To new what to do Wilton 350 base

[kentium4]

Hello thanks for the add to the fourm.
Got a little surprise at work when a coworker asked me if I wanted an old vice, he said it was rusty and he was going to throw it away. I said sure bring it in. I’d love to take a look at it. Obviously, he didn’t know what it was but just thought I would like it well lo and behold. It’s a vintage Wilton 350 my problem is it’s missing the base, from what I see it’s the 10104050 or something like that at $200 to $300 is there an option for this vise with a more reasonable price point.

 

[elmer]

Bolt it down and use it without a swivel.

 

[Mike007]

Bolt it down and use it without a swivel.

Absolutely. Thats about the deal of the century. A free Wilton machinist vise.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Third vote for bolt it down. I had a non swivel vise for decades. It worked fine.

 

[kentium4]

Bolt it down and use it without a swivel.

lol easy peasy

 

[kentium4]

I took a brush to it looks a little better,
Works awesome

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Hard to beat a free bullet vise! Slide on that one looks near pristine where it was protected by the vise being closed tight while exposed to the rust monster. Bolted down and used is an excellent way to enjoy it for now and if a basket case 350 with a swivel base ever turns up cheap, you buy it.

 

[FJ 432]

If you pull the dynamic jaw almost all the way out you find a date if you're interested on the bottom. Welcome and you **** for receiving a free vise that is very nice.

 

[Shiftless]

Congrats on scoring such a nice vise.

May I suggest cranking the moveable jaw all the way out and cleaning and re lubricating the slide and the inside of the vise. That one is about 50 years old and likely has not had any maintenance.

If you want to upgrade the appearance and retard further rusting, I suggest wiping a thin coat of boiled linseed oil onto the painted surfaces. That will wake up the tired greenish paint.

 

[kentium4]

Congrats on scoring such a nice vise.

May I suggest cranking the moveable jaw all the way out and cleaning and re lubricating the slide and the inside of the vise. That one is about 50 years old and likely has not had any maintenance.

If you want to upgrade the appearance and retard further rusting, I suggest wiping a thin coat of boiled linseed oil onto the painted surfaces. That will wake up the tired greenish paint.

Should I give it a bath in white vinegar? It’s still kinda rusty but seems only surface rust

 

[elmer]

Non swivel vise sometimes works better when your really reefing on something.

 

[Shiftless]

Should I give it a bath in white vinegar? It’s still kinda rusty but seems only surface rust

I would not do that. If the surface rust bothers you after you wipe it with the boiled linseed oil, you can do more work with a wire brush,
A thin coat of BLO will harden up in a few days and give a nice sheen to the old paint. Some refer to that look as “patina”. If you want it to look closer to new, you can paint it with your favorite color or paint to match your toolbox, or favorite sports team colors.

A popular color for us Wilton bullet fans is Rustoleum Verde Green. That is close to the factory color for models from that time period. Here is a picture from long ago when I first got my Wilton C1 that is now on my workbench and getting banged up and dirty.
This is the repaint using that Verde Green paint. The old jaws were replaced with new ones you see in this pic.

 

[seber]

That vise was not meant to have a separate base. The bottom of swivel base vises were machined with a shoulder to rotate inside the swivel base.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Not necessarily....Plenty of flat bottom bullets that can fit a swivel base. I have noticed some of the square Wiltons have a raised radius base for swivel alignment instead of center pivot point.

 

[seber]

I recently obtained one of the fixed base types and found a swivel base on line. It works but when you loosen the tie downs, the vise rolls around all over. It must be aligned by hand before the screws are tightened. When I get time, I'll add a disk to the bottom to keep it centered.

 

[nutjob]

I recently obtained one of the fixed base types and found a swivel base on line. It works but when you loosen the tie downs, the vise rolls around all over. It must be aligned by hand before the screws are tightened. When I get time, I'll add a disk to the bottom to keep it centered.

The vise needs a pin in the center and the inner ring pivots on that to prevent what you are experiencing. The inner ring should have the pin in it.

Kevin

 

[seber]

The vise needs a pin in the center and the inner ring pivots on that to prevent what you are experiencing. The inner ring should have the pin in it.

Kevin

That looks nice, but the base has no inner ring. The locks are two independent pawls.

 

[nutjob]

That looks nice, but the base has no inner ring. The locks are two independent pawls.

Does it look like this?



Does the bottom of the vise look like this?



Some of the old vises were different than what I posted first. I think you have some combination of old / new ?


Kevin

 

[nutjob]

Not necessarily....Plenty of flat bottom bullets that can fit a swivel base. I have noticed some of the square Wiltons have a raised radius base for swivel alignment instead of center pivot point.

I missed this post and this is what I was trying to say in my above post.

Kevin

 

[seber]

I thought about pulling the vise off the bench but I am busy with another project and that 100 pound ball buster just looked like too much work. So I will try to describe what is there. The base of the vise is totally flat with a mounting hole on either side. No center hole, no machined boss. This vise was made to be mounted with no swivel base. The base that I have is marked Wilton and is one piece with a five inch opening in the center. The locking pawls (two) are just free hanging from the carriage bolt on each side.