Double-ended pin vise accessory

[mklotz]

In my ship modeling youth I saved my pennies and bought Starrett's four collet, double ended pin vise...





I later learned that, when using it with tiny drills or taps, keeping it vertical with some mechanism could prevent a lot of broken tools. Also, it lacked the swiveling top found on typical jewelers' screwdrivers, another useful feature.

So, I took a tiny scrap of brass and solved both problems. Two different diameters turned on one end allow it to be mounted in whichever collet is not being used to hold the drill or tap...



while a chamfered hole in the other end accepts pointed guide rods held in the (non-running) Unimat or drill press. When the guide rod is not needed, the chamfered hole serves as a nice, smooth substitute for a swiveling top.

[DIYer]

Thanks mklotz! We've added your Double-Ended Pin Vise Accessory to our Tapping and Threading category,
as well as to your builder page: mklotz's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Double-Ended Pin Vise Accessory by mklotz

tags: vise

[butlerandrew]

Great idea!
Will probably make something similar for my own use.

[mklotz]

Great idea!
Will probably make something similar for my own use.

Thanks for the kind words.

If you make your own...

Check any other double-ended pin vises you may have (I have two). You may want to adjust the diameters of the turned down sections (or add another) so the device can be used on the other vises. I did this to avoid having to make two of these accessories.

If you decide to fit a jeweler's screwdriver swiveling head, consider making the chamfered hole in its axle so that you have both functions (swivel and alignment) all in one place.

[Don42]

Nice! I'll bet it would serve nicely as a pin vice with "spinner" top, for drilling or tapping small objects held in the clever PVC vise posted by another maker.