Rare Chrome Wilton Vise

[exmaxima1]

I was picking up a woodworking vise and when I arrived the seller had a stack of other items for me to consider. Most all were Wilton brand, so I commented that he must have worked there, and it turned out that he was a product manager at Wilton for decades. When I asked if he had a bullet vise for sale, he showed me the vise he got when he retired----a fully chrome plated Wilton 450S !!

Apparently there were only 10 made, originally for Kraft Food's lab, but they changed their mind. So this is indeed a rare vise. I asked what the value might be, and $1500 was the number. Too much for me, but might be ok for the person that already has everything.

Attached is a pic of "Jim" with his very special Wilton.

 

[zoomieport]

Cool story, thanks for sharing!

 

[Ign]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329974

 

[G-ManBart]

It wouldn't cost too much to have one chromed.
A stainless one made for the food industry might be a bit harder to replicate.

Have you gotten quotes on chrome plating lately? It's pretty expensive...

 

[dutchgray]

Plus you have to factor in the polishing of the castings first so it looks good chromed. That would take ages to do.

 

[exmaxima1]

Plus you have to factor in the polishing of the castings first so it looks good chromed. That would take ages to do.

That was exactly what Jim told me---the smoothing out of the castings was extremely tedious and time consuming.

 

[T45]

I think the penny pinchers are missing the point of this thread !

Its a cool story and a neat piece of history for someone who was gifted one of these.

 

[Bcom]

Great pic exmax! Thanks for sharing. Great story too

 

[wrenchguy]

Back in the day i seen Bernie Little's chromed wiltons mounted on the front and rear on his Miss Budweiser unlimited support trucks. I got photos somewhere.

 

[Davefr]

Pretty cool story. Thanks!! I hope Jim hangs onto that vise.

 

[Bobioz1]

Considering what people are paying for baby bullets these days, $1500 seems like a fair price for that. Only 10 ever made, retirement gift to Wilton employee. Could there be a more rare Wilton Bullet vise?

 

[cajunfirehawk]

Like G-ManBart said, not to sidetrack this awesome story, the chemical process for chrome plating has sky rocketed in recent years due to all of the EPA regs, the latest fad seems to be a water based process...none the less, killer story about "Jim"... these days working any place for over 10-15 yrs is unheard of, I bet dusting and polishing that would be a pain!

 

[Dozerhand]

I think quite possibly that could be a solid investment. If you could get all the documentation that says it was all factory made, only 10 were produced, and a big plus would be if the seller had a picture of it being awarded to him. IF the vice collecting craze continues that piece will do nothing but go up in value. After a while the advanced collectors (the guys with money) run out of stuff to buy and will really pay up for something they don't have. After all he only wants about double of what a new one costs, so there will always be a floor value to it. Also maybe he would take a little less if you were serious.

 

[FJ 432]

To the OP,

Would he sell it for 1,500?

 

[exmaxima1]

To the OP,

Would he sell it for 1,500?

I think he would for sure. As I was leaving with my stash of tools, he made it clear that he would sell it if I was interested.

PS, are you asking because you somehow knew I was driving to Denver over the holidays??

 

[F124C]

OP did you ask "Jim" if he had any old Wilton warranty stickers/waterslide transfers? (ref. recent thread about making same)

 

[exmaxima1]

OP did you ask "Jim" if he had any old Wilton warranty stickers/waterslide transfers? (ref. recent thread about making same)

****, I didn't even think about that....

I didn't see alot of parts like that lying around. Mainly complete tools, small vises, etc. When I saw a couple of Wilton C-2 shipping boxes on a shelf I certainly inquired---but they were empty. Damn

 

[FJ 432]

PS, are you asking because you somehow knew I was driving to Denver over the holidays??

Damn it. What's my decision window?

 

[exmaxima1]

Damn it. What's my decision window?

It probably is too late. I head out early Thursday morning.

 

[FJ 432]

It probably is too late. I head out early Thursday morning.

Yep. He probably doesn't have a paypal account but I think owning something like that would be pretty cool considering it belonged to him.

Hopefully your treasures from him was equally as cool.

I believe his value is fair.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Wow, all I can say is wow, I would love to have that, but not in my shop, I am not a tool polisher. And that needs to go to a tool polisher and be displayed with pride. Thank you for posting. Just WOW.

 

[RStewart]

That Jim is one lucky guy. Hope he has family he can leave it to and that they appreciate what it is.

 

[Dozerhand]

That Jim is one lucky guy. Hope he has family he can leave it to and that they appreciate what it is.

That's probably the sad part of the story. If he had sons or grandsons, or even some younger good friends that appreciated that vice like he does he would probably never consider selling it. He's probably at the point in his life he would like to see his special piece go to a good home, but he dosnt know where that home is.

 

[LXCam]

Precious.



And that is a very cool story. My neighbor a couple doors down is a retired machinist and has one hell of a collection of cool tools and vintage cars and no one to pass them down too. He's stated many times when he goes it'll all be auctioned off.

 

[2oolhound]

Wow, all I can say is wow, I would love to have that, but not in my shop, I am not a tool polisher. And that needs to go to a tool polisher and be displayed with pride. Thank you for posting. Just WOW.

I think there's a place for it in a lot of shops. I know in my long narrow shop all the cutting and grinding etc where airborne materials are produced is kept separate from the other end where engine and transmissions are assembled. The vises at that end get no where near the abuse that the ones in the welding grinding machining end get. Looking at a lot of the shops guys here have I think the vise could lead a very useful life in someones hot rod or custom bike shop. I know I'd love it in mine but unfortunately like many others here, I have priorities for that $1500.

Reminds me of a guy who worked in the forestry up north. He had a 966 cat loader that was 1/2 chrome. When I talked to him about it he shrugged saying he just did one cover or piece at a time. As a finish it beats powder coat. Crud pretty well just slides off.

 

[Roberts210]

That chrome Wilton is definitely worth $1,500 if it came with authentication, and I bet the owner could come up with the paperwork and maybe an original picture of his receiving it.

As far as a stainless Wilton, I don't believe cast S.S. would be as strong psi as the cast iron they used in their machinists vises.

 

[drivesitfar]

EX: a lot of us would have loved to be a fly on the wall for the chatting that took place about Jim's history at Wilton and you talking about his tools.

while i don't NEED another vise i'd happily pay $1500 for one like that if i didn't need a welder, new trailer and a few other essentials.

not that you could make anything or get your money back quickly, but you might want to buy it to give Jim some needed funds and just have it sitting on your bench for a while.

cheers

 

[exmaxima1]

not that you could make anything or get your money back quickly, but you might want to buy it to give Jim some needed funds and just have it sitting on your bench for a while.

cheers

LOL, I think it's pretty funny that you believe I have that kind of excess cash lying around.....

BTW, I suspect that Jim doesn't really need the money. He lives in a very upscale village, all custom homes, and he was a director for several companies. Plus President of American Machinery something-or-other (I took a pic of the fancy Kennedy chest they awarded him with). He'll be fine even if that Wilton just sits there another decade or so.

 

[drivesitfar]

EX: maybe it's because i've never been to China and i think you've been there several times since i've been here on GJ. i know that it's business for the China trips or mostly i'm guessing.

i know it's much easier to buy a Reed 2c for $50 that to plunk down $1500 for a showpiece, but i would wager more members like FJ have interest in owning that Chromed Wilton bullet.

just curious if you do have time to chat with Jim again can you ask him WTF was with all the stamp dating systems they used. Also why were patent pending vises sold in 1945 which i think we figured out and why baby bullets were stamped into the 1980's? did they make baby bullets after Wilton moved from Chicago?

Jim might not be old enough, but it would nice to be able to hear from an employee instead of all our speculation with some of the facts gathered.

cheers and hope you have a great holiday chrome vise or not!!

 

[G-ManBart]

I think the penny pinchers are missing the point of this thread !

Its a cool story and a neat piece of history for someone who was gifted one of these.

Who's being a penny pincher? Two of us just said that it would be expensive to replicate...both the chrome and time to get it prepared for chrome.

At that point it still would still be a replica, and not the real deal like this one is.

Even if you could replicate one for far less, it's still a replica that wouldn't be worth significantly more than the stock vise would normally be.

 

[exmaxima1]

just curious if you do have time to chat with Jim again can you ask him WTF was with all the stamp dating systems they used. Also why were patent pending vises sold in 1945 which i think we figured out and why baby bullets were stamped into the 1980's? did they make baby bullets after Wilton moved from Chicago?

Jim might not be old enough, but it would nice to be able to hear from an employee instead of all our speculation with some of the facts gathered.

cheers and hope you have a great holiday chrome vise or not!!

That is a great idea to ask Jim about that. I had learned about where the Wilton machines were made, and who they made them for (for example, Dayton). And where the vises are currently made (the castings are actually machined in Elgin IL, about 10 miles north of me). And some of the products they made for other companies, like the Craftsman Multi Screwdriver that Bob Vila hawks. He really is a fountain of knowledge, so when I get back from my holiday in Colorado I will contact him and ask about the dating. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Bcom]

Whats jims address? I want that chrome piece of art!

 

[Derek420]

Lol I hear that^^^^^^^^but I got 6 little kids

 

[calandrod]

Did that thing ever sell? Been a few years but I am quite curious as to what happened.