Wilton Vise Find

[wjv]

Hello,

This is my first post and I would like to introduce myself and my first project to this forum. I am an ex-bicycle mechanic from a small town in a fly-over state and I now live in a 400 square foot basement apartment in Washington, DC.

I share the apartment with my girlfriend and seven bikes. I have small space dedicated to my "shop" but it is really a bike stand with tools scattered around it. I will share a photo of the set-up sometime so y'all can have a good laugh.

In my free time I am constantly screwing with old, broken things because I sincerely enjoy fixing stuff. My tiny workbench, however, has always been missing a vise.

After a little bit of searching, I finally found one. I checked craigslist weekly for a month or two--probably not frequently enough in hindsight--but I never found anything that grabbed me. A couple weeks ago I noticed a listing for a bench and a vise. From the sole picture on CL, which is attached below, it looked like the vise was a Wilton. I responded to the ad but the owner indicated that he would not separate the vise from the bench. The bench was quite large and would never fit in my tiny space. So on a whim, I offered to buy the vise for an amount well under what I thought he would accept and knowing he already told me he wouldn't separate the two.

He accepted to my surprise and I picked up the vise the following weekend. As I am sure you know by now, the vise is a Wilton and the pictures below show the condition it was in when I found it. One of the jaw bolts is loose and the hole is filled with ****. I hope it is just loose and not broken internally.

It has been done many times before, but I will try to document the tear-down and rebuild of my vise. Enough yapping for now, on to the pics!

I apologize if the photos do not appear; this is my first time trying to attach a file.

-Will

 

[Zeke]

Pics are fine and you got a great find. In the manner that we salute one that scored a good deal — you ****.

 

[cgrutt]

Welcome to the forum. I just picked up the same vice this past weekend. There's a good video on restoring it posted within last few days. Good luck with it!

 

[exmaxima1]

The bench with vise was posted at $375, so what did you end up getting it for? I think that grinder on the bench would have been another great buy.....

 

[Shiftless]

wjv:
Welcome to GJ.
You're happy with the price you paid so that's what really counts. If you got the bench included in the deal I hope you didn't just scrap the lockers underneath. at least here in the left coast, those are worth some big bucks.
A few months ago in a package deal, I scored a huge bench and a 3 1/2 inch Wilton bullet in a bit better shape but, like yours, missing the swivel base. I paid $100. The eight foot wide bench was completely out of the question so I told the seller I would pay his asking price, unbolt the vise, and leave the bench. I told him if he listed it for 20 bucks it would be gone in a day and for free it would be gone in an hour. He was happy with the deal.

 

[RStewart]

Nice grab. Did you get the grinder too?

 

[Richard Cranium]

I think I read that he just bought the vise only.
Welcome to Garage Journal
Please update your profile to include your state and city.

 

[wjv]

The seller was exceptionally nice and was looking to sell off most of the contents of his out building. I checked out the lockers and the grinder and both were intriguing. Unfortunately I had to pass on both because I barely have room for new socks, much less large steel lockers or a grinder.

I paid around $100. From ebay results it looks to be slightly under market, but not much. He seemed pretty knowledgeable about what he had, so I did not think he would accept my offer. I am happy with it, and I think the seller was too; so good deal.

I pulled the removable jaws last night and unfortunately the guide pin and one bolt are broken off in the static jaw. Worse yet, it looks like someone might have tried drilling the bolt, but missed horribly. I have some left hand drills and cheesy extractors that might work.

 

[Zeke]

The seller was exceptionally nice and was looking to sell off most of the contents of his out building. I checked out the lockers and the grinder and both were intriguing. Unfortunately I had to pass on both because I barely have room for new socks, much less large steel lockers or a grinder.

I paid around $100. From ebay results it looks to be slightly under market, but not much. He seemed pretty knowledgeable about what he had, so I did not think he would accept my offer. I am happy with it, and I think the seller was too; so good deal.

I pulled the removable jaws last night and unfortunately the guide pin and one bolt are broken off in the static jaw. Worse yet, it looks like someone might have tried drilling the bolt, but missed horribly. I have some left hand drills and cheesy extractors that might work.

Well, that's too bad. But once you get it in nice condition the price won't make that much difference.

 

[383 240z]

Shame it doesn't have a swivel base under it, I love mine. Keith

 

[exmaxima1]

What is the jaw width?

 

[wjv]

The jaws are 4", which is about right for the projects I usually undertake. I would like to find a swivel base for it, but no luck so far. I placed a wanted ad on craigslist looking for other Wiltons with the hope I can find a swivel base and sell the other vise (or more likely keep it).

I might be able to find a base from another brand that would fit the 4" Wilton. I recently saw a base on ebay that was within 1/4" and I could probably make it work, but I will wait and see if I can find an authentic Wilton first.

I did make some good progress with the broken pin and bolt. It looked like someone drilled into the bolt, but missed the center. The broken end was gnarly, so I ground it flat in order to find the center. I poked a hole in it with a left hand drill and it came out relatively easily with the extractor.

For the guide pin, I drilled it, tapped it, and threaded a scrap bolt into the hole. I did not see the need go at it with left hand tools because it is not threaded. It came out with a little persuasion and penetrating oil.

Is there a general consensus regarding the guide pin? The pin came out with the removable jaw on the dynamic side too. Should I find and insert new pins in the jaws? It looks like new removable jaws do not have a hole drilled through the front.

Moving forward, the plan is to completely disassemble, maybe soak in an electrolysis bath, clean to an inch of sterile, paint and use.

The most significant obstacle I see is the bent handle. I do not have an easy way straighten the handle, and I might try to replace it because it is pretty rough. I am restoring the vise because I enjoy the process, not solely because I need a working vise, so I might as well go all-in, eh?

The pics are pretty self-explanatory. You eagle-eyes may note that this happened in my kitchen. City livin' is rough.

Thanks for any comments and suggestions. There is a wealth of info out there and it's pretty cool to have a place to find it.

 

[jipps]

Looks great.

Moving forward, the plan is to completely disassemble, maybe soak in an electrolysis bath, clean to an inch of sterile, paint and use.

Electrolysis works for many on here, but a wire wheel on a 4" grinder may be more effective for you if confined to a small apartment (I'm thinking about vapours, etc etc). I've had great success with wire - when buying, bear in mind you will likely need two wheels to get through this vice.

The most significant obstacle I see is the bent handle. I do not have an easy way straighten the handle, and I might try to replace it because it is pretty rough. I am restoring the vise because I enjoy the process, not solely because I need a working vise, so I might as well go all-in, eh?

I'm not sure I agree it's a significant problem. It doesn't look that bent. Assuming it can still move through the lead screw handle (sure looks like it), it's going to work perfectly. It will not have lost strength. Sure, if you owned this vice from new, you might never have bent it - but these things are all part of the charm of buying a tool that has already served one working life and is now on to a second. Clean it up, paste it up, and tighten it up! Celebrate its character

 

[wjv]

Made some more progress this weekend.

I removed the main nut by driving the pins out. After reading several posts about what a pain it is, I cautiously proceeded. Like several other Wiltons, the pins were not aligned in the body in my vise. I drove one in, cut it out, and drive the other side inwards enough to remove the nut. After the nut was out I could knock the second pin out with a punch. It wasn't a walk in the park, but the whole process took about 45 minutes, including the time it took to cut a hacksaw blade in half. I will probably tap the vise and use long set screws to hold the nut when I put it back together.

I also rigged up a poor man's electrolysis tank. This might be more of an experiment to see if I want to use the process for other projects. I found a bunch of rare bike taps and dies that are a little rusty. I do not want to use abrasives to clean them up, so electrolysis might be a viable option.

Still no luck finding a swivel base. I might just leave it as fixed and convert it to a swivel if I stumble into a new base in the future.

jipps-- You are correct that it will pass through the lead screw, and it is not all that bent, but it is beat up. As the handle is the most significant contact point, I'd like it to feel good every time I use it. But I hear you regarding the character. Although the vise has plenty of character elsewhere! I'll clean the handle and see how much it bothers me in use.

Looks like the pics are in reverse order. Sorry.

 

[J.A.F.E.]

Replacement parts like the handle may be available. Wilton has parts https://parts.wiltontools.com/ShopPartsNew.aspx as does eReplacementParts http://www.ereplacementparts.com/wilton-vise-parts-c-32774_155485.html Likely there are other sources as well. A new swivel base may also be available but probably cost more than you paid for the vise.

 

[wjv]

I did actually finish this vise. It took a little longer than expected, but it came out pretty nice.

I'll let the photos do most of the talking but a couple points:

• The e-bath was more trouble than it was worth. It worked, but I was not blown away with its advantages.
• I replaced the pins on the cap with stainless set screws. Amazon had the best price for long 1/4" S.S. set screws. I did have to cut them down.
• The paint scheme is "Miami Vice" Vise. The colors actually look very nice, but do not scream 80s as much as I had hoped.
• I had my dad machine the handle. Parts and shipping were $17. It was well worth the effort. It "feels" much nicer with a fresh handle.
• New jaw inserts from wiltonviseparts.net. Great service and jaws look awesome.
• The stand is the $30 HF grinder stand. Other than a little filing (1/2" total) to elongate the mounting holes, the vise fits perfectly on the stand. The static jaw hangs slightly over the edge of the base. I don't do anything too heavy-duty, so this should work well for now. Plus it is in my living room, so I have to move it outside any time I work on something that will make a mess.

Happy to answer questions.
Now on to some photos.

 

[wjv]

More pics

 

[wjv]

Almost done.

 

[wjv]

This is the last of them.

 

[3baygarage]

Looks nice.

 

[AndrewDouglasBird]

Interesting color choice...

Turned out nice. That new handle looks great.

 

[KMScott]

Excellent job on your restore. Looks ready for some work. Those handle balls are a great touch.
The set screws in the nut pins are interesting. Did you rotate the nut and pinch the sides or is their a pin use. Again nice work.