Tawe's Testing: The Maplin Pin Vice Set Review

Here it is, Review the 1^st, and it's a fairly ubiquitous tool for those who work with resin and etched body kits – the Pin Vice.  Maplin furnishes the reviewer with this device, being of all-metal construction and coming with a kit of microscopic drill bits, it seems we have been spoiled at first glance.

Even the Maplin lettering looks neat, no budget aesthetic here!

Upon inspection the unit shows great promise – The aforementioned all-metal construction lending a feel of dependability that is essential in any respectable tool, the knurled handles adding to the industrial ergonomics.  There is even a pen clip on upper side of the body to shove it into a pocket pouch, although doing this with a 0.45mm handrail-sized bit installed seems like asking for a punctured lung!  The collar is also suitably knurled and seems to have a snug hold on the chuck, though becomes quite irrelevant, as shall be explained in good time.

Odd though it is, the asymmetric nature of the chuck did nothing to prevent good use :)

There's a lot to like initially about this set, only costing a nice round £9.99 (leaving a penny for the copper box!); giving you a 20-piece bit set to pick from, ranging from the human-sized 1.5mm bits to bits so absurdly thin you could bend them with your breath.  Once I'd got a 1.2mm bit in, and gotten stuck into some plywood, the vice was very stable and made light work of drilling pilot holes 20mm down, making drilling parallel to the plys a much calmer experience than you'd expect, with no fear of splitting the wood.  It is here, though, that a rotating top would be highly appreciated, especially when you need to put some real pressure down.

The Pin Vice on test, looking quite at home burrowing into some 6mm plywood forming the top panel of my SLA 3D Printer.  Yeah, that chunk of aluminium and keys is my keyboard, I take my PC equipment very seriously indeed...

And this is only where the issues start.  Chief among the problems is probably the one thing that makes this set both cheap and versatile – the chuck; I do like the idea of not having to exchange chucks whilst reaming out different holes, if only for the sake of sheer expediency, however, if removing the bit becomes like playing tug-of-war with a German Shepard in an exosuit, that's where I draw a line the size of a country border.  Upon removing the chuck, you'll find a hexagonal end not unlike those found on interchangeable screwdrivers; sadly, hopes of being able to use a more comfortable handle are quickly dashed upon finding the end flopping hopelessly in the socket (you might argue that this arrangement has no collar, and you'd be right, but with a chuck as clenching as this, I don't think that's a major loss).

Not quite a decent fit, don't know why I expected this brassy metal to be magnetic, but there you go.

Then there's the Bit Box.  The bits themselves are decent, I've seen worse tools, but the box they came in seems like it was designed to aid in sapping POW morale; it's bad enough that there's no clips holding the bits into place, but whoever made the lid cling to the tray like a kitten to your jumper ought not to become a politician, as this design error will surely be his opponent's dream trump card!  As if the lid was not okay with just being clingy, it's not immediately apparent how it opens, and the best I've come up with is to use a Philips screwdriver to (valium in hand) prise it open.  Not a good job here, especially after the promise shown by the Pin Vice itself.

Quite a selection, even if they look like they don't damn well behave themselves!

The most precise and careful way I found of getting into the box, depends on how steady your hands are.

Since this is my first review, I ought to detail how my review scores work.  First off is Detail, pretty much the objective of out hobby, so it makes 30% of the score.  Quality is a close second, also taking 30%, since we all want a model that'll last, right?  Function takes 25%, maybe a little small, but if this is poor at least it can be made into a static prop.  Finally Value is at 15%, value is always welcome, but I reckon most would shell out for quality in other regards, wouldn't you?  The overall score is calculated with these in proportion, with each point being 5%, so Detail is 6 as is Quality, Function is 5 and Value is 3; the overall score is consequently out of 20.

So my summation of all this goes thus:

Detail 3/6

Probably a little strange that a tool gets a detail score, even so, in my mind it represents how much attention was paid to little additions that increase comfort, functionality, ease of use, etc.  This is a fairly average example since the pen clip is nice as are the knurled handles, but it could have done with more.

Quality 3/6

Another average score, the Pin Vice itself being worthy of a 4/6, and the Bit Box taking 2/6, this makes a mean of 3/6.  Pity.

Function 4/5

The Pin Vice works very well, as do the included bits, only that lid on the Bit Box lets it all down with it's steadfast refusal to part without showering you with swarf-laden fletchettes!

Value 2/3

While £9.99 seems expensive in this day and age, there's no getting away from the actual value proposition here; some may argue that you can get better at Poundland and eBay, but with both you take a chance – Poundland tools are usually only good when they are simple things like sanding blocks and hammers, while eBay deprives the customer of a direct, tactile assessment of the product.

Overall 12/20

Only slightly above average, not going to be used in Hornby's R&D Benches anytime soon like similar offerings from proper hobby suppliers, so it's probably best bought in the same manner I did – for want of a quick tool for pilot holes.

In other words, I'd recommend something proper such as this Expo Drills & Tools Pin Vice - £5 at a model show, several chucks made out of proper tool steel, and a more versatile handle to boot.