From Molten Iron to Restored Vise: A Restoration Story

[@CatalystRestorations]

Watching just the restoration portion of the video here!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooDXiZJ9q6t1n6s

[@jimacpro]

you burning the tips off of your needle nose?

[@CatalystRestorations]

@@jimacpro absolutely. They're just a junk pair I use only for things like hot bluing.

[@manuela_kral4983]

Thank you for showing the historic footage of the production process. Restauration is in my mind a very honorable act in which we dignify the engineering and craftsmanship. I'm always impressed by the genius simplicity, functionality and beauty of old tools. You can maintain and repair them no matter how old they are. I love it!

[@CatalystRestorations]

I love it too, couldn't have said it better myself!! Thanks for watching!

[@MarkMeadows90]

Nice little backstory and history of the making of those Littco vises. I kinda figured that's how they were made, just like any other cast iron parts. Thanks for sharing an "extended" version of this restoration.

[@CatalystRestorations]

You're welcome Mark! Nothing fancy with the process, just cast iron mass production! I work for a steel company myself, so I love watching old casting and foundry footage. The two things that stood out to me the most were the lack of proper PPE (pre-OHSA of course) and the amount of times the parts were just hit with hammers to correct or straighten things out, haha.

[@gizzymeows5847]

Great restoration and homage to its creation process. Rust removal was still fun to watch. Keep the rustiness coming😊

[@CatalystRestorations]

Glad to hear the rust removal was still worth it 😁👍

[@seansmall7635]

Love the historical home film showing the whole building process! Great soundtrack too, gave it a Stranger Things vibe!!!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks for watching Sean!

[@baashtone7092]

Love how you used vintage footage from the foundry. Well done. Mark 6:35, very amusing.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks for watching!

[@cobratufskin]

Love the original footage and found footage. I have an old vise I need to restore

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks! Vises are a lot of fun and not too difficult to restore, good luck!

[@jeffreybennett4395]

Grew up with one of these on my dad’s workbench and went to Littlestown High School. Same town the foundry that these were made was located.

[@CatalystRestorations]

How about that?! Very, very cool. I live in northeast Ohio so I've been through that area occasionally, beautiful!

[@frick566]

Great resto!..Awesome attention to the minutia!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks, Lee!

[@drummersteveusa]

I know I'm late commenting on this, but I just saw it and had to comment. I live right outside of Littlestown PA and lived in town for about 10 years. We lived very near the foundry and yes, it is still there. Thank you for the video, and the restoration!

[@CatalystRestorations]

You're never too late to leave a comment, Steve! That is awesome to hear it's still there. Greetings from your neighbor in Ohio! 😁👍

[@drummersteveusa]

@@CatalystRestorations Thanks man, as a matter of fact I had to go into town tonight to drop off some mail and I drove right by the Foundry. It was so cool to see this on youtube!

[@CatalystRestorations]

@@drummersteveusa glad I could be of service! I'd love to be able to see what the inside looks like today. I work in the steel industry for my day job, so it's right up my alley of fun things!

[@titanicfilmsbymark]

Awesome video

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks!

[@wholefoodplantbasedmama5398]

Pretty cool you found that video.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Right?! First and only time I've ever found something like that for a project I've done.

[@jimacpro]

What other wrench would you use on a square bolt?

[@CatalystRestorations]

A regular open end solid wrench would work too, but my viewers had a visceral reaction to seeing me use an adjustable wrench in earlier videos and said nobody should ever use an adjustable wrench for anything ever 🙄 😁

[@garyostrander2507]

Very nice work on this vise = U should B - Proud & Very Pleased with the final Look & Apperance of this / love the color choice !

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks Gary!! I am proud of this one!

[@mskayla7747]

That was relaxing... I fell asleep watching this. 😊😴

[@CatalystRestorations]

Glad I could help you catch some z's! 😴

[@mskayla7747]

@@CatalystRestorations I finally got the whole video watched. Took a bit, but was well worth it. 😊

[@CatalystRestorations]

@@mskayla7747 Thanks for sticking around! 😊👍

[@robertgilmour1903]

I enjoyed the manufacturing footage.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks Robert! I'm glad someone at Littlestown had the foresight to capture it for us to watch 70 years later!

[@lazy_termite]

could somebody enlighten me, please, what's wrong with the wrench?

[@CatalystRestorations]

Nothing is wrong with it. Many viewers hate adjustable wrenches in favor of a full set of crescent wrenches and just like to voice their opinion on it so I just lean into it 😜

[@christopherackley9818]

love the wrench if it works does it matter

[@CatalystRestorations]

I agree 100% Christopher, but it seems many people would disagree with us 😑

[@simonmoss5698]

Just got around to the latest video, great video and nice tribute in the background

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks Simon! 🇺🇦

[@omarscott5010]

Muy buena restauración 👍

[@CatalystRestorations]

¡Muchas gracias! 👍

[@ronwalsh]

Great restoration on that vise. Maybe if you got a Bahco adjustable spanner people would not hate on it so much.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks! And maybe someday!

[@thomasneal9291]

You can use magnets to hold small metal pieces for sanding

[@CatalystRestorations]

Watch my video where I restored a wood level and you'll see when I use magnets for sanding!

[@DougAdams-uo1ee]

In the U.S., the wrench is commonly referred to as an "Arkansas speed wrençh". Love your vids.

[@CatalystRestorations]

@@DougAdams-uo1ee I've never heard that name before in my life, and I live in the US!

[@andoletube]

Would have been nice to see how you tightened up the slide bar passage. I could really see what was happening in the old footage, let alone how you did it.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks for the feedback! It is hard to see in the old footage, but basically they just press a huge blank bar through the slide area of the rough casting. In my restoration I slapped on a bunch of JB Weld and slowly sanded it back under the slide bar snugly slid in. Should've filmed it though for everyone to see!

[@christopherackley9818]

i have a littco 112 looks brand new after restoring a bit

[@CatalystRestorations]

That's awesome! Such a great little vise - and not overly difficult to restore either!

[@art7727]

Cool

[@CatalystRestorations]

Actually, HOT! 🔥🔥🔥

[@peterbeley3067]

Great work I enjoyed your video very much ....question what's up with the wrench?

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks for watching Peter! My comment about the wrench is mostly a joke because on previous videos I got dozens of commenters asking why I was using a 'garbage' adjustable wrench instead of a nice set of crescent wrenches. 😁😜

[@oscarsotorubio7852]

Where is the missing spring

[@CatalystRestorations]

This vice model has no spring.

[@oneshotme]

How old is the video you're showing with it? From the 40's or 50's? Looks great and an excellent job restoring it! Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up as a support

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks for watching! The Littlestown website says the video footage is from the 1950's.

[@oneshotme]

@@CatalystRestorations I thought so with just the way it looked You're welcome!!

[@declanallen5833]

Crescent wrenches are truly too bulky, round off nuts because of tolerances in the machining of the tool

[@CatalystRestorations]

Definitely not suited for every job and doubly true if you have loose wrenches!

[@M_to_the_T]

I already know this vise restoration 🤔 my confusion is confused

[@CatalystRestorations]

Don't worry, you're not crazy! This is the same vice restoration as the last video but it's spliced with footage of the original manufacturing process of the vice. Think of this as an episode of TV with the deleted scenes added back in!

[@Needandeli]

I liked the wrench at the start. Toward the end tho, it really started stripping my bolts...

[@CatalystRestorations]

That's heartwrenching

[@paulfasolo8552]

America better get on the stick and rebuild our manufacturing base, it may even be too late!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Definitely agree that some areas of manufacturing need to make a comeback for sure! Others are just simply gone forever as the world change, and sometimes that's okay too.

[@daviddaddy]

Wouldn't it be crazy if you had the one the guys making in the video? And i dont mean the same model lol i mean the actual vise he was holding haha. Nice vise thanks for sharing.

[@CatalystRestorations]

That would be insane, hahaha. I wish they had serial numbers on them so there was a way to roughly tell!

[@Jack-pc5ix]

I do not hate that wrench.

[@CatalystRestorations]

You're a go-your-own-way kinda guy Jack!! Thanks for watching! 🔧

[@old-tool]

Хорошая работа сделана, точно такие тиски есть советского производства под именем Ленинград

[@CatalystRestorations]

Very interesting!!

[@old-tool]

@@CatalystRestorations exactly such a vise is of Soviet production under the name Leningrad

[@jimcummer681]

Great job!! Wrench is fine it’s the square nut 😠they are a pain in the butt!

[@CatalystRestorations]

They really are!

[@texascottonfarmer]

You were lucky the glass jar didn't crack when you DROPPED the hot bolt into it. What were you thinking? 😒

[@CatalystRestorations]

I was thinking of you Gary

[@KA4UPW]

Not a fan of the jaws, the base being repaired with jb weild, and the deep scars not being fill weilded and ground flat

[@guyhiebert]

I like the wrench. I use that shit on everything

[@CatalystRestorations]

So do I, Guy!

[@Lawnmowerman02346]

You did a beautiful job making it look pretty and it should be placed in a glass case with mirrors . Because your brazing attempt failed I wouldn’t dare put much torque on it , that crack will break . JB weld is not a structural repair . The sleeve you put in should also have been brazed . It would have been worth it to have it brazed .

[@CatalystRestorations]

Someday I will have true brazing capability! Since finishing this restoration I actually regularly use this little guy for light work and it's held up great (you can see it in a few of my more recent videos), but I agree, JB Weld is not the end-all solution. (that's duct tape, right? 😂)

[@Maidrite1960]

I have 3 of the same model, jaws need replaced on all 3 🙄

[@CatalystRestorations]

Luckily they aren't too difficult or expensive to come by and it's also very possible to make your own with some basic hand tools and a drill!

[@Maidrite1960]

@@CatalystRestorations 2 of them out of the 3 will be fine, 3rd will be parts lol

[@CatalystRestorations]

@@Maidrite1960 lol I know how that goes!

[@ArmyCop]

Great video! Slava Ukraini!!! 🇺🇦

[@CatalystRestorations]

🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦!!

[@barthanes1]

You did a really nice job on it, but it was shockingly poor quality to begin with. I guess not all older USA made tools were high quality. I think that particular vice should have failed quality control for the 1/8 inch of slop in the screw, and the voids in the casting.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Not a precision vise by any means!

[@a.p.369]

Great job, except the crack repair. JB welding is garbage. It has to be welded by MAG. You have to heat it up by a torch. Once the cast iron is hot than weld it by MAG.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks! Of course actual welding is always going to be the best option. The point of this channel is restoring things using only tools or things an everyday person has in their workshop. The vast majority of people do not have a personal welding setup ready to go at a moment's notice. This will hold up just fine for me since it's only a small light duty vise for light work.

[@Theta_Ukrop]

🤗❤🇺🇦

[@CatalystRestorations]

❤️❤️🇺🇦