The what?

Clean of rust and put oil where rust was 🙂

Seems a lot of people don’t like the idea of refurbishing vices, not sure why!

Or heinously ruin it with a slathering of hammerite like everyone else “refurbing” and make it look nothing like new – look good on the bench though.

As I pointed out with mine, it was in a shocking state, covered in several layers of different coloured grubby paint, crazed and filthy, and really not a nice thing to look at. Just cleaning up with the whizz-wheel wire brush made a huge difference, giving it a couple of coats of flat blue Hammerite that was a close match to the original made sense.
The one the poster got as a gift, showed honest wear, with original paint, so in no way did it need stripping and re-painting.
Two completely different situations. Why spend several hours doing something that isn’t needed?
On the other hand, spending the time refurbishing something that had just been crudely painted but didn’t show much actual wear through use was well worth it for the end result, where wear of the paint from use will show a proper patina over time.
I’m a bit obsessive about painting things, I like to do a decent job and I didn’t ‘slather’ the paint on, one careful coat, masking the jaws, let dry for a couple of hours, another coat, checking for any missed bits, let dry, then a final coat. Looks like oven-dried enamel.
If mine had looked like the freebie one, I’d have been chuffed to bits, squirt of WD40 with a rag, job jobbed, minimal effort.

The what?

Where metal rubs against metal. So the bit where the handle rubs against the jaw and where the threads are engaged.

Vice is back together, greased and wiped with an oily rag

Finally got the vice my Dad gave me firmly mounted on the workbench, used a pair of M12 130mm bolts! With the vice itself, the 2x18mm MDF top, then 39mm CLS, there’s 100mm of material to get through, but just in case that wasn’t enough to support it (FFS LOL) there’s a 5mm metal footplate as well.

So far I’ve used it to bend some galv builders band into right-angled brackets with a pin hammer.

After cleaning it up I rubbed with some bike grease to keep the rust at bay. How would you finish it?

Now this is a pretty funky vice being restored. I would love one of these for sure….

@sirromj that looks rather smashing. I’d leave it exactly as it is – lovely patina…although the bolts are a bit bright!

I just pulled this old Woden out of the local tip. Unfortunately it’s not in as good condition as it looks – the jaws are wonky, the bolts which hold them have stripped the holes in the casting, and the slide has a crack in it. It does still function for holding things tightly whilst you wallop them, but it’s definitely seen better days.

More pics

Not decided what to do with it yet. I have a couple of decent vices already, and not sure it’s worth my time rfixing this one up. If anyone in Sheffield it interested, let me know before I make plans for it!

@sirromj – finish it? That’s finished, that is! Clearly well used but looked after, a quick spritz with WD40 every now and again and a wipe over, that’s an heirloom item you’ve got there. Nice. 😎

Quick query on sizes – found a Record 84 and Record 6 to go an look at. Is bigger really better? General workshop fettling and the 6 is a few quid more but not much. Any reason not to go bigger? I’ve just built a 3m long workbench out of substantial reclaimed timber so I have the space (although slightly worried it’s a bit high to then stick a 6″ vice on top!)

I wanted a quick release vice and this popped up for sale.

Record 113 – It’s enormous, FAR too big for my use but I couldn’t just leave it there for the price they were asking….

What to do with it though? I thought outside workbench…. but can I resist a refurb?

Finally after months of searching, 2 come along at once!!

The 84 is a steel version – fitters vice so designed to take a beating (not as brittle as cast iron). Some Neanderthal had painted it (badly) Red over the original blue so stripped that back and will give it a lick of paint.

The 23 is a beast but had a harder life. Wonder if it once used to be quick release as the threads have the same angled cut and “half screw” as the 84. Still works fine though.

No idea which one to keep but £45 each can’t complain!

Free! To good or bad home – well worn Paramo fitters vice going for scrap.

Collection only from Rossendale.

Another thread revival!

Funnily enough I was nerding out trying to find information on a vice that I’ve been given (karma for giving my old one away and then regretting it I guess), and ended up here.

It’s a Woden 186/3 S in green. I’ve seen it listed in a 1957 brochure but no note on colour. From what I can tell, the green vices were older though. Anyone here nerdy enough to know?! Sounds like Woden went to blue vices at some stage and the green ones were early models?

It seems to be in structurally good condition and no rust, but not surprisingly after probably 50+ years, not great paint. I’ll probably just clean it up though.

@walleater – difficult to say without pics, and I’m no expert anyway, but just from your description, so long as it moves in and out smoothly, (quiet at the back, there!), and doesn’t seem to try to slip or jump when tightened, then a spray with WD40 and a wipe over, job jobbed.
If the one I picked up had looked like sirromj’s, I’d have been thrilled to bits, but it really looked a mess. At least four different layers of different types of paint, maybe more, so cracked and crazed, and filthy dirty to boot, and even with a whizz-wheel wire brush it took ages to get all the crap off.

Lets see if this picture works:

👍 nice one

Another thread revival…

It’s time to start the renovation of my Victory #3 vice;

I don’t have access to a media blaster, what’s the best stuff for removing all the old paint? I gather NitroMors is no longer the shiz…

Just clean it, it looks fine.

WD40 will get rid of the old oil and muck, if you really want to repaint it a flap wheel in an angle grinder will take the paint off. I haven’t bothered with mine, I like the patina.

Yeah just clean it, mine looked like that when I got it. And to be fair it still looks exactly the same

Nice little record. 50 years old

Nitromors seemingly works better if you wrap it in clingfilm and leave it. As said though, unless it’s down to the metal I’d leave as is. Blasting does no favours to the sliding surfaces if you don’t protect them either.

You can buy dichloromethane, which is the active ingredient of old nitromors, pretty cheaply, but it’s terrible to work with in liquid form, presumably you can thicken it but i don’t know what with. I experimented with sugar and that kind of worked. Or dichloromethane based strippers are still available “for professional use only”. Evil stuff but it works great.

TBH though I might be tempted just to wire wheel it? It’s a pretty simple shape, you should be able to get into most of the nooks.

Saw this at Sea Otter and thought of you all.

very pretty but £1499.00

for something that might get in the way of a hammer or saw..

There’s a lot of wrong in that there clamping device.

If they give me £1500 I will design them a nicer looking one, and I promise not to use the word Vise .  😉 😆 😆