Wilton Vise - need help with date stamp (May 2025)

[MichelleML]

My mom was the last one in the family to pass (Oct. 2024) leaving me, the eldest, to inherit the rapidly, severely deteriorating family home here in upstate NY (west of Albany, east of Utica). I am in the process of cleaning it out so I can sell it and move on... and I came across dad's old Wilton Vice in the basement. It works really well, very smooth, swivels a lot.... I was trying to find a date on it because there was a guy looking for old tools to refurbish and resell and he's trying to pressure me into taking $25 for this really nice vice. It seems to only have rust on one side which I find odd and also on the rod that you use to open and close it... Its not really in bad shape at all in my opinion and I think it's worth more than $25.

ANYWAY.... I took some pictures and located a stamp inside one end of it. I can read 111014 but I'm not sure what date that translates to and it also seem that there might be something imprinted before that number but I can't make it out.

I DO know that Wilton moved from Chicago to Schiller Park, IL, in 1957 so it had to be made there but I can't figure out anything else.

Can someone help me clarify? I also don't know what TYPE of vise this is... I see references to "bullet" and others but it doesn't look like any I've found on the internet. I want to be able to research the right thing in order to ask a fair price. Help? TIA

 

[RTM]

I don’t think that’s a Bullet vise, and not a date stamp, but more likely the part or casting number.

Many here have a Wilton vice, but your is a vise.

I think it’s worth more than $25 but not sure how much

Might be a 640

Wilton Vises : Condensed Catalog No. 766 : Wilton Tool Manufacturing Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

6 p., illus., 27.6 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

Hopefully someone will come along and give a real answer now that I’ve bumped it back to the top.

,

 

[paulsomlo]

It's not a bullet - it's one of Wilton's cheaper models. Might be worth $40 - he's lowballing because he needs some meat on the bone to flip it. and given it's low value, the date code is fairly meaningless.

 

[MichelleML]

Ok, thank you all. Sorry about the misspelling in the title of the thread... I missed it when I was re-reading before posting. I fixed it now.

I was wondering.... is there a part missing off the back and that's why it's open (where those numbers are)?
Thank you, RTM, for the link to the condensed catalog.... I think you might be right about it being the 640. I'll look into it deeper. It certainly gives me a better direction.

I think the guy is lowballing me because his exact words were "I'll give you $25 for it because once it's cleaned up it will be worth a hell of a lot more". The guy has a hobby of refurbishing tools to resell and I really think he's trying to take advantage of me because I'm a woman and he figures I don't know anything about tools and could get away with it. Unfortunately for him, I take after my dad (he taught me a lot being the first born)... even my brother couldn't wield a chainsaw the way I can... or know how to build and fix things. I'm the female version of Tim Taylor but I've never had a vise. (I live in a motorhome now and do all my own plumbing and some electrical stuff too, thanks to my dad. My husband (RIP) didn't know how to do anything.)

I also like to research things so... I figured you folks could really point me in a better direction on this one. The guy didn't want to come out to the house for something else I posted on marketplace (wanted me to meet him half way) but when he saw a picture of the vise, he became adamant and keeps pressuring me about coming here to "look through everything and make a bundle" to buy. I keep telling him I have a lot to go through and there may be more stuff to sell but I have all summer to do it... he's really pushing me now.

Thank you for the direction.

 

[paulsomlo]

I don't believe there's anything missing from the back, they're all open like that. The only concern I would have, and it may just be the pictures, is that the front jaw seems tilted forward, which would indicate the vise had been over tightened. Close the vise fully and check that the two jaws meet parallel. If they don't, let him have it for $25 - he won't get "a hell of a lot more" for it. If the jaws meet parallel, screw him - keep it for yourself; given your situation, you can bolt it to a square of plywood and clamp it down to a Workmate for a portable work surface.

 

[FJ 432]

Greetings,

You have a lower line of Wilton vise that are currently being sold across America from $40-$75.00. Good luck.

 

[MichelleML]

I see why it's open in the back now.. when you close it, the bar inside sticks out the back.

None the less, I decided to go into the basement and take a better look. I wanted to measure how far it opens and it's 4 1/2 inches. At that point I took a wire brush to the slightly rusty side and it started to clean up pretty well. Then I decided to just disassemble it from the table and take it up to the garage and see if I could get the bench grinder to buff it up but I can't (read: don't have the strength) to remove what is on there to install the round wire brush.

So.... I grabbed some sandpaper and WD-40 and actually found more numbers but I don't know if they mean anything. Here's the pictures. Thoughts?

 

[paulsomlo]

So.... I grabbed some sandpaper and WD-40 and actually found more numbers but I don't know if they mean anything. Here's the pictures. Thoughts?

If the vise were one of Wilton's better offerings, the numbers might mean something - this vise, however, is a homeowners utility grade vise, thus, the numbers won't mean anything to a prospective buyer.

 

[MichelleML]

Ok, thank you.

 

[paulsomlo]

Is is just the pics, or is the angle of the bar where it meets the front jaw off from 90 degrees? They should meet at 90 deg as illustrated by the white lines in the picture below.

 

[MichelleML]

paulsomlo:

Here's more pictures. Does that help? Btw, very little rust. Was just extremely dirty.

Seems I'm having problems with pictures loading.

EDIT: Oh.. I see what you mean. That was detached from the other end and the end of this piece it was lying on the floor while the upper part of it (green/gray) was "fatter" so it was up off the floor. It's the picture, not the device.

 

[MichelleML]

Good news? I found more information!!!

This is listed on ebay by other sellers as a "Wilton pipe vise with anvil horn" and they are listed for sale between $60 and $95. The only difference is that those two are 3-1/2 inch jaws and mine is 4-1/2 (or at least 4 depending on how far you want to separate the jaws; at 4 1/2 inches it still felt stable/secure). Being a pipe vise makes a lot of sense since dad designed and built our house and did all the plumbing with copper pipes (early 50's).

 

[paulsomlo]

Good news? I found more information!!!

This is listed on ebay by other sellers as a "Wilton pipe vise with anvil horn" and they are listed for sale between $60 and $95. The only difference is that those two are 3-1/2 inch jaws and mine is 4-1/2 (or at least 4 depending on how far you want to separate the jaws; at 4 1/2 inches it still felt stable/secure). Being a pipe vise makes a lot of sense since dad designed and built our house and did all the plumbing with copper pipes (early 50's).

Vises are generally measured by jaw width, not opening.

 

[MichelleML]

Oh... then it's probably 3 1/2. Thank you for the clarification. I also responded to your comment about it appearing to not be a 90 degree angle on that one part but the post is hung up waiting for a moderator. I'm not sure why. Maybe due to the pictures?

In any case, I did look at it again and it does seem wonky but the jaws line up so I'm not sure what's going on.... although I've seen a few on ebay that seems to not be 90 degrees. It's not like we broke it... it had to come that way. That thing is heavy and seems very much indestructible.

 

[paulsomlo]

Oh... then it's probably 3 1/2. Thank you for the clarification. I also responded to your comment about it appearing to not be a 90 degree angle on that one part but the post is hung up waiting for a moderator. I'm not sure why. Maybe due to the pictures?

In any case, I did look at it again and it does seem wonky but the jaws line up so I'm not sure what's going on.... although I've seen a few on ebay that seems to not be 90 degrees. It's not like we broke it... it had to come that way. That thing is heavy and seems very much indestructible.

Looks to be usable, although your pipe jaws seem to be off. And, as far as indestructible? No such thing - we've seen it all here.

 

[MichelleML]

I agree... usable. Works really good (easy spin to base and the jaw thing) but the pipe jaws seem out of whack. Can't figure out how since the jaws meet up so well. I mean... it's not like they can move or anything... I don't get it.