Vise restoration

[orezok]

I like mine just the way it is. Dirt over rust! :laughing: :laughing:

My barn ain't no museum.

 

[ericher69]

Excellent choice.
If possible, maybe post some pics along the way.

Will do

I have most parts blasted and primed. Finishing up smaller pieces. Will try and take pictures tonight when I work on it

 

[North West Farmer]

e-richer69,

I acquired a vice that appears identical to the one picture in your post #1 at a garage sale and it has been very serviceable and tough for a number of years. I don't recall what I paid for it, but it seemed to be a very good value at the time. It looked almost brand new, was a very shiny gray, looked almost like a porcelain finish.

As the vice began to get heavy use the nice finish got chipped or scratched here and there and to my consternation, as the casting under the finish started to be exposed, it turned out to be an extremely rough textured casting with almost no finish grinding. The manufacture had done a nice job of coating the entire casting with a material similar to very hard body putty. The surface then appeared to have been sanded to provide a real nice surface for the final paint and the nice shiny gray enamel was applied and probably baked on.

What I found underneath, compared to the beautiful finish was needless to say, disappointing, but the vice has proved to be extremely durable and has performed up to my expectations. This turned out to be one of those bitter sweet kind of things where I thought I had acquired a really fine quality unit, both from the standpoint of appearance and utilization in the shop. The original appearance proved to be of completely inferior quality, but the vice has held up it's part, no matter what I have demanded of it.

This is not a vice I would have any interest in restoring, beyond keeping it in good working shape. The good side has been I have been able to use it in any way I needed to without attempting to be careful to not damage the finish. It has actually turned out for the best, has been pounded on, welded on and abused as needed to get the job done. It wasn't at all what I originally thought it was, but the price was great and it continues to work for me.

I have put some inexpensive rattle can black enamel on it from time to time after it has taken a good scorching while being involved in heating and bending some metal.

Most of my tools and equipment are maintained at a restored level both functionally and in appearance. The subject vice and several others in the shop seem to take a pretty good beating, since they need to hold whatever I need for any purpose required. After over 50 years of shop activity, the shop vices have ended up being the items that have not, and will not be kept at a restored level in regard to appearance.

Good luck with your vice restoration. I sincerely enjoy restoring almost anything. Vices I have acquired in used condition usually get the restoration treatment originally and after that, just service and some occasional touch up so they don't make the shop look bad.

Nick, North West Farmer

 

[ericher69]

e-richer69,

I acquired a vice that appears identical to the one picture in your post #1 at a garage sale and it has been very serviceable and tough for a number of years. I don't recall what I paid for it, but it seemed to be a very good value at the time. It looked almost brand new, was a very shiny gray, looked almost like a porcelain finish.

As the vice began to get heavy use the nice finish got chipped or scratched here and there and to my consternation, as the casting under the finish started to be exposed, it turned out to be an extremely rough textured casting with almost no finish grinding. The manufacture had done a nice job of coating the entire casting with a material similar to very hard body putty. The surface then appeared to have been sanded to provide a real nice surface for the final paint and the nice shiny gray enamel was applied and probably baked on.

What I found underneath, compared to the beautiful finish was needless to say, disappointing, but the vice has proved to be extremely durable and has performed up to my expectations. This turned out to be one of those bitter sweet kind of things where I thought I had acquired a really fine quality unit, both from the standpoint of appearance and utilization in the shop. The original appearance proved to be of completely inferior quality, but the vice has held up it's part, no matter what I have demanded of it.

This is not a vice I would have any interest in restoring, beyond keeping it in good working shape. The good side has been I have been able to use it in any way I needed to without attempting to be careful to not damage the finish. It has actually turned out for the best, has been pounded on, welded on and abused as needed to get the job done. It wasn't at all what I originally thought it was, but the price was great and it continues to work for me.

I have put some inexpensive rattle can black enamel on it from time to time after it has taken a good scorching while being involved in heating and bending some metal.

Most of my tools and equipment are maintained at a restored level both functionally and in appearance. The subject vice and several others in the shop seem to take a pretty good beating, since they need to hold whatever I need for any purpose required. After over 50 years of shop activity, the shop vices have ended up being the items that have not, and will not be kept at a restored level in regard to appearance.

Good luck with your vice restoration. I sincerely enjoy restoring almost anything. Vices I have acquired in used condition usually get the restoration treatment originally and after that, just service and some occasional touch up so they don't make the shop look bad.

Nick, North West Farmer

Nick,

Yup I found the same disappointing rough casting finish...

Thanks for sharing as for durability and usefulness.

Here is a picture of primed parts

 

[sixdogs]

Rough castings, yes, but I didn't realize American makers used the skim coat of body filler.
I thought that was just a Chinese thing?

 

[chad22]

Great choice on the Kubota Orange. :thumbsup: That's what I was gonna vote for.

Chad

 

[ericher69]

Rough castings, yes, but I didn't realize American makers used the skim coat of body filler.
I thought that was just a Chinese thing?

Could very well be! Have not found any type identification that would lead me to believe it is from overseas...

Oh well; as long as the tool performs and takes a beating what can I expect for $8.00 and a few hours of my time.

I'm sure it will do everything that I demand it to do and more!

Will post finished pics probably this week

 

[JoeBuyer]

There can't be Kubota orange vise, that would imply a need for a vise to fix a Kubota. We all know they don't break and don't need a vise. I would paint it a different manufacture's color. I won't choose the color because I don't speak poorly of other makes (partially because I have many other brands). Nice vise by the way !

 

[ericher69]

There can't be Kubota orange vise, that would imply a need for a vise to fix a Kubota. We all know they don't break and don't need a vise. I would paint it a different manufacture's color. I won't choose the color because I don't speak poorly of other makes (partially because I have many other brands). Nice vise by the way !

Lol

Or it could symbolically stand for how tuff and rugged the orange machines are! Maybe not the most refined or prettiest (vice/tractors) out there but always get the job done with little maintenance!

 

[CompactTractorFan]

There can't be Kubota orange vise, that would imply a need for a vise to fix a Kubota. We all know they don't break and don't need a vise. I would paint it a different manufacture's color. I won't choose the color because I don't speak poorly of other makes (partially because I have many other brands). Nice vise by the way !

If he still wants orange, there is always Kioti orange. :laughing:

 

[toy]

I have a vice like the one that you are working on. It has the same rough texture under the fine body putty paint, it has a angle gauge on it to tell the tilt of the vice. I've had mine a long time and it has worked as it should. It is an import, mine was bought new but it didn't cost much new at full price but mine was on sale and it was bought as a gift for me and that makes it a lot more valuable to me because of who got it for me. It has held up well and did everything that I've needed it to do. The swivel on the base part holds pretty good too, hope the functioning part of yours works as good as mine does. I have several other vices that I believe are USA made one is a Wilton. I have two that are fairly old that are a mixture of red grey black green and I believe blue in there somewhere, I like the patina of these and wouldn't want to mess with their painting history.

 

[Mace Canute]

It should be a nice handy vice for you what with the multi angle feature and the pipe jaws. Just a word of caution though, it's highly likely to have been made in China and if that's the case, the quality of the cast iron can be all over the map. (You'd think they would be masters of making cast iron because cast iron was first invented in China in the 4th century BC!) Try not to beat on it or use a snipe on the handle and oil it occasionally and it should give you years of service (hopefully).

 

[ruffdog]

This is my mobile vise that fits in a 2" receiver.

 

[ericher69]

This is my mobile vise that fits in a 2" receiver.<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=270056"/>

I will do something similar to fit to my welding table.

Anything you would change/do differently with this setup?

Thanks for sharing

 

[ruffdog]

It has worked good for the few times I've used it. I made it long so I'm not right up against the vehicle working on the repair. It's nice having some room to work.

 

[North West Farmer]

Sixdogs,

When I began to notice the chipping of the finish and the rough casting, I immediately thought of the China connection as the possible place of origin.

Did not find any identifying marks to provide clue(s) concerning the location of manufacture. Would be very surprised if it was not produced in China.

When all is said and done, like several posts have indicated, there are some Finnish issues that make you wonder, but since the price was so low I decided to use it as needed and it has continued to function very well for years. I must admit that the casting finish has been an underlying concern so I have had a tendency to back off a little when it comes to really banging on it with heavy hammers and such. Something in the back of my mind says, "be a little careful", this thing might end up in peaces if I lay into it with total disregard.

Wherever it was made, it has not let me down yet.

Nick, North West Farmer

 

[dex3361]

I seem to remember a vise that looks like this one sold at Sams Wholesale Club about 20 years ago I looked at one and thought about buying. I remember the indexing gauge, rotating head and pipe vise. Could be the origin.

 

[sixdogs]

I have a vise very similar to the one shown--but from China--and I've had it for maybe 15 years. Because it was so cheap I have wailed the livin' tar out of it and even pounded on it with sledge hammers. Most of the body filler is long gone and it looks terrible but no chips or cracks. Nothing--it just remains a relaible but beat up vise. It's heavy, probably to make up for casting material questions, but that's a plus for me.

 

[ericher69]

Update with pics!

The Kubota grey

 

[ericher69]

New Kubota Orange

Picture with flash turned some colors wonky!

Will post complete and assembled pics soon