# cheap drilling vice



## RAdams (Jun 26, 2009)

Up to this point, i always drilled my blanks using a pair of channel locks. I blew out the side of two awesome homebrew PR blanks trying to make a cigar pen tonight and decided that enough is enough. I just have a little $40 tabletop HF drill press, so i can't have anything super huge, and of course money is always a factor. 

With those criteria in mind, where is the best place to get a drill press vice? 


thanks in advance!


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## ldb2000 (Jun 26, 2009)

You should save your money and buy the stuff to drill on the lathe . The cheap little HF drill press combined with a cheap drilling vise will not be adequate to do any kind of precise drilling and will limit how long a blank you can drill .
PSI sells a Collet chuck with collets for about $90 and is usable for allot more then just drilling , and you can get a drill chuck with a MT taper to hold your drill bits in the tail stock for about $20 and up here in the classifieds .
You will need to turn your blanks round to use the collet chuck so you will need a drive (dead) center and a live center . So for just a little bit more then a good drilling vise you can outfit your lathe to drill , and you won't be sorry you did .


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## RAdams (Jun 26, 2009)

I understand where you are coming from. But money is an issue, and just two parts of the set up you listed bring the total over $100. Eventually, i would love to get the stuff to drill on the lathe, like you mentioned these tools can be used for lots of applications, but right now i don't have $150 or 200 to spend on it. I am just trying to get through my first show, and finish the $800 worth of kits i have without a second mortgage on the house. 

I guess i will just go with the $50 model from woodcraft, unless i can find something else before next week.


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## RAdams (Jun 26, 2009)

I just thought of something. I have a drive center, and i recently got my 60 degree live center fron the little machine shop. So i could turn my blanks round right now. 

If i take the jaws off of my Nova scroll chuck, i think i could use the slides to hold a pen blank. Then all i would need in the above mentioned $20 drill chuck, until i can afford the collet chuck anyway... hmmmmm.


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## Robert Taylor (Jun 26, 2009)

you could also take a $2.00 harbor freight handscrew (wooden clamp) and cut two 90 degree notches about an inch from the end using a bandsaw to hold blanks verticle for drilling.


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## RAdams (Jun 26, 2009)

That is also on my shopping list. 

tap set so i can do my stoppers.
punch set for disassembly
jacob's chuck for lathe
clamp or two for experimenting.
double face tape so i can give the necklaces a whirl (i will get this from the flooring supply house.)

I think i can get everything on my list for well under $100. May not be the best way, but i can make it work till i can upgrade.


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## cnirenberg (Jun 26, 2009)

RAdams said:


> I just thought of something. I have a drive center, and i recently got my 60 degree live center fron the little machine shop. So i could turn my blanks round right now.
> 
> If i take the jaws off of my Nova scroll chuck, i think i could use the slides to hold a pen blank. Then all i would need in the above mentioned $20 drill chuck, until i can afford the collet chuck anyway... hmmmmm.



Now, your thinking.  Let me tell you from my experience, drilling on the lathe is the way to go.  I did the deed when I bpought the cheap $50 drill press years back to drill "straight" holes in blanks.  Big waste of money.  I either should have either bought a larger, good reliable drill press or invested in a good quality scroll chuck.  Here is what i cuurntly do.  I either turn the blank round or semi round using a variation of Keiths meyhod (see drilling on the lathe tutorial) or line it up and hold it with my nova chuck.  It works.


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## tim self (Jun 26, 2009)

Ron, try this link.  It's cheap and as long as you're square, it works.

http://randyswoodshop.blogspot.com/2009/01/pen-blank-drilling-jig-basic-homemade.html


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## JimB (Jun 26, 2009)

I use a drill press vise I bought at HF for under $10. It has flat jaws instead of V jaws but I've never had a problem. You could make your own V jaws if you wanted to. My drill press is a bench top Ryobi (borrowed).

HF also sells a jacobs chuck. I think I paid about $10 or $12 for it.

Double sided turners tape - Rockler has the best price that I have found.


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## Jgrden (Jun 27, 2009)

Excuse my ignorance but what and where is "HF".  Home Federal, Half Fried, Hill Far, ??


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## foneman (Jun 27, 2009)

Jgrden said:


> Excuse my ignorance but what and where is "HF".  Home Federal, Half Fried, Hill Far, ??



Harbor Freight


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## JimB (Jun 27, 2009)

Harbor Freight Tools. I don't know if they have retail stores in your area but you can check their website.


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## RHossack (Jun 28, 2009)

RAdams said:


> I just have a little $40 tabletop HF drill press, so i can't have anything super huge, and of course money is always a factor.
> With those criteria in mind, where is the best place to get a drill press vice?


That fine importing emporium of quality Chinese tools has that DP on sale at the moment. 

Well the best vise is the PH one.

Until someone took pity on this doddering old fool and blessed me with a vise I used a setup very similar to this pic (not my pic).
The only thing is my DP kind of became a permanent setup like this.







The machinist vise is also a HF item and it was like $5.00 on sale.

Turn the table 90º bolt the vise to the table.

I use a rod from an old shock absorber I cut off with my dremel to center the vise and the chuck.  I also use this same rod to align my TS on the mini-lathe.


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## RAdams (Jun 28, 2009)

hf = harbor freight 

google it and you will find their website. they sell cheap chinese tools by the tons. 

Northern tool is another good one, but there is no retail stire for those guys anywhere near me, and i am very impatient when it comes to getting tools. Don't like to wait for the mailman.


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## ldb2000 (Jun 28, 2009)

RAdams said:


> I just thought of something. I have a drive center, and i recently got my 60 degree live center fron the little machine shop. So i could turn my blanks round right now.
> 
> If i take the jaws off of my Nova scroll chuck, i think i could use the slides to hold a pen blank. Then all i would need in the above mentioned $20 drill chuck, until i can afford the collet chuck anyway... hmmmmm.


 
If you have a scroll chuck then you don't need the collet chuck . What jaws do you have for it ? if you have the pin jaws you are all set , just get the drill chuck .


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## Rick_G (Jun 28, 2009)

I just use a cheap $5 machinist vise I picked up years ago.  As long as the non moveable jaw is square to the table you can use a cheap plastic square to set up the other direction.  Only time I've blown out the blanks is when I exit using a regular bit.  With my Lee Valley brad point bits I've never blown one out.


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## bradh (Jun 30, 2009)

You just need something square. I found a V block being tossed at work; it had a little rust on one side. Two wood clamps and the block is my blank vice. One clamp on the block corner holds the block but lets it pivot to adjust, the other clamp holds the blank in the block.


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## jusaf (Jul 6, 2009)

I saw the drilling vises that Woodcraft has and liked them but didn't like the price.  I took some scrap 2X4, cut a V groove in each one then connected them with a hinge.  I connected of the 2X4's to a base with screws that I countersunk.  I now use clamps to mount the entire jig to my drill press.  I also use a clampt to hold the 2X4's closed when I have a blank inserted.  It isn't the best but it works for me.  

One problem that I have been experiencing is that I find the center of the blank and start drilling at that point.  The hole on the other end of the blank is always off center.  Is that from my jig being off or the drill press being off?

Jim


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## JimB (Jul 6, 2009)

It could be from either being off. If you do a search on here there are several methods to check if the DP table is square to the quill. I think the most common is to take a piece of wire (like an old hanger) and mount in the chuck. Bend it so it just touches the table. Turn the quill BY HAND. The hanger should touch all the way around.


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## PenMan1 (Jul 10, 2009)

Hurry, Penn State has their centering vise on sale until the middle of July. It is about $40 and the best investment I have made to date.


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## jusaf (Jul 23, 2009)

I bought the drilling center vise from PSI.  I really like it.  The only bad thing is that I could have saved myself the money if I would have checked the level of the drill press table.  It was off, which made my drillling off.  The vise works great.  I do like it.  It mades the smaller blanks much easier.

Jim


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## keithlong (Jul 23, 2009)

*Drill press vice*

I made mine using a piece of plywood for the base and a couple of pieces of 2 inch by 3/4 inch thick pieces of oak. I made the base the same size as my drill press table, then i mounted the 2 pieces of oak to form a 90 degree corner and all i do is hold the blank in the corner with a c clamp and center under the drill bit and drill away. Very easy to make.


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## bitshird (Jul 23, 2009)

RAdams said:


> I understand where you are coming from. But money is an issue, and just two parts of the set up you listed bring the total over $100. Eventually, i would love to get the stuff to drill on the lathe, like you mentioned these tools can be used for lots of applications, but right now i don't have $150 or 200 to spend on it. I am just trying to get through my first show, and finish the $800 worth of kits i have without a second mortgage on the house.
> 
> I guess i will just go with the $50 model from woodcraft, unless i can find something else before next week.


Harbor freight has a barracuda clone for about 50.00  Honestly even a barracuda does not register that accurately if you move your piece from the chuck, but they are swell for drilling, in the long run you save money ny blowing up less blanks,


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