Wilton 500S 5 inch Machinist Bench Vise SUPER NICE

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Gents, for your consideration here is a Wilton 500S machinist vise. (500S means 5 inch jaw, Swivel base). The vise is a work of art in itself. While it did not look too bad to begin with, I decided to replaint it. I first thoroughly cleaned it, degreased, degreased some more, wire brished it, degreased some more and wiped thoroughly. Then I applied a "cold galvanizing paint" that is extremely durable. I used this paint on the steel deck of my homemade trailer and it holds up fine despite eBay related abuse. On top of that cold galvanizing, I used a spray oil based enamel as a red paint.

I am not a pro painter, but the gold galvanizing alone is worth its weight in gold due to unbeatable rust protection that it offers. The red paint layer is smooth and there are no runs. This is tough, expensive oil based enamel, not some cheap latex junk.

The vise operates very smoothly. The anvil is pristine. I took it apart, cleaned and oiled the internals with CorrosionX HD rust protectant. I only painted the cast steel surfaces, not the insides and no parts.

Gentlemen, if your experience is limited to cheap vises made by slave labor for pennies per day, you ought to give this US made specimen some consideration. The Wilton machinist vises, made in Illinois, are made from cast steel (not cast iron), that is guaranteed to have 60,000 PSI tensile strength, they will not break on you if you abuse them. If you use cheater bars to try to break the vise, you will bend the handle, but you will not destroy the vise.

This vise can open its 5 inch jaws to incredible 8 inches. It is precision made and the jaws barely move even when the vise is open.