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Found a sad Wilton vise today.

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supermenz

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Sep 18, 2016
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Digging through a junk pile I found this old Wilton vise today. It’s fairly obvious why it was junked but I have always wanted an old Wilton bullet vise to try to “restore”. Any chance I could do a build up weld and use it for lighter duty stuff or am I crazy to try?d8bc4506ed2ccef8a13171a61604578b.jpg7804a14937215ac34d84d3c2af0472b6.jpg


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Rabid Badger

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From the pictures it looks like both the castings have major damage. If the screw in intact maybe clean it up and keep it. You might get a deal on one with a broken screw later on.
 
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tool_scrounge

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If you have a lot more time than money, atempt to fix it. Realize resale value will be worth a bit.more than you paid , but not a lot. Otherwise sell the leadscrew and nut if they are in good shape
Judging from the condition of the rest of the vise , I suspect the leadscrew and nut have damage also.
 
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Aquaholic_user

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I would try fixing it, be a fun project too. Being it in a scrap pile I'd take it apart first. I've come across a few old bullets the have rotted insides.

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PugetDude

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Slather on a thick coat of Bondo, hit it with a flapper disc, slap a coat of paint on it, sell it on CL for crazy money and retire on the proceeds.

Odds are good the buyer will show up here on the GJ self-sucking himself and gloating about the fully restored concours-quality vintage Wilton vise he just bought on CL.
 
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B_Bimmer

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PugetDude said:
Slather on a thick coat of Bondo, hit it with a flapper disc, slap a coat of paint on it, sell it on CL for crazy money and retire on the proceeds.

Odds are good the buyer will show up here on the GJ self-sucking himself and gloating about the fully restored concours-quality vintage Wilton vise he just bought on CL.
Click to expand...

Fair chance the buyer will never actually use it and everyone will be happy for many years.
 
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mikehaugen

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hobie1dog said:
This place has driven up the price of Wiltons. People are asking 1K for them on CL now.
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Similar to how shows like "storage wars" and "american pickers" and the like has really ruined auctions for me. I hardly go anymore, as wasting a day hoping to find a deal on something I needed or wanted and coming home empty handed because everything sold for 75% of new price and higher than a decent cl deal really killed my ambition. I still go occasionally because I enjoy just being there sometimes.
 
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Maui

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Just about anything can be repaired. I purchased a similar Wilton vise several years ago that didn't have any replaceable jaws in it but the owner had apparently been clamping pieces in it anyway. So the place where the jaw inserts go were all messed up and distorted. I have a buddy who let me mount the vise on his milling machine and I cleaned up the jaw insert area. Then I machined a new set of replaceable jaws out of A2 tool steel and sent them in to Kevin Scott for vacuum heat treatment, When I got them back I surface ground the jaws, and mounted them in the vise. I can securely clamp a single sheet of paper between the jaws and it grips over the entire surface. It works beautifully. I subsequently cleaned all of the rust off of the vise (and it was covered with rust) and painted it.

You could repair this vise if you have access to the necessary machining equipment and possess the skill to use it. Short of that, you have a donor vise.

Maui
 
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Handyandy23

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Maui said:
Just about anything can be repaired. I purchased a similar Wilton vise several years ago that didn't have any replaceable jaws in it but the owner had apparently been clamping pieces in it anyway. So the place where the jaw inserts go were all messed up and distorted. I have a buddy who let me mount the vise on his milling machine and I cleaned up the jaw insert area. Then I machined a new set of replaceable jaws out of A2 tool steel and sent them in to Kevin Scott for vacuum heat treatment, When I got them back I surface ground the jaws, and mounted them in the vise. I can securely clamp a single sheet of paper between the jaws and it grips over the entire surface. It works beautifully. I subsequently cleaned all of the rust off of the vise (and it was covered with rust) and painted it.

You could repair this vise if you have access to the necessary machining equipment and possess the skill to use it. Short of that, you have a donor vise.

Maui
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I think this one is beyond being able to be machined because there is so much material missing from the stationary side. Looks like it would definitely need some material / weld added first.
 
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Maui

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On the stationary side that is broken I would machine away the broken area completely so that it is flat. Then I would machine a replacement piece that is made from steel and shape it like the section that was machined away. So the static jaw tower will look just as it did when the vise was cast. Drill and tap for at least three screws into the remaining cast iron base to secure the replacement piece in place (and braze it too if you prefer). Make a new set of replaceable jaws, and you are good to go. But that is a LOT of work to fix this vise, and I wouldn't recommend doing it. I'd just use it as a doner vise myself...
 
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exmaxima1

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Maui said:
On the stationary side that is broken I would machine away the broken area completely so that it is flat.
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+1
Except I would leave a "key" to better secure the replacement part. Then JB Weld, a few hardened roll pins, and off to the belt grinder for shaping. I fixed a vintage Record vise with a replacement slug, and it turned out great.
 

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supermenz

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Well I made some progress breaking it down. And I have some parts that are in great shape but this thing is way seized up. I think a week of penetration oil will be a decent start. Thanks for all the great ideas, I am onboard with machining it down and making a new top jaw piece. IMG_6055.jpg

And yes I broke the remaining bit of jaw off prying on it like a fool!

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Mr. Wonderful

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Supermenz,

I am currently working on a Wilton 9450 that appears to have had your same problem but on the dynamic jaw. At first I thought I was worse off because along with using the whole body of the vise as an anvil, they had welded angle iron to the top of both jaws and under where the inserts go. I am a little thankful for the angle iron now for two reasons, 1. the person appeared to be a very competent welder and 2. I now have a flat surface to mount some jaws to. I hope the jaw inserts aren't under there when I go to drill and tap holes for the jaw screws!

While your vise or mine not ever be collector quality or 100% original it's great to try to save them.

+1 to what others have said about the Wilton prices. If it wasn't for damaged examples I would have no Wiltons at all.
 
D

Dumber than lumber

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Dec 19, 2015
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PugetDude said:
Slather on a thick coat of Bondo, hit it with a flapper disc, slap a coat of paint on it, sell it on CL for crazy money and retire on the proceeds.

Odds are good the buyer will show up here on the GJ self-sucking himself and gloating about the fully restored concours-quality vintage Wilton vise he just bought on CL.
Click to expand...

That is even better than my idea.
Thanks for sparing me from sharing a less worthy plan!:lol_hitti
 
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wrenchr

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I have a 3" and the static lower jaw was broken like the top on that one. I ground it flush and drilled and tapped 2 holes and mounted a piece of steel and then blended it in with JB Weld epoxy and installed new jaws and use it in my hobby room on light stuff. Over 3 years passed and no issues. Yours will be much more difficult since that is where the jaws go.
 
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