This video is about restoring an old Wilton Mechanics vise. My best restoration video with amazing techniques of restoration. Enjoy the video !
More about the vise :
I won this vise at an Ebay auction. The seller claimed it was from 1964, so I did my best to win the auction. I thought it was quite a valuable piece and I thought that will be a nice restoration , so I paid $380 plus another $400 shipping and taxes from United States to my place. In the end it was just a beautiful restoration because the vise is not what I thought. During disassembly, I removed the keychain, where the year of manufacture is usually stamped, and that's how I found out that this vise was made in 1989.
This only matters in the evaluation of the price, because in the end it will still be an antique piece with a high value. In general, vices are the most abused tools and often end up as scrap metal. That's why there are so few Wilton vices on the antique markets and they have very high prices. I don't care that it cost an extraordinary amount, having a Wilton vise in the workshop is a fulfillment. After the restoration, my big dilemma is whether to use it or keep it in good condition, because it has a beautiful outcome.
More about the restoration :
I started the restoration by disassembling the vise , after that I cleaned all the parts that has grease on it. I restored all the parts that were in almost good condition. I nickel plated most of them and I choose brushed finishing . I made some metal works to the main parts and I powder coating them in green hammertone. First time when I used this colour and I was amazed with the outcome. I made new handles because they were needed or were missing. I had to make a new jaw pipe because were missing too. The jaws of the vise could have been kept and restored but I'm not a fan of the rough surface so I made other jaws with flat surface. Here needed to show how I hardened them.
I think you have what to see in this video, it may be one of my most complex restoration video, with many techniques, presented very well in the video.
I hope you will enjoy the video and the restoration as much as I enjoyed working on this beautiful Wilton vise. Cheers and stay safe until next time !
#wiltonvise #viserestoration #wiltonviserestoration
4 ноя 2022
