Anyone wish to share a quick tip on how they
securely hold a plug (without leaving marks)
especially soft wood like eastern white pine, in a
drill press vise...I find even with soft plastic/rubber jaws
it can still leave "scars" on the final sanded plug while
through drilling?

Why are you securing it? I just hold it in my hand when thru-drilling.

Why are you securing it? I just hold it in my hand when thru-drilling.

Me too..

when I do clamp anything in the vise ( like when I cut my lip slot) I have a pair of homemade basswood liners that I install, the bass wood is softer than most of the other woods I use and tends not to marr the surface, minor imperfections can be sanded with a little #150 grit....

hold it by hand? sounds dangerous?
I like my fingers without holes...but thanks!

Search under through drilling (or maybe thru drilling). There are plenty of ways to do this safely without a vise.

I just started making a few plugs and use my hand to hold them on the drill press, too. If you hold the plug straight, you won't drill your hand. The drill bit is in a fixed position and will only go straight up and down. If the plug is held stationary and is not angled, you'll be fine. Just be careful, as you should be when using any power tool. Good luck.

hold it by hand? sounds dangerous?
I like my fingers without holes...but thanks!



I've never once had the drill bit hit my hand.......now a ball rasp, thats a different story. :bl:

but seriously, even in high school shop class they use there hands to hold the project on a drill press.

I do several different steps in plug making with the body clamped in a vise. I wrap the body in a dry sponge just rtight enough to do what I have to. If there are marks from the vise I immediatly pour water on the affected area on each side. The water swells the plug marks back out and with a tiny touch of sanding you can't even notice them. Of course it works better of softer woods like AYC,WRC and Pine. Maple doesn't show the marks as much.

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=19657&highlight=jigs

Some of the pics are missing though.....


http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=20279

This one is good too.

Make a "V" block to perform horizontal tasks. Simply hold the plug with your hand if standing it up and through drilling.

Maybe you need to go to someones shop and watch how it's done.

I have a set of rubber vise jaws. They work great. Google "rubber vise jaw" and see what you find. Most all the major tool catalogs have them. You can get soft wood like pine to be pretty tight before they leave a mark. Test it a few times and you'll get the hang of it. I also have one of the v-shaped holders pictured above. They work well too.

I just hold in hand ... if you drill belly hole first some really hot heat will come out of there ,,maybe causing you to let go .. I've let go and had to run for it ... I've had an extention cord roll up in the drill press and rip a 4' flouresent light off the ceiling .. better listen to those other guys ..

If you come to the plugfest i'll give you a lesson on how to hold the lure with your hand or jig or whatever and drill it.:humpty:

Got a set of nylon vise jaw covers at Lowes for $7-8 bucks..Magnets hold them on..No problems...Jim

I hold with hand when through drilling on the drill press. I think my old shop teacher is rolling in his grave. I do use the plastic quick clamp things to secure the work to the table when drilling eyes and belly holes etc.

Got a set of nylon vise jaw covers at Lowes for $7-8 bucks..Magnets hold them on..No problems...Jim

I couldnt find these things at Home Depot. Maybe I didnt look hard enough.

Wow...thanks for the overwhelming feedback...in the end I made
a set of jaws using the same eastern white pine that I make my
blanks from and cut a cavity a little larger than the thickest part of the
plug blank with a forstner bit...It works great, I don't even need to
mount the wooden jaws to the vice...pressure holds them in place
...I need to post a pic! Thanks Again...

I couldnt find these things at Home Depot. Maybe I didnt look hard enough.

I never find anything (well almost anything) I am looking for there except for stuff like nails and screws and that is marginal. Most all of the odd tools I have purchased over the last 5 years have come from the internet. You have to pay for shipping, but with gas at 3.00 and my time to look and not always find what I need, it is nice to have it show up at my door. I luckily have a nice big old fashioned hardware store not too far from me where I can get stuff. It is also nice to see a sales person in nearly every row of the store.

I never find anything (well almost anything) I am looking for there except for stuff like nails and screws and that is marginal. Most all of the odd tools I have purchased over the last 5 years have come from the internet. You have to pay for shipping, but with gas at 3.00 and my time to look and not always find what I need, it is nice to have it show up at my door. I luckily have a nice big old fashioned hardware store not too far from me where I can get stuff. It is also nice to see a sales person in nearly every row of the store.


I couldn't agree more...I mean, your not going to find "Letter" sized drill
bits at Home Depot or "Lowe's" The best thing for specialty tools for this
hobby is the internet...