vintage wilton project

[brianmorey410]

I lucked into this Wilton 9400 this week. My dad found it at an estate "pre-sale" and got it for $25, yes you read that correctly! He called me immediately because he knew I have been searching for one for a long time. He let me have it for his $25 back and here I am. I got it completely disassembled this afternoon, ready for restoration.

 

[McBrownie]

Nice vise! If you could post the pictures on this thread, the guys trying to track down the GUAR EXP dates would appreciate it.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=269079

 

[69supercj]

Congrats!!

 

[drivesitfar]

Brian: if you would maybe post a few before and after pictures with a little outline on how you took your Wilton Bullet apart and then what you did to spiff it up. it looks fairly clean for a 1959 vise and please post the slide and both sides of the vise on the wilton vise stamp thread because we are still gathering information to see how these awesome vises were dated at the factory.

also just in case you didn't already know it you didn't overpay for that vise.

cheers

 

[brianmorey410]

I will get the pics posted on the wilton thread on Monday. My home laptop is broken and it took me nearly half an hour to get this post started from my phone. Hoping to get it cleaned up and ready for paint tomorrow.

 

[bluebolt]

Thanks so much! I added it to the database. The cool thing is that is the latest GUAR EXP date so far. The previous date with GUAR EXP was 6/30/1964. Your date was important because it closed a gap in the dates.

And $25, you ****!

 

[PugetDude]

Only 8 posts and already YOU ****!
You're obviously an overachiever...

 

[brianmorey410]

That's cool, glad it was a help! I'm still stunned I got it for that price. I missed on one at an auction for $75 last summer and was bummed about that.

 

[brianmorey410]

Anyone know what the proper lubricant is to use on this vise for reassembly?

 

[drivesitfar]

Brian: there are lots of choices for lubricants and if you read the vise repair 101 thread you'll find several. of course i don't expect you to read 1000 posts to get your answer so i put a few of the choices in one of the first 10 posts of that thread that some of the members use.

you can also post your vise pictures and vise on that thread and ask the same question and maybe there is a new product we can add to that list since that thread will get a lot more views over time than this one of yours.

 

[BJ42LX]

Anyone know what the proper lubricant is to use on this vise for reassembly?

Mobil 1 Synthetic Grease

It's been 17 hours since your first post. Where are the pics of the finished product?

 

[brianmorey410]

Mobil 1 Synthetic Grease

It's been 17 hours since your first post. Where are the pics of the finished product?

Don't I wish! Finally all prepped and ready for paint. Went to 4 different stores this afternoon and no one had the hammered verde green. Here are a couple of more picsafter prep. The dynamic jaw has 8400 stamped on it and the vise body has 9400 on it. I also worked a nasty dent out of the dust cap.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

You have a great Dad. Nice score.

 

[brianmorey410]

Here is a little sneak peek. The new jaw inserts I ordered arrived today. Final pics will be posted later tonight unless there is some kind of family emergency.

 

[brianmorey410]

Ok, finally done. I ended up going with the rustoleum hammered verde green paint, 6 coats of it. I also nerded out a bit and outlined all the raised lettering woth a silver paint pen. I got new jaws from wiltonviseparts.net, great product and transaction I highly recommend. Relubed the slide and srew as well as the base. Works flawlessly.

 

[bagged89s10]

Ok, finally done. I ended up going with the rustoleum hammered verde green paint, 6 coats of it. I also nerded out a bit and outlined all the raised lettering woth a silver paint pen. I got new jaws from wiltonviseparts.net, great product and transaction I highly recommend. Relubed the slide and srew as well as the base. Works flawlessly.

Awesome resto!


~Veeps

 

[firemanast]

Sweet vice and great workmanship !

 

[Madc]

Great job on the vise! Seeing these restored never gets old.
I happen to have the exact vise (9400-9500 jaws), completely disassembled but im having a problem hope someone could help with. I cannot seem to remove the jaw inserts- center pin is keeping them in? Does it just require more force to remove- also the jaw inner screws are completely different sizes and threads-I thought it was a mis-match or is this just a home-repair? I bought the vice from and owner who had it for 40 yrs- thank you for any help.
MADC

 

[bluebolt]

Nice restore Brian!

 

[brianmorey410]

Great job on the vise! Seeing these restored never gets old.
I happen to have the exact vise (9400-9500 jaws), completely disassembled but im having a problem hope someone could help with. I cannot seem to remove the jaw inserts- center pin is keeping them in? does it just require more force to remove- also the jaw inser screws are completely different sizes and threads-I thopught it was a mis-match or is this just a home-repair? I bought the vice from and owner who had it for 40 yrs- thank you for any help.
MADC

I'm not sure on the different size screws, could be one was stripped out before and they tried using a larger size screw cutting new threads as they forced it in. I hope that isn't the case but the only thing that popped to mind. As for the pins holding it in, I would just keep soaking it with penetrating oil and working it back and forth. It may not seem like it's moving much at first but it should get looser each time you soak it, if it's just the pin holding it in. I saw someone on here that soaked the whole vise in diesel fuel and that one looked pretty rusty to start with. His broke free just fine.

 

[drivesitfar]

Madc: I've had to hit the jaws off with a chisel which might leave a mark to get the jaws off after the screws are out if the are stuck. another method might be to use some kroil and let it soak for a bit and see if a light tap might remove them. you can soak in a bucket of vinegar, but if that works you need to make sure to rinse all the vinegar off the vise with water and dry it completely even with a heat gun because vinegar will eat cast. or a bucket of diesel if you have some handy.

good luck

Brian: nice work on your vise and if you want to put a few posts in the vise repair 101 thread it might be easier to find for the next member (or non member) restoring their Wilton.

did you eventually find a store selling verde green because a popular color or did you order the paint online?

 

[brianmorey410]

did you eventually find a store selling verde green because a popular color or did you order the paint online?

I found the verde green at Menards here locally. They had several cans of it. I bought 2 cans because I didn't want to run out. However, I found that 1 can was more than enough. This vise has 6 coats of paint and there was still some left in the can, I was just tired of painting!

 

[Madc]

Thank you for the replys!

Brian did not mean to hijack your thread. Great job again and thank you for the renewed inspiration.
MADC

 

[drivesitfar]

Brian: i totally understand about all the coats. a few of our members use their family's oven to bake on the paint and others with big shops put an old oven inside their shop to do that. i'm guessing it's pretty warm inside your shop because where you live it's not 80 degrees like some of those farther south. how long did it take each coat to dry or did you use a heat gun to bake it on? nice work.

MadC: contrary to your handle you are very polite and i hope you are able to get the jaws off. a lot of guys that can spiff up a Wilton bullet in a day frequent the vise repair 101 thread so go ahead and post over there the same questions with pictures and you might get another different and maybe better answer.

good luck

 

[brianmorey410]

I lucked out and it was about 80 here with about a 10 mph wind on Monday evening, pretty good conditions for drying paint. I took everything outside and painted it when I got home from work. I think it took between 5-10 minutes between coats and it was dry to the touch. I will say the first couple of coats were light, it did take me a while to realize how close to hold the can to get the "hammered" look. Way closer than I would normally be comfortable holding a spray can/gun to the surface to be painted. By the time I went to bed it was still tacky, but dry enough to carry inside.

 

[drivesitfar]

Brian: so 6 coats in a day. the guys up in the frozen north are lucky to get paint to dry in a couple weeks unless they have heated garages or ovens. hammered does work nicer if you put it on fairly thick just before it starts to run.

 

[bagged89s10]

Brian: so 6 coats in a day. the guys up in the frozen north are lucky to get paint to dry in a couple weeks unless they have heated garages or ovens. hammered does work nicer if you put it on fairly thick just before it starts to run.

It's 65F out today in Connecticut. I'm sweatin. Shorts weather. I hope it stays like this so I can get some painting done.


~Veeps