# Shop made Pen VIse



## Dan_F (Jan 2, 2008)

If I may be forgiven for introducing a flat, non-spinny object, here is a pen blank drilling vise I came up with last night. Kind of sloppy in the glue department, but with mdf being a thirsty material, and this being a fucntional piece, I didn't bother cleaning it up before shooting some pics. In the critical area of the "V" (where the blank sits), I did exercise better glue control. Also, for better clarity, I used a darker, slightly larger blank than my test piece, but din't bother adjusting the toggle clamp to fit, so it's not fully engaged in the picture.

















The base is 3/4" mdf, the top layer is 1/2". That allowed me to make a replaceable, sliding strip to act as a backer to prevent blowing out the exit hole. In the detail, you can see that the block overlaps it a little on the left side and in back, which helps to prevent it from lifting up when the bit enters the backer. The last 1/2" or so of the strip can be cut off when going from a larger to a smaller bore, then simply pushed back into position. The strip is 1 x 8", and can easily be replaced when it's been used up.

The block is constructed from 3/4" mdf. It was built up to give it lots of resistance from the lateral force of the toggle clamp. Given the difficulty of clamping so many pieces in a short period of time, I would use superglue and acccelerator if I were to do it again. The base is 12" square, the block is about 2 1/2" high, and about 3"wide at the wings. 

Once set up, with the fence and holddowns in place, it's very solid, and works splendidly. I had tried a few other strategies for drilling, including wooden clamps and another makeshift block and clamp combo, neither of which worked very well. I also had spotty results drilling on the lathe. This setup has produced very good results on a couple of practice pieces, and so far I'm very pleased, can't see going back to drilling on the lathe, at least for pens or other small things that will fit in here. This will also be MUCH faster.

Dan


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## CrazyBear (Jan 2, 2008)

Dan

Can I be critical and make a suggestion..

I would have made the bed slightly wider so that it overlaped both chanels in the drill press bed.  A close fitting steel dowel in each of the four corners to locate in the chanels would have locked in the X axis and kept it square and that would mean that you simply had to adjust along the Y axis to line up with your drill bit. Finaly the bolt on the clamps could go through the jig bed into the chanel to give you a better lock down.

Otherwise nice jig


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## jhs494 (Jan 2, 2008)

Okay Dan, I like the pen vise, but I really like that table you have on your drill press. Wow!! Can't say i've seen that before.
It sure looks nice.[] How about some details on it.


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## Dave_M (Jan 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by CrazyBear_
> <br />Dan
> I would have made the bed slightly wider so that it overlaped both chanels in the drill press bed.  A close fitting steel dowel in each of the four corners to locate in the chanels would have locked in the X axis and kept it square and that would mean that you simply had to adjust along the Y axis to line up with your drill bit. ....



I don't think that would work with his setup.  He would have to modify his jig so the opposing corners of his blanks were in line with the Y axis.  As it is now, a change in the size of the blank requires a change along both axes to hit dead center.

I did something similar but set my jig so the opposing corners ran along the Y axis.  Not having the foresight, I made my jig adjustable on both axes as well.  After using it a few times, I finally got a clue.


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## loglugger (Jan 2, 2008)

Why am I getting the red x in a box. any help would be appreciated. 
Never mine i guess that i didn't wait long enough.
Bob


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## Dan_F (Jan 2, 2008)

CrazyBear---OK, not being a machinist, I assume the x axis is east and west so to speak, and the y runs north and south?  Got to admit that I never thought about locking into one of them. If this one proves to be a hassle to use, I'll take your suggestion for my next one. I thought about mounting this one on another platform, but would probably be easier to make a new one than to figure out the geometry for adapting it. 

Lanman---Did you make another jig, or adapt yours to one axis adjustability? I think what I would want to do, would be to have the block mounted to another sliding section, similar to the insert on mine, so that the whole jig could be locked to the table, but the block section could slide as needed, and it could be locked in place by a vertical toggle clamp. Hmmmm...

jhs---Thanks for the comment on the drill press table. It's based on one I saw over at woodnet, here is a link to that thread.   http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB2&Number=2869430&Forum=&Words=%22drill%20press%20table%22&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Main=2869430&Search=true&where=bodysub&Name=&daterange=1&newerval=3&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post2869430

Here is a thread with better pics of my version.   http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=54176

Dan


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## Firefyter-emt (Jan 2, 2008)

Yea, that drill table is very sweet!  I love the spalted wood edging and what appears to be a drawer underneath.  I made mine in 1.5" MDF and edged in Imbuya, but I saw the round insert idea just days later, dang I was mad! 

Nice idea with the jig. I am looking for a low cost machinest "V" block and clamp to build into a jig. I will need to have a custom press pad made for the clamp, but once it's done it should hold it rock solid!


Something like this that could be bolted to a fence jig. Just add a "V" shaped press pad that has a small bearing where the screw turns and you have a very solid drill jig.





http://cgi.ebay.com/Rafan-V-Blocks-With-Clamps-P98_W0QQitemZ120203594236QQihZ002QQcategoryZ57029QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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## R2 (Jan 3, 2008)

Dan, I think that is a very nifty solution to an age old problem.Well done![][][]
Are they Ingra parts you used?


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## rherrell (Jan 3, 2008)

I agree with Dave. Find a way to make it self centering and I think you have a winner!


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## jhs494 (Jan 3, 2008)

Dan,
Thanks for the extra pics and the link on the table.
I am thinking once I get my extension table done for the miter saw this is next.
Thanks again.[]


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