I suppose 'Tools' is the subforum for this (or should it be posted in 'Metalworking' ?)...
Got a gift from my spouse a week ago, and wasn't able to do anything about it because
of weather/flooding. It's an early-model York 100 (as in 100mm or 4" jaw) bench vise, in
fair shape, and with the swivel base included. It was made in Czechoslovakia.
My wife only required that I refinish it in a vivid red (a color she favors, and the reason she
chose the vise to begin with). The font used for the vise's Patent-Notice legend seems
to suggest a late 30's to early 40's vintage. At one point, someone repainted the front jaw
blue.
The handle doesn't look original: someone cut and end-threaded some round barstock,
then screwed on a pair of nuts, with spot-welds to fix them in place.
Yes, it looks like a Wilton Bullet, and for a reason: York salesman and later Wilton founder
Hugo Vogl took York's design and patented it for himself in America (with some very minor
modifications to accomodate US manufacturing techniques) after he'd fled impending Nazi
oppression in Czechoslovakia. There's a thread over at GJ that touches on this history.
Even the jaw-serrations in first-gen Wiltons are a direct lift from York, and unlike the usual
cross-hatch knurling of US vises at the time.
The few differences are: that York uses a pin to mate the leadscrew to the frontjaw,
whereas Wilton uses an easier-made screw-on collar plate; the retaining pin for the
tube-like main nut is vertical in the York, versus lateral in the Wilton; and the York has
ordinary nuts to dog the swivel, versus the Wilton's acorn nuts.
The Wilton's collar seems inferior because the screwhole threads tapped into the vise's
body can become stripped. On the other hand, a York's swivel nuts leave the (carriage-
bolt) dog's threads unprotected: so close to the anvil, an errant hammer blow can mash
the threads, whereafter trying to loosen the swivel nuts makes for ...a very interesting
experience.
First step was Disassembly and Cleaning:
1. I loosened the swivel nuts using Channellock-style plumbing pliers, and kept going til
they were completely off. The nuts fought me hard, but accomplishing this detached
the swivel-base from the vise. I set aside the two swivel nuts, the two carriage-bolt
dogs, and of course, the swivel base itself. The bolthead edges were very sharp due
to years of high-pressure wear against the swivel base.
2. I turned the vise-handle to open up the jaws as wide as possible.
3. I drove out the leadscrew-retaining pin using a same-diameter punch, and did the same
for the main-nut-retaining pin. Well, no, actually I didn't. Someone borrowed my punch
set in '09 (a bad year) and went home to Cebu with it, so I took a 3" concrete-nail and
sawed off the point squarely. A few moderate hammerblows later, both pins were out,
and the dynamic jaw and the leadscrew were freed from the vise body.
4. The main nut remained in the body, its rear flange trapped between the body and the
rear end-cap. Conventional wisdom says a wooden dowel should be inserted from the
body's front, through the main nut, and butted up against the inside of the end-cap,
which is then dislodged by tapping on the dowel. I had no dowels long enough, so I
used a .5 meter long steel rod, and tapped very gently, popping the endcap free. The
main nut was then similarly pushed out rearwards with a piece of wood scrap.
6. A large flathead screwdriver was used to uninstall the jawplates: two screws per jaw.
The surfaces previously hidden by the jawplates were scraped clean of built-up crud.
One of the jaw screws had been stripped of its threads prior which explains the gap
seen in the photos above.
7. All parts were scrub-degreased with an old toothbrush and paint thinner. Working in a
basin allowed repeated reuse of the thinner, and contained the mess. Besides, a basin
was going to be needed later anyway, for derusting. The main nut was an exception
to the cleaning process: with no sign of corrosion and a good amount of usable grease
inside, it was left basically as-was. Rag-drying of all the thinner-washed parts followed.
The disassembled and (mostly) degreased/cleaned parts, :
Just 17 --oops, make that 18, lol-- pieces in all.
Anyway, that was enough filthy-greasy work for the morning.
Next step, rust removal, hehe...
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
Oh I forgot to show the locations of the two takedown pins: the main-nut retention pin
towards the butt of the vise, and the leadscrew-retention pin bythe handle. The former
is thicker than the latter, but I used the same makeshift punch (made from a sawed-off
3" concrete-nail) to drive them out. Light taps with a hammer did the trick both times.
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
The vise is not really rusted-enough to warrant electrolytic treatment, but
that's the course of action I've chosen since there doesn't seem to be a
record of a similar attempt here on PHM.
Basically, I used:
- a plastic 'palanggana' (after cleaning it of all the grease from earlier, using thinner
then detergent). It's actually an infant's-bathtub, available sa mga palenque for
about PHP 50.00. Welly cheep. I used a soldering iron to melt a few holes in the
tub's rim, for reasons shown further down.
- baking soda, which I'd then 'cooked', dry, over a medium flame, in a glass-lidded
enamelware cooking pot. The moment steam collected on the glass lid's underside
(kaya nga glass lid, to see the moisture), [COLOR="Blue"]the baking soda was deemed to have
turned into washing soda (a thin layer of baking soda evenly spread on the pot-
bottom cooks more evenly; the reaction is 2 NaHCO3 --> Na2CO3 + H2O + 2 CO2,
and takes less than five minutes). Once the steam appeared, I took the pot off the
heat, or else the washing soda would've degraded further and becomes useless. It
was all food-safe. Washing soda was common in kitchens just two generations ago,
e pang-hugas talaga ng caldero yan, so no worries about the cooking pot! 1 tbsp
of the resultant washing soda (NA2CO3) dissolved per liter of clean water made an
excellent, safe (non-caustic) electrolyte. I prepared about 20 liters, way more than
I'd need.
- a DC power source. I had a 12v 3A transformer for powering a Peltier chiller. I used
that, but you can use any DC-output device, even a cellphone charger, or maybe
an old desktop-computer's 'power supply'. More amperage means more aggressive
action, so a cellphone charger (usually around 5v and 0.5A) means a gentler and
much slower process.
- alligator clips, some #22 stranded THHN wire, and some scrap rebars about a
foot in length, or whatever slightly-exceeds the container/tub's depth.
[COLOR="red"]As always, care was taken since electricity and water were involved:
The red (+) DC terminal went via wire and alligator clip to 'sacrificial' scrap rebars
that were hung in the tub in series, typically at the tub-rim, using the holes I had
melted earlier. Some liquid electrolyte was poured into the tub, partially immersing
the scrap rebars: the alligator clips weren't allowed to touch the electrolyte liquid,
or they would have corroded: the sacrificial scrap rebars were to act as anodes,
and be gradually corroded and consumed by the process.
The black (-) DC connection went via wire and alligator clip to the vise-part to be
'derusted'. There was no direct contact allowed between the part to be derusted
and the sacrificial rebars: grounded yun kung ganun, and useless. The part to be
derusted was technically the cathode, and all the degreasing done earlier was to
minimize barriers between its metal and the electrolyte solution.
I started with the swivel-base.
All set up, just before I turned on the DC power (I left odd parts like screws, nuts,
and the vise jawplates, atop the swivel-base with bare-metal to bare-metal electrical
contact, in order to derust them all at the same time).
At the five-minute mark:
The anodes (rebars) were repositioned using cord/twine/wire through the tub's
rim-holes, exploiting proximity (but not direct contact, lol!) between anodes and
cathode to speed up rust conversion. Here I hung an additional/third anode right
down the center-hole of the swivel base, about ten minutes in:
The same process was used on the front jaw, leadscrew-and-handle, and the
vise body. I'll post pics of the results, later. Depending on the severity of rust
to be converted, treatment can last from a mere 10 minutes up to a few days
nonstop. Readjusting the position and orientation of the cathode and/or the
anodes can help.
The cathode (or vise-part) comes out rust-free, but coated with black material:
stable black oxide, as opposed to active red oxide (rust). Some leave the black
stuff on as a primer of sorts, hehe, while others remove with scrubpad or with
wirebrush while it's still wet. Anyway, I'll show you photos.
The freshly-converted steel is extremely reactive: a few seconds exposure to
air when dry will produce a thin powdery coat of flash rust. Not a biggie if you
are ready to finish or lubricate the metal within the day, or even a little later.
Punas lang 'yan with thinner, tanggal ang flash rust.
Electrolysis sometimes even softens the paint on the cathode. Minsan the old
paint turns to slush. Other times, a light scrub with a toothbrush strips it off.
Sometimes the old paint just laughs at the process, unbothered. *shrug*
The electrolyte solution is not a hazardous chemical: it's really just detergent
solution. Granted, it can become an iron-rich detergent solution, even after all
the disgusting brown scuzz (rust particles generated by the poor anodes) is
allowed to settle out. The soluton can be reused again and again, and in fact,
the stuff I used in the photos above had been stored in jars back in late 2009,
after I used it to try to save some hand-tools damaged by the flood and mud
of Ondoy.
Why not just use 'Turco', ' Bronco' or other-brand rust converters? They have
their uses (not every part can be immersed in a tub!) but tend to leave a clear
coat on the metal. This can: interfere with mechanical action (metal-on-metal
sliding surfaces) or close-tolerance fits (takedown pins vs. pin holes); can cost
more in the long run... and bottled rust-converter is toxic.
Anyway...
Next step is masking, priming and repainting the parts. However...
it's now too dark to photograph anything usefully, and it's also time to start
prepping to cook our dinner, so next time na lang uli si York, haha.
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
subscribed!
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
Me too!
Kahit nose bleed ako..:p
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
huwaw! pasali.
Very interesting restoration process, pati sa taong gumagawa.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
nose bleed ako..:p
😮
😉
It was a 'working holiday' for me today, so it's a good thing the soup
kept derusting while I was away.
I'm halfway through the electrolytic 'soakings': done the swivel base,
front jaw and smaller parts. The vise body is in the drink right now,
and then the leadscrew's forward half... so group photo uli ng mga
parts (derusted naman) by Wednesday morning.
In the meantime... electrolysis results with the front jaw:
This is after rinsing the sludge off with very hot water, and warming it
over with a blowtorch (far away from the electrolysis tub, which does
generate minor amounts of hydrogen gas during electrolysis) to speed
up drying. I didn't have to scrub the DIY blue paintjob off, most of it
was gone when I took the frontjaw out of the tub, and the rest was
carried off by the rinse. Can't say the same about some portions of the
swivel-base's factory finish: some of it sloughed off, some of it stayed
put --a wirebrush will be needed.
That is not flash rust powder in the odd little nooks: it's just vestigial
factory primer and red/orange paint. Nevertheless, like the other parts
done with soaking, I hit it with some WD-40 for temporary protection.
which I can remove with naphtha or a thinner-wash later, before I do
the masking, priming and painting.
Thanks for visiting my thread!
.
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
I use baking soda and vinegar to clean my electronic cigarette..
But what i did not know is this can be use in derusting..
Another trick learned..thanks for sharing sir horge
I like to see how it turns when completely restored..
Keep 'em coming!
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
I've been hustling since the electrolysis concluded, because I wanted everything
primed before even light rust could settle in, so these images are coming half a
day late. Everything, even the parts that had already gone through electrolysis,
got cleaned and resoaked for an extra 5 minutes, rinsed with hot water, dried
and then wiped down with a thinner-soaked rag (to buy me some time).
A quick photo of the parts, all free of rust and old paint...
Only four of them are going to be receiving new color: the vise body, front jaw,
swivel base and the little end-cap... so, the others were all oiled, and set aside,
while the four parts for painting were masked in preparation for a date with the
primer:
I decided not to go with gray epoxy because it tends to also act like a putty,
filling in pits and cracks, which I thought would be a little 'dishonest', lol. Also, I
had some leftover Boysen red oxide in a liter-can, and miser that I am, I used it.
I may regret not going with tougher gray epoxy, lol. Anyway: used a 1/2" brush
to apply the primer sparingly, "dry-brush" style, to get as thin a layer as I dared:
I'll let the primer coat harden overnight, before I spray on the final color.
After that, it's hunting down a replacement screw for one of the the vise jaws,
and then final assembly.
Closing up the little workshop, and calling it a day.
If the weather stays reasonable, I'll be painting the York tomorrow, hehe...
I know the York is SUPPOSED to be red, but I'm getting nervous about the kind
of red that was actually chosen for application. We'll see.
Again, thanks for visiting my thread!
.
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
Bro horge,
Been following this thread and can't seen to find the right word for it, kinda nose bleed din ako but enjoying the whole proces you posted. Love the way the vise came out, very clean and totally de-rusted.
Bro, nothing against the color red but I'd rather not paint it red, it will end up looking like those cheapy Chinese tools 😮 you can buy at mall hardware stores or ordinary neighborhood hardware stores or those sidewalk vendors. Well just my opiion. I guess I'll find some other color/ fitting to give justice to that beautiful YORK bench vise. 😉 :juggle:
CIGWELD Weldskill 250 amp Mig Welder
AHP Alpha-TIG 200X welder
HITRONIC 300 Amp DC Inverter IGBT Welder
YAMATO 300 amp AC Stick Welder
YAMATO 200 amp DC Inverter IGBT Welder
DeWALT Chopsaw
HOBART and ESAB Welding Helmets
cloned STIHLs
MS 044 chainsaw
MS 070 chainsaw
This is turning out to be like Rick Dale's American Restoration show on History Channel 😀
Sent from my Samsung Note 2 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
...nothing against the color red but I'd rather not paint it red, it will end up looking like those cheapy Chinese tools 😮 you can buy at mall hardware stores or ordinary neighborhood hardware stores or those sidewalk vendors. Well just my opiion. I guess I'll find some other color/ fitting to give justice to that beautiful YORK bench vise. 😉
E, pendens nga kasi sa gift ang color choice.
She wanted a hot red, so that's what's getting painted on.
😮
I know what you're saying, and exactly why I said I was getting nervous
about the color choice. It's almost like I'm DELAYING painting, in a fool's
hope that she'll notice the spraycans of Rustoleum Hammered (in silver,
dark bronze, verde green light blue... --o, ayan, selection pa ha?) I had
positioned in plain sight, right next to the vise parts, from early on. She
checks in on the work, and either doesn't notice or outright-ignores the
alternatives I've laid out, lol...
It's scarcely a comfort that the York was originally an orange-ish red.
In one of the photos earlier posted, my current 'beater' shop vise is actually
visible in the background. It's a deeply-rusted Morgan Junior, which it seems
was originally a bright blue. I doubt I'd refinish it in that, though. In my mind,
para naman pinag-bihis teenager ang isang octogenarian, lol. I'd rather use an
old-denim color on the Morgan Junior, and for the same reason that I would
rather be painting the York another color, like a dead maroon or something.
Can't play the professional-opinion card on her: she's an architect too.
:hang:
The York turns 'hot red' tomorrow.
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
They didn't matter: all the alternatives (below, at right) laid out before her.
That bloody red was going on, no matter what.
I'll let the acrylic lacquer harden for a couple of days (it may take 2-3 weeks before
it hardens enough for the vise to see actual use), then begin reassembly. In the
meantime, I have to handpaint details, find a replacement visejaw screw, and just
wonder about what-might-have-beens, color wise, lol...
Re: Vintage York 100 Bench Vise - Restoration Project
Wow! Looks like ferrari red here..nice..
Palitan mo sir yung lead thread handle..
Then pa satin chrome or kahit blued para mas maganda.
