Car boot - restore finished

[bugbear]

Long go I bought a decent fitters q/r vice for a fiver. I've recently got round
to cleaning it up, tuning/fettling it, and mounting it for use.

I used my usual "block" mount, so I can put it on my dirty work workbench AKA B&D workmate.
This time the block was made up from laminated plywood - plenty strong!

The vice is a Woden 186E/5, 3¼" jaw, 4¼" opening.

Its capacity is not so much greater than my old W&P vice, which is just under 3" jaw, 3" opening.

But the Woden weighs in at 44Lb, which means moving it from the shelf to the workmate
requires two hands and a little thought.

Edit - an online Woden price list gives 1957 price of 91/6 for this, the smallest one they made. Largest was the 186E/10, at 336/-

BugBear

 

[Rorschach]

Must check the number on mine but looks very similar, mine has been a good workhorse for several decades.

 

[bugbear]

Must check the number on mine but looks very similar, mine has been a good workhorse for several decades.

I prefer the external bolts for holding the jaw over Records recessed (and invariably burred to h*ll) screws.

BugBear

 

[Rorschach]

Must check the number on mine but looks very similar, mine has been a good workhorse for several decades.

I prefer the external bolts for holding the jaw over Records recessed (and invariably burred to h*ll) screws.

BugBear

Yes me too, You can use almost any bolt within reason to attach the jaws. I recently replaced the jaws on mine, it was a much easier job than it would have been on other vices.

 

[bugbear]

I found an old post of mine. I bought the vice in 2001 ...

BugBear

 

[DTR]

Nice job, that looks like one hell of a vice!

+1 on the location jaw-holding screws, I've never experienced such a luxury

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I'll need to check this, but I think there was a connection between Woden and Record. If memory serves, the 'C' and 'J' of C&J Hampton (the company using the 'Record' trademark) were scions of a West Midlands family owning both the Woden trademark and a firm called The Steel Nut. That may explain the similarity between Record and Woden vices. Both marques are top quality.

Gotcha! - http://recordhandplanes.com/history.html

 

[Rorschach]

Checked and mine is a 190/7 so just a touch larger than yours I think.

 

[bugbear]

Checked and mine is a 190/7 so just a touch larger than yours I think.

Yes - yours looks to be about 4¼" jaw width, going by the photos in this thread

woden-vice-jaws-t100692.html

An extra inch on jaw width implies a much bigger vice.

Checking the Woden price list on archive.org, the 190 is listed
as "unbreakable", which either means malleable cast iron, or steel. From your
photos, I'd say the style implies malleable cast iron; steel forged vices normally
look quite different.

On price, the 186E/8 and the 190/8 both have 5¼" jaws,
so I'm guessing they were the same size. Prices were 152/- and 211/-
respectively.

EDIT: they have the catalogue as well as the price list:

https://archive.org/details/WodenToolsC ... eNo.571957

BugBear

 

[Rorschach]

Very interesting, thanks for the information.

Original jaw inserts were 4.5" wide, I still have them but they are well worn now and I have replaced with smooth mil steel jaws that are extra wide for claping odd parts.
I think there is a mistake in the catalogue though since the original opening distance is only 4.75", not the 5.75" they quote.

Mine has seen a hard life and certainly seems unbreakable. It has regularly been abused and beat upon as a makeshift anvil and as a tough press/clamp.
My vice was military issued, so I could see why they would choose the unbreakable version. I think mine probably came from a Naval ship or dockyard since it is painted battleship grey with red accents on the moving parts. Not much of that paint left now, though no rust either.

 

[DoctorWibble]

Woden did make some steel vices. I've seen them with "steel" marked on the vice in the manner of similar Record and Fortis vices. Maybe that marking was customary with all British vices. Kind of a license to have at it with a big hammer.
Anyway Woden made very good vices but of course were shut down shortly after being acquired by Record notwithstanding the family connection. Early sixties I think would be the youngest vices out there. The plain screw engineers vices (186/b*) seem fairly easy to find in really good condition for not much money while the big QR models are often monstered.
Yours seems nice though Bugbear. I really like the old faded paint. Always looks better than freshly redone. I wonder if its some corporate/institutional colour? Usually Woden vices left the factory in dark blue.

 

[toolsntat]

Love Woden stuff, every product has an undoubted quality about it.
Cheers Andy =D>

 

[whiskywill]

When I first saw the thread title my first thought was "Who would want to restore a car boot?".

I must get out more.

 

[bugbear]

When I first saw the thread title my first thought was "Who would want to restore a car boot?".

I must get out more.

In fairness, I do have some nasty rust just above the trim on the rear hatch of my Ford Focus...

BugBear

 

[bugbear]

I really like the old faded paint. Always looks better than freshly redone. I wonder if its some corporate/institutional colour? Usually Woden vices left the factory in dark blue.

I just checked the vice really carefully. In many place the paint is worn down to bare metal; in those places I can see no signes whatever of another layer underneath the light tourquose/blue you see in the photos.

I also checked "out of the way" inner/hidden/obscured areas, and the colour is completely uniform. To the best of my ability to check I believe the vice to have been made with the paint it now has, and if it has faded, it has done so extraordinarily evenly.

BugBear

 

[Rorschach]

Further update: I was poking around my vice today and under some grime I found the marking STEEL so your comment about steel vices looking different is not the case here since mine is very similar to yours but we now is definately steel. Would certainly explain why even after all the bashing it has taken I have not broken it lol.

 

[bugbear]

Further update: I was poking around my vice today and under some grime I found the marking STEEL so your comment about steel vices looking different is not the case here since mine is very similar to yours but we now is definately steel. Would certainly explain why even after all the bashing it has taken I have not broken it lol.

That's interesting - the catalogue (page 44) says "The castings of this vice..."
which I would expect to be cast iron, albeit carefully heat treated.

BugBear

 

[DoctorWibble]

Steel is often cast too of course. And there's no reason why a common mould shouldn't be used for vices cast in steel or iron.. Though a common design may not make the most of each materials properties. For a vice though I imagine it'd do the trick well enough.
Can you tell whether the word "Steel" is cast or stamped afterwards?

 

[Rorschach]

The word Steel forms part of the casting just like the Woden name and model number. I never noticed it before since its on the far side of the vice nearer the wall and being near the bottom of the vice it was covered in a nice layer of oil and muck!

 

[DoctorWibble]

Always nice to find a tool you own is even better than you thought it was. The jump in toughness from malleable cast iron to steel is quite a bit larger than the jump from grey cast iron to malleable. Some makers even made some very good (and very sought after) blacksmiths anvils from cast steel. The better ones apparently stood comparison with the traditional forged variety.