Wilton 645 jaw issue. Need help!

[ChaplainLewis]

I'm cleaning up this old Wilton 645 and trying to bring it back to life. As you can see in the photos below, I purchased some new jaw inserts and they don't sit flush with each other when the vise is closed. The only thing I can think of is to file down the back of one or both inserts so they match up properly but I don't have any machining tool to do that correctly. Any suggestions / recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[justtools]

It looks like the moveable jaw is bent down which is the reason the jaws do not line up. I wonder if you took the moveable out of the vise and brought it to a machine shop they could straighten it. thats what I would do

 

[ChaplainLewis]

I'll try that. Thanks. The spindle does not go down the center of the channel so I think you are correct. And the closer I look, there may have been repairs done by a previous owner that resulted in things not aligning properly. Thanks a ton.

 

[Beerhippie]

Someone left it in the car on a hot day and it melted.

 

[larry_g]

I'd suggest that you remove the sliding jaw and check if the steel slide is bent or the cast jaw has moved on the slide. Clamp the slide down to that anvil and see if you can move the cast jaw, see if the cast is loose on the the steel slide. Can you show us what you think is a previous repair?

lg
no neat sig line

 

[ChaplainLewis]

You can see the slide is at an odd angle to the cast part and the spindle starts low and ends high. Makes it hard to open and close the vise. I’m not a welder at all but the welds look really bad.

 

[Beerhippie]

Factory second?

The jaw is cast onto the slide--not welded.

 

[Shiftless]

Factory second?

The jaw is cast onto the slide--not welded.

Or maybe just press fit. Not cast as one piece.
Remove those new jaws and part out the rest of the vise. Somebody might need that swivel base. Look for a better one.

 

[ChaplainLewis]

Or maybe just press fit. Not cast as one piece.
Remove those new jaws and part out the rest of the vise. Somebody might need that swivel base. Look for a better one.

I may have to do that. I’ll wait till I find a better one. No harm. It only cost me $30 and a little elbow grease.

 

[paulsomlo]

Someone cranked on it good - was the handle bent?

 

[Shiftless]

Someone cranked on it good - was the handle bent?

I think the damage could have caused when somebody was smacking a part clamped into that vise. Or another possibility is using a bench vise as a press. Rebuilding a U-joint and pressing in new bearings can be fatal to a lightweight bench vise. If you need a press, get a press.

 

[ChaplainLewis]

Someone cranked on it good - was the handle bent?

The original handle was actually gone. There was a beat up brass rod in its place. The jaws on to were brass and beat up as well. Obviously not taken care of very well