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

[454ragtop]

Wow - this is the thread that inspired me to join this forum since I’ve been slowly collecting, restoring, and using old vises. I have a handful, starting from an old Walworth (c. 1878) to a Littlestown, Yost, Wilton, and others. I’m currently looking for an old Wilton dual woodworking and plumbers vise.

I hope to contribute to this community, but more importantly, learn from those of you with much more experience. Cheers!

Welcome to GJ. Was that you that contacted me about my Wilton turret vise I have on CL?

 

[M_George]

Many of the teeth in the base for interlocking with the swivel cleats on my Wilton tradesman 1760 vise are worn or missing.
I was considering spot welding each worn tooth then grinding them back with a Dremel. Anyone ever attempt this fix?

 

[KMScott]

Many of the teeth in the base for interlocking with the swivel cleats on my Wilton tradesman 1760 vise are worn or missing.
I was considering spot welding each worn tooth then grinding them back with a Dremel. Anyone ever attempt this fix?

No but I have seen a few Wilton bases like that. It would take some time but worth it if you have the time. I made a inner ring because of the same reason for my 600. Try it out and post some pictures.

 

[thin_concrete]

Welcome to GJ. Was that you that contacted me about my Wilton turret vise I have on CL?

Yep - that was me!

 

[MayerMR]

Many of the teeth in the base for interlocking with the swivel cleats on my Wilton tradesman 1760 vise are worn or missing.
I was considering spot welding each worn tooth then grinding them back with a Dremel. Anyone ever attempt this fix?

Mine was the same way. I took a diamond bit in my dremel and just cleaned up the most egregiously worn ones. After I put the thing back together it locked up just fine, even with most of them pretty worn. Frankly, I don't think I'd spend the time to do it again as I don't believe that my efforts made that much of a difference.

That said, KMScott's method would likely result in ZERO movement haha

 

[notlob]

Here's a nicely done vise restoration video which employs a method to free a stuck slide that I don't believe I've seen before:

 

[JZiggy]

Anyone know where to get a lockdown bolt for a Reed 1C?

 

[kenc184]

Ken, sounds like the nut is in correct.

your doing great on the re-furb!

Thanks Outlaw. I posted the results of the refurb on the big vise thread but it got lost in the noise of a massive Parker vise with an ice induced crack so reposting it here:

Thanks for your help!









Don't those jaws look perfect?

Now, on to the Morgan coachmakers vise.

 

[drivesitfar]

Ken: your parker swivel jaw vise looks great. just curious how you eventually got the screw into the vise nut?

ALL: sometimes especially on the bigger 100+ pound vises I put the vise on it's side to get the screw lined up. anybody else have another good idea cause some of these can be a little tricky to put back together?

 

[kenc184]

Thanks drivesitfar! The vise looks basically unused, just rusted up. The jaws are unmarked. Very happy with the condition of it The screw was just a lot of fiddling, I ended up removing the collar pushing the slide all the way closed and fiddling with the screw nut engagement from there. The nut has a very abrupt lead in.

Only problem is it's too nice to use!

 

[Outlawmws]

That came out great Ken! Nice job!

 

[MayerMR]

Thanks Outlaw. I posted the results of the refurb on the big vise thread but it got lost in the noise of a massive Parker vise with an ice induced crack so reposting it here:

Thanks for your help!

Don't those jaws look perfect?

Now, on to the Morgan coachmakers vise.

Speaking of that massive Parker with the crack...

lol, jkjk, that vise looks great, nice job! My awesome find of a 5" Wilton 500 bullet for $50 also got lost in that silly argument, but I'm still pleased as can be

 

[413dan]

could someone recommend where I could get a set of jaws made for a vice I inherited? it is an old columbian and can't seem to find jaws for it anywhere. looking to see if anyone in this thread knows who to contact about having some made. pm is fine if would rather not post publicly.

thank you very much have a great weekend.

 

[kenc184]

Speaking of that massive Parker with the crack...

lol, jkjk, that vise looks great, nice job! My awesome find of a 5" Wilton 500 bullet for $50 also got lost in that silly argument, but I'm still pleased as can be

A bullet for $50? I need to go back and sift through the cracked Parker posts and try to find it! What a deal. Lucky Duck.

 

[kenc184]

Guys,

I'm quite impressed by the build quality of my little Parker vise, but I noticed that a lot of Parkers appear to have a chunk broken out of the rear of the slide. In addition, I've noticed quite a few of the "semi steel bar" ones have broken slides right at the moveable jaw. For that reason I am avoiding the semi steel Parkers, but am curious what your take is on this and the strength of the semi steel Parkers in general?

 

[Redlig]

Got my odin all cleaned up

 

[chrisnazzy]

kenc184

Congrats, you did a fine job on the restoration of that Parker.

I'm sorry my post about the cracked Parker ended up overshadowing the unveiling of your completed restoration. The intent in all my posts is always to simply discuss, learn, share and cultivate good conversation about these vintage tools that we all enjoy so much. I suppose we should be thankful that there are only one or two members here whose contributions actually act to hinder that.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[MayerMR]

A bullet for $50? I need to go back and sift through the cracked Parker posts and try to find it! What a deal. Lucky Duck.

Ya, I was pretty pleased. The photo was grainy and dark and I thought it was a 3"er, which would have still been a good buy, in my opinion, but it being a 5"er I was even happier!

Guys,

I'm quite impressed by the build quality of my little Parker vise, but I noticed that a lot of Parkers appear to have a chunk broken out of the rear of the slide. In addition, I've noticed quite a few of the "semi steel bar" ones have broken slides right at the moveable jaw. For that reason I am avoiding the semi steel Parkers, but am curious what your take is on this and the strength of the semi steel Parkers in general?

IMO, you have to consider a few things; 1st - Cast iron is a strong, but fairly brittle material when the casting is thin, which is the exactly what the end of a slide is. 2nd - The end of the slide protrudes out the rear of the vise and is oftentimes one of the first things that hits the ground if/when the vise is dropped. Another often seen broken part are the feet of swivel bases or the tabs on solid mount vises - again, then sections that are protruding and, if dropped, are likely to be the first sections to hit the ground. 3rd - Lastly, many of the vises we all like to restore and collect are *old* some of them 100+ years old. They've been used by many generations of people, have probably had numerous owners over the years, and many of the broken ones have probably been abused again and again, eventually, some are just going to break. A person can break just about any tool when they use them incorrectly, so it's not overly surprising to see some that have finally succumbed to the abuse. Really, it's almost *more* surprising (and impressive) when you consider how many still survive intact when you think how the above is probably true for the vast majority of vises out there.

Got my odin all cleaned up

That looks fantastic. Did you use BLO on it to protect it from surface rust?

kenc184

Congrats, you did a fine job on the restoration of that Parker.

I'm sorry my post about the cracked Parker ended up overshadowing the unveiling of your completed restoration. The intent in all my posts is always to simply discuss, learn, share and cultivate good conversation about these vintage tools that we all enjoy so much. I suppose we should be thankful that there are only one or two members here whose contributions actually act to hinder that.

Chris, I saw and followed that, for a lack of a better term, "argument", and you have nothing to apologize for.

 

[kwoswalt99]

Guys,

I'm quite impressed by the build quality of my little Parker vise, but I noticed that a lot of Parkers appear to have a chunk broken out of the rear of the slide. In addition, I've noticed quite a few of the "semi steel bar" ones have broken slides right at the moveable jaw. For that reason I am avoiding the semi steel Parkers, but am curious what your take is on this and the strength of the semi steel Parkers in general?

They are all made of the same material, even the ones that aren’t marked semi steel. Some have a steel bar in the slide, that’s about the only difference.

 

[kenc184]

They are all made of the same material, even the ones that aren’t marked semi steel. Some have a steel bar in the slide, that’s about the only difference.

Right, I've seen photos of semi steel bars cast into the slide BUT the majority I've seen snapped off at the moveable jaw (can 't bring myself to use the static, dynamic terms, LOL) have the semi steel bar. I'm wondering if it turned out to be a long term weakness in this style of vise?

 

[kenc184]

Ya, I was pretty pleased. The photo was grainy and dark and I thought it was a 3"er, which would have still been a good buy, in my opinion, but it being a 5"er I was even happier!



IMO, you have to consider a few things; 1st - Cast iron is a strong, but fairly brittle material when the casting is thin, which is the exactly what the end of a slide is. 2nd - The end of the slide protrudes out the rear of the vise and is oftentimes one of the first things that hits the ground if/when the vise is dropped. Another often seen broken part are the feet of swivel bases or the tabs on solid mount vises - again, then sections that are protruding and, if dropped, are likely to be the first sections to hit the ground. 3rd - Lastly, many of the vises we all like to restore and collect are *old* some of them 100+ years old. They've been used by many generations of people, have probably had numerous owners over the years, and many of the broken ones have probably been abused again and again, eventually, some are just going to break. A person can break just about any tool when they use them incorrectly, so it's not overly surprising to see some that have finally succumbed to the abuse. Really, it's almost *more* surprising (and impressive) when you consider how many still survive intact when you think how the above is probably true for the vast majority of vises out there.



That looks fantastic. Did you use BLO on it to protect it from surface rust?



Chris, I saw and followed that, for a lack of a better term, "argument", and you have nothing to apologize for.

Agree on the brittleness of cast iron and everything you say but- just like the cast in semi steel bars - the majority of vises with a chunk broken off the back of the slide seem to be Parkers?

 

[kenc184]

kenc184

Congrats, you did a fine job on the restoration of that Parker.

I'm sorry my post about the cracked Parker ended up overshadowing the unveiling of your completed restoration. The intent in all my posts is always to simply discuss, learn, share and cultivate good conversation about these vintage tools that we all enjoy so much. I suppose we should be thankful that there are only one or two members here whose contributions actually act to hinder that.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

Oh, no need for any apology, I found the post and follow ups very interesting. Please keep them coming! i don't think a monster vise is in my future due to too much machinery already but I am fascinated by them.

 

[RBarnes]

Here's a nicely done vise restoration video which employs a method to free a stuck slide that I don't believe I've seen before:

I enjoyed this video, thanks for posting the link.

 

[Anthony]

Hey everyone. First post here. Been reading a lot.

I've got a few vises from my flea market digging the past few weeks and am in the process of rehabbing them. I figured I'd start with the smallest but I've already run into a problem.

It's an old Stanley C595 2 1/2" jaw clamp on vise. I'm trying to get the main screw and handle out but there is a washer holding it in I can't seem to remove. The washer encompasses the main screw in the middle as well as the two support rods. I've tried prying it while turning the main screw hoping it would "catch" and the washer would begin to unscrew but no luck.

I can leave it in and clean the vise as is but if there is a way to remove it and reuse it I'd like to try.

 

[LesserSon]

Thoughts on shipping a main screw:
This is my first time shipping this shaped item, and I think I have a good way to keep it from punching its way out of the box. Lashed to a plywood panel with iron stove wire. I will give it a spin in bubble wrap when the USPS finally makes good on its promise to deliver B2 regional rate boxes to my address (been getting a little impatient).
Commments?

 

[drivesitfar]

Lessor: I might tend to add another piece of plywood or put more cardboard in between the two pieces you already have cause if that edge is poking out at all and one of the APES drops it on cement it could crack or break the cast.

otherwise FANTASTIC IDEA and let us know if it made it to it's destination ok and what did UPS charge you?

thanks for sharing!!

 

[drivesitfar]

Anthony: welcome to GJ first of all and sounds like you might have an easy fix. while i haven't worked on any of my small open screw vises I think you just need to remove the clip you are mentioning. now if you have to break it and replace with another one i'm not sure about that so post up some pictures and some of the other members that work on these might have some help for you.

cheers

 

[Outlawmws]

Anthony, Pics of the probel are always helpful so we can see the issue.

LS reasonably secured inside the box, I think you are golden with that. You might add a block of Styrofoam between the head of the screw and the end of the box to alleviate Drives concern.

 

[thin_concrete]

Hi all - found another restoration thread through Google, so sorry for the cross-post in two different forums on this site. I’m restoring several vises at the moment and am stuck with the Littlestown 400 I’m nearing completion of. Is there a thread on GF that can approximate current Rustoleum/Valspar/etc. colors that were used on old vises when they left the factory? I realize that many manufacturers used different colors at different times on the same model, but anything would be most helpful. I really don’t want a garage full of black vises if I can at all help it.

I’m guessing there is such a thread, given the extensive knowledge base here, but I’m just not coming up with the right search terms. Thanks in advance!

TC

 

[M_George]

Does anyone use a filler for hammer and saw marks while restoring an old vice. Trying to decide whether to fill them in or just paint over them. Any advice on this?

 

[Outlawmws]

It's been done both ways. Some like it to look new, if possible, some like that the vise "speaks" to its age and use.

 

[M_George]

It's been done both ways. Some like it to look new, if possible, some like that the vise "speaks" to its age and use.

I plan on painting it bright "Graber Green". Not Shure what it will look like.
I'll just give it a good sanding and paint it. I can always go back and add the filler and repaint. I'm thinking about using JB Weld for a filler to make it tough enough to use.

Anyway the first scratch is going to be painful...

 

[LesserSon]

MGeorge, I have restored exactly one vise. I painted it hammered green, without filling some casting imperfections, with exactly the same thought: I can always go back.
I wish now I had filled them, and JB Weld would be my choice, too. The painting itself is quick and painless; waiting for it to cure before reassembly is agonizing.
BUT, if I really had it to do over, I would not paint it at all, but BLO it instead. It’s had pretty light use, and still, chips of hammered green are missing.

 

[Outlawmws]

George, What kind of vise? Wilton's always gook good that color. Not sure how I'd view other makes...

I just reassembled my 2" Wilton bullet naked today. Not even BLO as its my inside tiny work bench vise. I've already used it a couple of times today...

 

[Anthony]

I just added photos to my post above..can't get that collar/washer off..

 

[DFB]

Does anyone use a filler for hammer and saw marks while restoring an old vice. Trying to decide whether to fill them in or just paint over them. Any advice on this?

I did that just that JB Weld on two vises that had rough gouges and to dress up some weld work. And actually came out really good IMO, took my time with it a winter project with no deadline

The Kwik Weld doesn't run like the original

 

[MayerMR]

I plan on painting it bright "Graber Green". Not Shure what it will look like.
I'll just give it a good sanding and paint it. I can always go back and add the filler and repaint. I'm thinking about using JB Weld for a filler to make it tough enough to use.

Anyway the first scratch is going to be painful...

I use JB Weld as a filler on nearly every vise i restore. It's a great filler. Little tip; after you have it sanded after it's cured, you can use some low grit sandpaper (face down obviously) lay it over the smoothed area, and then tap it with a hammer (light blows) to recreate the cast surface look of the rest of the vise.

 

[M_George]

George, What kind of vise? Wilton's always gook good that color. Not sure how I'd view other makes...

I just reassembled my 2" Wilton bullet naked today. Not even BLO as its my inside tiny work bench vise. I've already used it a couple of times today...

It's the Wilton Tradesman 1760 I posted last month. Put a lot of work into it, cutting loose the welds holding the base on, bought new replacement swivel base handles and pipe jaws, wire brushed all of the rust and paint off. I have the Snap-On labels and paint ready to go. Just want my first vice restoration to look as good as some of the ones I've seen on this form.

 

[kenc184]

Got myself a "daily driver" yesterday. A Morgan Chicago 145. The P.O. had covered everything in blue paint except the jaws. That's not how I like them so I stripped the handles, slide etc. Lubed it up, but the vise jaw screws were frozen solid. No luck with a regular screwdriver, no luck with my hand impact driver.

I searched GJ and came across a real Gem by member "lilredex". A simple, but brilliant idea which seemed to get lost in the thread I was reading.
So with all credit due to lilredex I am including pictures of how to remove stuck vice jaw screws. Better than penetating oil which frankly never works, better than the oxy, better than an impact driver.
There's absolutely no way the driver will cam out of the screw when done this way, and you can get as much leverage as you need with a longer wrench.

I used a 1/2" socket screwdriver adapter.







As it turns out, I broke one of the four screws they were corroded so badly. It wasn't difficult to drill the shank out, chase the thread with a tap and make a new 60deg countersunk head bolt out of a 5/16 hex head on the lathe.

Quite happy with my new daily driver, it's not particularly pretty but it's a decent "user".

 

[MayerMR]

Got myself a "daily driver" yesterday. A Morgan Chicago 145. The P.O. had covered everything in blue paint except the jaws. That's not how I like them so I stripped the handles, slide etc. Lubed it up, but the vise jaw screws were frozen solid. No luck with a regular screwdriver, no luck with my hand impact driver.

I searched GJ and came across a real Gem by member "lilredex". A simple, but brilliant idea which seemed to get lost in the thread I was reading.
So with all credit due to lilredex I am including pictures of how to remove stuck vice jaw screws. Better than penetating oil which frankly never works, better than the oxy, better than an impact driver.
There's absolutely no way the driver will cam out of the screw when done this way, and you can get as much leverage as you need with a longer wrench.

I used a 1/2" socket screwdriver adapter.

As it turns out, I broke one of the four screws they were corroded so badly. It wasn't difficult to drill the shank out, chase the thread with a tap and make a new 60deg countersunk head bolt out of a 5/16 hex head on the lathe.

Quite happy with my new daily driver, it's not particularly pretty but it's a decent "user".

That is a pretty slick idea. The kind that after you see it you kinda wanna slap your head! Nice thinking lilredex!