As any DIY'er knows, a good vise is hard to come by. Anyone who has had the opportunity to acquire a Wilton bullet vise reasonable should take the opportunity to do so. Wilton no longer makes their Tradesman line of vises in the USA as of 2018, so when I saw this 1750 5" Wilton Bullet Tradesman vise on Craigslist for $20 I leapt at the chance to have a second Wilton bullet in my arsenal of tools.The vise was not in good condition. The entire surface was covered in heavy rust, including the sliding jaw cylinder, locking handles for the base, and spindle handle. The vise itself barely operated and while the sliding jaws were not entirely frozen there was enough buildup of rust to prevent it from opening and closing without significant effort.I started by spraying my favorite penetrating oil on all the screws and bolts (CRC656), and the disassembly process was easy. Once the vise was in its component parts, I started the extensive process of wire wheeling every part of the vise down to bare metal. I then spent a significant amount of time sanding down the components with emery paper of several levels to prepare the metal for primer, paying particular attention to the sliding cylinder and the static housing it moves in and out of. I used Snap-on files to cut the anvil down to bare metal once again, and flatten the surfaces of the jaws/inserts so that a feeler gauge of 2.5 thousandths would not fit anywhere between the jaw and jaw inserts (no gap). The inside of the vise was extensively cleaned, and the threads on both the spindle and the interior nut were cleaned up.Once the metal was sanded, and cleaned I taped the non-painted areas using 3M's Green automotive masking tape. I sprayed it using Rustoleum's special primer for cast iron (and heavily rusting metal), and then applied several coats of color in black metallic to match my toolbox, along with the Snap-on plates (Snap-on rebrands Wilton's with their own label). An entire tube of synthetic SuperLube grease later, and the vise was reassembled and ready for use.https://i.redd.it/sep0x0dn9a621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/eavbyobo9a621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/qk4c61bq9a621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/61zydw2s9a621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/8gv48uft9a621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/7av7gl30aa621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/asf30852aa621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/rjemmv52aa621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/vbm8t952aa621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/4ol7pw52aa621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/3abmum75aa621.jpghttps://i.redd.it/v0ua4pe6aa621.jpg via /r/DIY http://bit.ly/2SkPrra
