My wife is Awsome

[gking]

My wife surprised my with an early Fathers day gift this evening after work.

A 65lbs post vise.

i see a lot of cleaning in my future Any pointers on the best way to clean it up? My plan is a wire brush and elbow grease
once i get all the rust off, what is the best way to protect it?
I have done one Demo for an American Civil War reenactment (a lot of fun but i don't know much) and would like to be able to bring his out to events.

also is the spring bent too much? If so any advice on fixing it?

thanks

[bigfootnampa]

For most of the parts soaking in vinegar for a day or two and THEN wire brushing will save a lot of elbow grease. I would avoid getting vinegar into the screw box though (shouldn't find rust there anyway). I'd straighten the leg just cold on the anvil. The spring looks okay but if it needs more curve I would just re-arch it cold by hammering over the hardy or step. It is easy to make a new spring and they are often missing. Commonly some of the wedges will be missing too... but it looks as though you have an exceptionally complete unit there. Mine is similar and has been very useful. You will often be thankful for this gift.

[Pat Roy]

If you are going to bring it to events you will need to mount it on a portable stand.
The spring is probably okay as is, it needs that shape to do its work.
After de-rusting, treat it the same way you treat your anvil, or you could paint it. I had one that looked like yours(without the spring and mounting hardware). I wire brushed it, greased the screw and nut and put it into service.

[Sask Mark]

Nice vice and nice wife!

I clean my vices the same way that I clean my anvils. A knotted wire cup brush on a 4 1/2" angle grinder works well.

[jmeineke]

Nice!

I second what Sask Mark said - use a knotted wire cup brush to knock the rust off. You'll be surprised how nice it will clean up. Taking everything apart helps get into all the nooks and crannies.

I also use Marvel Mystery Oil on all the stuff I clean up. The MMO does a good job of darkening up what's left on it and protects it from further rusting. Also, grease up the pin and the metal in the pivot area and that screw box. Not sure what everyone else uses, but I use the same stuff I use on brake slide pins (high temp grease).

[gking]

Nice vice and nice wife!

I clean my vices the same way that I clean my anvils. A knotted wire cup brush on a 4 1/2" angle grinder works well.

thanks. i was afraid a wire brush on an angle grinder would be too hard on the vice.

A friend of mine told me that engine block paint may be a way to keep it from rusting (after i clean it up)

[kasper]

Great score,cool wife,by the look of things you have it apart,before you took it apart was the vise opening and closing,if so the spring is fine,for me if the vise works,knock the dirt, crud and rust off , oil and grease it mount on a stump what ever and start bending steal.......Cheers

[jmeineke]

thanks. i was afraid a wire brush on an angle grinder would be too hard on the vice.

A friend of mine told me that engine block paint may be a way to keep it from rusting (after i clean it up)

A wire wheel won't harm the metal, It more or less just 'buffs' the surface and will make it look dark and somewhat shiny - like a semi-gloss finish (and will make quite a dust cloud, so you may want to do it outside).

I wouldn't recommend painting it. Once you put a light coat of oil on it (e.g., WD-40) you shouldn't have any more problems with rust.

In addition to WD-40, I'm a firm believer in Marvel Mystery Oil - it's been around since 1923 and is a tried and true product. Works really well - cleans and protects.

Have fun!

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Dad used Rustoleum on the vise he got 20+ years ago, and it still looks good today. Been outside the whole time we have owned it. If ya don't paint it, and you live in a wet area like I used to, you will be constantly fighting rust. Now that I am here in the dry desert I don't worry about rust, and will just let the others get a natural patina/rust bluing. Never really had any problems with the paint burning anywhere other than the jaw faces, and a little on the top as parts are bent over.

I have been thinking of painting some items though, but not for rust prevention, but in a hot rod sort of way. Why shouldn't BS tools be a color other than black? Hmmmmm , maybe pinstripes B)

[gking]

Great score,cool wife,by the look of things you have it apart,before you took it apart was the vise opening and closing,if so the spring is fine,for me if the vise works,knock the dirt, crud and rust off , oil and grease it mount on a stump what ever and start bending steal.......Cheers

it opened prity good but when tightining it one side was tighter than the other. one sire was closed and the other had a 1/4 inch gap.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Check the lower pivot plates first for straightness, perpendicularity, and wallowed holes. All of these, or combination there of, will cause twisted jaws.

[Dave Hammer]

I have used the electrolytic process with great success on post vices (actually, on anything I want to de-rust)... If you are not familiar with this, just Google with "electrolytic derusting" as the search words. You will find several articles online that describe how to do it.... If you have a battery charger, it is safe, easy and works every time with little effort. The longer you leave the process working, the cleaner your vise will become. I use a large plastic trash can for the plastic container. Stand the vise up in the can and do half of it at a time. There is no problem with overlapping areas. I usually put "PAM", which is canola oil, on stuff when I am finished. Some type of finish needs to be put on as soon as you have cleaned the project, or it will immediately begin to rust.

Good luck with your project...

[Steeler]

Looks like your wife is definitely a keeper! Nice gift. One that can keep on giving.
I like a knotted wire wheel on my grinder for stripping away rust. I have never found it to be overly aggressive.
I've not heard of electrolitic rust removal before and I'm going to check it out. Sounds easy, I like easy.

[RandyScott]

I second Dave Hammer's recommendation: google 'electrolytic rust removal'... lots of hits. It removes/converts rust,doesn't etch the remaining steel, slow but thorough. I have a 40 page document created from various internet finds on the process. Drop me an email and I will send it to you.

I also found a product call Boeshield T-9, an aerosol protectant film, developed by Boeing Aircraft for corrosion proofing aircraft, works wonders. I removed the rust on some old tools last fall, spray on the T-9, let dry, buffed with a paper towel and left them in an unheated garage till last month. No rust.. and I live in the Atlanta area.. plenty of humidity.

[Ben Hartley]

Electrolytic rust removal is great because it removes all the rust without damaging any of the underlying iron, even if you leave it in for weeks. It can use quite a bit of electricity if you let the amperage get too high or leave it on for weeks at a time.