Drillpress vice

[ctEaglesc]

Interested on hearing from anyone that uses an X_Y vice for drilling blanks.
I don't always(hardly ever) make perfectly squre blanks though they are straight.
Am thinking an xy vice might kind of handy.
looking for in put.

 

[Fred in NC]

Eagle, I have TWO of them, one I bought at HF, the other I wan at a drawing in a turning club, and it came from Grizzly.

My drill press table is simple not strong enough to hold either one. It will easily tilt with the weight. It will be better with a bigger drill press.

A set of prismatic jaws, the ones that have a vertical notch, should work fine for blanks.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I don't know what an X_Y vice is. But I purchased a cross-slide machinist vice from Grizzly and use it to drill all pen blanks. It has a verticle groove that aligns blanks verticly. And it holds firmly. That is an added safety feature in my books. I also use it for many other tasks. It was about $40.00 and a good shop investment.

 

[Thumbs]

I have a couple cross slide vises and a big x-y machinist's vise. It is only usable in one of my floor model drill presses. It is BIG and HEAVY. It is not at all usable on a little bench press. Also, I don't use it for penmaking because I'm afraid that as careless as I tend to be I will forget and drill through the drive mechanism( when you use it and move it around you can get off center(DAMHIKT)it's a struggle, I know, but I can screw up da__ near anything when I put my mind to it!). Ha!

Actually I find the self centering dedicated pen vises much easier to use and as accurate(or more than)as I am![}] They are usually a good deal cheaper, too![]

 

[Fred in NC]

Frank, same thing !!!

 

[Rifleman1776]

This is the one I got, has many uses besides pens. $44.95.

<br />

 

[ctEaglesc]

I didn't think about the weight issue,I guess I'll make my own.
I don't normally clamp mine down too much of a hassel.
WHould like to have it "fixed" though.
ANyone make an aluminum one?
As far as the drilling through the mechanism, I think I can deal with that.

 

[Thumbs]

Frank, X and Y are dimensional referents. Your vise travels in two dimensions, X and Y. How heavy is it?

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by Thumbs
<br />Frank, X and Y are dimensional referents. Your vise travels in two dimensions, X and Y. How heavy is it?

Sixteen pounds. I use it on a bench model Grizzly dp.

 

[scubaman]

Originally posted by Thumbs
<br />Actually I find the self centering dedicated pen vises much easier to use and as accurate(or more than)as I am![}]

Here's the setup I use. I combine them

<br />
An adapter (from Grizzly) replaces the drill-press table. On it an x-y vise is mounted holding a self-centering vise. The self-centering vise allows me to quickly dril a bunch of 'regular' blanks, with very good repeatability. E.g. I can take .07" blanks and drill for a Gentleman's pen, and do a couple in a row, without futzing around too much. The x-y table allows me to drill antler blanks where the hole has to be positioned differently for each blank, very quickly. I use (vertical) jaw extensions on the vise to help align the antler curve. The whole affair can easily be lifted out and the table be put back in. May seem like overkill, it's something I've arrived at after a few iterations over many years and works very well for me.

 

[Thumbs]

Hey, Rich! I like! Where did you get the self-centering vise? Nice! That looks like a heavy duty quality piece of work. Can you easily replace that base piece of plywood under the center drill point? How long is the travel on your drill? Raising and lowering that whole assembly looks like it might be a bit of a bear!

 

[Rudy Vey]

Originally posted by Thumbs
<br />Hey, Rich! I like! Where did you get the self-centering vise? Nice! That looks like a heavy duty quality piece of work. Can you easily replace that base piece of plywood under the center drill point? How long is the travel on your drill? Raising and lowering that whole assembly looks like it might be a bit of a bear!

Only special people have this vise!!! Just kidding, our member Paul Huffman makes these. They are the best on the market. Before I got mine I used a self-centering vise from Woodcraft. Contact Paul and ask when he makes another batch of them....

 

[scubaman]

Originally posted by Thumbs
<br />Hey, Rich! I like! Where did you get the self-centering vise? Nice! That looks like a heavy duty quality piece of work. Can you easily replace that base piece of plywood under the center drill point? How long is the travel on your drill? Raising and lowering that whole assembly looks like it might be a bit of a bear!

My drill press has a rack and pinion to raise the table. So it's just cranking - not a problem. The vise is made by Paul Huffman (member here). I've used the PSI as well as the Woodcraft/CSU versions, plus various jigs I built - this one is the best. Mine is not exactly the standard one Paul builds now, but the variations are minor. I have room for exactly 1/2" softwood plywood under the jaws (whatever that thickness is exactly). I made up a stack of strips to fit the width and they last for years before i have to make more. The side loading is nice. Not pictured are top jaw extensions - I use these primarily for antler and take them off otherwise. The thick plywood block underneath is just to hold it in the x-y vise's jaws.

The drill press has a 5" (or thereabouts) stroke.

If I had to start over, I get a HF 12-speed drill-mill (42976) with built-in x/y table and much less quill play than this Delta I have. Of course mount a Huffman vise on it. The ultimate pen blank drilling machine! (I think ;-)

 

[MDWine]

I looked for Paul under the members, didn't find it!
Do you know his 'forum name' ??[]

 

[Paul in OKC]

Originally posted by MDWine
<br />I looked for Paul under the members, didn't find it!
Do you know his 'forum name' ??[]

Here I am[]
I haven't made any vises for a while, but am planning to make some hopefully in the very near future. Been trying to develope a proto-type gadget lately, and am having a hard time even trying to finish that!

 

[Thumbs]

Paul, please keep us in mind when you get back to making some of these vises. I sure would like to get one! [] Thanks!

OK. Now I get the name on the side of the vise: PHDesigns, right![:0]

 

[wdcav1952]

Paul,

Bob (Thumbs) collects tools like Emelda Marcos collected shoes! Whenever you start selling, he will buy one of each!
[]

 

[Thumbs]

Great! Thanks a lot, William! I can see from here how far the price just went up! [!] Urk! The price of friendship![}][][]

 

[clem]

Thumbs the self centering vises are sold at woodcraft Psi CSUSA clem

 

[Thumbs]

Thanks, Clem. I had one of the vises similar to those carried by CSUSA and Woodcraft. It was good and heavy but awkward for me to use. Hard to get pieces out after drilling. I now have the PSI model; it's a bit easier to get pieces out. But it seems a bit lightweight. The one offered by our IAP member, looks solidly built and has one side open for easy retrieval of the blanks. They don't call me THUMBS for nothing, you know! []

 

[leehljp]

I'm glad to see that some of you fellows got the bad guys away from their vices and headed into the direction of good vises! []

 

[scalawagtoo]

Originally posted by cteaglesc
<br />Interested on hearing from anyone that uses an X_Y vice for drilling blanks.
I don't always(hardly ever) make perfectly squre blanks though they are straight.
Am thinking an xy vice might kind of handy.
looking for in put.

not sure what you mean by x-y vise but did you check out psi self-centeting vise under show off your shop?