Ststephen7
Well-known member
A while back I bought 2 static Wilton 4" bullet vises to restore and sell. One was so beat up I kept it, planning to use it myself.
Then I was given a Morgan 140 that the owner considered scrap since it was missing the screw/handle.
Last night I used the Morgan swivel base to turn my 4" bullet into a swivel vise.
The top of the Morgan base is a little wider than the base of the Wilton, however there is still plenty of support. The Morgan base also has an inner ring for additional support.
The 2 holes in the Wilton lined up perfectly with the hold down ring on the Morgan. However... using just those 2 screws the Wilton wanted to move around on the base... there was nothing to center it.
There was a hole in the bottom center of the Wilton, however the Morgan used a large screw to hold its swivel base onto the upper part of the vise, so that would not work unless I wanted to drill out the 1/2" hole in the Wilton and tap 3/4" threads in it.
Instead I turned a little bushing on my lathe... it is a press fit into the center hole in the Morgan base, and a loose fit in the 1/2" center hole in the Wilton, and works well to keep the Wilton centered on the base.
I also had to make 2 hold downs, plus on additional hold down screw... you'll see in the pictures. I had already used the Morgan hold down on a Parker that was missing that part.
I'm very happy with the way it came out!
Then I was given a Morgan 140 that the owner considered scrap since it was missing the screw/handle.
Last night I used the Morgan swivel base to turn my 4" bullet into a swivel vise.
The top of the Morgan base is a little wider than the base of the Wilton, however there is still plenty of support. The Morgan base also has an inner ring for additional support.
The 2 holes in the Wilton lined up perfectly with the hold down ring on the Morgan. However... using just those 2 screws the Wilton wanted to move around on the base... there was nothing to center it.
There was a hole in the bottom center of the Wilton, however the Morgan used a large screw to hold its swivel base onto the upper part of the vise, so that would not work unless I wanted to drill out the 1/2" hole in the Wilton and tap 3/4" threads in it.
Instead I turned a little bushing on my lathe... it is a press fit into the center hole in the Morgan base, and a loose fit in the 1/2" center hole in the Wilton, and works well to keep the Wilton centered on the base.
I also had to make 2 hold downs, plus on additional hold down screw... you'll see in the pictures. I had already used the Morgan hold down on a Parker that was missing that part.
I'm very happy with the way it came out!
