Best small vice for a bench drill.

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Terry1956

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Hi out there. I am not sure how many Brits are on this site, but I am looking for a vice that is available to buy in the U.K. I have just purchased a fobco bench drill, a great little British made drill from when this country made things worth making. The only fault with this drill is the very small amount of space available between the drill bit end and the bed of the drill itself. I need to know what is a good make of low profile vice that I can use. I have seen some very poor quality items made in the far east and most of the old brit stuff is way too big. Thanks for your help.
 
Terry1956 said:
Hi out there. I am not sure how many Brits are on this site, but I am looking for a vice that is available to buy in the U.K. I have just purchased a fobco bench drill, a great little British made drill from when this country made things worth making. The only fault with this drill is the very small amount of space available between the drill bit end and the bed of the drill itself. I need to know what is a good make of low profile vice that I can use. I have seen some very poor quality items made in the far east and most of the old brit stuff is way too big. Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

Hey @Terry1956, I too have been looking for a low-profile vise, but in my case I want something for my little bench mill. After many searches on the internet, I think I am of the same opinion as that of @dirty tools: I'm probably going to have to make my own.

The good news (for you) is that a drill vise doesn't need to be quite as stout as one for a mill. Even a small bench mill.

This is the closest thing I could find for me: https://www.ebay.com/itm/185247872085

Best of luck in your search.
 
See if you can find one of these Wilton vises. Amazon has them
 

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Maybe you can go with a 2 piece vice like this:
DPV.jpg
That's as low profile as you can get.
 
This Heinrich bandsaw vise has a lot going for it as a drill press vise. You can get the work right down on the table, maximizing your Z-axis, and the length of it can be placed against your DP column to keep anything from spinning. It's not cheap, and I don't know if it's available in the UK or not, but something similar might be, and I highly commend the general design.

Heinrich Company - Bandsaw Vise - Racine, Wisconsin

The Heinrich Bandsaw Vise is equipped with removable shoulder screws for accommodating chain feed operation.
heinrichco.com

GsT
 
wrmiller said:
Hey @Terry1956, I too have been looking for a low-profile vise, but in my case I want something for my little bench mill. After many searches on the internet, I think I am of the same opinion as that of @dirty tools: I'm probably going to have to make my own.

The good news (for you) is that a drill vise doesn't need to be quite as stout as one for a mill. Even a small bench mill.

This is the closest thing I could find for me: https://www.ebay.com/itm/185247872085

Best of luck in your search.
Click to expand...
I got one of these direct from India a few weeks ago and am working on “tuning” it and making some mods (waiting for some bits from China so it will be another week or so before I can post); however, the vise is heavy duty and tight (not Kurt tight, but comparable to $200+ milling vises) and cleaner than many other off-shore tools.

I have a Mini-Mill with a Kurt clone 3” vise and was looking for a good 4” vise that wouldn’t take up too much height and this looks to fill the bill.
 
Perhaps a small toolmakers vise? How low a profile do you need? How big a part do you need to clamp? That might narrow down the choices.
 
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