was in her late 60's. It has "WILTON TOOL CORP CHICAGO" on one side, "WILTON VISE No. 6 PAT PEND MADE IN USA" on the other. Lined jaws. No date stamp on the keyway or anyplace else I can see. It's very dirty and appears to have 2 different silver paints on it, greay & red paint on the base, and possibly two different coats of yellow on the endcap.
I'm going to start cleaning it up today - I think there is a pound of tractor grease inside the thing (stinky stuff!)
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
MB: easy to get confused, but those of us that are trying to figure this date stamping thing out have come a long way (I think) since the conscientious prior to starting this thread was all date stamps were 5 years after it left the factory.
you'll have to read through again and maybe see the posts where we summarize or ask questions if you are unclear. it's still not 100% but guessing since your vise has a patent pend on it and prior to their stamping after the war that your vise might have been one sent out to Uncle Sam in 1941.
some Pat. Pend vises have date stamps on them after WWII and not sure when the latest one is, but maybe Bluebolt knows.
good luck and nice find
you'll have to read through again and maybe see the posts where we summarize or ask questions if you are unclear. it's still not 100% but guessing since your vise has a patent pend on it and prior to their stamping after the war that your vise might have been one sent out to Uncle Sam in 1941.
some Pat. Pend vises have date stamps on them after WWII and not sure when the latest one is, but maybe Bluebolt knows.
good luck and nice find
I have seen 9400s from that era that had WE on them, but I don't know what it stands for. I've also seen them that had HD on them, and the HD was definitely for "Heavy Duty" because they weighed more, and had a larger spindle diameter than the standard 9400. Some had both WE and HD.
Your vise would have originally been a powdery blue color that often fades to a light blue/green. The color that looks like a light green primer is almost certainly the original paint. I have yet to see evidence of Wilton priming before painting.
There's a whole thread on Wilton paint colors (more than one actually) and many variations have been mentioned. As best I can tell, they started with a powdery blue, then went to a gray/green/blue mix that isn't quite a machine gray, but looks a little like it, then went to a more blue/green and later to the darker green we see today. I say that going off a number of them I've had with original paint/stickers.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Thanks on the paint info, G-ManBart. As for the letter codes, note that my vise has both the HD and the WE cast into it.
MissileBear
Well-known member
*Drivesitfar* thanks for the Cliff's Notes summary on that 
I think I may have not been paying 100% attention after post #20 or so...I am not well versed on Wilton's vises (yet) but I just re-read some of the later posts and it seems like things were a bit hectic during the WWII years. Even though the handle is a bit bent it's still in pretty great shape for a farm vise.
I told the GF that I am going to sell this one...but I am really impressed with how well it was made. Maybe after an electrolysis bath & BLO oiling she won't recognize it mounted to the work bench??
I think I may have not been paying 100% attention after post #20 or so...I am not well versed on Wilton's vises (yet) but I just re-read some of the later posts and it seems like things were a bit hectic during the WWII years. Even though the handle is a bit bent it's still in pretty great shape for a farm vise.I told the GF that I am going to sell this one...but I am really impressed with how well it was made. Maybe after an electrolysis bath & BLO oiling she won't recognize it mounted to the work bench??
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
MB: if that one cleans up and works like it should i'd KEEP IT and maybe never sell it and you know i have a few decent vises and i don't NEED another one.
glad you liked my 411 and a few years ago the word on GJ getting spread around was every date was 5 years after it left the factory so while we don't have all the answers it seems to be getting closer to an answer. some of the people say why does it matter? my answer is if the truth can be found with a little work why not at least try.
cheers and if you post up your vise over on the 101 thread and need some help just ask. the pins holding the vise nut in place are about the only tricky part of restoring and cleaning a Wilton, but you should pop out the dust cover first before you attempt to take the pin out (i think yours has one long pin and not the harder to remove double pins that come in from each side).
good luck
GMan: if you don't think the key lime lighter green was the original color that's good with me cause i'll probably never paint a wilton unless i paint it Extreme green like you have done a few. that said there were a lot of guys talking for a year or so trying to pick the exact right color of the original bullets and i seem to remember it being green and not blue.
Lug: so do you have a scale to weigh your new 1949 bullet so maybe we can have others weigh theirs to compare?
glad you liked my 411 and a few years ago the word on GJ getting spread around was every date was 5 years after it left the factory so while we don't have all the answers it seems to be getting closer to an answer. some of the people say why does it matter? my answer is if the truth can be found with a little work why not at least try.
cheers and if you post up your vise over on the 101 thread and need some help just ask. the pins holding the vise nut in place are about the only tricky part of restoring and cleaning a Wilton, but you should pop out the dust cover first before you attempt to take the pin out (i think yours has one long pin and not the harder to remove double pins that come in from each side).
good luck
GMan: if you don't think the key lime lighter green was the original color that's good with me cause i'll probably never paint a wilton unless i paint it Extreme green like you have done a few. that said there were a lot of guys talking for a year or so trying to pick the exact right color of the original bullets and i seem to remember it being green and not blue.
Lug: so do you have a scale to weigh your new 1949 bullet so maybe we can have others weigh theirs to compare?
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Lug, that is all that can be concluded as so, far nothing has substantiated either theory, including date stamps before the war end or not. Certainly some have strong opinions, but no supporting facts.
OP
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Outlaw: it's hard to get facts from a company that doesn't have them so maybe the best fact we've got is the date stamps didn't ALL represent a 5 year future date. i might have believed what you were saying a few years ago when you always said that was true until stamp dates started showing up in 1945 and 5 years prior Wilton was not even a company.
i think Bluebolt has done a great job on this thread and if you think i'm wrong on what i say or what the results are so be it. i'm not here to convince you to change your opinion only to find as many facts to form an opinion that i think is plausible.
ALL: HONESTLY i don't really care when these vises were made or what color they were and just trying to help arrive at the truth so i can pass that on to those that do care. i'd love a 1982 baby bullet with Chicago on it's side just as well and maybe more than my 1946 stamped one cause i'm guessing they were all cast in the 1940's in Chicago.
i think Bluebolt has done a great job on this thread and if you think i'm wrong on what i say or what the results are so be it. i'm not here to convince you to change your opinion only to find as many facts to form an opinion that i think is plausible.
ALL: HONESTLY i don't really care when these vises were made or what color they were and just trying to help arrive at the truth so i can pass that on to those that do care. i'd love a 1982 baby bullet with Chicago on it's side just as well and maybe more than my 1946 stamped one cause i'm guessing they were all cast in the 1940's in Chicago.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Drives the facts are, that the data, properly analyzed, does not support any one theory over another.
A simple glance through won't do it. I've spent some time on data analysis in my past, and while not an ultimate expert on the topic, the data I've seen so far could support several theories, and prove none of them.
The most solid evidence is near the end game of the expired dates, and even that seems to be different for different models. along with different warranty periods. (3 years of 5? Cadets had, at least for part of their run, 3 year warranties)
You are free to believe what you want to believe, but with all due respect, its an opinion not a fact. Same on my side; it's my opinion, based on lack of facts, that we can't draw any solid conclusions.
A simple glance through won't do it. I've spent some time on data analysis in my past, and while not an ultimate expert on the topic, the data I've seen so far could support several theories, and prove none of them.
The most solid evidence is near the end game of the expired dates, and even that seems to be different for different models. along with different warranty periods. (3 years of 5? Cadets had, at least for part of their run, 3 year warranties)
You are free to believe what you want to believe, but with all due respect, its an opinion not a fact. Same on my side; it's my opinion, based on lack of facts, that we can't draw any solid conclusions.
OP
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Outlaw: well at least we aren't saying that all the dates were stamped 5 years forward of when they left the factory like we were before we started this thread. more facts and less opinion is the goal and with the way Wilton brought stuff off the shelf from the old factory or patent pend vises after WWII only makes things a bit tougher to analyze.
i'm still hoping a member that either owned Wilton or worked in the date stamping department shows up for REAL and says what they did, but that said how would we know it was even that guy?
it's a fun way to spend a few minutes talking about cool old vises though.
speaking of which do you sell all your bullets like i do or have you kept a baby or a few other ones just because? i think i'm ok in saying PARKER IS YOUR FAVORITE? ROCK ISLAND AND REED IS MINE, but i still like Wilton's bullet vise line especially their C series vises.
i'm still hoping a member that either owned Wilton or worked in the date stamping department shows up for REAL and says what they did, but that said how would we know it was even that guy?
it's a fun way to spend a few minutes talking about cool old vises though.
speaking of which do you sell all your bullets like i do or have you kept a baby or a few other ones just because? i think i'm ok in saying PARKER IS YOUR FAVORITE? ROCK ISLAND AND REED IS MINE, but i still like Wilton's bullet vise line especially their C series vises.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
I've sold or given away all but one early 3" Wilton. I've never had a baby W, but If I ever do find one for less than silly $$, I'll probably keep that one.
My belief in Parker is backed by over 30 years HARD use of my 974 with the 1930 patents. The closest it's come to "failure" is slipping on it's swivel while using it as a base for my home built tubing bender. That was one of the times I ripped the bench it was on loose from the wall...
Nothing against the other name brands you named, or others like Athol, Starrett, American Scale, and many others, but The Parker has proven itself in m,y shop.
My belief in Parker is backed by over 30 years HARD use of my 974 with the 1930 patents. The closest it's come to "failure" is slipping on it's swivel while using it as a base for my home built tubing bender. That was one of the times I ripped the bench it was on loose from the wall...
Nothing against the other name brands you named, or others like Athol, Starrett, American Scale, and many others, but The Parker has proven itself in m,y shop.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Actually getting Lug interested in the Wilton question could be a good thing. He has a proven ability to ferret out the contract dates and specs, and has contacts that do the same for WWII ordinance, gear, and tools...
va.grouseman
Well-known member
What I think is a bad testimony is that web sites (this in particular) know more about, and dig deeper for the histories than some of the vise brands/companies, that we are so fond of, know about themselves.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
46 lbs 8 ozs
Well, first of all, I didn't mean to open a can of worms. I'm guessing that in the absence of some kind of dated Wilton document (e.g., catalog, jobbers' paperwork, standard operating procedures, etc) you guys took the empirical approach, trying to back your way into the facts by deduction, and there is a dispute over what all the data means. That's commonplace in the WWII tool world niche, and I have spent the better part of the last 8 years getting to the bottom of some of them with deeper research.
I promised Drives I'd read through this thread, and I will try, but before I do that, I have a few questions:
(1) In my initial searches on GJ after having just found my Wilton 9400, I ran into a thread with a page from a 1950 catalog. Is that the earliest Wilton catalog (or other dated Wilton document) that includes a reference to a 5-year warranty?
(2) What is the earliest actual date stamped on the slide of a Wilton bullet shown here?
(3) Is there a key post where the data has been tabulated that I could look at rather than (or in addition to) reading through 28 pages?
As for my resources, I can look up Wilton in a 1945 War Production Board War Supply Contracts List (it's located at a no-lending library at an institution about 60 miles from me, so this won't be tomorrow or even next week), but note that it only includes contracts that were $50,000 or more in value. Also, it only includes the contract number, start and end date, value, and product. The most this would do is verify what Wilton's website already says. It won't help on the date stamps issue.
I can tell you right now that Wilton is not listed as a supplier of mechanics or machinists vises for automotive maintenance tool-sets in any US Army Ordnance Dept references I have, and none of the figures in these tool-set manuals (a good secondary source of identification) shows a Wilton bullet. Vise brands that have been verified are Morgan, Columbian, and Desmond Stephan.
Seeing the Federal Specifications code (GGG-V-436) cited on that 1950 catalog page was encouraging to me, however. The rationale is that if they were supplying vises to the federal government in 1950, there's a very good chance they were supplying them during the war.
And then I came to discover that the Wilton website may provide the best explanation yet for why they don't show up in mechanics' or machinists' tool-set manuals. If they were being exclusively used on production lines, the government wouldn't have wanted Wilton to also be supplying other agencies, even if Wilton wanted to, which would slow down their deliveries to other factories.
In fact, chucking equipment and vises were two of the first types of tools to be controlled by the WPB Limitation Order L-216, which went into effect on December 4, 1942. I've never had a reason to read the schedule that included vises before, but I'll see if I can find it. In essence, what L-216 means is that no company was making particular tools for their own inventory or their distributors (i.e., the civilian sales market) after that date, so whatever production Wilton had under government contract was it, and I'm assuming it was all they could do to meet those demands, especially as a relatively immature manufacturer.
That's why, in my interpretation, their vises weren't going to the field services setting up maintenance shops and mobile maintenance shops with anvils, vises, forges, oxy-acetylene kits, etc. Whether that should be considered a compliment by Wilton fans 70+ years later (e.g., their vise was selected for production shops for its superior action and durability) or the opposite (they were new in the industry and the low man on the acquisition totem pole), I don't know.
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
Lug: you can read the entire thread and comment or try to make your own conclusions if you'd like to and have the time to and i'd appreciate hearing what you have to say. Bluebolt has an EXCEL data page on his computer where he maybe has close to 300 Wilton bullets and i think he put a link somewhere on this thread too. i was having issues with my old laptop and my new laptop doesn't have MS Office installed (yet) so i don't have the data at my fingertips. maybe Bluebolt will see your post and make a post or provide a link again if he's able or PM him and see what he and you can figure out.
as far as catalogs i've seen a few on this thread and i can't recall seeing any from the 1940's. i recall seeing some from the 1950's that mentioned the 1,2 & 3 year warranties given on the Wilton Cadet vises.
good to have you on board and it isn't a CAN OF WORMS it's just something we've been trying to figure out with the information we've been given and so far found.
good luck and i'm here to help if i can. honestly i don't have a lot of Wilton stuff saved on my new laptop, but if i find some i'll definitely post them. there are maybe other members that have more Wilton stuff to post and I hope they do so maybe the facts will support our opinions.
as far as catalogs i've seen a few on this thread and i can't recall seeing any from the 1940's. i recall seeing some from the 1950's that mentioned the 1,2 & 3 year warranties given on the Wilton Cadet vises.
good to have you on board and it isn't a CAN OF WORMS it's just something we've been trying to figure out with the information we've been given and so far found.
good luck and i'm here to help if i can. honestly i don't have a lot of Wilton stuff saved on my new laptop, but if i find some i'll definitely post them. there are maybe other members that have more Wilton stuff to post and I hope they do so maybe the facts will support our opinions.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
The spreadsheet link is in BB's sig:
Wilton Date Thread
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...M60/edit#gid=0
Wilton Date Thread
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...M60/edit#gid=0
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
I reviewed the thread and the spreadsheet, which answers two of my questions. Before I give you my thoughts, though, I need my third question answered. What is the earliest dated document in the public domain (i.e., posted here on GJ or elsewhere) that includes a reference to a Wilton warranty?
The only historical reference (a Wilton catalog page) I can find here on GJ is in this 2-17-2017 post by StillTooManyHobbies: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6321066&postcount=19
The catalog page he posted an image of advertises an “UNCONDITIONAL 5 YEAR GUARANTEE.” He does not provide a date for the catalog. But he states, “67 years ago prices were a lot different.” Doing the math, that’s 1950.
Is this the earliest reference in a dated historical document to any Wilton warranty of any duration?
The only historical reference (a Wilton catalog page) I can find here on GJ is in this 2-17-2017 post by StillTooManyHobbies: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6321066&postcount=19
The catalog page he posted an image of advertises an “UNCONDITIONAL 5 YEAR GUARANTEE.” He does not provide a date for the catalog. But he states, “67 years ago prices were a lot different.” Doing the math, that’s 1950.
Is this the earliest reference in a dated historical document to any Wilton warranty of any duration?
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Disregard. I got impatient and did my own search. The earliest reference I can find to a Wilton warranty is this ad from page 266 of the November 1947 Popular Science.
Link: https://books.google.com/books?id=a...jAA#v=onepage&q=Wilton vise guarantee&f=false
Link: https://books.google.com/books?id=a...jAA#v=onepage&q=Wilton vise guarantee&f=false
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
LUG: good to have you in the mix looking up some of these old catalogs and Wilton information too. thanks for taking the time and hope you find some new information that will help you find out more about your new Wilton 1949 bullet too.
ALL: here's the 1950 Wilton catalog page that Lug found and posted a link to a thread about another member's wilton.
anybody else have some old Wilton catalog pages or ads to post please do.
thanks
ALL: here's the 1950 Wilton catalog page that Lug found and posted a link to a thread about another member's wilton.
anybody else have some old Wilton catalog pages or ads to post please do.
thanks
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Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
I still plan to give my thoughts and thought process. Needed a valid historical point of reference before I got too deep. Today is shot and so will tomorrow be. But I will be back. I could give you the reader's digest version and just say, I agree with this and so-and-so, but that would spoil all the fun.
PghJKB
Well-known member
Pvt Lugnutz
The identical ad also appeared in the June 1947 issue of Popular Mechanics.
URL:
https://books.google.com/books?id=s...TAhUJSiYKHVQ1Df4Q6AEIRTAI#v=onepage&q&f=false
Only five months earlier, but it moves the line that much further back.
JKB
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Noted! And thank you, JKB. That's a different ad, actually. I remember seeing that one, but I must've missed the little "5 YEAR GUARANTEE" statement stuck up in the white space to left of the spindle.
Before my interest in "the line" gets taken the wrong way, though, I'll briefly add that it is significant, which is why I tried to track it down, and I wouldn't expect to move it back any further than late 1945 or 1946 (not only were no Mfgrs offering guarantees during wartime, they were voiding them), but how Wilton initially implemented the guarantee is more important. Key, actually. The entire crux of the debate, as far as I can tell, comes down to how one reads the postwar to 1954 date stamps.
More on that and much more later, or tomorrow.
A few observations.
1. There have still been no Bullet vises found with date stamps from 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 or 1958.
2. I added Cadet vises but you must not get confused by them, Wilton was changing the warranty of these from 1 to 2 to 3 years as time went by.
1. There have still been no Bullet vises found with date stamps from 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 or 1958.
2. I added Cadet vises but you must not get confused by them, Wilton was changing the warranty of these from 1 to 2 to 3 years as time went by.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
I saw that gap and I saw the Cadets and your notes in the notes column, bluebolt, but thanks for the tips.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Drives, I swear I am getting closer to providing my thoughts (and my thought process), but I don't like to draw conclusions in haste, I have asked bluebolt some questions on the database schema (just to make sure I am reading it right), and I have been poking around in other threads.
On that last score...
What is the 7-40 date on this piece...
From this post...
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1391626&postcount=10
...in this thread (an earlier attempt to compile Wilton data)?
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94265&highlight=Wilton+catalog
On that last score...
What is the 7-40 date on this piece...
From this post...
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1391626&postcount=10
...in this thread (an earlier attempt to compile Wilton data)?
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94265&highlight=Wilton+catalog
Drives, I swear I am getting closer to providing my thoughts (and my thought process), but I don't like to draw conclusions in haste, I have asked bluebolt some questions on the database schema (just to make sure I am reading it right), and I have been poking around in other threads.
On that last score...
What is the 7-40 date on this piece...
From this post...
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1391626&postcount=10
...in this thread (an earlier attempt to compile Wilton data)?
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94265&highlight=Wilton+catalog
It's likely not a date but a casting number used for assembling the right parts for each vise. There was probably a bin of parts arranged by number. Examining numbers on the same part from different vises would probably give more clues.
OP
drivesitfar
Well-known member
LUG & ALL: EXMAXIMA has or had a 1945 Wilton C1 bullet vise and i think another member or two had them with 1945 stamped on the swivel's base or maybe it was on the lower part of the static jaw. my guess is that Wilton when they started date stamping vises were not sure where they were going to stamp them and cast them in the vise before stamping them on the bottom of their slides.
also i agree with Bluebolt that the 7-40 is a part # and not a date and another reason is Wilton I'm pretty sure wasn't even a company until 1941, but i can't recall at the moment without looking up a few things in my old dead laptop.
good luck
also i agree with Bluebolt that the 7-40 is a part # and not a date and another reason is Wilton I'm pretty sure wasn't even a company until 1941, but i can't recall at the moment without looking up a few things in my old dead laptop.
good luck