Record Vise - Restoration/Questions

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I got a free Record vise: "Record R40S Sheffield England".38.99.165.179/kalle/r40s/1.png38.99.165.179/kalle/r40s/2.png38.99.165.179/kalle/r40s/3.png38.99.165.179/kalle/r40s/4.png38.99.165.179/kalle/r40s/5.pngWhen turning the screw, the jaws wouldn't spread or come together. To investigate I took the vise apart as much as I could.Questions:1 - Bent parts?: The spring is deformed, and a washer is bent as pictured here. Is this normal or is it a big deal? I suppose the washer can be flattened out. Are replacement parts readily available? Any good source for these?2 - Rust removal/restoration?: Even when taking the main screw all the way out, the jaw pieces wouldn't budge. I nicely knocked the whole thing on my garage floor and the two pieces finally loosened up a bit. Looks like is was just rust holding them together although wouldn't the vise action be able to over-power the hold of the rust? What would be the best procedure to clean up the rust on the whole vise? Is re-painting recommended?3 - Replacement jaws?: One side of the jaws has broken off, and only the sheared screws remains as pictured here. The other side is intact and you can see the screw heads as pictured here. I guess it's pretty obvious what needs to be done, any tips?4 - Disassembling the two main parts?: In order to work on this vise, I need to be able to break apart the two main vise pieces. When shimmying them to the outer-most extents, I cannot ultimately slide them apart. There seems to be small ramps in the way, as if the pieces first come together at an angle. Do I just have to oil it up and use a bit more force to get the two main pieces completely seperated?5 - The Base?: Was this originally part of a swivel base, and a bottom plate is missing? Picture. How would be the best way to mount this? Perhaps some pin in the middle, then a bolt into that side indent hole to hold it in place. Or maybe a new swivel base can be made. 6 - What type of vise is this? Machinest or mechanics vise? And am I correct in saying this is a 4 inch vise? (R40S). Ahhhh the S probably stands for 'swivel'!Any tips/advice/answers are greatly appreciated!Cheers
Reply:I'll try to help with a couple of your ?? to start, it's not a machinist vice and this may help with the rust removal.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...t=electrolysisIf you don't want to stand behind our Troops, feel free to stand in front of them.
Reply:You might want to read this.http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=62716I don't think it was a swivel vise.Last edited by Eric N; 07-02-2010 at 06:52 PM.
Reply:I used to maintain a set of records for a high school shop,  Just flatten the washer.  The spring will still work.  They will get out of shape a bit and if it is a big concern you can twist and stretch it back into shape.  They are not brittle like an engine valve spring.   The cross pin can also be hammered straight.   The cause of all the damage to spring washer and pin is that the screw was turned to open the jaw.  The moveable jaw was jammed in some manner and all the force was on the spring and washer.   Before assembly make sure the jaw slides free.  I never ran into a nut or screw that failed... They can be badly worn but I never have seen one strip.   The jaw fractures first.   I have had fairly good luck removing those broken screws.  If I remember correctly they are number 12 screws rather than 1/4 inch national coarse.   At least the old record stuff gave me that problem.  Often I just ran a tap in for a 1/4 inch UNC.  The edge of the movable jaw is damaged.  You can carefully build it up with brazing rod and file to shape.   Getting new jaws might be difficult.  Depending on what kind of work you are going to hold you might consider getting some brass or aluminum stock and making soft jaws for it.