# Beat-up Vintage Wilton Vise



## wquiles (Aug 27, 2011)

Just picket up this yesterday from an older and retired man in city (via Craig's List) for $60. Moves fairly smoothly, but it has been severely beat-up. I have not seen a "tool" so poorly taken care off.

Here are the photos posted in Craig's list:

















And after a little bit of cleaning, you can see how bad it really is, including a couple of cracks on the fixed jaw/base side:


























The hard jaws are exactly 4" wide. Both jaws are miss-aligned, and all 4x bolts holding the jaws were bent. The lower portion of the fixed jaw has broken/shear off:











The stamping reads 1173, so this was manufactured on November 1973 (model on base is 101028, and I think it reads 101027 on the movable jaw), so it is almost 40 years old. It seems that the poor thing has been abused all along - almost as if it was abused on purpose. It appears it was hit on every surface, from every possible angle:





























































Definitely not as in nice condition as Barry's:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?298295-Wilton-450S-Bullet-Vise-restoration



EDIT:
Photos of the restoration process (not yet completed as of 9/19/2011)

OK, so after disassembly, I started by cleaning the vise some more:

















Then I drilled some holes along the cracks to fill-in. Initially I was going to braze, but ended up using JB Weld:





















I then sand blasted all parts:































Good look at the damaged fixed jaw. And by the way, all screw holes for the jaws are badly damaged, so I will have to drill them out and start over with larger ones:






I then filed down the epoxy where it touched the other parts, and also filed down all of the imperfections in the sliding tube (movable jaw part):











I after cleaning and pre-heating (to 100F, per Norrell's instructions), I applied a very thin coat of Flat Black Moly Resin to protect against rust. I did not want anything thicker as I don't want to hide the vise's last life(s)- I "do" want to show how badly it was treated before.:




































I coated parts twice, first one side, when the other side. The screw part was the most difficult to "handle" while spraying:






Parts have to reach 300F for at least one hour. The main vise (fixed jaw) having so much iron, took the longest to fully warm up, and it took for ever to cool down afterwards:






Although it did not help much (it was still a very tight fit) I tried cooling down the back piece:







Assembly. Back piece in place:











Greasing the main channel and the "screw":











Installing the hard steel guide:






Checking for alignment - excellent. Almost zero rotational play, although there is of course up-down play due to the loose fit of the two main parts:






Finished the assembly:

















I need to fabricate an end cap to cover/protect the screw from dirt/debris:






I am now ready for the machining part of this project - to recut/align the existing face, and create a new face for the fixed jaw:






A steel piece under high tension will keep the jaws from moving while they are being machined, a very light pass at a time:







Update: Oct 2 2011
Got some "quality" time with my Walton vise. Making progress ...

Since only one side had any sort of "face" to use for reference, I used it to align the vise to the table:






I did the machining of the new faces in two steps. First using a "coarser" insert-based cutter, and a final cut using a sharp, solid carbide cutter. Here I am getting setup to start:






Started on the tops:





















I then started to cut the new face:





















I then get ready for the solid carbide cutter:


























Edit: October 8th, 2011:
Started work on the soft jaws. Upon a recommendation from Barry, I am using premium Alcoa "mic 6" cast plate aluminum. This piece is 1" thick, and it was a cut-off piece from Ebay - like $10 including shipping:











So I am making two sets of matched soft jaws:
















The material cuts very easily:











Here are the four pieces (still dirty):






Once I remove the protective film on both side and clean them, they look like this:






You can see here the cuts I made with my band saw, and the more "raw" cut from this scrap piece (as it came to me):






The top/bottom have the awesome factory smooth look Barry told us about (note this piece has a few nicks):






This is how they look in the vise:











For this job I am using my 2" cutter, with Al-specific inserts (spindle speed set at 1300 rpm):






Not "perfect", but I am getting a cross pattern - kind of hard to photograph:

















Once I cut them, I marked the two sets (F for fixed jaw, M for the jaw that moves):






And this is why you "need" a NEMA4 enclosure for your VFD:






Edit: October 9th, 2011
Still not done, but got the jaws drilled/counterbored today:






De-burred both ends of the hole by hand (Al is so soft!):






Finished (for now) soft jaws:











Next step, mark, drill, and thread the iron jaws (fixed and mobile):







Edit October 12, 2011
Last night I spent a little bit of time getting the soft jaws installed:





















Mounted, but not quite "ready" yet :devil:











Take the two jaws to my Kurt vise, and center the Y axis:






First make a cut about 0.1" deep:











Then use the dovetail cutter:











I still need to file the sharp edges and round the corners, but this first set of soft jaws is now ready:











And in use:













Edit Oct 14, 2011:
Today I finished the second set of soft jaws:




















































I also put two o-rings at each end of the steel bar, and now there is no metal hitting metal even when releasing it from the highest point:






EDIT: Oct 15, 2011
OK, last operation on the vise completed today. I still need to fabricate a cap for the rear of the vise, but no more machining/restoring to the vise itself is needed !!!


I first took like 0.020" of the top of each soft jaw, so that the engagement would happen more toward the back of each cutout - very little, but worth doing so that parts get in/out a little bit easier:











So as I was saying this is the last operation - to smooth out and make flat again the back of the vise - the "anvil" part:





















And ready for maybe another 20-30 years of use 











In fact, I was attaching some custom Halpern Titanium scales for my Spyderco Mule #11 (M390 steel) so I started using the "new" vise already:
















Will


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## PEU (Aug 27, 2011)

sadly the shipping is high otherwise I would send you some maintenance welding electrodes I sell, the alloy for cast iron is amazing. In any case, a vise is something I would expect to be beaten, but look at the bright side... restoring it will be fun and rewarding if succesfull 


Pablo


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## wquiles (Aug 27, 2011)

If I had noticed the cracks "before" I bought it, I would had walked away from this one. But lesson learned 

I need to find a local welder that can weld cast iron, and of course for a reasonable cost. If not, I will consider the old JB weld to at least have a usable small vise in my "shop" until a better Wilton can be found


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## StrikerDown (Aug 27, 2011)

Looks like that vise squeezed a hand grenade just a bit too tight!


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## StrikerDown (Aug 29, 2011)

I bet this poor old beast spent it's better days on the read bumper of a work truck. I can't imagine any way to abuse a vise so badly while mounted on a work bench in a shop. Then if it were a cold country vice the little cracks could be made bigger every time it froze.


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## precisionworks (Aug 29, 2011)

> Definitely not as in nice condition as Barry's:


That all depends on which vise :nana:











Starrett Athol vise, #924 1/2, free for the asking plus a few hours labor. 

Jaw shelf as received:






And after milling:






Resurfacing the anvil:






And painted:






Your Wilton is no worse off than the Starrett Athol vise :devil:


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## BVH (Aug 30, 2011)

Barry, not sure I have this right...The freshly painted Starrett/Athol vice directly above is the Hammerite color? If not, what brand and color is it. I gotta get some! It's beautiful.

EDIT: On second thought, it looks like the Rustoleum Hammered Deep Green?


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## precisionworks (Aug 30, 2011)

The Starrett Athol vise was rebuilt about 5 years ago but I'm not sure if the paint was Hammerite (made by Masterchem) or Hammered (by Rust-Oleum). Our local Ace Hardware & True Value have sold both & I buy what looks OK at the time. Great stuff for covering up defects as anything could be hiding under that textured paint :devil:


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## StrikerDown (Aug 31, 2011)

:laughing:Here ya go will, ready to bolt down:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380361777040?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

This one made me drool... just a little! A bit pricey for my taste though! They want more for shipping than you paid for your vise! 

My vise rebuilding thus far consists of buying a demo from HF with a missing handle for $15. Turned a handle to fit disassembled cleaned and re-greased. Vise works good, the jaws are parallel to each other and within 15 degrees of being perpendicular to the jack screw!:laughing: In other words typical Chinese quality! But it works!

Dang, Barry is at least as good as spending my money as the Barry in DC! Now he's created a Vise Vice!!

On the up side at least with our Barry we get to keep the toys...


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## precisionworks (Aug 31, 2011)

That would be my brother buried in dc. Sorry I meant to say Barry'd in Dc :laughing:

The vise on ebay has no good close up photos, and everything looks good from 6 feet away. Mine came from the practical machinist Forum but it did not cost a lot. 

Even a personal inspection is no guarantee as there is usually a thick layer of dirt and grease that will hide any defect.


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## wquiles (Sep 1, 2011)

precisionworks said:


> Even a personal inspection is no guarantee as there is usually a thick layer of dirt and grease that will hide any defect.


 
Which was exactly what happened to me. It never even occurred to me to look for cracks under all of that dirt/grease. Lesson learned


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## Drywolf (Sep 1, 2011)

Can this vise be repaired? If it were mine I think it would be scrapped. But I am very interested if this vise can be restored. I realize for enough labor and money anything is possible. What are your plans for this tool? Would the stuff PEU mentioned make everything better? (maintenance welding electrodes I sell, the alloy for cast iron).


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## precisionworks (Sep 1, 2011)

> Can this vise be repaired?


Yes. For tight cracks like those in the vise, brazing is the preferred method because the parent material (cast iron) never reaches the liquidus temperature of 2000°F. The braze filler material melts around 1000°F and flows into the crack by capillary action. Cracks that are at least .001" wide are candidates, and the upper limit is .010"-.020". Flux covered brazing rod runs about $10 a tube at most welding supply stores. A MAPP gas cylinder with propane torch head is plenty of heat for this work. Pick up a pair of dark goggles for $5 at the welding supply store & that's all you would need.


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## Beamhead (Sep 1, 2011)

Here is one that has been in my family as long as I can remember, still works fine.


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## wquiles (Sep 18, 2011)

I am not done yet, but I updated the first post with some of the work I have done this weekend towards "restoring" the vise. Although restoring is to strong of a word - perhaps, making it into a "working" vise might be more appropriate:






Will


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## precisionworks (Sep 19, 2011)

> I need to fabricate an end cap to cover/protect the screw from dirt/debris:


Here's the factory part:







And here's a machined cap that's a press fit:


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## wquiles (Sep 19, 2011)

Thanks Barry


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## wquiles (Oct 3, 2011)

First post updated with the machining for the new faces for the two jaws:


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## kuksul08 (Oct 3, 2011)

What is the allure of restoring these damaged vises, and why Wilton in particular?


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## StrikerDown (Oct 3, 2011)

Made in America, some before WWII. I don't think anyone would want to get a hold of one in this bad of shape... Even Will said he would have passed on this one had he noticed the cracks! Not many 40, 50 or 60 year old pieces of equipment these days are still in use and even fewer perform better than newer replacements, Wilton vises when working correctly DO! Plus most often they work well as is before any restoration!

And besides, they are from the same state Barry lives in!


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## StrikerDown (Oct 3, 2011)

Will, Great work so far. I am curious how much thicker will the fixed jaw need to be to still make contact when closed and are you making the fixed and movable jaws both thicker so they look the same?

I have to say you really love a challenge!


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## wquiles (Oct 3, 2011)

kuksul08 said:


> What is the allure of restoring these damaged vises, and why Wilton in particular?


Great question. Wiltons were made with a much stronger iron than your average vise, so they were made better. I am sure Barry can give you more/better technical reasons "why" we picked Wiltons.

But certainly not all reasons are "logical". Yes, if I have seen the cracks, I would have pass on this one. But once I got it, and shared the pictures in the Garage Journal forum, and pretty much everyone told me to scrap it, "then" I had a mission. I "had" to get this old piece of metal into something useful again. So again, nothing logical, since I will end up spending more shop time (at $60/hour) restoring this vise than if I were to get a newer one, but it was almost a matter of pride in doing something by hand, probably like machinist did decades ago where making or fixing stuff was the only option - scraping this vise just felt like the wrong thing to do. Either that or I am mostly crazy :devil:




StrikerDown said:


> Will, Great work so far. I am curious how much thicker will the fixed jaw need to be to still make contact when closed and are you making the fixed and movable jaws both thicker so they look the same?
> 
> I have to say you really love a challenge!


The last picture showed the two new jaws at the closest position. So measuring from the top of each jaw (widest distance), I now have 1.55" gap (at the bottom of the jaws, the gap is about 0.75" wide). I already have the material for the soft jaws on hand, I just have not started with the machining for those yet


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## precisionworks (Oct 3, 2011)

> why Wilton in particular?


There are about half a dozen vises in the world that are equal to the Wilton. Some people will argue that Reed or Parker are better & maybe they are but Wilton is easier to find & you don't need a second mortgage to buy a used one. 

They can be cracked as Will's vise shows, but it takes lots of abuse to get to that point. Other vises are headed to the scrapper about the time a Wilton gets broken in and smoothed out, say 20 years more or less. After that you'll have the smoothest vise ever made for the next hundred years, maybe more.


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## wquiles (Oct 8, 2011)

Made progress today on the soft jaws ...







Will


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## precisionworks (Oct 8, 2011)

Those look good. What material did you use?


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## wquiles (Oct 8, 2011)

precisionworks said:


> Those look good. What material did you use?



What you recommended: Alcoa MIC 6 Aluminum plate:
http://www.alcoa.com/industrial/en/products/product.asp?market_cat_id=534&prod_id=619


Post #1 has been updated with the rest of the pictures 

Will


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## wquiles (Oct 9, 2011)

Still not done, but got the jaws drilled/counterbored today:






De-burred both ends of the hole by hand (Al is so soft!):






Finished (for now) soft jaws:











Next step, mark, drill, and thread the iron jaws (fixed and mobile):






Will


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## wquiles (Oct 12, 2011)

Last night I spent a little bit of time getting the soft jaws installed:





















Mounted, but not quite "ready" yet :devil:











Take the two jaws to my Kurt vise, and center the Y axis:






First make a cut about 0.1" deep:











Then use the dovetail cutter:











I still need to file the sharp edges and round the corners, but this first set of soft jaws is now ready:











And in use:













I have something different planned for the second set of soft jaws 

Not too bad for a vise that many said to scrap, right?

Will


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## precisionworks (Oct 12, 2011)

Those double step jaws are very nice


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## wquiles (Oct 13, 2011)

Thanks. I got the idea for soft jaws from you, from your fixtures, so this would give my "restored" vise additional functionality. That is also why I decided to machine two sets from the get-go, as I can assure they will "fit" right.

Will


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## wquiles (Oct 14, 2011)

Today I finished the second set of soft jaws:




















































I also put two o-rings at each end of the steel bar, and now there is no metal hitting metal even when releasing it from the highest point:






I have just ONE operation to complete my restoration of the vise - hopefully tomorrow 

Will


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## StrikerDown (Oct 15, 2011)

That's some awesome stuff Will! Very nice...

What is the tool that looks bent, I assume it is a boring bar of some type?


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## wquiles (Oct 15, 2011)

StrikerDown said:


> That's some awesome stuff Will! Very nice...
> 
> What is the tool that looks bent, I assume it is a boring bar of some type?



Yes, it is a custom HSS steel bar that I made for another project a couple of years ago - made from water hardening drill rod


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## Th232 (Oct 15, 2011)

The vice looks great, and I may have to borrow that O-ring idea for my own vice.


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## wquiles (Oct 15, 2011)

OK, last operation on the vise completed today. I still need to fabricate a cap for the rear of the vise, but no more machining/restoring to the vise itself is needed !!!

I first took like 0.020" of the top of each soft jaw, so that the engagement would happen more toward the back of each cutout - very little, but worth doing so that parts get in/out a little bit easier:











So as I was saying this is the last operation - to smooth out and make flat again the back of the vise - the "anvil" part:





















Before pictures:
















After pictures. Ready for maybe another 20-30 years of use 











In fact, I was attaching some custom Halpern Titanium scales for my Spyderco Mule #11 (M390 steel) so I started using the "new" vise already:
















Will


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## jonnyfgroove (Oct 15, 2011)

Thank you for making this thread, and excellent work! :rock:


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