A Vise Jaw Extender

[rgsparber]

It is standard practice to place a scrap of wood under the stock being drilled to protect the drill press vise. Yet, how often is the first bit of wood a little too wide. The movable jaws can't close. Then its a hunt for the second piece of wood that is a tad narrower. To avoid this minor annoyance, I built this vise jaw extender.

If you are interested, please see

https://rick.sparber.org/ViseJawExtender.pdf


Your comments are welcome. All of us are smarter than any one of us.


Thanks,

Rick

[metric_taper]

Every used vise I've seen looks like swiss cheese. Nice solution to not making a trip to the wood shop to cut a custom dunnage piece.

[tonyfoale]

Nice one, the simplest are the best.

[mklotz]

Another approach is to cut a piece of wood into strips of width 1, 2, 4 units, where "unit" depends on vise capacity, e.g., 1/2" for small vises, 3/4" for larger. Then you can assemble any integer unit width protectors up to 7 units. For very small units, perhaps cut an 8 unit wide strip as well.

[Toolmaker51]

Every used vise I've seen looks like swiss cheese. Nice solution to not making a trip to the wood shop to cut a custom dunnage piece.

Swiss-cheesed vises, yup seen LOADS of them. Occasionally, tables of corresponding machines carry same manner of decoration.
I'll bet most holes are by inept users, a tiny percentage [legitimate?] accidents.
Either way one thing is common; aren't drilled-in by who paid for the vise...

[rgsparber]

Another approach is to cut a piece of wood into strips of width 1, 2, 4 units, where "unit" depends on vise capacity, e.g., 1/2" for small vises, 3/4" for larger. Then you can assemble any integer unit width protectors up to 7 units. For very small units, perhaps cut an 8 unit wide strip as well.

Marv,

The minimum width of the wood strip depends on the width of the stock being drilled. Consider drilling a hole in the edge of a plate 1/8 inch thick. I would need a piece of wood less than 1/8 inch thick in order to permit the vise jaws to close.

Rick

[tonyfoale]

I often use pieces of wood on top of the table, as much for quick spacing as anything else, although essential when using a holesaw, but I rarely do that when holding work in a vice. Most times I align the hole position with the slot down the centre of most vices. Sometimes that is not possible with multiple holes or the shape of the workpiece and only then do I use some wood. That's when Rick's solution would work for me, usually I find that I have to bandsaw a piece specific to each job.

I can honestly say that i have never drilled an unwanted hole in a vice or drill table but much to my continued annoyance I did cut a groove in my mill table when a cutter pulled down. That must fit the "legitimate accident" category mentioned by toolmaker51 but it still hurts each time that I see it.

[Toolmaker51]

I often use pieces of wood on top of the table,.... can honestly say that i have never drilled an unwanted hole in a vice or drill table but much to my continued annoyance I did cut a groove in my mill table when a cutter pulled down. That must fit the "legitimate accident" category mentioned by toolmaker51 but it still hurts each time that I see it.

Yes just one of the sorts of incident; when a job requires certain details and limited ways to produce it.
Cutter pull-out often occurs slowly, therefore undetected. When drilling/ milling repeatedly or extended depths, I'll spin the cutter and felt-tip mark juncture of tool and holder. That band will have a narrow unmarked margin above it. If pulling out starts, it will be apparent during the cut or exchanging parts. Also reveals a cutter being pushed in farther too.

[DIYer]

Thanks Rick! We've added your Vise Jaw Extender to our Drilling and Drill Presses category, as well as to your builder page: Rick's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Vise Jaw Extender by Rick Sparber

tags: vise adaptations

[marksbug]

Ive done that before. also having a bucket of hard wood in different sizex and a few soft peaces handy can really help you out. many times doing iregular peices a good peice of soft wood can for sure come in handy in both clamping/ leveling,squaring things up to firmly hold you part.I used to have some strips of old rubber truck ed liner that worked awesome,I used it for oh so many different things.it's like tire with threads in it and stiff cuts with sheers.and only about 6mm thick. ive even made spacers with it, and bump stops, exhaust hangers etc. I wish I had collected more of it when it was used a lot, then came the hard plastic bedliners, then the spray in liners.so it eventually went away..tire side wall is about the same but thinner. I bought it as a tail gate protector back in the 80's...dam that was so long ago.