Product Description
4" Cross Slide Drill Press Vise Metal Milling Machine
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #10973 in Home Improvement
- Dimensions: 19.00 pounds
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
70 of 74 people found the following review helpful.
By Christophor
This is NOT a precision piece of equipment out of the box. The action is very loose. It's hard to get it to stay still. Just the small amount of vibration from the drill press was enough to move the work piece little by little. Also, it wasn't very smooth so when you try to adjust the axis it would get stuck, then suddenly move fast. Aligning the work was very difficult to say the least.
However, if you think of this thing as an unfinished project or a DIY starter kit, you can get some real use out of it and have a little fun in the process. Once I realized the shoddy quality, I decided to do something about it. I completely dismantled the thing. I used a metal file to smooth out the sliding surfaces. I wound up replacing some of the screws because I had to re-tap the holes. I replaced the crappy retaining plates on each end. The ones it comes with are clad in some cheap chrome that flakes off, looks bad and gets into the works. Long story short, I finally got the thing to work extremely well. But it took a lot of elbow grease and ingenuity to get it to that point. A smarter or lazier person would have sent it back and bought something a little better. I had fun correcting its flaws.
If the manufacturer would have spent just a small amount of time on the details this thing would be an outstanding deal. As it took me several hours to make it into a useful tool, I'm giving it 3 stars. This review is a warning to someone who wants to get right to work or a note of encouragement to the type of person who likes to tinker. I actually really enjoyed tweaking it and making it as close to perfect as my GED will allow. In the end, I'm very happy with it. But I don't recommend it for any of my fellow cheapskates who want a precision tool out of the box. It's too unfinished for that.
Good luck.
66 of 73 people found the following review helpful.
By YODADDY
Those of you complaining about the quality of the product are probably not happy with anything ever. You need to consider that you cant even buy a standard bench vise for 30 dollars let alone a vise with an x and y axis movement. Those of you with realistic expectations will be thoroughly satisfied. Those of you who want professional machinist quality results will need to shell out 100 dollars or more. You get what you pay for. I am totally happy with the vise because I had 30 dollar expectations for a 30 dollar product.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
By D.F.
Lets face it... This is a cheap vise. You wont be doing precise drilling with this thing, but it holds work and has its X and Y movement. I would much rather this than a few simple clamps totaling a similar cost.
The vise comes a bit dirty, bolts loose, slightly rusty in a few small spots, and maybe even a bit wobbly. There is no manual, so you need to look at how everything works and then make a few tweaks to suit your needs. Turning the handles for the x y movement and you will encounter some rough spots where movement is just not quite as smooth. The handles are very cheap and feel awkward in their rotation.
You should have some blocks on hand to hold work in cases where the handles (for the x y movement) prevent the vise from further movement. The range of movement isn't much, and I found a lot of small work pieces out of drill range because of the fixed position right half of the vise right above the handle.
Harbor Freight has a similar priced (maybe $10 more) vise, the same size, that allows you to tighten the vise from both sides on top instead of just the left side (as on this one). But im sure between that vise and this vise, you might as well flip a coin for your choice.
I'm happy with the purchase, as a hobbyist.
Modifications I Made:
- Took the top off and filed down the visible lumps and hard buildup on the 'rails' (sorry I don't know vise terminology), and lubed them up.
- Inserted a thin strip of aluminum (about 0.05 thick, 0.45 tall and 5 in wide) on the rail against the 3 bolts. The bolts tighten against the vise to reduce wobble, but at the same time the bolt grinds into the vises rail hindering movement grinding. This aluminum rail makes the movement smoother, prevents the bolts from damaging the vise, and seems to smooth things up a bit by filling the gap there.
- The bottom of my vise needed cleaning but was in much better shape
- I want to replace the very very cheap feeling handles with something round so both hands can be used in a overall 'tighter' and more accurate configuration.
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