Bought a Vise... What is it?

[Bloodhound1958]

Hello all, new to the forum and looking for help. I bought this 5" Vise off CL for $50.00... Not sure if it's old, new or made in China. Figured I'd break it down, clean her up and go from there if it's worthwhile. Anyone know who made it or how old it is? Don't want to waste my time "restoring" it if it's junk. Thanks!

 

[pstemari]

Looks like the usual import vise. They seem to get rebranded by Wilton, etc.

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[ken w.]

That is an Asian imported vise. I would use it.

 

[Bloodhound1958]

Boy oh boy! Lesson learned... Ouch. Wouldn't have bought it if I'd known. I guess old looking isn't an indication of anything! I'll clean it up and use it now that the $$ is spent. Maybe I can make it look more 'Merican! LOL Thanks for the help.

 

[1982fxr]

That is an older version of that vise. Handy to have and you got all the jaw inserts.

 

[Bloodhound1958]

Thanks 1982fxr... Older makes me feel a little better about buying it. Gonna make it a father son project to teach him some basics.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

You didn't do bad at $50. Very handy. I would gladly get one for my welding/truck vise.

 

[2oolhound]

Here's another thread on them. I think the older ones were nicer,

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=395051

 

[Bloodhound1958]

Thanks for the added info and links. Glad I didn't get hurt to bad at $50.00... I would have preferred to restore a piece of vintage americana but oh well. My fault for not doing my homework first. Still, I need a go to vise and not worrying about hurting it works. Gonna tear it down, clean it up and use it. Looks to be missing the slotted bolts and nuts as shown in other pictures. I'll have to see what I can find as far as replacing them.

 

[1982fxr]

$50 is ok for that. The older ones (like yours) were heavier. Wilton never rebadged the one you have that I know of.

The current versions are lighter. They also now have a side lock screw that’s handy.

Watch your feet, the one I had like yours had a tendency to let go when working on the piece and it didn’t take much.

 

[1982fxr]

That's a real good vise. Blasphemy, but I'll say it: I had one of them, and it was BETTER than the two big Columbians I have, and better than the Reed I have also.

If it's not damaged, I'd put that on my bench and use it. You'll have to look hard to find a better vise. More collectible? Sure. Prettier? Sure. Better, not really. It's a good user vise. If you want a collectible one to restore, buy an older American or English one. But, to use, you've got all you need in that one already.

Well reed and Colombian made many models so all I can say is I had an Oldsmobile that was better than a ford.

 

[hwood]

I bought a cheapo from costco for $45 recently, and I don't mind giving it the business if I have too. If it were a vintage monarch, I certainly wouldn't use it heavily. Having a good working vise that you won't curse and motherF over if it breaks is good to have around.

 

[Bloodhound1958]

The tear down is complete. Didn't take long at all BUT I have some immediate concerns. Both Allen screws for the rear that keep the Vise from rotating are bent. The side bolts that hold the pipe jaws in are not only bent but thread in at an angle. I contemplated drilling and threading new holes till I noticed two are very close to the edge of the casting. Bound to be prone to breaking there if stressed IMHO. Perhaps I'm wrong? Are Allen bolts easily had for something like this? I only want to "restore" this Vise once and want it to be ready to go when I need it.

 

[notlob]

You should be able to find metric allen screws at a decent hardware store - the Ace hardware stores around here carry them. Unless you foresee doing a lot of piping work, I'd suggest reinstalling the pipe jaws as is.

I've had a couple of that general style vises over the years, and they are handy for light to medium work. Don't use the anvil (or any part of that vise) for serious pounding.

As you can see in scratches in the paint, that vise has had bondo applied to smooth out casting flaws and roughness. This was common in the early era of that style Asian vise. Some folks have stripped off the bondo to repaint and wished they hadn't.

I'd suggest (1) judicious use of a fine wire wheel to remove the rust on machined surfaces; (2) clean off all of the old grease, swarf, and muck; (3) regrease with a good synthetic grease (Mobil 1 or similar); and (4) reassemble and put it to work on your workbench.

IMO it is hard to justify a full restore/repaint for that vise, but if you choose to repaint, be aware of the bondo issue. In your last pic above, you can see the bondo in the large scratch, as well as cracks forming in the bondo.

Use it until you run across a smoking deal on a Reed/Wilton/Athol/Rock Island/Parker/ etc., then do your full restore.

 

[txvwnut]

I have a version of this vise I bought from Northern Tool, they’re not a quality built unit so the issues you are seeing is most likely just poor quality build processes.