# Another floating drill press vice



## Chris Hamel (Mar 26, 2022)

So my brother (racer57) told me about this idea he called a floating drill press vice.  I found a Tubal Cain video about it and watched enough to get the basic idea.  I made mine smaller because my drill press has a small table.  ( It started out as one of those cheap chinese bench top drill presses which i have modified to make it more versatile)  I decided to use 1/2 13 threads since I had a long bolt which would work once I extended the threads to the whole length.  I had another scrap I turned to 1/2 ".  The jaws are made out of some cast iron I purchased from Alro metals remnant area.  Once I completed the vice, I bolted a piece of aluminum to the side of the table.  I drilled and tapped a hole in this piece to bolt the locking clamp to.  
It seems to work pretty well except I noticed if I clamp  a larger piece (say 2 1/2") , it tends to want to pinch the piece upward on the floating jaw.


----------



## Martin W (Mar 26, 2022)

Great idea! Nice job!
Cheers
Martin


----------



## Dan Krager (Mar 26, 2022)

Have had a dream of self centering vise on drill press for commonly centered holes.  Now I'm motivated to make it!  First it goes on the long task list. The most interesting part will be cutting the left and right hand threads.

DanK


----------



## woodchucker (Mar 26, 2022)

Dan Krager said:


> Have had a dream of self centering vise on drill press for commonly centered holes.  Now I'm motivated to make it!  First it goes on the long task list. The most interesting part will be cutting the left and right hand threads.
> 
> DanK


Actually, that's the easy part.


----------



## woodchucker (Mar 26, 2022)

Chris Hamel said:


> So my brother (racer57) told me about this idea he called a floating drill press vice.  I found a Tubal Cain video about it and watched enough to get the basic idea.  I made mine smaller because my drill press has a small table.  ( It started out as one of those cheap chinese bench top drill presses which i have modified to make it more versatile)  I decided to use 1/2 13 threads since I had a long bolt which would work once I extended the threads to the whole length.  I had another scrap I turned to 1/2 ".  The jaws are made out of some cast iron I purchased from Alro metals remnant area.  Once I completed the vice, I bolted a piece of aluminum to the side of the table.  I drilled and tapped a hole in this piece to bolt the locking clamp to.
> It seems to work pretty well except I noticed if I clamp  a larger piece (say 2 1/2") , it tends to want to pinch the piece upward on the floating jaw.
> 
> 
> ...


maybe create more of a dovetail in the jaws to preven the lift? Or check the rod for a bend?


----------



## Chris Hamel (Mar 26, 2022)

Thinking about re-cutting the notch on the floating jaw and tilting it slightly.  Right now I haven't convinced myself it is worth it since most of the tasks I will use it for aren't that critical and if they are I can switch to a different setup.


----------



## Chris Hamel (Mar 26, 2022)

Decided to re-cut the notch on the floating jaw.  I set my tilting vice to 1 degree.  I cut .010" off the the fixed jaw so they would match.  When i put it back together, it seems to have solved the issue.  Tightens fine and piece stays firmly seated in vice.


----------



## OldFatMan (Mar 27, 2022)

I need to build one and I don't need a lot of length either.  How long is your threaded rod?  Also please help me understand what you re-cut.  Is the notch cut with the 1 deg taper on the floating jaw toward the fixed jaw- that is with the jaws closed the top gap would be closer than the gap at the bottom of the notch?  I'm not sure how I asked that makes sense but after re-reading it a couple of times I think I get it.


----------



## Chris Hamel (Mar 27, 2022)

My threaded rod started out at 7 inches.  I cut the tail end down to 3/8 " by about 1/4" where it fits into the end bracket.  On the handle end it is turned to 3/8" by about an inch long.  I recut the notch with the top of the floating jaw angled away from fixed jaw.  Thus, I recut the notch,  the top is a little closer to the fixed jaw than the bottom.


----------

