Wilton Combo Vise Rehab

[682bear]

I picked up a rusty, crusty Wilton vise for cheap... for three reasons.

1. It was cheap...

2. It is a Wilton... probably an offshore made Wilton, but still a Wilton...

3. It was cheap...



This morning I disassembled it to evaluate and inspect it. I have concluded that it was purchased and stored in a damp area, but either never used, or very lightly used.

The top of the jaws have no scratches or dents at all, and there is what appears to be two quality control stickers still present on the fixed jaw...



The jaw inserts have no marks or scratches and appear to still be coated with cosmoline 'as shipped'...





After cleaning off the gummy cosmoline, the jaw inserts appear to be in perfect condition, with the exception of a few rust stains...



The top of the 'anvil' has no hammer marks... after using scotchbrite to remove most of the rust, the machining marks are visible...



All of the moving parts are very tight with no slop or play in anything.

The only issues that I can see is a decent amount of surface rust, and the paint is peeling around most of the edges.

It's about to be dunked in the degreasing tank for a couple of days... after which I will attempt to strip the paint off.

-Bear

 

[Jake M]

I've had several of those. Lowes or Home Depot I think. No doubt they were cheapies, because I didn't pay enough for them, and definitely made in China. Two at work got torn up too fast. The jaw "seats" got deformed first, then eventually (several years) the fixed jaw broke right off. I ended up with a larger Yost that's better suited. We (mostly me) wailed on those poor little Wiltons though, in ways that are probably not a fair test of a low end vise. I've had one at home for fifteen or more years and if it failed today, I'd get another just like it tomorrow. Well, no I wouldn't. That pattern has gone to the land of Patents And Copyrights Expired, in deepest, darkest eBaychina, and Wilton has a newer made in Regular China version. I'd get that one. They're very nice to use, I use mine often, and while I don't have cause to get after a vise at home like I do at work, I still don't hesitate to ask it to earn it's keep, and it's held up quite well. Mine at home, I think i did some (reasonable, not heroic) file work to get the jaws perfectly parallel. Or maybe there was too much radius on the tool that cut the jaw seats? Whatever it was wasn't too big to correct, I don't recall having to do that to the two that the shop bought.

I'm sure you will, but make sure you clean up the slot in the slide, and also consider a roll pin instead of the split cotter on the castle nut on the back. No worries in the "normal" position, but when you've got it swiveled or rotated, one errant reach for something on the bench is liable to end up in a good old fashioned blood letting. Trust me, I checked. Overall though, well worth making "presentable", and a good, useful addition to any workbench.

 

[682bear]

I've degreased the vise parts and began attempting to strip the paint. Where the paint has started lifting, it is coming off in sheets... but where it is still bonded, it won't come off.

I've tried wire brushing, scraping, sandblasting... nothing will do much more than just remove the shine.

I'm currently soaking one piece in brake fluid... the paint is starting to soften a little, but it may not take it off.

I don't particularly like using chemical strippers, but may have to. This paint is pretty tough.

-Bear

 

[WobblyHand]

Can you use walnut shell blasting media to remove the paint? It's pretty gentle, seems to remove paint, but is pretty gentle on what's under it.

 

[682bear]

Can you use walnut shell blasting media to remove the paint? It's pretty gentle, seems to remove paint, but is pretty gentle on what's under it.

I've tried blasting it off with garnet sand... if the garnet won't remove the paint, I doubt walnut shell will. I've never had an issue removing paint with garnet before... I'm wondering if this is a powder coat on this vise.

-Bear

 

[WobblyHand]

I've tried blasting it off with garnet sand... if the garnet won't remove the paint, I doubt walnut shell will. I've never had an issue removing paint with garnet before... I'm wondering if this is a powder coat on this vise.

-Bear

Oh, yeah garnet ought to strip it pretty well. Walnut is for delicate stuff, like aluminum, it's relatively gentle compared to garnet.

 

[682bear]

I've been soaking the parts in brake fluid for a few days... this morning, I pulled one out of the bucket to check progress...



I'd say brake fluid works pretty good! I'll call this experiment a success.

After 5 minutes with a small wire brush and a rinse in water, this is what it looks like...



-Bear

 

[682bear]

I've almost finished refurbishing this vise...





I haven't installed one of the pipe vise jaws yet. I missed it when I stripped the paint off the other parts... it didn't get stripped. I have it soaking in brake fluid... I'll get it cleaned up and painted in a couple of days. Otherwise, I'm finished with this vise. It's not perfect, but it is a lot better than it was when I bought it...

I think it's ok for the $20 I paid for it...

-Bear

 

[mattthemuppet2]

looks almost as good as new! You'll get alot of use out of that, I'm sure