Current project: Wilton 9400

[woodgeek]

I've been wanting a proper vise for a while and came up with this one. I probably overpaid for it but I'm happy with how it's coming along. Not being able to try it before pulling the trigger, I was happy with its operation when it arrived last week. All of the important pieces are there and everything functions smoothly.

I used paint stripper to soften the layers of old paint, then a wire wheel attached to my drill to get rid of the stripper and paint. The rust was handled using Klean Strip Concrete and Metal Prep.

A before pic from the ad:




Some in-progress pics:

 

[Shiftless]

That looks like a really good one. Nice score!

You did a great job getting cleaning it up and all apart. Many times that’s not easy.

 

[woodgeek]

That looks like a really good one. Nice score!

You did a great job getting cleaning it up and all apart. Many times that’s not easy.

Thanks!

I'm trying to take my time and not rush it. Taking pics to document the process helps slow things down.

 

[Jayman17]

What method did you use to remove the 2 pins that hold the spindle nut? I’ve read on here that can be a challenge. Good looking vise...

Jay

 

[woodgeek]

Thanks Jay. I’m really happy with it.

I used a punch to drive the pins into the nut, far enough to remove the nut from the vise body. Because the pins were in no way lined up, their axes actually formed the shape of a V inside the nut, I wasn’t sure how to get them out. I wanted to reuse them so I didn’t try cutting them.

I used a punch, oriented down the bore of nut, to gently knock out one pin. The other was canted the wrong direction, so I used a piece of rebar from the opposite end to gently knock it out. It didn’t take a lot of force. I was afraid of bending the pins or fracturing the nut so I proceeded pretty gingerly.

 

[woodgeek]

Progress: it’s impossible to find hammered verde green or light blue so I went with silver.

 

[Roberts210]

Nice job. Very nice. Care to say what you paid for it? Whatever you paid, these old Wiltons are priceless to those of us who love and use them.

 

[woodgeek]

Thank you for the compliment. It cost around $250 shipped. I can’t wait to use it. I probably invested 4 to 6 hrs in rehabilitating it.