Unusual Work Holding Device

[bearbon]

I was going to sell this clamp/vise/positioner thing I started this thread with but decided to try it on my favorite ancient Craftsman drill press that I do most small work at. The clamp was originally an accessory on a portable welding table which had a 2-5/8" column so I had to do a lot of grinding with a drum sander and a grinding wheel to make it fit the 2-3/4 column on the drill press. (My mill is down with motor problems and I don't have a boring head anyway.) Anyway, I got it fitted and all the sliding parts work very smoothly. I was surprised at how solid and rigid the arms are when locked in place! Now it will be much easier to use a drill vise without having to bolt it down. I too have learned the hard way about hand-held drilling operations.

 

[PGB1]

I really like the stops you made, Pineyfolks. Simple Yet Elegant!

About the Vise Grip table hold down clamp gizmos, I had a pair & they worked great if I used two of them. Like Brav65 mentioned, irregular parts were hard to hold without doing lots of shimming & configuring. But, on soft items, like wood, they worked great every time.

I did wreck them, however. I had a piece of square tube gripped with two of them and it would not stay in place while being hole sawed. Instead of being smart & bolting stop bars to the table, I over-tightened the clamps for extra grip and squeezed with all my gripping power.
Each tool's pivot pin snapped. But, that was certainly my fault. (I should have made some of the stops Pineyfolks shared!)
Enjoy Today!
Paul

 

[Ben Nevis]

These are some easy to make stops I made for my drill press. They are T-nuts with 1" stock drilled and tapped for the body, then cross drilled so I can use the chuck key to tighten them.

View attachment 106845 View attachment 106846

Great idea, I am going to have to make some, too.

To prevent the part from lifting when you withdraw the bit, add a shaft collar on each one.

 

[pineyfolks]

Somewhere in my pile of misc stuff I have an old drillpress vise that I drilled a series of holes down the top of the solid jaw and the top of the movable jaw. It makes it a pin vise by putting three 3/8 dowel pins in. It allows you to grip round disks and odd shapes by using the jaws as parallels to prevent tipping.

 

[FOMOGO]

That's a handy looking vise. I think I would be very tempted to make a shaft extension for the handle end to get it out over the table. Mike

 

[PGB1]

Great idea, I am going to have to make some, too.

To prevent the part from lifting when you withdraw the bit, add a shaft collar on each one.

Now it's perfect!
You & Pineyfolks could team up & get crazy rich selling these to machinists, hobbyists and wood workers. I'd bet places like Rockler & Woodcrafter would sell a ton for you.

 

[f350ca]

That's a handy looking vise. I think I would be very tempted to make a shaft extension for the handle end to get it out over the table. Mike

The clamp that holds it to the table is a sliding fit on the shaft. You can pull the vice out to the edge to tighten it then position where ever on the table. Pretty slick little tool. There are prisms in the one jaw to hold round stock vertical or horizontal, and the top of the jaws have a step to hold material up off the table so you can drill through and not make an arc of shame.

Greg