Wilton 350SJ worth restoring?

[Rhunes29]

I’ve been looking at what I thought was a 450SJ on craigslist for the past 2 months with only 1 blurry photo of a wilton vise that was covered in thick spraypaint and was clearly welded all the way around asking $250.

After bidding on a 450SJ on ebay that ended up selling for over $900, I decided to take a chance on getting to own a rare wilton by offering $200 & hoping for the best as far as seeing if there is any way to remove the welds to get this thing to work like an SJ.
I was slightly disappointed that it’s a 350 not 450, but the swivel jaws seem pretty rare in general. Worst case, the welding can’t be undone and I end up re-welding it but doing a cleaner job of it & end up with an unusual & oversized 3.5” Wilton on a swivel base. (350S?) I’m going to keep it regardless of how it turns out because it’s hard to find any Wilton for $200 nowadays.

That said, any tips or suggestions on trying to remove the welds other than using a grinder, flap discs, dremel & files? Luckily, the welds look really bad & hopefully did not penetrate too deep even though they are pretty thick in some spots.

 

[merkyworks]

I would think using a bandfile would be very helpfull. Best of luck though

5.3 Amp, 1/2 in. x 18 in. Bandfile Belt Sander

Amazing deals on this 5.3Amp 1/2In Bandfile Belt Sander at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Milwaukee M12 FUEL Bandfile 1/2inch X 18inch (Bare Tool)

Milwaukee M12 FUEL Bandfile 1/2inch X 18inch (Bare Tool) - 2482-20

www.acmetools.com

 

[Rhunes29]

I would think using a bandfile would be very helpfull. Best of luck though

Thank you for the suggestion. I ordered the Wen variable speed and 3M belts. I tried using flap discs on a 4” grinder but it was too aggressive and I did not want to damage the original casting , so I stopped and will try again with the band file. Thanks again.

 

[merkyworks]

3M cubitron should cut very nicely

 

[Fierljeppen]

The Wilton 350SJ had the shortest life cycle of all the swivel jaw models, (1958-1966) and is much rarer than the 450SJ. With respect to that, I wouldn't be disappointed at all with your purchase. I think you did well and real well if you can convert it back to a swivel jaw.

Here's a few photo's of the swivel jaw part of the vise, in case they can be of any value toward your endeavor.



I would consider any Wilton vise "made in USA", including the homeowners models, to command excessive value in the market, with no end in sight.

 

[ecotec]

I want to find a cheap swivel jaw with a a swivel base so bad…

 

[Rhunes29]

Thank you for the photos! They really helped provide reference while trying to separate the 2 parts under the weld.

I made some progress (see pics)

The small section that broke looks identical to someone else who posted a 350SJ & said they bought it that way. The part that broke off is still attached to the jaw, so it might be fixable.

I have 4 Wiltons now & have not done a complete teardown for repaint, but I don’f really have any other choice with this one. I’ve had 2 cans of Hammered Verde Green
from ebay for over a year, so I guess I’ll find out if they’re going to work & still spray.

To prep, I’m planning to wire wheel everything to bare metal and then start to grind/sand the welds to clean up the body & jaw as much as possible. It won’t be perfect, but I don’t want it to look like a hack job either. Thanks again for the advice and pics.

 

[Rhunes29]

 

[merkyworks]

Nicely done, the old girl still has some life left in her. keep it up!

 

[Rhunes29]

I’ve spent a lot more time working on this than I expected or planned to, but hoping it will be worth the effort. There were so many layers of paint that I had to take the whole thing down to bare metal using different wire wheels, sanding blocks & dremel attachments.
Removing the welds left a really smooth collar/ring around the top of the vise that stood out and didn’t match the rest of the body’s rough cast iron surface texture.
I eventually gave up trying to blend it & prepped for 2 coats of etch primer & several coats of sand-able primer before hammered verde green that I overpaid for on the auction site.
Pretty happy with the results & can’t wait to reassemble. I’ll be out of town this weekend so that will have to wait.

 

[Rhunes29]

I’ll have to get better pics this weekend, but wanted to show results/reassembled because
I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

Thanks for having so much great info available on this site. It has been a really great resource during this process.