Another Wilton baby bullet

[bgilbert]

I recently found this baby at the bottom of a pile of stuff in my FIL's basement. He passed away last summer. This vise belonged to his FIL. It was in a stack of tools he inherited from him. I am working on restoring them now. I think it is one of the original baby bullets, but I would love it if somebody can tell for sure. There are no date markings on the slide. I have restored it to what you see here. I know some will cringe at the color I painted it. Definitely not original, but I used this color because I am keeping it.

bgilbert

 

[Farmall450]

Love a good bullet restoration. I have one, but not a baby.

 

[Roberts210]

That's a beauty. You done good!

 

[sandmann]

Vey nice. Congratulations on your baby

 

[don long]

Sweet lil vice.
Thanks for sharing it here. I have a few old wiltons but not that one. I just love the bullet shape to it.
It's your vice and your color!!

 

[Jr5]

Wow looks fantastic! She cleaned up nicely

 

[Mike Scheer]

what date range would a baby bullet have w/o a date stamp?

 

[Shiftless]

what date range would a baby bullet have w/o a date stamp?

The earliest ones had jaw pads with horizontal grooves instead of the usual cross checked serrations. Just about all of the babies were marked Chicago even after Wilton moved to Schiller Park in 1957 so that’s not a clue to the date.

I believe the earliest ones were early 1940’s built for the war effort and not sold to civilians.

Post a few pics. Maybe somebody else can shed light on your question.

 

[Mike Scheer]

I'll post pictures once I get to where the vise is located. Thx for your prompt reply

 

[Shiftless]

You’re welcome.
You didn’t post head on pics of the jaw pads but from what I can see, those look like smooth jaws. They might even be replacements. So jaws won’t give a clue as to age.

 

[Mike Scheer]

date of manufacture?

 

[hitechneanderthol]

The earliest ones had jaw pads with horizontal grooves instead of the usual cross checked serrations. Just about all of the babies were marked Chicago even after Wilton moved to Schiller Park in 1957 so that’s not a clue to the date.

I believe the earliest ones were early 1940’s built for the war effort and not sold to civilians.

Post a few pics. Maybe somebody else can shed light on your question.

The early no. 3 and no. 4 "fish hook" style logoed vises had jaws with horizontal grooves but the 2" baby's did not. The jaws were either smooth (rarer) or serrated. I don't know if the 2 1/2" "toddlers" had them. I have never seen (or heard of) a toddler with them.

Also the early baby's that were not date stamped were from '41/'42 to early '45. The early baby's had "pat pdg" cast into the driver's side with a step for the swivel milled onto the base, after '45 the vise bases were cast flat and the newer style swivel was an option.
Also the early baby's had the option of a raised, hardend anvil and flush retaining screws on the horseshoe clip as well as other differences.

The very early baby's ('41/early '42) had a "The Wilton Vise" decal on the tail. Later in '42 the "SA 20 2" Jaw" decal was used.

 

[hitechneanderthol]

Some more photos.