Restoring a Wilton 800S 8-in Bullet Machinist Vise 

Fun to see your 👀 sparkle ❇️ when you said ‘Iiiiii like it!’

As much as I love when someone fully details and redo vices and tools like this, I totally understand that this will be your “daily driver” and not a “showroom piece”. It’s a great service to just get these quality pieces back in solid working order. Kudos!

I own a 4" and 6" Wilton. Love them because chips don't get into the screws like with other vises. HINT: Keith - One very simple cheap addition to your new vise will make it PERFECT - slip a large thick rubber washer onto each end of the handle. Why? To prevent the substantial heavy handle from pinching your finger when it drops suddenly. Ask me how I know. New Wilton vises come with these washers and I added this simple feature to my other vises. My $0.02.

Absolutely beautiful piece of American made machinery

An 8 inch Wilton bullet vise...the holy grail of machinist vises. Great find, Keith!

Keith, you may find a need to clamp something long where 2 vices of the same height will be useful mount the other vice at the same end the other corner.

It's funny how something so simple that a guy has wanted for a long time can make him so happy

Awesome job! I can't wait to find one of these to restore myself!

That colour is a perfect choice for a classic vise, just needs Robins Rensezetti's Copper soft jaws, for the finishing touch, 😁 Great job, thanks Keith, always a pleasure.

I have watched and learned a lot from your videos, Keith, over the past 4 years. You are thorough and passion and dedication show in everything you present. As a retired scientist and a hobbyist DIY's, couldn't resist noticing you did not bother to oil/lube the swivel base which is what I was expecting you to do after all that hard work you put in to restore a grandmaster bullet vise

The vise looks great but I think that such a high-end vise deserved some oil and grease during re-assembly.

I picked up a Wilton 7" woodworking vise for $35. The previous owner didn't know how to fix it, but someone tried welding the quick release nut in place. But I broke the weld, filed her down & she works like a charm 👍

I watch you Chanel all the time. This one really showed how excited you are with your new tool! Enjoy

What a beautiful peice of equiptment.

Keith I drilled and taped the center of the screw on the handle end for a t bolt with a point on it and drilled a small divot in the handle on center of my first gen 7 inch Rigid. For most all the work i do this makes opening and closing easy , just spin the handle no flip flopping of the big handle. Have fun with all your visitors who are in awe of your big vise.

I new old vise is one of the most exciting things a man can enjoy ! The little things that make the heart contented

Industrial pink is always a good choice in color. The last bullet rebuild is what brought me to the channel.

Keith, I have never seen a grown man happier to have a ginormous vise.

Beautiful vise, great find! I spent over a year looking for a good used Wilton, but even beat up ones were going for too much. So I gave up and bought a new 5" C2 last year, which was the biggest I could afford ($1200). It weighs 110lbs., has pipe jaws below the 5" jaws, and I love it. Thankfully, my wife never asked how much it cost. After all, it's just a vise. :)

Wow when you first opened up that vise. I was thinking Keith is going to be standing in the next county. Pulls out the human size impact drill, doesn't work on one bolt. Returns with the Abom79 impact, enough said.... LOL

She's a big beautiful doll. Well done !!

Awesome video bud. And an INCREDIBLE find there.

$3800.00 on Amazon. $88.00 shipping. What a vise! You just needed to clean up, paint, and change the grease. You won’t need another in three lifetimes! We had the 3 1/2 “ versions in High School in both the metal and vocational automotive classes (and they were not babied by any stretch of the imagination) and worked at multiple shops that had them, bent handles and multiple hammer dings, never had any issues with any of them. To my experience absolutely the best vise made. Score! Happy for you!

When you were removing the jaw, it reminded me of a clown car, it just kept coming out and out and out. Very nice vice.

Great job! I dig the 800s too.

I used the same color paint when cleaning up my Yussa mill vise. Great finnish.

That’s a cute little vise Keith! I also have a Wilton 800, definitely the best of the Wilton line!

That type of paint works great if you cure it with a heat lamp. Start with a light coat then put the heat lamp on it for couple hours. Then a heavier second coat and let set over night with the heat lamp. Make a very hard finish. Vice looks great 👍

in my opinion, that's the best vise in the world used them at lockheed for 37 yrs proud to see u got enjoy love all your videos

$3800.00 NEW!!!!!!! That is just the vise - there is no free shop attached to it. Congratulations Keith, of all the people in the world you most richly deserve this jewel. Art

Thanks for sharing....pleasure to watch. Your drilling with out a cutting oil was interesting.....and your tapping was too. I always turn back a bit when tapping....you didn't, and it went fine. I love learning.

A beast of a vise..

"Wilton is my favorite vise" IT'S EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE VISE! Da!

Nice vise. I will never own a machine shop but I sure do love watching you pu7t your shop together. Take care Keith and stay safe. Thanks.

Congrats on a great score. Beautiful cosmetic restoration. Thanks for sharing.

“I should probably get the gantry crane to move this over but I have so much adrenaline running through me right now that I can just pick it up with one hand and carry it over here”. Good job with the vise, we all know you’ll enjoy it!

that is a real nice vise and a great color you chose to paint it.

I believe that's the first time I've seen Keith put something together without any lubricant.. He must be super excited! But I doubt there's a part on that vice that he can't make in house so maybe he's not worried about wearing it out

I own several Wilton Bullet vises, but this one of yours is a True Giant! Wow! Beautiful job restoring Brother!!!!

It did not look that big until you were up close. That is a giant vise.

Very nice. Nothing like buying a new vise and bringing it home! I have a Columbian No. 506 here in the UK that was a lucky eBay find. Will clean it up and mount it as my main vise someday. The Record No.114 will do for now.

Beautiful vise.... I am currently restoring a very crusty Wilton 600. I currently have 4" and 5" bullet vises on opposite ends of my work bench.

You look happy like a little kid with a brand new bicycle :D :D

I like that color. Nothing beats a sturdy vise like a Wilton.

Love and share your enthusiasm for the big vice

Amazing vise. Greetings from Argentina!

I am "sage green" with envy over this vise. Great piece of equipment that has no use in my woodworking shop but would love to have one none the less.

I found a 61/2 inch wilton bullet vise for 20 dollars on Facebook marketplace. The jaws were bad. I bot a set on ebay for 80 dollars. Best buy j believe I've ever gotten. Looked up price of new one. It was over a thousand dollars.

That’s not a bullet vise....That’s an artillery shell.

I restored a Wilton a couple years ago that was similar to that but not quite as big as that one. Mine has 5-in jaws and a 9-in opening. Unfortunately it was not nearly so well taken care of. The fixed jaw had been broken the jaw support was broken off of the casting and the holes to hold the jaw on where stripped out and drilled way oversized I welded a couple of passes with nickel rod and then mig welded multiple passes on top of that to build up material and then ground it down to make the new jaw support welded the hole shut and redrilled and tapped for the new jaw bolts. I've been using it for a few years now and I love it it's a great vise I probably don't need anything bigger but I would love to find one that size.

I found that you have to lay on a heavy coat of that paint to bring out a good "hammered" look. A thin coat just results in a basic coat of paint with no texture.

Your belt looks just like my Philmont Belt :D , what a great experience it was for me.. nice tank of a vise as well

Mr. Rucker, I really appreciate that you mounted your vise and intend to use it! Seems silly but 9 outta 10 vise restores go on the display shelf (Shop Queen?). Love that you mounted yours!!!

just curious if you checked the date on that Keith. I bought a 5 incher at a yard sale this past summer. $60! they even loaded it into my van for me. mine was a 1981 and about the same shape as your 800. the 500 is more vise than I really need but that 800 of yours is a real monster!

That's a vise yes it's a Sherman tank!!looking for hobbies vises this summer to restore any scrapyard or farmers auction sales will do! Keep on fixing mate! Just gorgeous!

That's beautiful vice Good to see it back in use

The machine shop at work has one of those vises. The made a steel lower mount platform off of the side of their welding bench so the jaws were at a better working level.

I just scored a 6"Wilton bullet Vice in trade for a set of Pallet jack wheels that I got Free. had to disassemble to move it by myself but was a great score.

Very nice ! I just got lucky a few weeks ago and found a 6" Wilton in almost brand new condition , at the local Goodwill for $50 ,

Really enjoyed this video. Nice to see a restoration completed in one video.

Nice vice.

Surprised you didn't just throw the whole thing in your vat of evaporust. That sure is a sweet vise! The Wilton's are too popular for me to be able to afford around here they want $300 for a rough 4" one.

When reassembling, you said that you 'can' move the body alone without needing the gantry. I hope you won't take it in anything but the spirit intended when I say that sometimes gentlemen of our age need to remember the difference between 'can' and 'should'.

Handeling that vice your self is saying something. Good job.

Evaporust soaked into paper towels or better yet shop towels is a great way to derust stuff that won't fit in your tank or large surfaces like my mill table when I got it.

great vice

The base may have an asymmetric bolt pattern with two of the feet closer together. Those mount towards the back of the bench with the wider spread feet towards the front edge to give a bit of an overhang for clamping vertical stock in front of the table. As you mounted yours at the corner, you can swing it to clear the table. I have two of the 6" version (C3), a 450 SJ swivel jaw 4.5", and a 3.5" - bullet vises. One C3 is mounted on the right corner of the bench, the 450SJ is on the left corner for clamping between the two. You could put the older vise on the other corner of the bench.

"Make sure it's not moving around any." I doubt it. It's big enough to hold an aircraft carrier steady while you surface grind the flight deck! 😁

Ijust fitted my 6 inch Dawn vice to my bench, I was worried about how high the top of the jaws ended up, but it is quite a bit lower than yours, and you dont seem worried about the height, so that makes me feel pretty good!

Nice find Keith. I always keep an eye out for old vices that are priced below market as well as anvils. An 8" is just about perfect not to mention, great looking in the shop. Thanks for reviewing.

Cheers, Keith. Now I have vice envy.

I can see that the design of the vice makes it sturdier than most as the sliding jaw is tightly guided. You just need to bolt the table down now ;)

THE CRUSHER Nice addition Keith.

That's a beauty! Tha ks for sharing!

20:00 My impoverished method of doing center-hole transfer punching : wrap masking tape around a smaller diameter punch until it fits the hole. Works well enough for me, but I'll admit to lusting after Keith's set of transfer punches!

Wow! That's the mother of all vises.

That’s beautiful

Keith be aware, you maybe approaching the point of having a "Wilton Vise Vice". Too, the horse shoe shaped retainer is called a Girdle.

Awesome Keith, I think that bench was waiting for the vise. Looks great.

I would like to see you make some custom jaws for that vise. "V" notch for round stuff etc.

Please do a hydraulic press build in the near future. Remember you have to go to the railway museum when you need to use it.

Beautiful vise, i been looking at the 1755 or 1765. But they have this vice with tall jaws on ebay rn for 1500 bucks and if i had the spare cash, id buy it

you just gave everyone on the internet vise envy.

You got a mag drill. That's the first mag drill! 😯

Got one similar size mounted on a 55 gallon barrel full of concrete! Haven't moved it while using it!

That truck pulling in is Abom79 coming to get the other vise.

Beautiful. It's going to be a great addition to your shop.

I work in a hydraulic shop and I’ve clamped 10-30 foot hydraulic cylinders with a Wilton 800 and RIGID stands under the cylinder

I'm suffering vise envy.

Great Video !! Nice vice !!

That's a beauty!

" Came from a military auction" " Hardly used , but sat outside" Translation- Purchased by the military for around 2000.00 in one of those "spend money before end of year" deals- was not needed so it was left outside for years before being sold for scrap prices. April 15 is coming up soon so we will all give the government more money to spend.

Beautiful vise! I noticed that you were in a hurry to get that vise into operation; I don't blame you! Best wishes.

Wow! My small 40 pound 8-in vise looks a toy, now! Thanks for share that video.

Honestly, I have no need for a vise that large, but I kinda want it anyway.

Excellent!

Great restore on that 8" Wilton...That is a treasure for the shop indeed!👍

That mag drill is so sci-fi.

Now that's a vice!

I’ve been looking for a 6 inch Wilton bullet vice to restore. But boy they sure are pricey even on the used market. Turned out great beautiful looking paint job.