Rampenfest Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Good day gents, Been using a generic Amazon pin vise and drill bits for a while. It really is not great Any recommendations for a solid, quality pin vise and drill set? Definitely looking for something to make at a minimum 1mm (maybe less) holes for scratch building etc. Been looking at Tamiya’s as that is what my local shop carries, but wondering if there is something of equal or better quality for a similar price that ya’ll would recommend from experience. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 I bought the David Union one last year, and it was a revelation. I too had been struggling with a generic hobby one for years, and never really liked it, but could never find anything better. The DU pin vise is utterly fantastic by comparison. They make two of them, in fact - one for tiny drill bits down to 0.1mm, and then a larger one from (I think) 0.3mm and up. I bought both, but mainly use the larger one. I believe DSPIAE also makes a comparable product, which may be easier to get. Kev coogrfan and Rampenfest 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 (edited) The Starrett 162A is the best pin vise anywhere. After using all different types over the years, this one beats them all, hands down. You'll have to twist the pin vise between your thumb and forefinger to get it to work (there's no live action chuck) but it holds a #80 drill bit (and smaller ones as well) tightly and does not allow the bit to slip. After getting this one, it's the only pin vise I will ever use.... I've purchased two or three because it also holds scribing needles with the same vigor. There are four in the series 162A-162D and each has a range of size bits it will handle. The 162A handles most modeling drill bit sizes (61-80 and smaller). Below is a link to the company website for information. I usually purchase mine on Amazon. Starrett 162A Pin Vise Edited April 15 by Juggernut Rampenfest 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rampenfest Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 Thank you all for the recommendations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 On 4/15/2024 at 2:15 AM, Juggernut said: The Starrett 162A is the best pin vise anywhere. After using all different types over the years, this one beats them all, hands down. You'll have to twist the pin vise between your thumb and forefinger to get it to work (there's no live action chuck) but it holds a #80 drill bit (and smaller ones as well) tightly and does not allow the bit to slip. After getting this one, it's the only pin vise I will ever use.... I've purchased two or three because it also holds scribing needles with the same vigor. There are four in the series 162A-162D and each has a range of size bits it will handle. The 162A handles most modeling drill bit sizes (61-80 and smaller). Below is a link to the company website for information. I usually purchase mine on Amazon. Starrett 162A Pin Vise Well this used to be true. Alas it looks the quality went down drastically. A friend of mine purchased last year a set from Amazon for more than 100€ and he sent it back as the quality of parts machining was clearly worse than the one of far cheaper Chinese tools! Too bad as Starrett was known as a quality tooling brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 I’m guessing your friend probably got a Chinese knockoff copy instead of a real Starrett set. I purchased two 162A pin vises less than six months ago and both are high quality precision tools. I’m also planning to purchase a 162B in the near future, from the same seller I got my 162As from. LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 14 hours ago, Juggernut said: I’m guessing your friend probably got a Chinese knockoff copy instead of a real Starrett set. I purchased two 162A pin vises less than six months ago and both are high quality precision tools. I’m also planning to purchase a 162B in the near future, from the same seller I got my 162As from. Possible but they are directly sold by Amazon in their Starrett range. So this is weird. I just checked and it looks he was not the only one who had been burnt! https://www.amazon.com.be/Starrett-S166Z-Octagonal-Insulated-Handles/dp/B000KYOF6G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 14 hours ago, thierry laurent said: Possible but they are directly sold by Amazon in their Starrett range. So this is weird. I just checked and it looks he was not the only one who had been burnt! https://www.amazon.com.be/Starrett-S166Z-Octagonal-Insulated-Handles/dp/B000KYOF6G Those are somewhat different than the ones I use. They have a PVC handle.... and it also appears there are similar comments from the U.S. for this set. This is the set that includes the ones I currently have. They seem to get somewhat better reviews. Starrett 162 Pin Vise Set firefly7 and thierry laurent 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Griewski Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 I like the following pin vice because it has a gizzie that presses into my palm tat helps stabilize the drill. Works great with the smallest of drills. My smallest is No.80. Search Amazon for, “craft 911 precision pin vise”. Mine included all the metric drills I was missing. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Molitor Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Yeah I sell them but look up the David Union D150. I donated all of my other pin vises to a local IPMS chapter after getting ahold of the D150. Drop me a PM and I'll send you some photos. Cheers, Troy. Rampenfest and coogrfan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 Agreed, I just love my own Starrett, pictured here. for smaller bits themselves, I bought three sets of these from Amazon, and I think they're just great. Rampenfest 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johncrow Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 I just picked up a D150 from Troy Molitor. Love it... I consider myself a serious modeler. Not very good at it, but I am serious about my mediocrity. I figured it was about time to get some more real tools. This pin vise is awesome, and a great deal from Troy. John coogrfan, chukw, LSP_Kevin and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Molitor Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 Hey John. Many thanks. The D150 replaced my entire pin vice collection. I offered them FOC to my younger modelers at my IPMS club here in Chattanooga. Pay it forward. Cheers, Troy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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