Another Drill Press Vise Question

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matthew-s

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A little different than another I saw, so figured I'd open a new thread rather than hijack.

I have a pretty good old atlas drill press.

Mostly do woodwork but want to branch out to metalwork (probably model steam, plus small house projects).

I may get a small bench top mill someday. So, should I :

1) get a "precision" 3" Kurt knockoff from LMS?

2) Pick up a Heinrich 4" cam-lock (or however the mechanism works)

3) Something else?

1 intrigues me at the moment as I may get a little mill someday.

Thanks!
 
You didn't say what size drill press you have. My advise is to get a vise which works well on the drill press. Do not buy some thing that compromises the function on the drill press because you may some day purchase some sort of a milling machine. Whatever vise you get for the drill press will have some application for whatever mill you end up getting. When it comes to work holding (whether drill press or milling machine) you can't have too many options. In all likelihood, over a period of time you will end up with lots of different ways to secure work pieces - all of which will have some degree of applicability. I've been at this hobby machining game for a while - I have about 8 vises that could be used to secure work on a mill or drill (? I think, I am sort of losing count).

Usually for a drill one would want something that is low profile and not crazy heavy. You are also not overly concerned with a bit of jaw tilt. I'd suggest avoiding the cam lock. Sure, they position quickly, but they are not any better. I have one of the cam action vises (with the two guide rods for the sliding jaw) - it works okay, except since there is no flat bottom to the jaw area, you can't push a smaller work piece down onto the base. You can't have too many vises, but the cam action would not be a first vise.

Let us know what you work out.
 
You can get a modestly priced drill press vice that had mounLook at Craigs List for a mill vice in the mean timeing ears casted into it for bolting it to a mill table. Get something for what you have now. Just don't crank down on it too hard when bolting it down.

There are other vices that can double for both used, they are maybe 3"jaws but no mounting ears, to use on a mill you would need to strap it down to the table with T nuts/bolts. About the size of a brick. I've got one of those too that I use in my basement shop.
 
For the drill press a large, low profile cast iron vise works best for me. The movable jaw will lift some so you have to pay attention but when drilling the vise can move under the drill bit when center drilling as cast iron slides pretty well on the table of the drill press. This is different than a milling machine vice where you want jaws that do not lift(Kurt) and the vise is firmly bolted down. On the mill you can use the x and y axis to center the tool over the desired location. Lots of cheap drill press vises on e bay/CL. Jack
 
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