Vise in a shed...

[FMC1959]

I see Wilton makes an all weather vice, there may be others also. I am going to guess these are intended for utility trucks, tow trucks, or any situation where a vise is completely exposed to the elements.

I have a couple of wood vise and also want to add a bench vise in my shed, where I have a workshop setup. Not exposed to rain, snow, direct sun and so forth, but still big temperature and humidity changes over the year. The 2 vise that are there, all the greased, oiled and painted areas are fine, but the handle and part of the jaws are showing pretty good rust.

First thing, aside from these exposed areas, are there other areas not visible I should pay attention to?

What would be best for the exposed areas like handle and jaws? I can give them a coat of car wax twice a year, or I also have conservators paste?
Anything that protects from the rust, but not something impractical like a slathering of grease or Vaseline.

All (great) ideas appreciated!

Thanks
Franco

 

[toomanytoyzz]

You can also wipe it down with some sort of quality penetrating oil in between the times you give it a waxing. The lead screw is definitely something you want to keep clean and free of major rust since this can cause the vise to fuse shut from sever weather/moisture rendering it useless until you get it apart with force, heat or a combo of the two.

I would also suggest finding a quality made US vise at a flee market/garage sale or even on CL. They are far superior than the new ones out there which you will pay a premium for. Just make sure the used on doesn't have any cracks or previous weld repairs. I'd also recommend one that didn't have an exposed lead screw found on the smaller home/garage vises. They like to get wood and metal shavings stuck in them which can damage the threads when you open and close the vise.

Check out the vise thread on this site. Plenty of info on vises.

 

[FMC1959]

Being in the great white north, the shed is secondary. It gets used much more in the summer, especially for wood projects as I have all my wood working machinery there. My garage is my all year-round workshop, being connected to the house and heated, much more convenient.

The thing about the USA made vise in a flea market or CL is what I want to do, for my garage. Being the shed is secondary, I was going to put my current garage 5 ½” china vise in the shed and get a good 6” for my garage (I have a 4" Record also). The 2 current wood vise there now, I need to clean them off, surface rust, then I’ll try some stuff. I have these sprays I use on my saw table (cast iron), which isn’t bad. I was just asking, often guys on these forums come up with great ideas.

Definitely keeping any eye on all the used vises for sale within a 2-3 hour drive!

Thanks
Franco

 

[zkling]

A good coat of buffed in wax or even a clear coat of paint.

 

[truckaddict]

not sure if what kind of vise it is, blue and has a 4 on the side. but my father had it on an outside table in the snow and rain for years. I stole the vise when he gave the table away and it still works perfect.

 

[FMC1959]

That's pretty much it, the 5 1/2" I have now in my garage is probably $50 tops new, made in China. Gets the job done. I want this in the shed and although not a valuable vice, as long as it works, it has value to me. So I am just wondering of the best way to keep it from rusting out too quickly. (and also saving the 2 wood vise I have there)

I'll probably go with waxing it and spraying some WD 40 or similar. I have some Rust Check spray, might try that.

I was hoping for a silver bullet..."spray it once and you will never see rust for 10 years!!! But wait, call now and get a 2nd can free"....oh well, only in the land of infomercials.

Thanks

 

[drivesitfar]

FMC: I remember seeing a product that is named something like Chem X that prevents rusting. WD 40 will work, but it dries up pretty quick so you'll have to apply many times each winter. I'll try to find a link or the YouTube video I saw of the X product and post the link for you.

TooMany and most of the vise guys will agree that an Old US vise is far superior than most of the others and another option for you since you are above our borders are the Old English ones like Record, Paramo (sp?) and I think Eron (sp?) and a few others. the old ones that say Made in England are the ones you would like to own. also the Record vise has a version with a quick release that is very cool if you happen to find one.

good luck

 

[FMC1959]

Thanks drivesitfar, I'll look around and see what I can find on that product. I have some Boeshield products I need to try also & see how they make out over a few months.

 

[drivesitfar]

Boeshield should work.

I found this paste that i'm going to use on a couple of my nicer vises because it's a little spendy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Wax

I found this looking for the Chem X (sp?) product I was searching for on YouTube that also looks like it works.

 

[FMC1959]

Too keep stuff from rusting, I'll see how the Boeshield and this stuff, pretty much the same product on your first link.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=20090&cat=1,190,42950

To remove rust, the Metal Rescue that you have on the youtube link, I haven't tried it but saw it on DIY's Cool Tools. If it works like in the video, looks good

Thanks
Franco

 

[drivesitfar]

I've also heard just plain vinegar works for getting stuff cleaned up like that. another method for cleaning is molasses and water (10 parts molasses and 1 part molasses) is another method for getting it rust free before you put the prevention on.

also make sure all the moisture is gone so have it sit in the house or better yet the oven on low low heat or a heat gun so you won't trap moisture under your expensive prevention treatment.

 

[Danglerb]

WD40 doesn't last more than weeks, something like CorrosionX or Jigaloo can last a year or more.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

WD40 doesn't last more than weeks, something like CorrosionX or Jigaloo can last a year or more.

^^^^I concur^^^^

Better plan on taking cold a$$ trips to the shed to reapply the WD throughout the winter months.

I've given up on that WD40 **** ALONG time ago.

 

[zkling]

Waxing it then spraying on WD40 would be counter productive. A good buffed in (you want it to fill the pours) coat of wax will probably be the best short of a clear coat. Boeshield and other super rust preventatives are pretty sticky and messy. Heck there is always cosmoline.

Agree on WD40, not much it is good for anymore. Eh, it does work as a good cutting fluid for aluminum. I think that is about the last time I used it.

 

[Matt Irvine]

At work we use this 'soft seal' to spray on machined faces before they get sent to paint, where they could sit outside for a few weeks, apparently it can past over a year when applied right , check it out!

 

[bart1]

WD40 makes a rust inhibitor.

http://www.wd40specialist.com/products/corrosion-inhibitor/

 

[FMC1959]

Matt Irvine - your Soft Seal product looks pretty good. It is categorized as a marine product and could be just what I am looking for.
http://www.crc.co.nz/keyword/soft-seal/p1/item-ib7b7b944-0c6e-46ae-ba41-d069b501063a-0.htm

They also make this product, need to read up on it a bit more, but it looks interesting.
http://crcindustries.com/auto/?s=05048

They are based out Australia/NZ, if I can find someone selling their product online, I'll give this product a try. This along with waxing looks like one of the better solutions.

Thanks

 

[drivesitfar]

Corrosion X is the product name I couldn't remember. I haven't actually tried it yet, but the reading and videos I watched has me looking into buying some and giving it a try. l

et me us know if you find a US distributer for the New Zealand product you think might work best for your vise?

keep us updated on what you actually use and maybe a few pictures of the process and the before and after a 6 month or so period to show readers who find this thread in the coming years?