Wilton C1 Restore

[loranger]

I recently picked up this Wilton C1 from Craigslist. It wasn't cheap, but I couldn't find anything locally in better shape.



Next to its chinese cousin it is replacing.



Wirewheeled and de-greased



Date…Im guessing June 1 1967?



Small parts after a few days in evaporust



Pipe jaws cleaned up



Primed



Not 100% sure Ill keep the color, but no hammered light blue locally, so I figured I would try something a little different. Still planning on polishing the handle, swivel parts, and jaws, but good enough for now.

 

[drivesitfar]

IMHO the Wilton C1 is the nicest vise Wilton made for the homeowner that does a little more than the average guy. well worth the money you spent and nice job restoring it.

you have a 1967 year C1 and making me wish i had kept one of mine and I've had 2 of them (1945, 1957).

 

[oldldh]

Ya Dun Gud, Bubba!!!


The C1 is a do it all vise...it will serve you and your Grandchildren well...

 

[malibulvr]

Damn nice vise, would look great on my bench! ha

 

[3baygarage]

I like it. Looks really good in Chinese cousin blue

 

[bareass172]

Great job, love seeing these restores. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when old stuff gets brought back into service.

 

[zkling]

Great job, I really like that blue color. What paint did you use?

I like it. Looks really good in Chinese cousin blue

 

[tedsters]

nice job on the vise, i wish i would have kept my C1 also

 

[Swan]

Nice, you have a vise for life.

 

[TMcCay]

Great job! I am looking for a C-1 and then I should be set. All I have is an S-4

 

[loranger]

Great job, I really like that blue color. What paint did you use?

Rustoleum metallic blue. Pretty sure thats all they used on my other vise since it started flaking off almost as soon as I started using it.

 

[Davefr]

Nice vise. IMHO the Wilton C series were the best ones made.

Have you decided on the color for the raised lettering? Silver would be a good choice.

 

[SweetD]

Looks great! What top do you have on your bench that you cut away to fit your vise?

 

[EOC_Jason]

Very nice....

 

[orchidlane]

Very nicely done, love the blue color, should get many years of service out of the beautiful Wilton vise.

 

[loranger]

Looks great! What top do you have on your bench that you cut away to fit your vise?

Some cheap thick presentation cardboard I found at Hobby Lobby. I do some gun work on my bench, so its a little more forgiving than the plywood. Its getting pretty beat up from other stuff so I may need to go pickup another.

 

[1982fxr]

IMHO the Wilton C1 is the nicest vise Wilton made for the homeowner that does a little more than the average guy. well worth the money you spent and nice job restoring it.

you have a 1967 year C1 and making me wish i had kept one of mine and I've had 2 of them (1945, 1957).

did I read something on here about how the stamped date was 5 years after manufacture; thus the end of the warranty??

 

[drivesitfar]

Wilton has been in business for over 70 years and it's hard to figure out all their numbering and styles that they have done during that time that is for certain.

what i do know that sometime maybe in the late 50's thru 60's (approximate guess) they stamped EXP before the date on the slide which told them when their 5 year warranty period was up. check out the picture of my 1957 C1 with the EXP 1962 date on it that i have attached.

now Wilton stopped doing this because some vises would sit on the company's or stores shelves for a while maybe years so the warranty periods on the slides from the day they were made were not giving the new owner an actual 5 year warranty. so they stopped and quit the EXP dating.

now some Wiltons don't have a date and i'm guessing because the vise was used without any grease and the date wore off or maybe Wilton quit dating vises for a certain time period and I for one would like to know. we should start a thread on all the Wilton vises for aging them by casting markings and the slide dates and all their different styles they made.

maybe some of the Wilton experts will see this and give us their 2 cents.

 

[bluebolt]

That was a very clean Wilton and you did a nice job of restoring it. Even if you paid $200 for that vise it was a good deal.

 

[loranger]

That was a very clean Wilton and you did a nice job of restoring it. Even if you paid $200 for that vise it was a good deal.

Lol that's actually what I payed for it. It was in really good shape just covered in dirt and grime, but that was an easy fix.

 

[back2class]

Wish it were mine! I have a c-0 and had a C-2 I now very much wish I didn't sell for $100..stupid me. Picked up a pretty big Reed 204 for $60 this weekend so life is not all bad, but the c-1 is the perfect vise IMHO

 

[loranger]

Finally had a little time to clean up some of the hardware.