Drill press cross slide advice

[fastbroshi]

Hey guys and girls, I've been wanting to find some way of anchoring my work to a drill press "bed" before I start drilling. In the past I've used the trigger actuated clamps, my free hand, a proper vise (really had to rig it to get it to work). All of these methods worked, but they either weren't as precise or were just a chore to setup whatever I'm trying to drill.
I was actively searching for something else to use when I ran across a cross-slide vise on Northern Tool's website that I thought would work perfectly. Problem is my drill press is on the smaller side at an advertised 8". Not sure what that references as the square bed is not that dimension. Anyway, both vises on the NT site were advertised as 4 and 5". I bought the 5 thinking that would work, but no, the measurement between the slots on my press's bed are roughly 4.25" and the slots on both of the NT vices are over 5".
Is there anythin gout there that would possibly fit my press as an alternative that I don't know about? What do you guys use?

 

[zkling]

What are your plans and uses for this setup (give specific examples)? That's a pretty small drill press. I'm not a big fan of the drill press cross slide vises, now granted I have two milling machines for the accurate work, but.... Drill presses aren't exactly a high accuracy machine by design. Between a fence, a small-ish flat sided vise and a few clamps, most items can be safely drilled. The float lock style vises are pretty handy. Otherwise I would recommend you practice your layout work. A good center punch and spot drill go a long way for drilling accurate holes.

 

[jakemac]

Will the base hit the slots if you turn it at an angle and only use two bolts ?

 

[astroracer]

I used a cross-slide vise on my drill press for years, and still do. They DO have their uses. Especially for drilling hole patterns. They make doing work like that a bunch faster and easier.
For the OP I would just use the one you got. Drill and tap your table for some 3/8 inch bolts and bolt it down.
Mark

 

[nine4gmc]

Bolt it to a piece of plywood or similar and bolt that down.

 

[fastbroshi]

What are your plans and uses for this setup (give specific examples)? That's a pretty small drill press.

I want to be able to drill some motorcycle suspension parts, namely the fork innards which are pretty small. It is a small press, but I'm confident it can do the job. I just want a secure way to hold the tubular pieces before I start.

 

[cheechi]

When I had only a benchtop DP and the small table to work with I'd take a 2x3 or similar (usually 2x4 is too big on one of the dimensions) and put it on top of the piece I'm drilling and clamp both sides of it to opposite sides of the table. It's not perfect but unless you are drilling a 1" hole through a 20ga sheet you will usually be able to hold things in place pretty well.

That said I have used a cross slide vise but wouldn't recommend any in the HF/Northern price range. Maybe find something old and used? Otherwise you will probably get what you pay for, mostly slop.

 

[larry_g]

I want to be able to drill some motorcycle suspension parts, namely the fork innards which are pretty small. It is a small press, but I'm confident it can do the job. I just want a secure way to hold the tubular pieces before I start.

One of the reasons I think zkling is asking is this;

The video perty much shows why some of us are not enthused at the idea of x/z tables on a DP. If for securing the part and coordinate drilling of holes then fine. Trying to turn the DP into a mill, not so good.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[fastbroshi]

Yeah that's pretty much it. I have a couple of tubes I need to drill 10+ holes in so I want to minimize my setup time, and make it easy to adjust if necessary. But I did find this, I think it will fit the bill nicely.

http://www.eastwood.com/drill-press-v-block-fixture-center-it.html#question/2116559