I've been wanting to outfit my Powermatic drill press with a cross slide vise or an x-y table for occasional metal work. I don't need machinist's accuracy or something weighing 100 plus pounds, but do want something of decent quality.
Are there any good options out there?
I bought a large'ish on from Harbor Freight and it's basically junk.
Sears used to sell one about 15 years ago. The closest I have found recently was on a couple of the china direct sites. I kind of want one too.
I know for a fact that a very precise one can be made at home from BB ply, UHMV plastics, and some wood scraps.
Seems there was a thread about someone making one???????? darned if the x side didn't tilt too. You might think it expensive for a drill press table, but once you've used it for all of the other things it can do, well you might think you made a good deal
Designed for the drill press table.
Positions the work in X & Y to ~.001".
An X/Y vise will hold and position the work but will
not necessarily index it to the drill center.
With my sample the quill center is indexed to the fence not the work.
And the work is immobilized with crowders, hold-ins and toggles. Still heavy, weighing 11 pounds.
Routerman said:
Designed for the drill press table.
Positions the work in X & Y to ~.001".
An X/Y vise will hold and position the work but will
not necessarily index it to the drill center.
With my sample the quill center is indexed to the fence not the work.
And the work is immobilized with crowders, hold-ins and toggles. Still heavy, weighing 11 pounds.
Pat, I always marvel at your tools. They are works of art. Ken
AZ Engineer said:
I bought a large'ish on from Harbor Freight and it's basically junk.
I bought a grizzly x y vise, quality was unacceptable they replaced it with one not much better. Stay far, far away from cheap import x y vises.
I finaly placed a BOYD wanted ad on the OWWM web site and got a wonderful lighweight, Americal made, XY vise.
You talking woodworking, or metal working?
Check the specs on a Phase 2 X Y table.Also I believe Enco which is now MSC carries the smaller tables.I have the Phase 2 on my drill press.I had a cross slide vice and removed it.Not accurate enough for metal work.
mike
Steve N said:
You talking woodworking, or metal working?
Metal. I'm looking for stable and safe positioning but I'm not trying to make it into a machinist's mill. I realize it's the wrong tool for the job.