I'll start off saying this is my first attempt at a vise restoration, so don't be too harsh on me 
I figured why not start with something big, relatively expensive, and 125+lbs....makes sense right? Anyway, I did this is a functional restoration more than a museum quality job like some of the folks here do (which are amazing!).
I saw the ad for this on CL and sent the guy a note shortly after it was posted. Luckily I was the only one to leave him a phone number, so he called me first. He was firm at $350 and I jumped in the truck to meet him. It was generally in really good condition except for two things. One, the previous owner bolted it to a piece of aluminum diamond plate which caused galvanic corrosion around the edge of the base. It wasn't bad enough to cause a problem but was pretty ugly. Second, at some point it got dropped on the spindle (obvious dent) which cracked the pin holes that keep the tail cap assembly from backing out. In fact, the pins were bent, and the tail cap was pushed back maybe 1/8" when I got it. This doesn't really hurt it from a use standpoint, because the only time there's pressure in that direction is when you open the vise, but it looks terrible. When you clamp down on something the load is spread out over a large collar on the tail cap assembly and that was fine.
I disassembled the whole thing, let the big parts sit in an electrolysis bath for about 24hours (need more amperage next time), wire wheeled the whole thing, gave it two coats of self-etching primer, and two coats of Hammered Verde Green. My only "bling" was adding stainless hex cap bolts for the jaws....didn't feel like cleaning up the old bolts, and they look good.
To fix the tail cap assembly I first brazed the holes closed. I then took a 3" diameter washer (the tail cap is 3" at that point) and used a torch to open the inner diameter. I then brazed that washer into place over the top of the pin holes. At that point I put the tail cap into the vise body and drilled out the brazed holes about .001" smaller than the new .25" dowel pins I bought to replace the bent factory pins. When I was done with that I slightly rounded the edge of the washer with a grinder and painted the inside of the tail cap assembly.
To fix the base I got it down to bare metal with a wire wheel (I had previously done an electrolysis bath for the whole vise) and used POR-15 epoxy putty to build up the edge of the base. After that cured I used a grinder with a cutoff wheel to lightly shape and blend the cured epoxy. From the pics you'll note I had already put one coat of primer on the vise when I fixed the base. I did that because I didn't want the whole thing rusting after the E bath....didn't seem to be a problem as after the epoxy cured I did a touch up with primer.
Here are the pics, and feel free to fire away with questions or comments.
The before picture:
Initial disassembly:
E bath:
Damage to the tail cap assembly:
Damage to the base:
Concept of the fix for the tail cap assembly (lynch pins just for positioning and the correct dowel pins were used for assembly):
Holes brazed closed:
Washer brazed in place:
First coat of primer:
First coat of paint:
All back together!
I figured why not start with something big, relatively expensive, and 125+lbs....makes sense right? Anyway, I did this is a functional restoration more than a museum quality job like some of the folks here do (which are amazing!).I saw the ad for this on CL and sent the guy a note shortly after it was posted. Luckily I was the only one to leave him a phone number, so he called me first. He was firm at $350 and I jumped in the truck to meet him. It was generally in really good condition except for two things. One, the previous owner bolted it to a piece of aluminum diamond plate which caused galvanic corrosion around the edge of the base. It wasn't bad enough to cause a problem but was pretty ugly. Second, at some point it got dropped on the spindle (obvious dent) which cracked the pin holes that keep the tail cap assembly from backing out. In fact, the pins were bent, and the tail cap was pushed back maybe 1/8" when I got it. This doesn't really hurt it from a use standpoint, because the only time there's pressure in that direction is when you open the vise, but it looks terrible. When you clamp down on something the load is spread out over a large collar on the tail cap assembly and that was fine.
I disassembled the whole thing, let the big parts sit in an electrolysis bath for about 24hours (need more amperage next time), wire wheeled the whole thing, gave it two coats of self-etching primer, and two coats of Hammered Verde Green. My only "bling" was adding stainless hex cap bolts for the jaws....didn't feel like cleaning up the old bolts, and they look good.
To fix the tail cap assembly I first brazed the holes closed. I then took a 3" diameter washer (the tail cap is 3" at that point) and used a torch to open the inner diameter. I then brazed that washer into place over the top of the pin holes. At that point I put the tail cap into the vise body and drilled out the brazed holes about .001" smaller than the new .25" dowel pins I bought to replace the bent factory pins. When I was done with that I slightly rounded the edge of the washer with a grinder and painted the inside of the tail cap assembly.
To fix the base I got it down to bare metal with a wire wheel (I had previously done an electrolysis bath for the whole vise) and used POR-15 epoxy putty to build up the edge of the base. After that cured I used a grinder with a cutoff wheel to lightly shape and blend the cured epoxy. From the pics you'll note I had already put one coat of primer on the vise when I fixed the base. I did that because I didn't want the whole thing rusting after the E bath....didn't seem to be a problem as after the epoxy cured I did a touch up with primer.
Here are the pics, and feel free to fire away with questions or comments.
The before picture:
Initial disassembly:
E bath:
Damage to the tail cap assembly:
Damage to the base:
Concept of the fix for the tail cap assembly (lynch pins just for positioning and the correct dowel pins were used for assembly):
Holes brazed closed:
Washer brazed in place:
First coat of primer:
First coat of paint:
All back together!
