Customer Reviews

DELTA 17-922 9-Inch Drill Press Vise Clamp

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These clamps are hard to find and I could not find one at any local stores. This clamp has performed very well for me. I use it to quickly stabilize material on my craftsman drill press. The chrome finish is a bit cheap, but that has no bearing on its function.

Having this clamp makes it much easier and quicker to position and clamp down pieces compared with a normal C clamp. Quality is high - I love the large tightening ring rather than one of those small tightening pins found on normal clamps. The tip of the clamp adjusts so it is level with the clamped object and is machined with groves to prevent slipping. Looks like it will last a long while.

This is a handy clamp. The quality is not the highest, but the price is fair. It works as advertised with the Delta DP300L 12" drill press.

After receiving two of these I felt compelled to write a "responsive" review to those reviewers who felt that these clamps were "cheap" and somehow not up to the level expected of a Delta product. Frankly, they are not "cheap" in the sense of being something not going to last long or be serviceable for what I anticipate to be years; they are, indeed, very sturdily made, certainly sufficient for the job and "crikey, mate," what do you expect for under $20?

To be clear, they are made almost - not quite, but almost - as well as the multiple pair of vice grip pliers of one shape or another I have bought and used over the years for everything imaginable, including emergency hammers and heat treating tool steel.

Perhaps the sense of it might be something like the Kalishnakov, that venerable assault weapon which is the first choice of almost every terrorist, rebel group, drug dealer, desert rat, mercenary in the world because, while made of stamped sheet steel and plywood, will shoot reliably well after being tossed in the mud, going through a sandstorm, abused, used, trashed, sold and resold, stolen, and sold over and over again on the black market by various Lords of War.

It does the job, price is right, and it is hard to imagine actually complaining about it. You want a Glock, go pay for a Glock. You want Kalishnakov, shell out your $120 and make war.

You want a clamp, buy this one and ignore the "cheap" comments. And BTW, they work great as general work-top clamps: just drill a 1/2" hole, insert, tighten the nice large ring-shaped nut against a 1/2" washer, and go to work. And when you are done, of course, do NOT place it on the dash of your Bentley, as it is too "cheap;" but if inclined to do so, perhaps you may wish to hide if from those of your friends who feel a good clamp should cost no less than $250. Or did they buy the "military" version?

UPDATE 05-05-2011

1) Went to my "local" Woodcraft store in San Carlos yesterday to take advantage of their sales prices on a few items; they have this at about $18, but of course you have to (a) drive to San Carlos (b) as you wander about the store you will almost certainly end up buying a lot more stuff than you intended.
2) NOTE: this clamp WILL NOT fit the DP350 drill press by Delta, nor in fact any press that does not have through holes or slot into which the mounting bolt can pass through. No problem to me, but others might be frustrated to buy these then find they cannot be used on this press.

THE QUALITY OF THIS CLAMP IS VERY GOOD
IT IS A TOOL YOU SHOULD HAVE NEXT TO YOUR
DRILL PRESS, BUT IT WILL NOT BE APPLICABLE FOR
EVERY PROJECT. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO MAKE USE OF THIS
VISE ON YOUR WORK BENCH OR WELDING TABLE IF YOU
DRILL SOME HOLES