Mgdoug You think that looks like rust? Could be. I thought it looked like dirt and dust. Irrespective, I told him I'd need him to come down on his asking price. He's going to think about it. I'm not scared of rust or dirt. These don't come up for sale often around here. I imagine someone else will pay his asking price and discover they've got to invest quite a bit more money to have a swivel vise. We shall see.
Those aren't the same quality as bullet vises.That thing has been abused…a lot. Unless you like a challenge and he makes you a “you ****” good deal…I would move on. But that is just me. I have two that are in a bit better shape…
I have 2 with the swivel jaw and understand they are 450S models. Neither of them use the center ring in the swivel base, just have 2 bolts with the notched clamps.When you thoroughly inspect the vise, you should find that the inner ring will have a casting no. of 101081, while the outer ring should have the no. 101082 and yes, it does have a center pin. That particular "450S" casting style should have a date-stamp between (1976-1982).
Wilton used this swivel base for the 400S, 450S and the 500S, which is why it may not fit like a glove for each of those models.
You're an experienced vise collector, so I'm not going to coach you with regard to the negotiation other than it has significant market value, unless there's more damage to the vise other than the handle.
Look at the bar....someone beat on it with a BFG....I'm surprised the bar is not bent
Neither do I. Just trying to keep my shop and tool hobby a zero sum gain. I haven't heard back from the guy after asking for a discount. I'm not bothered by the lack of a response. Feel bad if the next guy doesn't realize what he's buying with it needing an inner ring for the swivel base to work. It was priced cheap enough that if everything checked out it's a good deal as a non-swivel vise but it was never a keeper for me.
Nor am I. The surface rust is easy to remove. I don't see any cracks, welds, broken ledges. It looks like the end cap is there and the jaws look original and in good shape. The only signs of beating are on the handle but it looks pretty straight. The anvil surface even looks good.
If that's the case, thanks but no thanks!
The hole in the spindle for the handle looks nearly perfect, so it could mean that only the handle was abused and not really used all that much. You could buy make a new handle from bar stock and some bushings for the ends, or look for a used spindle assembly.
Abused??
I have cleaned up a LOT worse vises than this one to great working order. I like to use BLO (learned that from Drives) on my vises. I'm thinking that's the treatment this one is going to get.
I hear you and like genog alluded to..."people can do what they want with their vises" but I am not a big fan of old vises looking like new. I like them BECAUSE they're old and better than new. Why would I want to pretend it's new. Knowing they've already done a generation, or two, maybe even 3, worth of work puts a smile on my face. Again, different strokes for different folks. FYI, he had many potential buyers lined up. I happened to be the first.
It's not the end of the world if the swivel base doesn't work properly provided that the vice is otherwise functional. You can still mount the vice unto a bench. As long as you didn't over pay for it, it looks like a fun project to work on.
