About Wilton Tools
With over 80 years in the toolmaking industry, Wilton builds every product with the people who use it in mind. From the crews running B.A.S.H.® striking tools on the jobsite, to the machinists who've trusted our vises since the first bullet-design vise rolled off the line.
The Legend Begins
Hugh W. Vogl, a Czech immigrant, founded Wilton in Chicago, naming it for the cross street where his shop stood: Wilton Avenue and Wrightwood Avenue.
Vogl designed a 4-inch vise with a patented bullet design, known as the 40S Machinist Vise, with a fine-threaded spindle set in an enclosed, self-lubricating nut and a steel key guiding the jaw to .002” tolerances. From 1941–1945, it was manufactured in Chicago and sold solely to the U.S. Government for wartime production.
Holding Strong Through Adversity
When the war ended, government surplus flooded the market at deep discounts. With no distribution network of its own, Wilton nearly went under.
Hugh and his son Alex rebuilt from the ground up, starting with the booming post-war automotive supply industry. In 1950, they expanded the line with the 540 and 900 series clamps, built from pearlitic castings rated to 80,000 lbs psi tensile strength.
Expanding the Line
Wilton moved to Schiller Park, IL in 1957 and pushed further into industrial distribution. By 1965, Wilton was the preferred vise brand in the industrial market.
The POW-R-ARM work positioner arrived in the late 1950s, freeing operators to work faster and with greater accuracy. Hydraulic clamps and milling machine vises followed through the '60s.
Growing the Family
A new Winchester, TN facility brought affordable vises to hobbyists and DIYers, expanding access to genuine Wilton quality beyond the industrial market.
The acquisition of Warren Tool Group in the late '90s added the Columbian Vise brand and made Wilton the dominant name across both industrial and retail vise markets.
Part of the JPW Family
Wilton stands alongside JET, Powermatic and Baileigh as part of JPW Industries, and keeps growing on the same foundation of quality and durability laid down in 1941.
The Original, Still on Top
Over 80 years and five decades of change later, the original 1941 bullet vise design is still the largest-selling industrial vise in the marketplace.
That's the meaning of Holding Strong Since 1941.
