The nut on your Wilton is easily serviced, easily replaced, and, available new, to this day:

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/vice-nut-p-729439.html

Do yourself a huge favor. Clean it up, wipe the seal on the bar down, put a gob of Mobile 1 Universal synthetic grease on the nut, and the screw, put it together and forget about drilling anything or lubricating it, ever again.

Generic exploded view of a Wilton bullet:



Where does all the oil you squirt on your other vises end up over the years?

There are forged steel vises out there, but, they are not Reeds.

Another image. Pictures are worth a thousand words:



Just curious, is this the style of lock on the Reed you are talking about?







Best,
Ted