# Drill press vice needed or not?



## GISer3546 (Jan 30, 2013)

I recently invested in a nice 1 hp floor standing Porter Cable Drill press and a small set of forstner bits to make short work of the mortises that I had been cutting by hand. So far its working wonderfully and getting some great results even though I'm working with the bare table, a scrap piece of wood and a F clamp to keep everything held in place during the drilling. Today I've started looking into drill press vises... and even better cross sliding drill press vises. They look like they would help greatly, but if I decide to buy everything that seems helpful, I'd have a garage full of tools and gadgets. I have heard that not clamping a work piece down during drilling can result in bent bits but beyond that Is this a necessity or an extravagance? 

If its a necessity, whats a good one? I've seen prices range from $40 to $500 and they all seem similar.

Any good?

http://www.toolplanet.com/product/6...Vise-RR55093?gclid=CI_P6qqhp7UCFWamPAodtUEAbg


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## wood8671 (Jan 13, 2013)

I don't have a vise on my press, I instead ordered a Shop Fox table and fence off e bay. It is brand new, has t slots and was a little over $50.00


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

When using a drill press, the bit can catch and send your work spinning. If you hold work by hand, a spinning piece can hurt you. You shouldn't use any bits with a lead screw since those will suck the work up the bit. In many cases you want to drill completely through a work piece. Adding a sacrificial piece of plywood to the table can provide backup for the backside of the hole and can allow you to drill through without poking a hole in the drill press table. Clamping a fence to that temporary table will position the work where you want it and keep the work from spinning but easy to move into position. Stops can be clamped to the fence for aligning repeat holes on multiple pieces. You can safely hand hold a lot of work with a fence.

A drill press vice has limited range of movement, so it's better suited to small pieces and more often used with metal work. You would have to be careful not to drill through and damage the vice and use protection for your work piece so the vice jaws don't mark things. I have 2 cross vices and I hardly ever use them for woodworking.


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## GISer3546 (Jan 30, 2013)

That makes sense but I wasn't sure if those issues would be a hindrance since it would probably mostly be used for mortises ie not drilling through and only drilling a 2" to 4" long line of overlapping holes. So would those considerations and a soft pair of jaws change anything?


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

I have the PC drill press, and I bought the auxiliary table from Harbor Freight for it. It needed modifcation to mount to the machine table, and the fence it included was too tall as it interfered with the quill handles, but it was cheaper than the hardware would've been and has otherwise served very well. 

I used the included mounting hardware to secure a piece of MDF to the machine table, then secured the HF table to the MDF with a piano hinge on the front, and eyelets and machine screws on the back, so I can bevel the table front to back. I thought I'd do that more than I actually do, but it is quicker than tilting the machine table side to side.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I feel the piece should be clamped, especially when using Forstner bits.

I found the normal drill press vise had jaws which were too small.

I am very close to purchasing a small X Y table to use on the drill press or on my lathe. Easier to drill mortises when you can move the piece side to side even while clamped to the table.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-x-18-1-2-Compound-Slide-Table/G8750


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## GISer3546 (Jan 30, 2013)

I'm not familiar with x y tables and am having a hard time telling how to use it by the pic and description. Is there a clamp build in or would you use what look like standard miter slots?


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

Drill press table with fence and some t-tracks for clamping. Stuff really needs clamping, especially if you are trying to use a forstner on plastic (make my own router base plates), those things really grab.:smile:


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## WillemJM (Aug 18, 2011)

I use one of these quite often, it comes in really handy. I just secure it on the table with two G clamps.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Cross-Sliding-Vise/G1064

It is great for drilling out mortises, drilling items which are too small to hold safely by hand and for accurate placement in the drill press. For instance if you want to drill into the end-grain of a board, to dowel, or any other reason it becomes very necessary.

Mine is exactly the same as the one in your link, except it is painted green, which dropped the price to almost 1/2.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

GISer3546 said:


> I'm not familiar with x y tables and am having a hard time telling how to use it by the pic and description. Is there a clamp build in or would you use what look like standard miter slots?


If I get this table I will use hold down clamps like these. The head of the screws will go in the slot.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-x-18-1-2-Compound-Slide-Table/G8750


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*A fence like on a router table will help*

Make your self a "L" shaped fence with a means to clamp it or carriage bolt it to the DP table. If you pivot the fence at one end, you can micro adjust the distance away from the bit. Use a sharp "V" groove router bit for a center indicator. Then use stop block(s) clamped to your fence for the length of the mortises.
The height of the fence can be the same as your workpiece for ease of clamping.
Wanna get fancy? ... use "T" track and have sliding clamps on the top or backside. A long sliding table is available from Grizzly that will mount on a milling machine or drill press and is something I've been considering for a while:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/5-1-2-x-12-Compound-Slide-Table/H7979


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

i have an old DP vise that i never use. i also have a DP, but i have never used the vise with it.


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## Woodwart (Dec 11, 2012)

I am planning to make a drill press table in the spring, which will give me more surface, and a fence that I can clamp stuff to. I think the vises are really made for metal workers.


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## SeniorSitizen (May 2, 2012)

I like the speed and versatility of clamping work to the table, but if a person looks under the majority of DP tables they aren't designed well for clamping.

Looking at the slots in the top they seem to be designed more with metal work in mind. So to make mine more conducive to wood operations I modified the bottom with wood for more clamping compatibility.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

I have a drill press vise that I picked up at an estate sale. It is one of those cross sliding or whatever they are called. I find it quite useful. I use it to drill pen blanks, small pieces, etc. Once you start using one, you find many uses for it.
Mike Hawkins


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I have a 1 hp bench model from Northern Tool. I added an auxillary table with t tracks and a fence. However, lately I have been using a couple of large forstner bits of 2 1/8 and 3 1/4 inch to bore partial holes in tree branches to make candle holders and condiment holders. 

I cut the branch to length...maybe 8 - 12 inches long and 2 1/2 - 5 inches in diameter. Then I flatten part of the branch on the jointer. With that done, I clamp the branch in a drill press vise I bought at HF. Cheap but it works OK for what I am doing. I clamp the vise to the table so everything is pretty secure. No problems yet.


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## sweensdv (Mar 3, 2008)

Years ago when I bought my drill press I also picked up a basic drill press vise. As of today, I have yet to use the vise once. YRMV. Over time I have added a DP Table and hold downs which I do use often.


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