The Wilton Shop King Vise Restoration

On July 31st, 1951 the Wilton Corporation was granted the Patent for the “Shop King”. This was a vise in the collection received from my grandfather. It was in rough shape. After some quick research on the web I discovered it was missing it’s base and was manufactured in Chicago, Illinois near Wrigley Field. While covered in a half of a century of dirt and grime I saw a gem. This was a small restoration project to undertake. The original paint was a bright red that looked slick with the 1950s styling.

Step 1. Disassemble the vise.

Step 2. Clean each of the components of the vise and strip the original paint. The parts were cleaned using a degreaser and a terry towel. The paint and rust were stripped using a steel brush and a steel rotary brush. I then cleaned the parts again with the degreaser and allowed to dry.

Step 3. Mask, Re-paint, Re-assemble. Using masking tape the areas where no paint would be required where masked off and the excess masking tape was trimmed with an Xacto blade. Using a gloss red spray enamel the vise was repainted and the masking was removed. The color is not a 100% match to the original flat red that it was originally, but it is a stunning piece to have on my work bench.

After 62 years this vise is as beautiful as it was the day it left the factory. I use this when I'm in my shop and it it a testament to the quality of tools we used to make. This in my opinion is far superior to any imported product not only because it was made in the US utilizing American Steel, but because it was built to last. The overall quality is still fantastic as the vise still holds tight and the screw still moves fluidly.

The Origin Story

My love of woodworking, carpentry, engineering originated from my grandfather Byrd. He grew up in a small suburb of Buffalo, NY, grew up in 30s and 40s, then went to serve in the US Army during the Korean War attached to the 116th Engineering Battalion. After the war he came home and married my grandmother Alice in the early 1950s. Like any young couple at the time they bought a house and had a family. With buying a house comes maintenance and the necessary tools. This is where my vintage tool collection starts.

As my grandfather grew older and he retired and spent time in his “Garage Shop”. He had a shop in the back room of one house, in a later house he had a refrigerated truck body that he turned into a shop. He worked on small projects and made items to sell at craft fairs, gentlemen’s canes, camp tables, camp chairs, candle lanterns, model trains and many other items. As he grew older and could not work on his projects anymore he packed all of his tools into a shed. He told me “When you’re ready you come and pick them up.” This was a sad day to see a man who wanted to, but could no longer pursue his hobbies.

In 2006 I went to pick up the tools. I had been in his shop many times and he used to teach me how to use them, but I never realized exactly what and how many tools he really had. This is where it gets good. By this time I had started a tool collection of my own and it was small and basic. Going through his tools I realized I had never seen the mark “Made in the U.S.A.” on tools before. All of his tools carry this mark. As I sorted them out I realized these are all high quality American made tools. The majority are steel and very few are the cast aluminum we see now in tools. Most of these are from the Post WWII boom. These are made of quality American steel.

Introductions

Hi all and welcome to my blog. Allow my to introduce myself. My name is Jason and I a manufacturing engineer with a garage shop. My garage shop is my sanctuary of sorts, a place where my ideas can flow and I can create whatever pops into my mind. Along with this creative space I have an interest in vintage tools, improving shop organization, and overall ingenuity.

I've started this blog to share my interests, ideas, thoughts and also get feedback from those who follow me.  We've all seen those “Do It Yourself” programs where someone is building a 3000 square foot garage shop with all the right tools, organization, and lighting. This is for the people out there who have to work in a basement, a small garage, under a carport,  or in a 2 car garage you still have to park in. This is for the average individual, carpenter, woodworker, and hobbyist that cannot afford the perfect garage shop and all the latest, most expensive tools.

So with this new creative outlet I’ll be sharing the vintage tools I have, where to find tools that are affordable, organization, projects and thoughts about my creative sanctuary. With this though I would like to get feedback, comments, thoughts, ideas. I want you to share about your projects, vintage tools, and what you are doing in your shop as well. If you have a thought on a topic please feel free to reply back, ask questions, or just say hi. So hit the reply button and leave a few words. Thanks for following.