Restoring a Wilton Cadet 4.5" 9145

[fishwatcher]

I picked up an old Wilton Cadet and am doing my first vise restore. I bought it for $150 and hope that's a decent price for it.

All parts are functional, but well used. The stationary jaw support has a chunk out of it, which you can see in this picture. The jaws are custom made with v grooves to hold round items.



I've scrubbed it down with degreaser, wire wheeled or sanded most of the paint off (98%-ish), and cleaned it with brush cleaner and mineral spirits. I think it's ready for paint, although while I'm waiting for time and proper temperatures to do that.. I have rubbed it down with some Tuf Glide.

I have purchased Rustoleum Universal hammer finish spray paint, which combines primer and paint. Anybody use this with success? Do you still use a primer or trust the product and skip additional primer?


The cleats don't match. Any idea which are the original? I'm guessing the one on the bottom. The one on top looks funky and that bolt is fixed in the cleat. Both are still functional.. so I'm not bothered about this.. just curious what it was supposed to be.

Also, what parts of the base do you paint? All of it? What about the cleats? And the serrated/saw-like lock ring parts? I am thinking of not painting the smooth surfaces that are rotated against and just using grease there.


The main parts after cleaning. There are still some minor remnants of old paint that have been hard to remove. Will I need to get it off 100%?

 

[evintho]

Awhile back I restored the same Wilton 4.5" vise. Check out my resto thread. You may find some useable tips in there. Great vise BTW!

As promised.......Wilton vise restoration thread.

Here it is. This was a pretty straightforward restoration. Thank God, 'cause it's also my first! When I picked up this 4.5" Wilton, model #9145 off of craigslist it was in pretty good shape. It opened and closed smoothly with no binding and virtually zero play. Over the years it had been...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[fishwatcher]

Awhile back I restored the same Wilton 4.5" vise. Check out my resto thread. You may find some useable tips in there. Great vise BTW!

As promised.......Wilton vise restoration thread.

Here it is. This was a pretty straightforward restoration. Thank God, 'cause it's also my first! When I picked up this 4.5" Wilton, model #9145 off of craigslist it was in pretty good shape. It opened and closed smoothly with no binding and virtually zero play. Over the years it had been...

www.garagejournal.com

I think this is the 3rd time I've been through that post. It's a classic!

 

[jshillin]

I sold one last year. It was nice, but I had too many Wilton's.

 

[fishwatcher]

Would using JB weld or some other metal epoxy work to recreate the chunk of jaw shelf that is missing? I would use masking tape on the bottom of the jaw and on the side to create a mold. After drying I would use hand tools like a file and sand paper to shape it.

Is it worth attempting this? I’m not selling it.. and would likely remember not to bang on anything in this vise. Worse case, the JB weld chunk breaks off and then I’m no worse than what I started with. Is this right?

I was not planning to drill into the shelf and use any dowels. Is that necessary? I also don’t have rhe equipment or experience to braze or weld. Not knowing anybody who does, I’m guessing the cost to pay somebody to do this would not be worth it.

 

[fishwatcher]

It’s been a while, but I’ve taken a few steps forward in this Wilton Cadet restore.

First, I decided not to try and JB Weld “fix” the chipped jaw shelf. This is going to be a light-use user vise and I won’t be banging anything very heavy against this vise.

Here it is taped and primed with Rustoleum Clean Metal primer. Looking back, I should have held out (or looked harder) for a grey or black primer because after peeling the tape, I see a little white primer peeking out in places.

Hopefully this is fine and in the end I can touch up any remaining white I see.



Next, I polished up these steel bits. I used a combination of wire wheel on a new-to-me bench grinder, sand paper and micro mesh of various grits for the jaws (MIA in this picture), and a polishing wheel.

And today with hopefully warm enough weather in the forecast (highs in mid 60’s, outside low of 47 this week, 75-85 this weekend), I put on two coats of Rustoleum Stops Rust gloss enamel in Sail Blue with a spray can. My original plan was to use Rustoleum Universal in gloss black, but I ended up using that for a Bullet 9300 restore. With this vise, I am trying to match the colors of my Park Tools.



I went with two coats, maybe two and a half in some places, so will wait a few days at least, maybe through the weekend, before I grease and re-assemble.

I wasn’t planning on a clear coat, but if that’s highly recommended.. I can go out and buy a spray can with any recommendations I learn about.

Thx for reading and for the tips I’ve gleaned along the way.

 

[fishwatcher]

And it’s back together again. My paint job is far from perfect. The white primer shows in a few places. Not all of the white is primer though, I used white lithium grease.

I definitely like the hammered black gloss I used on a 3” Bullet last month better.

I used a Sharpie silver metallic marker on the main lettering, but the color doesn’t stand out. I’ll look for a bright white paint pen this weekend and hopefully that’ll look better.

 

[fishwatcher]

I finally finished this restore. It’s the first vise restore I ever started and the second one I’ve completed.

I used a primer this time vs on my Bullet I went with a Universal paint and primer in one.

I’m curious to see which one ends up being more durable.



White painted lettering definitely stands out better against the gloss sail blue than the silver metallic I tried originally.

 

[fishwatcher]

Today, I swapped out the stock swivel locks with 1/2”-13 acorn nuts and washers. I think they look good. Especially since the swivel locks had hack saw scars.

A 3/4” wrench loosens or tightens them easily. I think I need to be careful not to over torque them given the amount of force a wrench can apply vs the stock swivel locks.

 

[kkrbell]

Minor restoration of an inaugural year Wilton Cadet

 

[fishwatcher]

Minor restoration of an inaugural year Wilton Cadet

Very cool! Thanks for sharing and great job bringing it back to life.

 

[fishwatcher]

Would using JB weld or some other metal epoxy work to recreate the chunk of jaw shelf that is missing? I would use masking tape on the bottom of the jaw and on the side to create a mold. After drying I would use hand tools like a file and sand paper to shape it.

Is it worth attempting this? I’m not selling it.. and would likely remember not to bang on anything in this vise. Worse case, the JB weld chunk breaks off and then I’m no worse than what I started with. Is this right?

I was not planning to drill into the shelf and use any dowels. Is that necessary? I also don’t have rhe equipment or experience to braze or weld. Not knowing anybody who does, I’m guessing the cost to pay somebody to do this would not be worth it.

I finally did it. I bought some epoxy putty for another repair and had some left over. I applied it to the broken jaw of my Cadet (no dowel or screw for added strength) and while far from perfect.. it sure feels like it’s a solid fix. I don’t think this part of the jaw gets much pressure.. so it should be okay. Especially since this vise is only used for light duties.

Tonight I hit the vise with some paint.. and here are the results. I didn’t apply enough to file it down properly.. but I think it’s a slight improvement over the chipped jaw.


Here’s what I used.

 

[1982fxr]

I've never seen a cleat like the top one. Every wilton clear I've ever seen is like the bottom one.

I've never had a Cadet apart though.

 

[fishwatcher]

Ya, it came with two different cleats. I never knew which was the original. Thx for pointing that out. Works fine though.