Any Vise Collectors Here? (1 Viewer)

[BILT4ME]

if it's interesting to you, before I'd part it out, I'd practice brazing/welding a good bit with it. Not like you're likely to run across another broken one any time soon. Nothing to lose and much valuable experience to gain. Never know, could work... Have been amazed at how strong brazed parts can be. Would take a bit of equipment admittedly, but maybe you can befriend a local welder interested in challenges?

I am actually considering this.

I have a stick welder and I work closely with many fabrication shops. I have connections.

Would require some preheat to get it into proper welding range then post heating to get it to slowly cool.
I figure there is nothing to lose other than a bit of time.
My father was one of the best cast iron welders in our corner of the state lots of years ago. Unfortunately, I don't have the welder he had, and it's been close to 40 years since I last welded with him.

 

[e9999]

there you go! You're on a mission now! And you have good welding genes too apparently. Although that could be a problem if you get it to hold the first time around, that would be anticlimactic. But you can always break it again for more practice, right? Take vids!

 

[Mr Wonderful]

there you go! You're on a mission now! And you have good welding genes too apparently. Although that could be a problem if you get it to hold the first time around, that would be anticlimactic. But you can always break it again for more practice, right? Take vids!

Just an example of what can be done with simple machines, I repaired this Prentiss 75 rapid transit that was at least as bad as your Wilton. It was actually broken in several places. I detailed it a little more on the other sites. I did it with only a stick welder and a turkey fryer burner.

Is it perfect? No! It is fully functional, I learned a lot from the project and now I have what I believe is one of only two know examples of this model. Good luck!

 

[Mr Wonderful]

Finished up the Parker 88-1/2 this weekend. I’m pretty happy with it. I’ve been wanting a big combination vise for a while

 

[e9999]

very nice!
those are complicated jaws...

 

[Mr Wonderful]

very nice!
those are complicated jaws...

Ya they’re almost always missing too. I got super lucky on this one.

 

[e9999]

I can't imagine it would be easy to find one, or to mill one for that matter...

 

[MrMikeyG]

I did a knee-jerk purchase of a 4" bullet vise the other morning. I was grabbing a 2nd hand door hardware set for a client ($5 vs. $228) and saw it on the shelf and grabbed it. no swivel plate, and the bottom plate doesn't exhibit any wear marks as if it had one at one point.
Looking at it closer the next day, it has led a rough life. One of the jaws is homemade, and the jaw seat has some booger weld. the defects are on the body side not the active side. I'm glad I didn't spend hundreds on it.

Oh, I also salvaged a nice Columbian workbench vise from my in-laws house before it sold.

 

[MrMikeyG]

How much should I offer @BILT4ME for the swivel base and such? If he doesn't try and fix it?

 

[DangerNoodle]

I got this Columbian 504 1/2 vice for $80. It was nice enough that I decided to restore it and make it a squeezing only vice. No beating on this one.

It was somewhat dented and gouged, bit not too badly.

Pulled it apart. Lead screw is in pretty good shape, a few chips, but nothing major.

Disassembled.

Into the parts washer for a quick scrub.

Shined everything up.

I decided to fill the cuts and gouges and mill the faces again. Preheated to 400 in the powder coating oven, and tig'd in some 99% nickel filler, peened, and let it cool with the oven.

Started sandblasting for final prep.

 

[DangerNoodle]

Got everything sandblasted and then took it to paint. I wanted something bright, and I liked this seafoam / teal.

Brought it in to fully cure and will assemble at a later date, and then mill some of the surfaces back true.

 

[FARMAN33]

@DangerNoodle WOW! Impressive. Getting those jaw pins out is a CHORE!

 

[DangerNoodle]

@DangerNoodle WOW! Impressive. Getting those jaw pins out is a CHORE!

It took some beating, but they came out surprisingly easy.

 

[DangerNoodle]

Stuck the vice in the mill. It faced super easily with carbide.

 

[AirheadNut]

Picked up this 5" vise on Craigslist a couple of days ago. It has a lot of similarities to a Wilton bullet, but doesn't look quite the same and has no markings other than the '5' cast into each side. Anyone know what it might be?

The seller also threw in this little Wilton tilting vise, I've never seen one like it before but figure it will be useful for small work.

 

[TomH]

Anyone know what it might be?

I'm going with Duracraft.

Bullet vise copy

I ran across a rather small Bullet design vise recently and couldn't resist buying it. The vise is very well made and was tagged Duracraft Tawian 1981.The listing said it was an NOS Item found in a hardware store that had closed. The vise arrived in it's original box and was covered in layers of...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[FARMAN33]

@TomH BINGO!

 

[NicksFJ40]

I rescued these’d today, they were headed to the salvage yard. Have done any research yet, does anyone know if the screw can be replaced on vices?

The Hollands Erie 54H is missing the screw and nut.

The Rock Island 81A?? Need to clean to be sure of model. Looks like the screw broke so this Vice may need a little more TLC.

 

[NicksFJ40]

 

[e9999]

Nice!
Seems like the RI should be fixable if you have access to a lathe and/or a welder.
Or both vices with plenty of offerings to Thor, alternative god of heavy iron, so a couple of screws become magically available on ebay. (I am told that Thor looks quite favorably on thumb squishing by Prentisses or Garands as human sacrifice of sorts, but don't do that intentionally, of course...)