Wilton Vise Worth the Restoration?

[tfreer85]

Okay, so I know there are a lot of threads about vise's etc. I've never done a vise restoration, but I found this Wilton 00178 Vise out in my works boneyard. I can get it for free, but don't know if its worth the hassle and am in need of opinions. When I first got it the jaws were completely open, they were able to close, but not re-open. I was able to get the sleeve (pictured) out of the back end by winding it out. Would you go through a restoration on it? Thanks in advance!

 

[canuckian]

Hell yes it's worth it! It's free! What do you have to lose? If it went in but not out again, it sounds to me like the keyway on the bottom of the slide is bound up or caught up on some rust. The screw isn't hard to take out. Just undo the 3 screws on the front and it should slide right out. Spray some kind of liquid wrench in around the slide and leave it for a while and try again. Repeat a few times and it may come free. I'm sure a few of the more experienced vise guys will be along shortly with some ideas.

 

[hammergodthor]

No, its definitely not worth it, you should send it to me, I'll even pay shipping!

 

[canuckian]

Oh, and if you decide to take it and the restoration doesnt work out, I'll buy the swivel base from you if it'll fit mine ( mine has 4 inch jaws. Not sure what that one has) so, see? Even if you can't get it fixed up, you can make a few $$!

 

[Outlawmws]

Definitely worth fixing up! Take a look at the "Vises of GJ" (It's always near the top) and take a look at some of the restores.

 

[v7guy]

After the collar is removed the screw should slide out.

It looks in decent shape, I'd fix her up and put her to work. If you don't want to bother there are plenty of guys here that would buy it.

 

[Garyss.smith]

It sounds like it could be fixed easily.... GO FOR IT

I just got a wilton 450s from a fellow who said it had set outside for 30 years and the dynamic jaw (front jaw) was stuck so bad he said it was toast. so I got it for free. I stood it on end and sprayed PB Blaster into the slide 2 or 3 times a day for 2 weeks--- after which it broke free and is now sitting in the electrolysis bath.

Oh yes Mine was missing some parts, but I have found a supply for them

Gary

 

[tfreer85]

Okay, so I'm getting in contact with whoever the "possible owners" are to make sure I take away their "junk pile". The thing that worries me is looking at some the parts from grainger, its going to cost a fair amount of $$, which I currently have none. Hopefully, it'll be an elbow grease only sort of ordeal.

 

[autopts]

Hi, that 00178 is their zip code, 60176. Let us see the whole vise and we all can give you options and suggestions.

 

[tfreer85]

Hi, that 00178 is their zip code, 60176. Let us see the whole vise and we all can give you options and suggestions.

That explains why I couldn't really find any parts... sometimes I feel like such a newb...I'll grab some more pictures tomorrow and do a little better inspection. Thanks for the feedback so far!

 

[DavidB]

Unless something is horribly wrong with the vise in the parts not pictured, definitely clean it up! It'll come out nice I imagine.

 

[tfreer85]

From the best I can tell its an 01198 model, the stamping on the bottom is extremely difficult to read. That isn't water on the bottom its jax (food grade wd40)...

 

[warmpancakes]

yes Its worth it even if you put 50 cash into it you would be way ahead

 

[tfreer85]

Got it, well its now sitting in a 5-gallon bucket of LC-30 industrial strength acid (mostly phosphoric acid), I'll probably let it sit overnight and monitor it. My searches for parts based off the 01198 model is providing me nothing on this vise...

 

[tfreer85]

Well, the first soak was pretty successful. I was able to get the "jaw side" out and cleaned up pretty well. I then soaked it in a caustic batch for a couple hours, high pressure water and a lot of the grease came off pretty easy. Some big, THICK nasty chunks of grease came flowing out. I put it back in an LC-30 acid bath and am letting that sit overnight. Will probably bring it home after the majority of the grease nasty is gone. The screw collar is held on by 3 screws all badly stripped out I will probably drill those out, just need to find some cheap parts now... Thanks for the encouragement, my wife will hate you .

 

[autopts]

The screw collar is held on by 3 screws all badly stripped out I will probably drill those out, just need to find some cheap parts now... Thanks for the encouragement, my wife will hate you .

Depending on the width of the jaws, if they are 3 1/2 wide, its a C0, 4 1/2, its a C1. The collar screws you can get at a Hardware store. They are 10/32

 

[tfreer85]

Okay so damage assessment after I soaked and partial disassemble:

1) Stripped & Bent collar Assembly
2) Female "nut" pins are broken off (still in the bullet "casing" but not touching the nut)
3) Rear Cap missing

Gotta say, I think I'm going to be happy I brought this home. Will need a little bit of work, but it glides in and out with just WD40 greasing it and a little pressure on the female nut to hold it in place.

 

[Slip_Kid]

Sounds like you made good progress on the vise, Show some more pictures and keep us update.