HomeMade Drill Press Fixture

You need a piece of angle aluminum (or steel) and a small drillpress vise. I
found a length of aluminum angle, actually an "L" shape that measured 5"x
4"x 12". I cut it down to about 8" long. The angle iron has to be tall
enough to allow an iron head to fit above the leg of the angle.

I bought a small drillpress vise at Harbor Freight (again with the HF!)
that has jaws about 1 3/4". I don't recall offhand exactly the dimensions
but a standard length iron hosel fits into it flush at the top.

What you need to do is close the jaws on the vise and drill a 3/8" hole
lengthwise through the jaws. Then sand or buff or polish the sharp edges of
the drilled hole. Then CAREFULLY mark 2 places in the angle iron some
convenient distance from the top - I chose roughly 3" for no particular
reason other than it looked right and it allows a head to fit above the leg.
Drill holes through the angle iron, making sure the holes are exactly square
to the top of the iron. The vise has slots on either end of the base. The
holes in the angle iron should be made so the vise fits between them. Drill
the holes to whatever size bolts you have. I used 1/4 - 20's with nuts,
flat, and lock washers. Bolt the vise to the angle. Again, make certain the
vise is bolted absolutely square to the top line of the angle iron - this is
crucial!!

To use, just clamp the hosel into the vise, clamp the fixture to the
drillpress table and go.

TFlan

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