Wilton 450S 'Bullet Vise' restoration

[precisionworks]

Without a doubt one of the toughest vises in the world, often seen in shops that don't know the meaning of gentle or careful. Nearly impossible to kill, but $600 is a bunch to pay for any vise.

Got this one for $210 delivered. Subtract the value of the new jaws it has ($75) and the price was right. Not cheap, but not bad for a piece in pretty good condition. She's pretty new, made in August of 1980 (date is stamped on the bottom of the key on each Bullet Vise).

Here she is in all her fuglyness:

If you think she looks nasty now, you should have seen her before the grease was melted off in the hot caustic tank:shakehead

These are the component parts of a 450S:

The jaws (at least) are a thing of beauty:

The face of the casting was a little rough (as cast) so a trip to the lathe gave it a nicer look. I will not show the lathe setup, as I wouldn't want anyone else to try it. Safe, yes ... scary, yes 😱

If my Better Half doesn't load me down with projects tomorrow, the top of the anvil will be resurfaced on the mill:

A close look at the "exploded" photo shows why the Wilton Bullet is so strong. The nut (the long cylindrical part) is supported by the back of the main casting. The main casting is drilled & then reamed to accept the turned tube that supports the front jaw. I've never seen a broken Wilton Bullet, but someone surely has.

The only part not well done is the cap that goes on the end ... just a stamped steel shell. I'll bore the bottom part (it's around 1.950" now) just enough to clean up the hole, and turn a matching part for a Class IV fit. The interference needs to be around .0003" to .0004".

 

[wquiles]

Good project. Are you going to re-paint it when done, or powder coat it, or (something else)?

 

[precisionworks]

Are you going to re-paint it when done, or powder coat it, or (something else)?

I bought a couple of colors of Rust-Oleum Hammered (neither of my stores now carries Hammerite). The photo below came from the web, but that vise is close to the color of mine, sort of a medium hammered green.

My Starrett Athol Vise (Model 924 1/2) was free from a company I worked for. Athol Vise sold to L. S. Starrett around 1910, Starrett added their name, and sold the Starrett Athol vise until around 1970 ... at that time this vise sold for over $500. Paint is Hammerite green, which looks like a lighter color than the deep green from Rust-Oleum:

The Rust-Oleum green is my choice for now ... but I have some other hammered colors to try if the green isn't the best look.

 

[wyager]

that thing is a monster! I'm here with my $30 amazon.com vice...

 

[precisionworks]

that thing is a monster!

It's all a matter of perspective :nana:

The UPS guy groaned when he brought the box to the shop door, and groaned again when I asked him to bring it inside & put it on the workbench. Geez, he didn't even have to disassemble the vise 😱 Wilton lists the weight at 71#.

While at the auto machine shop (where the hot caustic dip tank is located) the owner showed me the Wilton 500S that his father used over 60 years ago. The 500S is noticeably larger than the 450S, even though the jaw is only 1/2" wider. Wilton shows this one at 96#.

The Bad Boy in their lineup is the 800S with 8" jaw width ... and a weight of 238#(108 kg) :thumbsup:

Their latest color is shown below ... but it looks too "new" for an older vise.

 

[billcushman]

I have had a 450S Wilton Vise for about 50 years. I can't remember what it cost new. I still have the original box. Mine is still in perfect condition. I use it very infrequently, usually to do something trivial like cutting off a 8-32 screw. I also have the brass jaw covers for holding delicate items that would be damaged by the regular jaws.

When I purchased it I wanted a very high quality vise that opened wide to hold large objects. I think you made a good purchase of a fine product. When you get it restored, it should look and work like new.

 

[precisionworks]

Got in a couple of hours of machine time between cleaning up leaves & installing gutter covers :devil:

The tailpiece section had a cast in 'bore' which was not concentric with the machined surfaced (the part that fits into the rear of the main body casting). When gripped in the 3-jaw, runout was around .125", so that wasn't going to fly. Pulled the 3-jaw, mounted the 4-jaw, dialed in the part for a minimum reading of +/- .005" ... no way to do any better, as that was the ovality of the casting. Took a total cut of .030" on the radius, and went in .225" (see DRO below):

The bore finished out decently. The Starrett 123 master vernier was used as a comparative tool to measure the ID - instead of direct reading from the vernier scale, a micrometer was used to measure over the tips of the vernier. ID measured 2.0605", and the reading repeated half a dozen times so I was confident in the number.

Pulled the 4-jaw & started to slide the 3-jaw into the spindle nose but noticed a little problem ... just enough swarf to totally screw up the seating of the 3-jaw, and cause massive runout (massive meaning lots more than a few tenths):

A couple of blasts of compressed air got rid of the chips, the recess was wiped down with a clean cloth, and the 3-jaw mounted. The rear of the vise nut was rough cast, so it got turned smooth:

A short piece of 6061 aluminum, 2.5" diameter, was gripped in the chuck & faced:

Insert is the high positive CNMG-432HA from Curt at LatheInserts. Speed set to 2000 rpm with a few light cuts to true the face. The spindle is running at full speed in the photo above, but on camera flash froze the action.

Took the diameter from 2.500" to 2.300" on the first pass, then down to 2.100". A few more light cuts brought the OD to 2.0610", so the part was .0005" over bore size. Took the part out of the chuck, tried to tap it into the bore, but fit was much too tight ... breaking the tail piece would mean at least a weeks delay getting a new part from Wilton, and probably close to $100 for the part 😱

Since the DRO on the lathe only reads to .0002" on the radius, no more cutting could be done with an insert (moving in .0002" would reduce diameter .0004" and the part would not have enough interference for a tight fit). Diameter needed to come down by at least .0001", maybe just a bit more.

A small piece of 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper was wrapped over the edge of a square Arkansas stone, and the paper took the diameter down after half a dozen efforts. Tried the fit again, still just a little tight, needed to take off another .00005". Switched abrasives to a maroon non woven pad (again supported by the square Arkansas stone) and took off the last bit. A trial fit showed the tightness I wanted, without fear of breaking the casting.

Final diameter of the part is .00035" (3.5 tenths) over bore diameter (interpolating the tenths scale on my Mitu mic). Most customers would call that a 15 minute job, but swapping chucks twice, boring, turning, trial fitting & sneaking up on the correct fit (plus clean up of the machine & putting tools away) took about 10X that long ... a little over two hours :nana:

 

[Anak]

Nice!

I really want one of those bullet vises.

A friend once bought an old work truck that had one mounted on the back. He fixed the truck up a bit and turned around and sold it--and let the vise go with it. I have kicked myself a number of times for not having expressed more interest in that vise. He would have been happy to let me trade it for another to mount in its place.

Oh well.

I keep my eyes open for another. Some day I will find a good deal on one.

I won't be able to fix it up as well as you are doing on that one though. That is gonna be good for a couple more lifetimes by the time you are done with it.

 

[cmacclel]

I guess I got a good deal when a friend said here I grabbed a vise for you 🙂 Is that a 450?

 

[precisionworks]

Is that a 450?

Can't tell from the photo, but identification is easy.

Jaw width is the key :thumbsup:

Here's a neat online catalog of Wilton Industrial Vises (first time it came up on a search). It mentions that the vise is made from 60,000 psi Ductile Iron - it turns and cuts more like steel than cast iron. Curly chips are formed, not the short chipping dust produced by "regular" Grey Cast Iron.

http://content.wiltontool.com/catalogs/wilton_vise_brochure1.pdf

 

[cmacclel]

It's a 350s 🙂

Mac

 

[unterhausen]

I bought one of the Wilton bullet vises new when I was in high school. I never really liked it, the pin that holds the rear cap on was very fragile. I gave it away when I joined the Air Force. I'm not all that happy with my 6" Chinese vise, but I would only get another Wilton if it was outrageously inexpensive.

 

[precisionworks]

the pin that holds the rear cap on was very fragile

I cannot say if all the machinists vises are like mine, but every diagram shows a pair of pins (one driven in from each side) that capture both the rear cap & the nut (parts 4 & 5 below):

ON EDIT: There was a smaller version of the Machinists Vise called the Cadet, and it used pins that are much smaller in diameter & look less sturdy. Did yours look like this:

 

[precisionworks]

Got the main casting & wire brushed it, first on the 14" power brush (which got old quickly, as the casting is heavy) and then with the Metabo grinder and stringer bead brush:

The brown apron is top grain cow hide that was purchased from a local saddle shop & sewn by Mr. Kim, the best tailor in this area (great on shoes & boots too). The wire wheel sometimes catches & gets thrown into the apron, which brings it to a dead stop :devil:

The cleaned casting was bolted to the mill table & the 45° high shear face mill took down the surface. Specks in the photo are tiny bits of ductile iron ... a million of which now cover the mill & the floor. Speed was 1500 rpm, about 750 sfpm, with DOC at .020" per pass for two passes.

Finished anvil - paint comes next:

 

[wyager]

Lookin' great!

 

[mototraxtech]

looks good


I bet that was the easiest thing you can bolt down on the mill. Not many things have nice bolt holes on the bottom to bolt to the bed!

 

[cmacclel]

Barry looking good but why did you not sandblast it?

Mac

 

[65535]

Barry looking good but why did you not sandblast it?

Mac

At least IMHO wire brushing castings like that leaves a more natural original cast finish, where as sand blasting would have completely changed the surface. All that needed to be done was remove any heavy oxidation and paint. It's also a lot less messy and just as fast.

 

[precisionworks]

wire brushing castings like that leaves a more natural original cast finish, where as sand blasting would have completely changed the surface.

+1

I don't have a blast cabinet at the shop, but one of my customers does (about a mile away), always ready with medium/fine glass beads. The last time I used it was to clean the back of a 14" cast iron face plate - getting that clean would have been really difficult with any other means.

The Wilton is lots easier, as all surfaces are easy to reach with either the 14" wire brush or the brush on the angle grinder.

All that needed to be done was remove any heavy oxidation and paint. It's also a lot less messy and just as fast.

The cleanup wasn't bad, especially after the parts came out of the hot caustic cleaning tank. After wire brushing, each part was sprayed down with brake cleaner, which seems to dissolve anything on earth except steel & cast iron :nana:. The brake cleaner was wiped off & the part sprayed again until no more dark residue showed on a white shop towel.

Even with bead blast, the part needs final cleaning with brake cleaner (or acetone, lacquer thinner, etc.)

The first post was edited to add the date of manufacture, 08-1980. According to one of the many Wilton sites on the web, the date is stamped on the bottom of the key (the part that guides the moving jaw into the main casting). No surprise that the vise is in such good shape, as 30 years on a Bullet Vise is like 1000 miles on a car engine ... just barely broken in :nana:

 

[cmacclel]

Even with bead blast, the part needs final cleaning with brake cleaner (or acetone, lacquer thinner, etc.)

I guess that depends on how dirty the media is. When speaking with the Cerakote people they specifically say do not use any chemicals after the giving the part the blast profile, only to blow the part off with compressed air.

Mac