How long things take: the machine about 2 weeks, bits and small tools about a week, and one item ships in a few days from a US warehouse. Australia is the same wait. Here is whyMachine about 2 weeks. Why?
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$129.00
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  • Engraving ball vise with parallel jaws in its base
  • Ball vise tilted in the base to show the rotation
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Engraving ball vise, 3 or 5 inch

$129.00 USD
$129.00 USD
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Size and kit: 3 inch, 30 pieces
Ships from a US warehouse, arrives in a few days. Shipping is free.
30-day returns
  • Free shipping, US and Australia
  • Secure payment
  • 30-day returns

Description

You are setting a stone, or cutting a letter into a signet ring, and the part keeps shifting under the graver. A ball vise fixes that. The jaws hold the work, the ball sits loose in its base, and you turn the whole thing to whatever angle the tool wants without ever letting go of the part.

How it works

The body is a ball of chrome-plated steel with a parallel-jaw vise built into the flat top. The ball drops into a moulded base and turns a full 360 degrees, and because it is a ball it tilts as well. Loosen the jaws with the hex key, seat the part, tighten. Then you have both hands on the tool instead of one on the tool and one holding the job still.

Which size

The difference that matters is how wide the jaws open and how much the thing weighs.

3 inch. Ball 78 mm. Jaws open to 54 mm, which is 2.13 inches. With every accessory in the box it weighs 4.4 lb, about 2 kg. On the bench it stands 97 by 97 by 85 mm.

5 inch. Ball 127 mm. Jaws open to 98 mm, which is 3.86 inches. It weighs 20.3 lb, about 9.2 kg. On the bench it stands 145 by 145 by 170 mm.

Nine kilos is the whole point of the 5 inch. If you push a graver by hand the 3 inch is enough. If you tap the graver with a hammer, the mass is what stops the vise walking across the bench.

What comes in the box

The attachments are pins, stepped jaws and ring clamps that drop into the holes in the jaw face, so the vise grips a ring band, a flat plate or an awkward casting without marking it.

The 3 inch, 30 piece kit: 3 ring clamps, 2 large plate clamps, 4 medium plate clamps, 4 small plate clamps, 4 long rubber pins, 4 short rubber pins, 8 small oblate pins, and a hex key in a plastic box.

The 5 inch, 35 piece kit: 2 ring clamps, 2 large plate clamps, 4 medium, 4 small, 4 long rubber pins, 4 short rubber pins, 8 small oblate pins, 5 large oblate pins, and a hex key in a plastic box.

The 70 piece and 69 piece kits are the same vise with more of the same parts. We do not have an itemised list for those two, only the count. If the exact contents matter, write to us before you order and we will get it from the supplier in writing.

Shipping is different on this one

The drill press comes from overseas and takes about two weeks. This does not. The supplier holds it in a warehouse in the United States and quotes two to nine days. That is their figure, not ours, because we have not yet timed a shipment. The first order will tell us, and the real number goes here.

Where these numbers come from

The ball diameters, jaw openings, weights and dimensions are the maker's published specification, copied as printed. We have not measured a unit. The moment we have one on the bench, anything that turns out to be wrong gets corrected on this page.

Honest limits

The ball rides on a screw-set seat underneath. Owners occasionally report one arriving tight enough that it will not swing freely. If yours does that, write to us within 30 days of delivery and send it back for a full refund of the item.

The supplier describes the base as reinforced plastic, not cast iron. Its job is to cradle the ball, not to take a hammer blow on its own.

It does not bolt to the Mikrabench drill press base. This is a hand-work fixture for engraving, stone setting and small repair, not a machine vise.

Shipping is free on every order, to the United States and to Australia, tracked, with no minimum. Orders are processed within 2 business days.

After that the number depends on what you bought, and the line under the price gives it. The drill press takes about 2 weeks because we do not hold stock of it, and bits, punches and small consumables take about 6 to 10 business days.

Australia is not slower. An earlier version of this page said three to four weeks, on the assumption that further away means longer. It is the opposite: the parcels leave China, and China is closer to Sydney than to Philadelphia. Our carrier quotes 6 to 10 days to Australia against 4 to 7 to the United States, and it costs us less to send. So the Australian figures here are the same as the American ones. What we cannot claim is that we have watched it happen - we have not shipped an Australian order yet, and the day we have real tracking from there these become our numbers instead of the carrier's.

On the plug, we have to correct ourselves. This page used to say our supplier sells an Australian-plug version of the adapter at the same price. That was wrong, and we are leaving the correction here rather than deleting the sentence. It came from a different machine in a different supplier's catalogue. The listing this machine actually comes from has no plug option at all. We asked the supplier straight out and they answered that they fit a compatible plug for the destination country - which is an answer, but it is theirs, not something we have checked. The plug block further up this page says what we will do if what arrives does not fit your wall.

You get a tracking number by email as soon as the parcel is scanned, not before. A link that sits at label created for a few days is normal on this route.

Returns: 30 days from delivery, unused and in its packaging. Nothing is excluded - there is no rule here about sale items. If it arrived damaged or does not hold tolerance, we pay the return label. If you simply changed your mind, the return postage is yours and the price of the item comes back in full. Email support@arvonelle.com before sending anything back.

Will it plug into my outlet? Voltage, yes: the supply is rated 100 to 240 V, which covers both 120 V American mains and 230 V Australian mains, so no converter and no transformer. The plug is the part we cannot promise yet. The machine has no plug option we can select when we order it. We asked our supplier and they answered in writing that they fit a compatible plug for the destination country - we are quoting them, not claiming it, because we have not yet had one in our hands. Our sample is on order. If what arrives will not go into your wall, tell us: we post you the right adapter free, or refund you in full with the postage on us. An earlier version of this answer said the supplier sells a separate US-plug and Australian-plug version at the same price. That was wrong and came from a different machine; we are leaving the correction here instead of quietly deleting it.

Can it mill? As it ships, no. Milling needs an ER11 collet spindle in place of the drill chuck, because side load pulls a bit out of a chuck. That spindle is a real part and we are sourcing it. Until it is on the shelf we do not sell collets or end mills either.

Do your vises fit the press? The ones meant for drilling do - the drill press vise and the brass vise on its XY stage bolt to the base as it comes. The bench vises do not bolt down and must not go under a spinning bit. The engraving ball vise and the toolmaker's vise are bench tools too. Every page says which it is.

Do I pay tax or duty? In the United States, sales tax is added at checkout where your state charges it, and the total you see is the total. In Australia, consignments under AUD 1,000 normally carry 10% GST collected by sellers whose Australian turnover passes AUD 75,000 a year; we are well below that, so nothing is added at checkout and nothing should be asked of you on delivery. If a carrier ever asks you for a fee on a parcel from us, do not pay it - send us the notice first and we will sort it out with you. We are not going to claim we cover all duties everywhere. We cover what we control and we tell you about the rest.

What if a part breaks? For twelve months, tell us which part and we post a new one free. No return, no inspection, no photograph of the packaging. That applies in Australia too.

Can I cancel? Yes, within 24 hours, no questions. After that it is usually already moving.

Why trust a shop you have never heard of? You should not, on our say-so. Check instead that every page tells you what the tool will not do, that each product carries its own delivery number for your country, that we say which figures we measured and which we were told, and that when we get something wrong - the plug, which spindle fits, how long Australia takes - we say what the page used to say.

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If something goes wrong


If your order arrives damaged or defective, email support@arvonelle.com with your order number and a photo. We replace it or refund it — you don't have to argue for it.