GJ drooling + impulsive craigslisting = 3 new projects

[browntown]

In the short time I've been here I've found a new appreciation for interesting tools. So, I've been buying **** off craigslist with reckless abandon, and I'm sure I have overpaid. Just wanted to share the "before" of three of my latest relationship killers. These are the before pics, I will be bringing them to their further glory over the summer

Snap-on 50th anniversary box in faded gold. Snazzy. Bust out the bell-bottoms. I might try to wax it with carwax to bring back its luster. Did people pay extra for this in the day?

Poly brand arbor. This thing I believe was intended for lapidary use. It has a 1" axle. Unfortunately the bearings were shot and I pounded them out and am awaiting new ones in the mail. Thankfully they were a common size. I'll hook up a surplus motor I took off a swamp cooler, and put on a 10" wire wheel and a 10" buffing wheel when done.

Finally. All the vise restorations around here got me jonesing for a good vise. Found a woden b/3 vise. It has a massive swivel base for the small 3" jaws, but it was made in england (I think woden was a pre-cursor to record) and somebody spraypainted it gold at somepoint. I'll strip it down, paint and lube it. It has a weird spring mechanism on the worm gear. Can anyone tell me what thats for?

OK thanks for reading, on to the crappy pics:

 

[Lump]

Yeah, bring on the pics!

 

[Rando]

yes bring them on

 

[browntown]

pics up, was getting errors the first time around

 

[Catamount]

GJ is dangerous, isn't it? In just a few weeks it convinced me to start restoring vises AND buy an expensive SO tool chest. This could end up being the most expensive website I'm a member of.

 

[Thumper]

Love the gold Snappy box !!

 

[Esoxhunter46]

That Gold Snap on box is very cool!!

 

[Cezza]

Hey browntown, Thought you might find this interesting:

According to a workbench book I own, Woden was one of the first makers of the parallel jaw vise in Britain.
The company started in approx 1870. It was two of the founders' sons who left Woden and set up their own company (apparently copying the Woden tool line as they weren't protected by patent) which would become Record tools. Record went on to absorb the Woden company in the 50's.

I have an old Woden myself. Built to last a lifetime!

 

[browntown]

I forgot to update you guys. I rebuilt the arbor with new bearings and mounted it to a piece of wood with an old swamp cooler motor running the belt. Wired up a switch, put a big ole' wire wheel on one end, and a polishing wheel on the other.

The woden vice got stripped and primed, then sprayed with the 'rust tough' black paint I had lying around. Polished up the handles and top of the anvil. My garage has a pole set in the concrete in front of the water heater which I think is a safety code so you don't roll your car into the water heater. Anywho, I welded up a perch for the vice onto the pole:

 

[Lump]

Nicely done! I think you may have just convinced me to keep my big old Record vise.

 

[DanCo]

Love the gold box

 

[spongerich]

It has a weird spring mechanism on the worm gear. Can anyone tell me what thats for?

If it's like the Records, it's a release that lets you slide the jaw freely so you can adjust it without cranking on the handle endlessly.

 

[Even 11]

Cool old Vise!, nice resto. I think i have a Woden around here somewhere too

-Dane

 

[glenmore]

Next? An anvil!