Drill Press Vise

[kleinberger]

Anyone have a recommendation for a specific make or model when it comes to a drill press vise? I have a cheapo Harbor Freight drill press that works perfectly for building pedals, and I'm hesitant to spend a ton on a vise that is just for hobby. X and Y adjustment would be great though, and not having an enclosure break free from your hand when drilling would be even better! Normally I would just go slow and hold still, but I'm attempting the Vanishing Point from Nelson's layout, thanks Nelson, and I need precision for all of the pot holes.

I think I need one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bitmoore-7-X-8-Cross-Slide-Milling-Drill-Press-Vise_W0QQitemZ170169505498QQihZ007QQcategoryZ20761QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here is the Vanishing Point reference:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=46926.0

Anyone have any tips or suggestions on what they bought for a vise? Thanks everybody.

[~arph]

I did one by hand, eight pots in a row 
I transferred a toner drill template on the enclosure, then took a nail and punched small dents at the drill centers. Then I drilled them in three step each time increasing drill size.
It works really good, but you have to be careful. I use this method on all my boxes.
see www.friedair.com for the VP result.

Succes!

[John M]

With my drill press I use a unibit from Small Bear and hold by hand without any accuracy problems. The unibit is worth the cost for the ease of use and doesn't have the "grabbing" that I had previously experienced with individual bits. I will never go back to using individual drill bits again.

John

[kleinberger]

I did one by hand, eight pots in a row 
I transferred a toner drill template on the enclosure, then took a nail and punched small dents at the drill centers. Then I drilled them in three step each time increasing drill size.
It works really good, but you have to be careful. I use this method on all my boxes.
see www.friedair.com for the VP result.

Succes!

That's exactly what I was thinking of doing. Might be a good time to learn how to transfer onto the box right. Really nice work on your site Looks like you added some mods to it. Did you drill slightly larger to allow for some play, or were you able to get it perfect the first time?

[kleinberger]

With my drill press I use a unibit from Small Bear and hold by hand without any accuracy problems. The unibit is worth the cost for the ease of use and doesn't have the "grabbing" that I had previously experienced with individual bits. I will never go back to using individual drill bits again.

John

Yeah, I'm a unibit guy too...but I still manage to move just a little while drilling. It would be nice to have the box solidly in place so that my punch points represent the actual hole and not slightly off. I'm guessing people who do this for a living have the work done by cnc or in a good vise. I'm planning on doing this for years to come, so I suppose a vise would be a good long term thing to have. I totally agree that a unibit is far better then switching out individual bits, and for the deburring factor.

[MR COFFEE]

Hi KB,

I bought one of the X-Y 6 inch Harbor Freight vises and if you do a little work to it, it can be fairly precise.

But when I want to get a hole in exactly the right place, here's the only way I've found with non-precision equipment (as in CNC milling machine).

1) Drill a 1/16" pilot hole (1.5 mm for you metric folks).

2) Check which ways the hole is off center.

3) Use a small round needle file to expand the hole so the center of the hole is on center. Oval is OK.

4) Drill the hole larger with a larger drill bit (maybe 1/8" to 3/16" the first time around)

5) Repeat 2, 3 and 4 as you bring the hole up to size. Don't get impatient.

You can get really amazing accuracy this way. Maybe not within a thousanth of an inch, but pretty close. I made a string holder for a Steinberger neck that looks just like it was one of the Steiny-manufactured zinc castings using this method. No CNC, just drill press, and not a pricey one, either.

Not to start a side thread or debate, but I think a regular ream stays on center a lot better than the unibits I have tried using when enlarging holes without a series of bits. IMHO.

mr coffee