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.