Is this a Frankenstein Wilton?

[Electron2002]

I have been rebuilding a 3.5" Wilton bullet vise. The base casting is marked Chicago and has a cast model number of 9350. My understanding has been that they moved to the Schiller Park location in 1957, which would mean the vise had to be from before then.

When I inspected the bottom of the dynamic jaw I found a stamped date of 6.30.60. A date well after the move to Schiller Park.

When I began wire wheeling the layers of old paint off, I found another number cast into the dynamic jaw 835.

The dynamic jaw lines up very well to the fixed jaw and for all intensive purposes looks like it belongs there.

Is there any history of them double marking those components like that?

My understanding is that the 835 was basically the same as a 9350, but with a fixed base. My vise has the swivel base.

Pics below.

Thoughts?

 

[bobcatdan]

I'm not an expert, but can be dangerous. Your date stamp is very likly the warranty end date, so it was made 5 years before. This isn't a hard set rule, but generally correct. As to the difference between a swivel and fix base, take the lower base off, now you have a fixed, there is no difference between the upper body. Why the different numbers, I don't know. Factory opps, dyanamic jaw has been replaced, or it is perfectly normal

 

[Electron2002]

I suppose my comment regarding the difference between the fixed base model and the swivel based model may have been a little vague with my regard to my own knowledge of the design difference. I know that the swivel base is just an attachment that converts a fixed base. But I digress.

I have heard about the possibility that the date stamp might be an indicator of a warranty expiration as opposed to a build date. But I believe I have also seen examples where the date was definitively found to be a build date, which leaves a cloud of confusion over the discussion.

But lets assume you are correct and it is indicating a warranty expiration date and that the vise was built in 1955. That would like up well for the "Chicago" casting on the base. Problem is, the date stamp is on the dynamic jaw, which also has a different model number cast on it. If the dynamic jaw was a repair part, would it have come with a date stamp on the bottom rail? Or, would the rail have possibly been transferred over from the original jaw?

 

[Electron2002]

Okay I feel a bit better now. I found this thread on here and in this specific post, it very clearly shows a 9350 that has an 835 cast on the dynamic jaw.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1391626&postcount=10

 

[Catalyze]

Vise companies had lots of inventory. Sometimes they had a lot of dynamic jaws (moveable ones) from a vise model X. They ran out of dynamic jaws marked Y. Vise models X and Y are the exact same thing except X was stationary and Y was a swivel base. They aren't going to stop making vise model Y when they can just use X's dynamic jaw. Prentiss did this so much that they double marked their dynamic jaws with both stationary and swive base numbers. Make one moveable jaw and 2 different bases. Less inventory to make vises. Sometimes vise makers would change a model number and use old parts with old numbers until they ran out of them. Parker changed numbering systems several times and they didn't throw old numbered jaws out. So you may just have a "crossover" vise from Wilton. History is a guessing game sometimes.
Craig