So a couple of years ago I got this second hand for $50.00 and I really couldn't pass it up (typically $150 new, and this was essentially new). At the time I bought this, had a very nice English made Record 4" vise that I had been using for over 15 years, and I was very happy with it...at least I thought so.

Initially I just put it on the shelf; like I said, I was happy with my Record. But then another gunsmith friend of mine said he had basically the same vise from some unknown maker. He also had a beautiful old Athol 5" that I drooled over a few times. Well he started using the 360 rotating import and hasn't gone back; he really liked that rotating head feature. So I thought I might as well take it for a test ride.

So I mounted the Wilton import (I think they're made in Korea), cast some lead soft jaws, and made some Delrin jaws.

Well my friend was right, that 360 degree rotation is a feature that's become indispensable. So my Record has been permanently moved to another side of the shop where I work on motorcycles, and the Wilton is now my primary vise.




Now as a gunsmith, I'm not hard on a vise and I'm not sure how well this is suited for really tough jobs. I did give it a really big workout unscrewing an MG42 barrel from a trunion, so it hasn't exactly been babied. But a mechanic may want to go ahead and find a vintage real American made vise. Honestly, I doubt I'd pay $150 for that vise, but I'm happy with my "used" price.

For general stuff, and certainly for gunsmithing I find myself recommending an imported tool...and I'm VERY pro-buy American; especially when it comes to tools.

Looks like a perfectly usable solution at a great price. Well done. I like the 360 degree rotating head.

And used US made 'bullet' Wilton vises are selling for $200-$350!

(Or more for the very large ones.)

I have a vintage Wilton bullet vise about the same size in immaculate shape. Love it. Paid $225 for it, shipped.

How did you make the jaws?

I bought this one 40 years ago, it's had a lot of use, still good.

Make a REAL imrovement in what's already a great design,...make a punch outta' that ridiculous SHORT handle and fit one almost TWICE as long,...you'll probably need to glom onto a stick of O1 metric drill rod. I generally chitcan those silly little, to short knuckle bustin' rotation handles
and just grab a bull prick when I need to adjust something.
....as far as the handle goes, I generally keep on of those elastic tarp bungees ( the ones that are a loop through a plastic ball) wrapped around where the handle hubs into the lead screw,....with the handle Equi-distant / centered,....I'll tell ya' what, ....you're gonna LIKE the speed and ease with which you can open and close the thing, Just give er' a spin...as for pulling things down TIGHT,....only needing half the effort's a plus, when one puts in long days.
Phouc OSHA,....and don't let the Safety Boss , or idiots near you vice. Be aware that cast iron / cast steel DO have their limits. Don't by New chit quality Harbor frieght cast ANYTHING. If you just have to, ....bring a magnet and go over the piece carefully,....bondo does not a good vice make.

I've got that thing's big brother out in my welding bay,...Payed $100 for it used 18 years ago.
Gonna' move it onto a swinging arm for light work, and pull the gigantic all steel S. African RECORD of the azz of my now retired and derelict welding deck for the welding bench.

Sunday morning freebie,...tech tips from Cameron.

I am an industrial maintenance feller and Wilton is the best vice. Period. Tradesman, like what hanco has, is the best style of Wilton, but any Wilton is good.

This one's been rode hard and put away wet, it was old and beat up when I got it 18 years ago,....


Wilton's NEVER built anything to match the all steel RECORD's that were made by poor oppressed blackamoors in S. Africa, back before the boycott on those nasty Apartheid types,...
Got mine in W. Canada in the '80s

Wilton's DO break,....The all steel record DON'T
.......God knows we've tried.

Generally agree as regards Wilton quality,....but in all honesty and fairness have to say that some of the stuff that came out of India and China 30 years ago was damn GOOD.
None of it ever landed on American shores, you had to go into the third world to find it,....there's a LOT of that gear just S. of the line in Mex., S. America too.
The vice I pictured above is out of the "Iron Rooster" foundry in China,....HAS to be at least 40 50 years old.
Came up outta' Mex. to a flea market,....I reckon the purveyor stole it outta' a mine,....dunno'.

GTC

That vise looks identical to my Harbor Freight vise...........


Casey

The rotating head is sweet

Well duh,....
Yes, and that's cuz' that stupid GATT agreement virtually DESTROYED American Patent rights and autority.
Every damned quality product we ever made's being counterfitted in China and other 3rd world mfg. countries.
Tell ya' what,....knock all the paint off an original Wilton
...than do the same with the HF vise,....CAREFULLY,...don't break out the bondo
....OK,....now compare the quality of the raw castings,....I mean TEST them,....and see what you've got, seasoned casting v. one cast out of an old Desoto with the battery still in it......
People that tout this knock off crap really know chit from bean dip
about quality, and the basic properties of raw materials.
GTC

+1

For indoor use the machinist/pipe vice combo with swivel is hard to beat. Handy like pockets on a shirt...
If your gonna be out in the elements, the tradesman, by over-all general design and with the sealed end will take a lot more abuse.

While the Wilton casting isn't what it used to be, it's still a lot better than much of the junk that's being offered out there today.
That's why I always keep my eyes open at the flea markets and yard sales.

I just bought a Wilton cross vice for my drill press. I already had a cheaper name on another drill press that works alright, but the Wilton was definitely worth the extra change$.

!!!Too good. I want to say something clever but that is too funny to beat. Wait, there is a difference other than cheese?

Dang, I drove through Cameron last month. Please keep these tech tips coming as I am just a garage level hobbyist.

You're absolutely bang on about the lack of really well seasoned castings out there, and old DOES = Better

Here's a pick of my OLD, American founded hard run Brownells 'Smith's vice,....replete with extended handle in "spin fast position.


Big old American drop forged Armstrong C' clamp gave it's all to build the clamp on base,....that vice gets around,....even goes out to shooting ranges sometimes.

Call Brownells and ask them WHERE their identically listed vises are made now,....and where their buyers got them a better price .
Ask for some replacement parts for your original, for a REAL look at the state of quality appreciation and consumer acceptance of lesser quality is really at.

GTC

That first one looks like a C2.?



"....as far as the handle goes, I generally keep on of those elastic tarp bungees ( the ones that are a loop through a plastic ball) wrapped around where the handle hubs into the lead screw,....with the handle Equi-distant / centered,....I'll tell ya' what, ....you're gonna LIKE the speed and ease with which you can open and close the thing, Just give er' a spin...as for pulling things down TIGHT,....only needing half the effort's a plus, when one puts in long days."

I'd love a few pics of this. I'm not sure, I get it.


Thanks!

I see above!

Thanks!

I generally tear down a brand new tool and "finish" it,....particularly something with lead screws and jaws,....drill and tap the swivel area with a coupla' 1/8" NPT holes,....keep em' plugged, cuz the zerks you'll be fitting every now and than to pump in some vienerschlider WILL get busted in use.

GTC

just posted a pic of said wrinkle

GTC

Looks are not everything
The material Harbor Freight and the cheap company's use verses the High Quality the the High end Machine company's use are WAY different
Vises are in some ways like mills and other precision machines.

Bridgeport is Bridport for a reason and Wilton is Wilton for a reason.
You pay more for the best.

Thanks for the interesting and useful info.

Awhile back I bought a modest home workshop vise, and chose Wilton thinking it would be made in the USA. When it arrived, I noticed in very small print that is was made in China. Since it cost 2 to 3 times as much as its big box store counterparts, I could only hope that Wilton imposed reasonably high QC requirements on the manufacturer, before putting their name on it.

It should go without saying that everything made in the USA isn't top quality and made in China doesn't necessarily mean it's crap. Over my seven decades of living I've bought a fair amount of American made stuff that disappointed. I'm old enough to recall when Made in Japan had the same stigma that Made in China has now, and look what the Japanese taught us about quality, and China is a helluva lot bigger than Japan. The Chinese can produce quality if they want to.

Paul

I purchased a 5" bench vise from Harbor Freight. One of there best.
It was all I could afford at the time.
20 years ago.

The base swivel dues not lock up properly , the swivel head dues not swivel to good and the handle dues not slide any more.

My next bench vise will be a Wilton.

Paul, the Old school, "Pip Pip, time for a pink gin sundowner" Englishmen, that comprised the Wilton board if directors has been largely replaced with nose powdering phags and trannies,......they could give less of a chit about the quality of their castings, or how long they were allowed to age and season, prior to going into the machine shop. Blow and heroin, and a run down to Mick Jagger's latest concert are what counts in their life.
Chinese castings for the AMERICAN market ?
Hell, man,....they come right out of the foundry on a belt and into the CNC shop now,.....
.....the stuff going into other countries DOES get handled in the older, more conventional fashion,....treated with a bit more respect, as it were.

GTC

GTC, you do have a way with words!

So, are you saying that the better Chinese products go to countries other than the US, and that's because US companies want or will accept lesser stuff? If so, that's more than a little disturbing.

On a side note, there is a local air museum that has a few vintage MiG aircraft, including a 1950s vintage ChiCom MiG-15. The aircraft aficionados who run the place say the Chinese fighter is the best made of the lot. FWIW.

Paul

There are "Iron Rooster" steam locomotives in service in China that were put together immediately following WW1,.....

'nother place you'll find some damn decent foundry, forge, and precision machine tooling is from what we called as kids, "The Eastern Bloc",
....man, some of the stuff I'mm getting out of Macedonia and Poland is just FIRST CLASS

The OLD tooling out of that region was by and large seized by Stalin and hauled off to USSR smelters,....there WERE successful OLD and well established shops supporting a largely agrarian society,....and the turn of the century tooling they sported was of enviable quality.

GTC

You have to make a mold. I got the design from Howe's The Modern Gunsmith.

Start with this. Get you some steel and a welder and...


Heat up the mold so it fills uniformly. Pour in molten lead. The top half is held to the bottom half with spring clips. After pouring lead, let it cool for about 30 seconds, then drop it out of the mold and pour the second half.


I also made some Delrin replacement jaws.

This is the 25 year old Record that my new Wilton replaced. I"m sure this vise is much tougher than the Wilton that replaced it, but tough isn't what I need for gunsmithing. The 360 rotating head has proven to be a very winning feature on my bench.

The Wilton sits on another bench these days. It has graduated to some tougher duty, in support of my motorcycle maintenance.

I agree with GTC when it comes to a really high quality vise; you want an OLD American made vise. Chas Parker, Athol etc... Look for them used on Craigslist. Typically you're going to pay $100-$175 for a 75 year old vise, but you're going to end up with a world class vise.

For gunsmithing, I don't need tough, I need versatile. So this lower quality vise ended up being more useful than my much higher quality vise due to it's versatility. Match the tool to the job.

My bench vise collection has been slowly growing by searching "VICE" on Craigslist and getting deals from folks that can't spell. Got an entry level American made Wilton for $40 last year.

Funny!

I just checked and those numbers are light, locally, for a decent Wilton.

I can get a 6.5" Wilton utility vise, with swivel base, 3-13/16 in. throat depth at the local Home Depot for about $133. I was gonna just drop $60 for the 4" Bessey but figured I better search the Campfire first for some real-user-savvy. This is for general harry homeowner use... clamping pvc pipe to cut, clamping mower blades to sharpen, etc... thoughts on the Wilton?

There are a lot of them on EBay. I was surprised at the prices for the old ones. I have a couple of big ones. Glad I didn't give them away.