I wanna know how you screw your balls to your shaft....that's gotta be a trick. Nothing on Youtube either
Not My Chinese! She'll say something to you in her Chinese/English/Space alien/Giberish and then when you look helplessly at her, she'll say it again at twice the volume because clearly you are hard of hearing! She is a great negotiator though...
Well there's your problem. You are labeling it "Junk". Call it all Hot Rod Parts/ Hot Rod tools and the value will go up greatly. BTW, anyone have the real answer to how the handles are formed?
I figure your vise must have been made circa 1952/53. The two gentlemen in the photographs below are Olympic gold medalists Cy Young (javelin) and Parry O'Brien (shotput) who competed in the 1952 Olympics. After the ticker-tape parades and pinup-type babes who threw themselves upon them, certainly they had to go out into the real world once more in search of employment, as the next Olympic games would not occur for four more years and someone else was already promised the Wheaties box deal. The two got together and devised an ingenious way to utilize their talents together, thus guaranteeing they would BOTH be employed. They applied to the Acme Vise Co. in Wallawalla WA with an interesting skill set. Cy would line up a steel rod of appropriate length, holding it as though it were a javelin, and with Olympic medalist strength and accuracy, plunge the steel rod through the hole drilled in the end of the tightening screw. Parry would then launch the steel end ball at either end of the freshly hurled "javelin" with such force that the friction from their contact alone would seamlessly fuse the two. The handle was then spun 180 degrees and Parry would repeat the process. They were hired immediately and offered a root beer. The two enjoyed many years in the vise fabrication industry and eventually retired. I feel that this is the MOST LIKELY explanation to your quandry, and therefore I feel I deserve a cookie. Please feel free to verify this information before the awarding of such cookie (chocolate chip, thank you), as I believe it to be 100% accurate and correct in my own little twisted world. Photographs below are courtesy of Google Images. Whilst trying to verify the photograph of Cy Young, please use the words "javelin thrower" and not "spear chucker", as you will get two entirely different results.
For starters, I don't see much chrome on the Wilton. It is entirely possible that it is forged after they put it through the hole.
Pardon? So you think your ****ing vise handle is more HAMB-worthy than a thread about a 1953 Chevrolet 210, picked for $600 up and put back on the road after 26 years of sitting? Meanwhile, you're building... a Mini? Seriously? You wanna start calling people out on their threads? Hey, I'm not the one starting threads on the HAMB asking how a ****ing vise handle is made. THAT'S dumb. Or who could forget the "What is this piece of **** I found in my garden" thread? Go build a hot rod or something.
You see, when they make them both balls are at one end of the shaft. The shaft inserted in the vise there is a string that goes from one of the balls up thru the shaft in a 'one-use only' hole. When the shaft is installed in the vise Ralph (the guy at Wilton taht did the shafts) would pull the ball to the other end by the string and the hole would seal itself after the ball got to teh other end. Understand?
hahahaahahahahahahahahahhahahhahahhahahhahahahahhahahahahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well played sir.
How the hell do you have more posts than me and you just started here? I'm building a Model A as well. The Mini is RHD from England. Lots of fun. OT for here. This thread is dumb, but nobody can come with an answer for a tool many use every day. I also stated that's it's OT. Why not? I like working with metal, it could be handy knowledge for something else down the road. The Wilton handle is not chromed, but the other vise handle I have is chromed. I figured they may be forged, but the chrome gets me!
Just for the hell of it, I did Google and found a material/process called malleable-chrome. (And not by Herman ****fer the 3rd either...lol.) But, I think it is very specialized, and probably way too expensive for a vise-handle... Also, years ago I had a job in a PCB plating company, and I think, it may be possible to just chrome the ends of the shaft by submerging only the forged ends in the plating solution, and using chemical masking and/or post-etching. But, then again, I don't think it could possibly be cost effective for vise-handles. It would be great if you posted a pic of the actual vise-handle you are talking about. .
I'm just guessing now, as the center-screw appears to be chromed also? Perhaps they coated the shaft with masking? Or the chrome may of been ground off after plating? Again, I'm just guessing. Maybe an engineer who specializes in that stuff is a member of the HAMB? BTW: Cool lamp!
You guys amaze me... I know this one! They chrome the handle with the balls already on the ends. Then they build the vice around the handle! Duh.
Beau - I too have a "cousin" to your WILTON vise: click thumbnails to enlarge I think porkn****** is correct ... It was many, many, many years ago ... but I do remember one of the "balls" coming off the handle of my WILTON vise.
The Jalopy Journal
