Drill Press Vise

[crokett]

I used one at the blacksmith meeting last week and am seriously thinking of replacing the drill press table I made with one. Does anybody have one? Any advantages/disadvantages? One that I can see is I can't drill wide pieces, but I normally don't put those on my benchtop press anyway.

[LCHIEN]

drill press vise is essential for most for metalworking or at very least a hold down clamp for drilling sheet metal.
Drill press table is best for woodworking.
Having both and being able to swap on quick notice is the best of both worlds.

[crokett]

Loring I believe you but want to know why is the drill press table best for woodworking? The way I see it the vise will automatically do what my table currently has as shortcomings and do what the table does now.

Vise will hold stock securely for drilling long pieces (including round ones) table I have yet to add some sort of hold down. I would rather invest my money in the vise if I am going to. Either could be squared to the bit. The one thing the vise won't do is move stock away from/ towards the bit laterally, unless I loosen bolts and move it. The blacksmith had a spiffy one that he could turn a handle and it moved the vise and the piece. I have designed something in my head that is similar.

[fbrend123]

Crokette, is this what you're talking about?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94276

[crokett]

Something like that, yes.

[LCHIEN]

offhand, there are several reaosns i can think of, there are probably more

first, wood piece tend to be bigger than most metal pieces... so you need the bigger table for support and you can't clmap the bigger wood pieces in a vise.

second, and very important, wood pieces don't grab like metal pieces. so simply pushing it against a fence is sufficient safety, where as metal pieces tend to grad very badly as you drill trhough and it will spin and cut you much worse than wood ever will so very firm clamping is essential. Or, longer pieces can be braced against the post.

Drilling quickly a row of holes is easy with wood, using the fence. With metal, you still have to clamp it. I think you can work more quickly with wood on a woodworking table.

[wardprobst]

I agree with Loring on the table. I use both and have several different vises. If you can afford it, the cross or milling vise from Harbor Freight is nice. Every now and then it goes on sale but I think if you get their flier the most recent has a 15% coupon which equals the usual sale price. It's very handy for precision work in wood or metal. For production runs where you are drilling a lot of holes the table is better- particularly if they need to be spaced and/or line up. I have one press that a vise stays on and another press that the table stays on but I use drill presses a lot in my work. You can mount a vise on ply and use clamps to the table for quick changes. It's also hand if you want to slide it along the table fence for drilling holes in pipe, etc. Just index the edges of the plywood to the vice faces.
HTH,
DP

[crokett]

Thanks for the replies fellas. As usual, you've suggested things I didn't think about. I am going to keep my table for now since I do a lot more drilling with wood than I do with metal.

[Black wallnut]

I have a couple of drill press vises. I use neither very often. I have a small bench top DP and the vise is not a good fit. The bits that I use where I most want a vise are too long for use with a vise at the lowest table position and and not enough quill travel to use on the base. If I had a larger DP with more adjustability I can see how the vises would be useful.