Show Us Your Drill Press Vises

[jmarkwolf]

The size of my Cardinal Speedvise collection is increasing:

The 3in (far left) I purchased on Ebay because it was just so cute.

The 4in (2nd from left) was my dads, I've been using it for nearly 60 years. The one hole you see might've been perpetrated by yours truly as an impetuous teen. It started my interest in Cardinal vises.

The 6in (2nd from right) I purchased from a pawn shop in Ann Arbor for $30. Ugly but it works just fine.

The other 6in (far right) I purchased recently for $10 off FB Marketplace.

Some needed a little attention.

 

[donforeman]

I found this 4" wide jaw Stanley on Craigslist a while back. I wasn't looking for a drill press vise, but it was in good shape and wasn't priced bad, so I took it home. It has a C-603 cast under the slides. There is not a lot of information on it. I also have a 4" speedvise but its got a lot of wear and needs new jaws.

 

[jmarkwolf]

I found this 4" wide jaw Stanley on Craigslist a while back. I wasn't looking for a drill press vise, but it was in good shape and wasn't priced bad, so I took it home. It has a C-603 cast under the slides. There is not a lot of information on it. I also have a 4" speedvise but its got a lot of wear and needs new jaws.

I'm partial to Cardinal Speedvises, have a 3in, a 4in and two 6in.

If the Cardinal doesn't have any through-holes in the base plate, you can make it look new again by flipping that base plate over. If it does have through-holes you can easily fabricate a new one from 3/8in cold rolled plate. And then of course you'll have to paint it, after which you'll have an heirloom.

Incidentally, I've got the same Stanley 4in vise as well. Don't know how or when I acquired it, but it's a nice solid little vise. I converted it to a "slide lock" style vise. Pics at:

Locking drill press vise mechanism

The following is a link to a Youtube video of perhaps the most clever drill press vise clamp I've seen. Thanks! That's the one I saw that looked most interesting. Brian

www.hobby-machinist.com

post 15.

 

[Beerhippie]

I found this 4" wide jaw Stanley on Craigslist a while back. I wasn't looking for a drill press vise, but it was in good shape and wasn't priced bad, so I took it home. It has a C-603 cast under the slides. There is not a lot of information on it. I also have a 4" speedvise but its got a lot of wear and needs new jaws.

Jaws for the Speedvise were an option. You can still buy them--and other parts--from Cardinal--at a steep price.

My baseplate was worse than yours:



Cardinal wants $80 for a replacement. I considered making a new one, but then realized that the plate isn't structural in that area, so I filled it with JB Weld and filed flat:



I like soft jaws for my vises, so I made some from 1/4" 6061 aluminum plate:





The plate on the bottom made it easier to clamp on the DP table.

 

[tool_scrounge]

I'm holding onto that one. About the only thing I don't love about the little Cardinal 3b is that I have to back up the work with a sacrificial spacer due to lack of gap between the guide rails. So far I've avoided pock marking it. The speed vise and the little Enron get used more than all the rest put together because the smaller work pieces are difficult to hold onto without a vise. Ed.

You need the stepped combination jaw plates.

https://www.speedvise.us/product-page/jaw-plates

 

[Beerhippie]

You need the stepped combination jaw plates.

https://www.speedvise.us/product-page/jaw-plates

Be nice if you could figure out how to order the right jaws....

 

[tool_scrounge]

Be nice if you could figure out how to order the right jaws....

Sigh, not the best web site. You select 3-CJP from the pull down menu but it does not change the default in the URL

 

[Ultradog MN]

Be nice if you could figure out how to order the right jaws....

I picked up a Cardinal 8B last fall. Posted about it here somewhere.
I rehabbed it and was going to make my own jaw inserts but then decided to spring for new ones from Cardinal.
I just called them and the guy took my order over the phone. Pretty easy.
The jaws are excellent!
Hardened and ground, V groove both vertical and horizontal and have the step in the top. They were not cheap but worth the $ in my opinion
By the way, how do you guys lube the screw on your Speedvises - or do you?

 

[jmarkwolf]

You need the stepped combination jaw plates.

https://www.speedvise.us/product-page/jaw-plates

MrPete222 (Your Youtube shop teacher) has a video on making a set of jaw plates for this same vise from common materials. Check out part2, Part1 is worth watching also:

 

[Beerhippie]

Mr. Pete (Tubalcaine) also has a very complete machine shop at his disposal--and the skills to use it.

My aluminum plate jaws required the use of a Skilsaw, file, angle grinder (optional), drill press and 1/4" 20 tap.