Bridgeport Mill Vise Restoration. From Rust to Restored! 

I got mine at a rummage sale. It looked like it hadnt been used for 50 years. It was covered in about a half inch of chips, grease, rust, dirt... and of course random holes and all over it. It has the swivel base which is really nice.. not all of them stay with the swivel. I didn't pay much for it. I filled up all the holes and the drill pecks all over it. I had to grind the bed and bases smooth and flat. Yours turned out nice. I think every shop should have one if they have a mill suited for its use.

Nice work

I want one of those, but I sold out to the man and bought a used KURT vise lol. Cool video, nice paint job....

Since that hole in the base is so large, it would be noticeable cosmetic upgrade if you bored it out to get it straight, and then press a cast iron slug in and then deck it off. It would be an interesting side project to try, and there would be a noticeable visual improvement. Keep up the good work.

Nip the sharpest part off the point of a sheetrock screw, screw it into the oiler you want to remove, then use a claw hammer to pull the whole thing out like you would a nail. It'll trash the oiler, but it'll come out. Great job on that!

That groove in the front may be a felt seal. Another nice project.

Hey Jame, if I didn't know better, I'd say you have a Vice for Vises... Not that I mind, mind you... your call for showing/admitting your soft spot... Keep up the great work, non-the-less, and keep those vids a comin'.... Cheers!

The hole in the top of the moveable jaw should have a set screw down in it. It holds the bronze nut in. The hole in the bottom of the nut should have a felt pad to hold oil.

Nice work, great video!

I have that same vice on my mill, I had to recondition it also, it was in a leaking Conx container for years.

Nice job man!

I used a woodscrew to remove the old oilers from my Colchester lathe. Screwed them in and then used some combination pliers to lever them out. Do you have elephants living above you?

Think id add some copper anti seize on the ways and thrust washers I have a unused Bridgeport vise in my shop from back in 1975 or so.

Did you chase the threads in the "end stop" holes off camera? Great resto despite the bufferburn. Every vise refurb has Apprentice Marks. These are pretty mild in comparison to something out of a school. Great job!

Frying an entire bird like that is so foreign to me as a Dutchman. But sure looks delicious. Excellent safety precautions too. As for the grinding, you mention that it needs balancing, but did you dress it already?

How did the jaw lift numbers come out? Thats what I just found with mine. I was hoping you were going to address that. I was trying to square a block and just couldn't get them parallel 😮. Your work looks great.

I bet the bore the threads are in has an oil groove, just like the casting bore.

Excellent video. Glad to subscribe. Clear, great pace to narrative, overall very informative. What was rust preventative you used ?

Couldn’t you use your grinder guiding side to side since it won’t cut properly lengthwise? I’m not a machinist I just see a possibility when cutting side to side. Yes, a lot of very short cuts over a wide area, yet it should accomplish the proper results, would it not?

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Whoever had it last was kind to leave the jaws open so they didn't rust up solid.

I have the same vise, do you know if any parts are available like the jaws?

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I will have to disagree with you here old oil smell is not loveable & neither is new oil smell. I have seen guys screw a selftaping screw in to an oiler & used that to pull them out, keep up the good work.

REALLY?

Probably lead based paint. Worth considering. What you very successfully did, was destroy all the history of that vice. The scars and dings, made it what it is, an antique working tool. To clean up the precision surfaces, yeah, that's fine, and a good idea. It now, as we Australians like to say, looks like shit

Wasting my data 🤦...not a restoration..just cleaning services