Wilton 3" bullet vise

[silence dogood]

Perhaps you could make something for your neighbor. A few years ago, a friend gave me an old HF 14" bandsaw. This one was made in Tiawan! Replace the belts and replace one of the bearings and it works just fine. Later, he came to me and was trying to come up with a keep's sake box for his daughter. Happened to have some nice, figured wood on hand, so I made him one. Sometime after that, he told me how much his daughter liked the box and how grateful he felt.

 

[682bear]

I think the key in the slide will have a date stamp. Mine was worn too badly to read, but is worth checking, if you want to know the manufacture date.

From what I've read, most (if not all) of the bullet vises made during WW2 were made for the war effort and are not dated. The date stamps were added when they began supplying vises to the civilian market.

-Bear

 

[RandyM]

You would really please your neighbor if you spend the time and restore it. It would show him you really appreciated his generosity.

 

[FOMOGO]

By what I can see of the jaws it looks like it had very little hard use. If it were mine I would disassemble it, bead blast the exterior parts and repaint in your preferred color. Check, clean, and lube the screw and nut, assemble and put it to work. Mike

 

[Nesse1]

By what I can see of the jaws it looks like it had very little hard use. If it were mine I would disassemble it, bead blast the exterior parts and repaint in your preferred color. Check, clean, and lube the screw and nut, assemble and put it to work. Mike

The first post in this threads suggests that the photo is not the actual vise in question.

I agree with your approach of media blasting for cleanup, and repainting. In fact, I'm looking for a project vice myself. Wiltons's are expensive, though. I'm leaning more towards a Starrett/Athol. Finding a unit that's not abused is difficult, though.

 

[Gnpenning]

Every relationship is different and needs to be respectful. I have 2 neighbors that we give each other things. One on a regular basis. He gave me a large box of structural screws a couple years ago. A few weeks ago asked if I had any left, which I did. I gladly dropped a bunch off and was told he didn't need so many. We are comfortable enough with each other we can do that. I have know idea if we are equal in helping, I just know we are willing to help each other when needed.

The suggestion to let him know the value is solid if he doesn't already know. Making him something or lending a hand is always a good thing.

Great vise.

 

[mmcmdl]

My neighbor in between my 2 houses and I have swapped stuff out for years . Not a week goes by without something changing garages ! He has a Bobcat loader and has helped me many times in the past . I have the Kubota with all the implements and help him many times . He actually has more stuff than I do owning a plumbing / construction company . Our wives quit asking questions years ago and just go with the flow these days . 3 days ago I bought 26 12' 6 x 6s from him that were laid into a playground and never buried . Plan on using these for a couple walls down the other house . I'm setting up an area for a lacrosse field for his kids in the back field at the moment . I always wanted a baseball diamond but my kids have all grown up .

 

[mmcmdl]

As far as vises . I sold a smaller bullet to someone on here and kept my 6" for future use . Still have the large Starrett 945 that needs repair along with a few others lying around . Been holding onto my late Dad's smaller Littlestown Pa. vise for going on 55 years now .

 

[G-ManBart]

Here's the actual vise. Apparently, the low position of the pin (on the left) and the shape of the fish-hook shaped line under "Wilton Tool Company" nails the casting to before 1945.

Yes, that's from before 1945 for sure. Unfortunately, it has a large section of the jaw support broken out of the body which drastically reduces the value. From a use standpoint it will still work, but rather than a $300 vise it's more like a $100-150 vise and that's mostly because it has the older, solid, 180* swivel base assembly which can be hard to find. Sorry, I know that's not what you want to hear.

My website has a summary of how to tell the age of a Wilton bullet vise (any with the round, enclosed screw), but it needs an update now that some additional information has been found. The short, short version is that from 1941 to the end of 1944 there was no date stamp on the key. Starting in January of 1945 they added the date the vise was completed for sale (sometimes castings would sit around a while). A few years later they updated their warranty policy and those vises were marked with the guarantee expiration date, so they would say "GUAR EXP XX-XXXX" so they were made five years prior to the date on the slide. Eventually they dropped the GUAR EXP so you subtract five years from the date on the key starting in 1959 going forward to the modern era....i.e. if your vise has a 1975 date stamp, it was finished for sale in 1970 (the casting could be older as historical pictures show piles of castings in bulk). There's more info on my site, just know I haven't updated the part about the 1959 forward date markings.

www.mivise.com

 

[G-ManBart]

From what I've read, most (if not all) of the bullet vises made during WW2 were made for the war effort and are not dated. The date stamps were added when they began supplying vises to the civilian market.

-Bear

That's a topic of some dispute that I don't think has ever been resolved (civilian sales). Wilton definitely was a selling vises to the war effort, but some people have found references to them being sold outside of government agencies or defense contract work as well. The date stamp info is correct...no date stamp from 1941 through the end of 1944.