Record 23 Vice restoration

[czechboy]

Hi all,
Having spent the past 6 months trawling through the "show me your vises" thread I have caught the bug.
I'm going to keep it short. Last week I picked up a 1970's record 23 and started the restoration.

Here it is after I bought it home. Its solid, no slop, but in need of some TLC:

After some wire wheel action to get rid of surface rust and degraded paint:

I then took it apart. Due to it having a quick release mechanism there are slightly more parts to it then usual:

Main screw is still in mint condition:

Made in England

Jaw screws needed extracting. Impact screwdriver, wd40, blowtorch and vice grips later I had both out, cause no damage to the orginal thread:

Slide polished:

Handle polished:

Everything masked up ready for powder coaters:

The paint show then shot blasted it, painted it and baked it on. Here are the results:

And here is my 40year old new vice. Everything greased, sealed and it truly works like new:

Thanks for reading.

Mig

 

[canuckian]

Great job on the Record! Should serve you well for many decades! I have to get my **** in gear and redo the 6" record I have.

 

[PCO6]

That looks great! I really like the quick release. I have several Records but none (except for my wood vice) with that feature. We don't see a lot of that style of Records around here. Where are you located?

 

[cowboy73]

That is truly beautiful! Great job on the vice. I'm still looking for a big old vise to restore.

 

[matthew]

That is beautiful. Gotta love those English Records...

 

[Sparkfarmer]

That powder coat looks great! How much was the powder coat it if you don't mind me asking?

Looks really good .

 

[GSteg]

I misinterpreted the title. I thought you restored a record amount of 23 vices

Love the restoration. Looks like new!!

 

[Monte]

very nice !!

 

[gatewaysysop]

Awesome restoration!

 

[Jarhead0408]

Great looking vice man.
Can't believe some people haul them to the scrap yard.

 

[Muffduster]

I misinterpreted the title. I thought you restored a record amount of 23 vices

Oh that's epic.

 

[PCO6]

I misinterpreted the title. I thought you restored a record amount of 23 vices

 

[Freeborn John]

Nice. The casting is very crisp, best I've seen on a Record.
Rounded screw end and squared off handle ends, that's a new combination.
Don't suppose you know exactly how old it is?

 

[czechboy]

That powder coat looks great! How much was the powder coat it if you don't mind me asking?.

Looks really good .

I got it done for free at one of our suppliers' shops, but normally I think they would charge about £30. Well worth it IMO because the paint is almost indestructable now. The thick baked on coat took me 30minutes to scape off from a tiny part I forgot to mask off.

Nice. The casting is very crisp, best I've seen on a Record.
Rounded screw end and squared off handle ends, that's a new combination.
Don't suppose you know exactly how old it is?

Not exactly but the sellers father had it in his shop for over 25+ years, and then his son had it lying around in his garage for 10 years before deciding to sell it. So at a guess anything between 35-45 years old. Would love to date it if anyone knows how??

That looks great! I really like the quick release. I have several Records but none (except for my wood vice) with that feature. We don't see a lot of that style of Records around here. Where are you located?

I'm from the Uk. There are no Wiltons here but luckily plenty of Records. It is unbelievable how handy the quick release feature is, yet how solid the whole vice is.

Thanks for all the comments, keep them coming

Mig

 

[craggus2000]

Hi mig, sorry for resurrecting this thread, amazing restoration!

I will be attempting one of these soon, and am in the UK. Can you tell me where you got the powder coating done please?

 

[ndoran]

I have a Record vice of the same size - mine no longer has nice paint on it and the handle is no longer straight. The vice works great and gets lots of hard use without a murmur - but she gets the job done

 

[Outlawmws]

Hi mig, sorry for resurrecting this thread, amazing restoration!

I will be attempting one of these soon, and am in the UK. Can you tell me where you got the powder coating done please?

I'm glad you did, cause...

I got it done for free at one of our suppliers' shops, but normally I think they would charge about £30. Well worth it IMO because the paint is almost indestructable now. The thick baked on coat took me 30minutes to scape off from a tiny part I forgot to mask off.


Not exactly but the sellers father had it in his shop for over 25+ years, and then his son had it lying around in his garage for 10 years before deciding to sell it. So at a guess anything between 35-45 years old. Would love to date it if anyone knows how??


I'm from the Uk. There are no Wiltons here but luckily plenty of Records. It is unbelievable how handy the quick release feature is, yet how solid the whole vice is.

Thanks for all the comments, keep them coming

Mig

Use the search function, but most everyone agrees, Flowers and dinner work best, but any mounting, please do in private!

 

[CudaChick1968]

LOL @ Outlaw ....... I know I can't speak for everybody in my line of work but ya might even get your uhhhh vice coated for free too trying that approach.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Awesome, great attention to detail.

 

[oldldh]

Ya dun gud, bubba!!!

 

[Outlawmws]

LOL @ Outlaw ....... I know I can't speak for everybody in my line of work but ya might even get your uhhhh vice coated for free too trying that approach.

To bad your shop is so far away!

 

[czechboy]

Thanks for all the comments peeps. The vice has been serving me great for the past year. I have also taken restored couple more in the meantime.

Below is a mid-restoration shot of a Record #3 Vice



I have also recently picked up another #23 so will post some before/after shots when done.

Thanks

Mig

 

[kraneman]

Superb resto

 

[bob_the_builder]

czechboy, very nice vice restoration. Last week I picked up a used No 6 vice and after seeing you pictures I would like to also restore it.

Doing some searching on the site I found how to take the vice apart but I was wondering if you have any tips on how to get it back together. My main concern is lining up the pin that is located on the bottom side of the vice.

Bob

 

[Dave455]

That's a really nice job!

You might shame me into doing mine sometime!

 

[7th Kahuna]

Nice work Czechboy. Your pictures remind me of a Record my grandfather had in his shop when I was a kid. I have been keeping my eyes open for one but they aren't as common over here. One day. Keep up the good work and thanks for posting.

 

[BonM]

Hi guys, first post on here so be gentle!

I've got my hands on my Grandfather's old Record 23 vice. I've got a pal that will shot blast it for me too! I've stripped it down but as I was doing it I noticed a washer dropped out when I took the main screw & handle out. I've been going through putting back together in my mind, but I can't work out where this washer goes! Can anyone offer any suggestions/advice?

Thanks in advance!

 

[czechboy]

Am am restoring a second #23 as we speak. I will try and get a photo for you tonight. As far as I remember the washer (about 30mm dia with 10mm hole) fits right at the back of the main screws and is there so you cannot slide out the lower jaw completely out of the vice.
Like I said I will try get a photo for you

Mig

 

[czechboy]

I double checked and it's as I stated earlier. Basically the washer just sits on the very end of the screw. There is no split pin or circlip to hold it in place, as once you bolt the the quick release lever with its cover back on, the screw and washer have nowhere to go

 

[czechboy]

As mentioned I am now doing another one. Couple of progress pics.
Before (after an initial wipe down):

Dismantled and wire wheeled;

Washer and quick release mechanism bits after couple of coats:

More progress pics tomorrow

Thanks

Mig

 

[czechboy]

Managed to get some more progress done.
Vice during further cleaning up:

After now after 3 coats:

Still have to polish up and reassemble the main screw and I will be done.

In the meantime I have been overhauling an old jack I picked up for £5.
This is what it looked like after I picked it up:

I then split it into individual components, cleaned them all up, repainted them, greased up all the pivoting contact points, topped up hydraulic oil and reassembled.

During paint process

And here is what it looks like now. Not bad for £5.

Thanks

Mig

 

[czechboy]

Happy to report that the third vice is now complete.
Couple of shots below:

Thanks for reading

Mig

 

[jdandcoke]

Hi I really like the look of your work. What do you use to stop the jaws and the slide from rusting. I've got a record 84 and a record 50 I plan on restoring

 

[Canadian Charlie]

Nice resoration, I have a Record 5 vice and love it

 

[czechboy]

Thanks. I have now also done an even older record 34 which has a more of a tubular design.I will post up some pics in the next day or so.
As for fighting off rust, i use some lithium grease for all the bare slides and contact points, and wipe down the jaws with wd40. This has proven to work perfectly for the past year or so.

 

[Fretters]

Nice work. That 34 should be a nice project. Been tempted myself to get a 3* series model for a while, but resisted upto just. 4" jaws on that one?

 

[jdandcoke]

I had considered hot bluing the 84 but have decided to have a go at powder coating it myself once I get round to making the oven. trying to decide on which blue to do it in as i want to get as close as I can to the original roundel blue

 

[Fretters]

I had considered hot bluing the 84 but have decided to have a go at powder coating it myself once I get round to making the oven. trying to decide on which blue to do it in as i want to get as close as I can to the original roundel blue

I personally like Schwarzblau, (black/blue), for the Record's. Seems to be an almost perfect match for the Woden colour too. Can never remember if the Record's were slightly lighter than the Woden's or not though?

 

[Sunbimmer]

I'm gonna use this thread as an inspiration to restoring my Record vice. Love this

 

[jdandcoke]

Apparently they were RAF roundel blue which was the blue circle post 1938. Colour chart number BS381 110. Its probably surplus paint that which left over from WW2. Same as Land Rover green was the colour from aircraft cockpits I believe