Work holding vices

It is especially important to hold material securely when using machine tools as the forces involved are much higher than hand tools. If a large drill catches a piece of drilled metal it can snatch it out of the operator's hand and throw it across a room. This could cause injury to both the operator and other people in the workshop. To avoid this, various work holding devices can be used.

Hand Vice

This vice is used for holding sheet material securely while drilling takes place. It is important to make sure that the material being drilled is flat on the table of the pillar drill and that the vice isn't causing it to be lifted upwards. Wood may be placed beneath the work to help with this.

Machine Vice (or Nippy Vice)

These vices are used for holding material that will not fit in the hand vice. The simple versions are commonly used with pillar drills where they can be adjusted beneath the drill bit. More sophisticated machine vices are used on milling machines and can have the capacity to adjust the angle; they are also better at holding the material perfectly flat.

Simple machine vice

More sophisticated version

Toggle Clamp

These can be bolted to the pillar drill table and can quickly hold and release material for repetitive tasks.

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