# Wilton vise repair - need advice



## T. J. (Aug 1, 2017)

I bought a nice welding bench in an auction this weekend that had a large Wilton vise on it - I think it's a C3. While I was mainly interested in the bench, I was excited to have the vise as well. On closer inspection, I found that someone had attempted to weld the stem to the moveable jaw. As you can see from the pic, the weld has completely failed. Also, there are 3 tapped holes in the jaw casting for bolts to jam onto the stem. After removing the bolts, I was able to slip the stem out of the casting. There is absolutely no thread engagement between the stem and casting. So I'm puzzled as to how this happened in the first place. Was the fit sloppy from the factory and eventually the threads stripped?  I don't think properly fitting threads would have stripped like that. 

Regardless of why this happened originally, I'm left to decide if this vise is worth re-repairing, and if so, how to go about it. Some options I've come up with so far are:

Use the tapped holes in the casting and drill into the stem, so that the bolts actually pass thru the wall of the stem.
Grind the failed weldment off of the stem and braze it in the same place. Possibly do this in combination with option 1.
Make a new stem with threads to match the casting. This is obviously the most complicated (and quite possibly beyond my ability)
What do y'all think - waste of time?  Any other ideas?


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## dlane (Aug 1, 2017)

Just bought new jaws for my 400s , eBay nos Wilton, hope there goodins, $39.


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## Bob Korves (Aug 1, 2017)

The Wilton bullet vises are built hell for stout.  It takes major abuse to achieve a failure like you are looking at.  Considering the investment you have in it, you can certainly attempt to repair it, but the repair might well fail, so don't spend much money on it or waste too much time and effort.  It looks like a difficult but interesting challenge...


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## Jubil (Aug 2, 2017)

Do an internet search for parts. You'll probably find that they are somewhat expensive. I repaired mine, then saw used vices cheaper than the parts. Local ad papers are a good place to look along with eBay and Craigslist


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## markba633csi (Aug 2, 2017)

Hard to believe the factory used such a fine thread. Those side bolts may have been added later.  You might try JB welding back together, it might make a pretty strong repair, but you still have the screw to deal with.  Tough decision.
Mark S.


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## Groundhog (Aug 2, 2017)

No idea if this is even possible or worth it but ...
Since it looks like you have quite a bit of meat there could you make a custom thread repair insert? Thread a sleeve internally to fit the shaft and thread the OD of the insert to match new threads cut in the vise jaw. I don't know why it wouldn't work (but I'm sure someone will point out why  ).
If you don't have a lathe I bet someone here would take on the project.


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## GoceKU (Aug 2, 2017)

Looks like someone been using it like a press, it's all bent and the treads streeped, if you can fix it for less money then buying a good one do it, better repair would be to clean everything ground the old weld off, and braze it with silicon bronze make sure to get shrunk in between the two parts, and should hold as good as new.


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## Jonathans (Aug 2, 2017)

TJ,
I've restored a couple bullet vises.  My suggestion to you is that unless this has value to you as a collectible, remain aware that 
repair and parts could run you close to what a newer used model in perfect shape might cost you.  I tend to steer away from welded vises
if anything better is available.


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## Cheeseking (Aug 2, 2017)

There's always one or two in every auction listing I see.   They go for $50 -$250 range  and usually attached to a ratty (or sometimes not) work bench.   If your not in a hurry it could be better option.   Time and effort to rebuild plus cost of parts then still having something less than ideal doesn't sound appealing.  To me at least.


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## dlane (Aug 2, 2017)

Just ordered new jaws for this one, Wilton wanted $118. Ebay N.O.S $38. Guess wich ones I ordered


Cobbled together the aluminum soft jaws


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## T. J. (Aug 2, 2017)

Thanks for the replies fellas. I'm thinking along the same lines as most of you that it's probably more trouble than it's worth. Although the threaded sleeve idea has got me thinking... I'm going to inspect those threads and cipher on it


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## Groundhog (Aug 2, 2017)

T. J. said:


> Thanks for the replies fellas. I'm thinking along the same lines as most of you that it's probably more trouble than it's worth. Although the threaded sleeve idea has got me thinking... I'm going to inspect those threads and cipher on it


T.J. if you decide to try it please let me know the results. I'm really curious to see if it will work. In fact I'm going to keep my eye out for a deal on a similar broken tool (not necessarily a vise) and give it a try.


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## Silverbullet (Aug 4, 2017)

At worse I'd at least try the brazing it up after cleaning . The other parts can be made or bought , the highest price will be the threaded adjustment piece. Then the nut , the other items are trivial. I'd try it no matter , if the brazing turns out good then go forward. Couple silicon rods is worth it . You could probably pin it in a couple spots for more strength. Just my thoughts , I never give up


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## T. J. (Aug 6, 2017)

After cleaning up the threads and inspecting a little closer, the threaded sleeve repair seems to be impractical. The threads on both pieces are stripped too badly, such that it would require rethreading of both pieces. The shaft would be fairly easy to turn down and rethread. The jaw casting - much more difficult to bore out and rethread (with my equipment). 

So, my plan is to braze it. I will be using oxy-acetylene for the task, as I don't have a TIG-welder. I figure I need to preheat the parts well prior to brazing. Can someone suggest a temperature to preheat to?  I have a laser thermometer that I can measure with.


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## rock_breaker (Aug 11, 2017)

Would it be possible to drill a hole for a round key in each half of the threads then use the J B Weld in the worn threads as mentioned earlier by marba633csi then inserting a close fitting pin in the hole?
Ray


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## Mikebr5 (Aug 11, 2017)

I get all giddy over old vises, and if they need some work even more so! So I saw this thread title and eagerly leaned forward ready for VISE PORN.  *rubs hands*
When I saw the weld my heart dropped and stopped... and my wife could hear my audible disappointment from the kitchen. 
What a shame.


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## whitmore (Aug 12, 2017)

T. J. said:


> After cleaning up the threads and inspecting a little closer, the threaded sleeve repair seems to be impractical. The threads on both pieces are stripped too badly



I'm not happy with the thought of gas-brazing a deep joint like that, with uncontrolled gap; could you
instead build up the rod part with brazing, and then thread IT to match the (perhaps abused)
jaw?
Furnace brazing, on a clean pair of surfaces, with the right flux, could make the joint
effectively, but you generally want well-controlled gaps for such work.   Building up the rod
part (or machining a new rod) seems more practical.    It's not clear to me (from the pix)
that the casting has bad thread damage, could the shaft be a poorly made replacement
for a damaged original part?


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## markba633csi (Aug 12, 2017)

If you do the JB weld repair, heat it to about 100 degrees F while it cures, makes a very strong repair.
Mark


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## T. J. (Aug 14, 2017)

whitmore said:


> I'm not happy with the thought of gas-brazing a deep joint like that, with uncontrolled gap


I've been worried about that myself.  I've never brazed anything this big before.  Also, it seems to me that the large cast iron jaw will be a tremendous heat sink, making it hard to get it hot enough.



whitmore said:


> It's not clear to me (from the pix)
> that the casting has bad thread damage, could the shaft be a poorly made replacement
> for a damaged original part?


I had to use a mirror to get a good look at those internal threads, but they are stripped off flat similar to the threads on the shaft.  There may be about half of the thread depth left.  When I first took this thing apart I thought that those were Acme threads, but the 'valleys' are definitely a 'V'.


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## markba633csi (Aug 14, 2017)

Maybe wrap some small gauge steel wire on the thread just to take up enough space so it would screw together and slather it with epoxy
Mark


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## Superburban (Aug 14, 2017)

Does brazing suck up into the joint like soldering? Thinking out load that a hard solder sucked inside might hold better that a brazing that does not.

Maybe even putting a sleeve inside the tube, to give more wall thickness to thread for the bolts to hold into. Drill the holes in the jaw, then screw in the tube (with insert inside). Then braze (or solder), from the end, and through the holes. Then drill and tap the tube, and insert the bolts. 

Or maybe some pins, instead of bolts.


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## KBeitz (Oct 1, 2018)

I'm with the JB-weld... You got a lot of area to cover and with that much JB it should hold up well.


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## rwm (Oct 1, 2018)

I would try brazing. Can you sandblast first to get it chemically clean? You may need to make a makeshift furnace to pre-heat. If you have insulating ceramic wool or insulating firebrick available you could build a primative enclosure and use a weed burner to pre-heat. I am thinking just stack up some firebrick around the parts.
Robert


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