I've been researching Wilton vises in general and the "bullet" vise in particular for the last few days.
While doing this, I ran across the York vise which I had never heard of before.
It is similar in appearance to the Wilton, but a little shorter and fatter. Google York vise for lots of pictures.
It turns out that Hugh Vogl, the Czech immigrant who started Wilton and created the "bullet" vise here, had also worked for York while in Czechoslovakia, before immigrating to the States. So now there are two "bullet" vises. Well not quite.
Last week, another tool guy called me about a new antique shop that was opening. It was only a few minutes from the house so I went over to have a look. While I was looking around I spotted a small vise that was in the worst condition that I have seen in some time. It was covered in rust and had major pitting on the steel parts.
When I got working on it I found that not only was it rusty but also the slide on the moving jaw was frozen up in the body. A little Kroil and some judicious tapping with a brass hammer loosened it up so I could remove it. The rust on the body was mostly cosmetic and came off with a wire wheel. The pitting on the steel parts was pretty deep so I cleaned of most of the rust and left the pits. As I was cleaning the end of the screw, by where the handle goes I could make out the "Made in Poland" stamping.
Now since Poland is right door to Czechoslovakia maybe there was a connection between Vogl and the Poles too. It's possible that this could mean that this is a relatively old vise, since Vogl started Wilton in 1941.
A comparison between the smallest Wilton bullet vise(often called the baby), shows some similarities aside from the shape. The baby has 2 in. wide jaws, the new one 2 1/2 in. jaws. The length is 6 3/4 in. on the Wilton and 6 in. on the new one with the jaws closed.
The anvil surface is larger on the new one at 1 3/32 in. wide by 1 1/8 in. long, whereas the baby has a surface of 13/16 in. wide by 3/4 in. long.
The diameter of the base of the baby is about 3 in. and on the new one about 2 1/2 in. The rotating base of the new vise is clamped by a bolt through a split ring set up on the vise base. This is not a very secure set up but is fine for light duty work. The advantage is quick adjustment and the ability to position the vise in an infinite amount of positions.
The weight of the baby with the power arm attached is 6 lbs. 7 ozs. The new one weighs 5 lbs. 9 ozs.
So now there are three, and probably some others that I am not aware of.
The question is has anyone seen one like it or a bigger version...if such a thing exists?
Mike
