Ugly Duckling, Wilton Vise Restoration 2

[mmcmdl]

This is the new edition . Cheaply built 3 1/2" but a Wilton . The blurry pic shows the crack . Sort of a blueish green color .

 

[G-ManBart]

Blasting using 100 grit aluminum oxide or silicon carbide will strip and clean with minimal fuss, and NOT erode the metal enough to notice without a microscope. Walnut shell on cast iron?

I don't know the exact media folks are using, as they never seem to be specific, but I've seen sandblasted vises with before and after pictures showing the lettering has softened enough to notice and sometimes the surface winds up with a sugared appearance. Sure walnut shell on cast iron...actually ductile iron in this case. You're not trying to do anything to the metal and it'll take off corrosion and paint just fine.

The vise nerds on places like Garage Journal have documented it pretty well. Less aggressive media like glass beads, soda, walnut...all fine. More aggressive media can soften lettering and cause a change in texture. If anybody thinks that's impossible, just take a piece of sandpaper with the same media and run it over your vise.

Using something like a wire wheel gets cast iron/ductile iron more than clean enough for proper paint adhesion. If it doesn't come off with a wire wheel, it's not coming off. I stopped counting how many vises I've restored when I got to 300...haven't had issues with paint failures yet, so I'm pretty confident in the process.

 

[G-ManBart]

Wow, thanks for the info, I guess have a rare one! To add to the mystery the date is stamped 6 30 6? There is a pin where the last last digit of the year should be. So, did they take advantage of the pin as a zero, for 60? Or was the date stamped before the hole was drilled and that digit obliterated?

Yeah, I didn't keep track of the base styles on all the Wiltons I've had, but only a handful with that style smooth tab base. I'm pretty sure they were either taking advantage of the pin or doing it as sort of a joke..."hey, let's stamp a zero over the pin" sort of thing.

The guys over on Garage Journal sorted through even more date stamps, period catalogs, etc to refine the info on Wilton date stamps. Your vise was finished (often castings sat around for quite some time) in 1955. The 6/30/60 would be the expiration of the warranty period (5 years). Prior to that they had "GUAR EXP" before the dates. They simply eliminated the GUAR EXP from the stamp. I haven't confirmed it, but I think they were using quarterly expiration dates rather than the actual date the vise was finished...I don't recall seeing a date like 6/12/60 or anything along those lines.

 

[brino]

@Eddyde

Thanks for all the pictures!
I'm "watching" this thread.

Brian

 

[Eddyde]

Update:
I processed all the rusted parts with Evaporust in the ultrasonic cleaner. As expected, it removed all the rust very quickly. Even the heavily rusted inner ring only took 45min. I lightly buffed everything with a maroon Scotchbrite pad.

Ready for primer!

 

[Eddyde]

Yeah, I didn't keep track of the base styles on all the Wiltons I've had, but only a handful with that style smooth tab base. I'm pretty sure they were either taking advantage of the pin or doing it as sort of a joke..."hey, let's stamp a zero over the pin" sort of thing.

The guys over on Garage Journal sorted through even more date stamps, period catalogs, etc to refine the info on Wilton date stamps. Your vise was finished (often castings sat around for quite some time) in 1955. The 6/30/60 would be the expiration of the warranty period (5 years). Prior to that they had "GUAR EXP" before the dates. They simply eliminated the GUAR EXP from the stamp. I haven't confirmed it, but I think they were using quarterly expiration dates rather than the actual date the vise was finished...I don't recall seeing a date like 6/12/60 or anything along those lines.

Thanks for the Info, My other Wilton has 4-50 stamped on the bottom of the key, so that means that vise was completed in April of 1945. I guess that goes against the quarterly theory though they may have adopted it later on.

 

[G-ManBart]

Thanks for the Info, My other Wilton has 4-50 stamped on the bottom of the key, so that means that vise was completed in April of 1945. I guess that goes against the quarterly theory though they may have adopted it later on.

As with all things Wilton...the date stamp process evolved over time. From 1941 to 1944 there were no date stamps. From January 1945 until roughly early 1954 they stamped the vise with the month and year it was finished for sale. From then on the date was when the 5 year guarantee expired and the earliest of those added GUAR EXP to the date, but dropped the letters eventually. So, your other vise was completed in April of 1950. The crazy thing is, the date stamps are simple compared to some of the other things they did over time like casting codes on the parts...that'll really make your head hurt! Your current vise has 835 and 935 casting codes on the main parts. Some people use those as model names, but period catalogs show that's not correct...it's a model 350S as configured. The same vise without the swivel was cataloged as a 350N....guessing N for No swivel base, or something along those lines.

 

[opsoff1]

Not highjack the thread (apologies) - but I literally pulled this out of a dumpster - G-Man - any insight on what this is?

 

[682bear]

Not highjack the thread (apologies) - but I literally pulled this out of a dumpster - G-Man - any insight on what this is?

It looks like a C0... the baby brother to my C3...



Nice find!

-Bear

 

[G-ManBart]

Not highjack the thread (apologies) - but I literally pulled this out of a dumpster - G-Man - any insight on what this is?

Wow, some dumpster find!

That's a two-pin version of the Wilton C0 combination vise. When I say two-pin, it means it has two dowel pins securing the pipe jaws rather than later versions which had one pin, then a set screw and then the current versions which use hidden spring clips.

Many people think the two-pin C vises are some of the best looking Wiltons and I agree with them! Also, the C0 is often overlooked because the jaws are only 3.5" wide, but the body is so much larger, and stronger, than typical 5-6" vises you find now at big box stores there is no comparison. I honestly think it's a perfect all-around garage shop vise for most people.

I don't recall the year range they went from 2 to 1 pins, but I think it was in the 60s. You vise was made in Schiller Park, so after 1957. I'd say 60s for sure as it has the half-hex swivel lock handles. Unscrew the moving jaw all the way, wipe off the key and see if it's got a date (it should).