Depends on what you are working on-

Personally, for working on  models- freight cars, locomotives, buildings, etc I prefer a Pin Vise.  If you are working on something larger and need bigger bits, then a hand-drill is probably the way to go.  I like the precision and control that a Pin Vise offers, and I like the ones that are single ended rather than the type that have chucks at both ends.  Here's a link to one on Amazon that looks similar to what I use and like:

https://amzn.to/34yL4En

Craig

Ideally

I would suggest both.  I personally use both pin vises and hand drills( see the MRH thread ion powered pin vise) https://forum.mrhmag.com/magazine-feedback-was-ezines-891776.  This is a Running Extra article so it is a subscription but well worth the cost.

Thanks a lot! Is this what

Thanks a lot! Is this what Joe Fugate talked about in a What's Neat This Week this year? Sounds familiar.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Ball handle

I prefer a pin vise with a ball handle.  The ball fits in the palm of my hand and gives me pretty good control.  Zona currently makes one with a wood ball.  Others have a plastic ball.

A small hand drill can also come in handy.

Paul

Powered drill is very good

I still use a pin vise for certain things but since I started using the General drill setup that Joe Fugate wrote about the number of broken bits has gone way down. I am talking about bits in the 78-80 range.

I think it has to do with rotating the pin vise. In my hands the act of rotation tends to make the pin vise wobble and that breaks the bits. With the slow speed powered option all I have to concentrate on is holding the drill steady.

I must have close to a dozen

pin vises.  This one is very good.

Notice, it has a #80 drill installed.  It can be reconfigured for much larger drills also.  I enjoy my father’s set of Starrett pin vices my dad, a tool and die maker, left me too.

Joe Fugate did good research on a drill for small bits too.

You’ll most likely end up using both if you like working with your hands.

Nick

Small Rotary Hand Drill?

I would love to find a small rotary hand drill with collet that can handle down to an #80 dill bit. About 1/2 to 1/3 size of Fiskers manual rotary drill. I have tried to miniaturize a Fiskers drill but had no success. While I have Joe's electric screw driver aha solution, I don't find it as practical or controllable as what want. A mini manual drill press solution would work well. 

Any reasonable and practical suggestions welcome. 

Nick, Yes, it's looking like

Nick,

Yes, it's looking like I want both.

Rmeyer, Thanks for the

Rmeyer,

Thanks for the suggestion.

pin vise or drill?

  For the very tiny bits like #80 I usually use a pin vise . For the slightly larger ones, say #60 and up  I usually use a small cordless drill. My cordless drill chuck can hold the tiny bits and it has variable speed so is good for many different materials. If the hole needs to be very precise or is in harder material I have a micro drill press. The press can handle  carbide drills which are much better for hard material but are too brittle to use in a hand held drill or pin vise. Some pin vises are better than others, look for a chuck that can hold a #80 bit without it slipping when you apply drilling pressure, I've had some that failed this test so could only be used for larger bits... ...DaveB

Roto tool

One thing that doesn't get mentioned here is a Dremel (or similar) Roto tool. They can accept very small bits and have other uses as well.

Ed

PIN vise for tiny bits, Moto tool for larger.

I've got the PIN vise in Nicks picture, or one just like it and have used it for years.  I found when I tried to use tiny bits in a dremel, they were hard to control.

A pair of Pinvises is handy to have...

if you do a lot of drilling/tapping,1has the drill,the other has the tap.

Only time to go "heavy weapon(motor tool) is when drilling metal,have a can of 3'n1 oil handy

to keep the bit cool and the tap lubed. I have always "hand power" the tap .

At major train shows there's always a tool vendorthat has the bits,taps and a hand crank drill

"right sized" along with Pinviises.

Pin Vise vs Rotary and more tool needs.

I have both the General Drill tool and 5-6 different pin vises.  The General Drill doesn't work for me in small drill sizes higher than #65.  A very small manual rotary like the Fiskers only 1/3 the size and some way to mount it in a drill press type holder would be wonderful tool to have.  I once tore apart a Fiskers drill to try and create such a tool as the angle of the Fiskers plastic housing resisted mounting in a drill press but it didn't work. 

What I am finding is that I need something to hold a very small part while drilling. The other day I was trying to drill out an HO brass stanchion and could not find the right tool to hold the tiny part firmly but not destructively while rotating the twist drill in my other hand. 

I haven't run across that vendor with just the right tools at any train show here in the SF Bay area. I have scoured Otto Frei's (jewelers supply) website and not found the right tools in a price range I could afford (professional jewelry makers may lay our several thousand dollars for the right equipment.)

See my December Running Extra article

Sounds like you missed my December Running Extra article ... the solution you are looking for is a block of wood and some good double-stick masking tape.

See:
mrhmag.com/magazine/running-extra/2019-12/publishers-welcome

Each issue of Running Extra has lots of tips like this. This one tip will save you buying some expensive tool and pay for a several year subscription, I wager. 

Double Sided Tape as Small Part Holder

Joe,

Double sided tape on block of wood didn't hold the part firm enough for the force required to drill the brass.

Ken

"Double sided tape on block

  can you cut or carve out a slot in the wood then tape the part into it?  For things like stanchions I usually just hold them flat on some scrap wood and drill them with a drill press or cordless drill if the bit is a little larger. Some things will clamp in a Panavise between the plastic jaws then can be drilled with a pin vise or cordless drill.....DaveB 

Then the Panavise

I've done it, so I know it can be done. But if the tape won't hold it, then it's time for the Panavise. The soft plastic jaws will hold detail parts without damage if you're careful.

Yep, DaveB got it.

DRILLING AND REAMING SMALL PARTS

Hallo Bhart 1996.

We use a pin vise to drill/ream small diameter holes in plastic or soft metal parts. For any more "serious" drilling/reaming, we use a Dremel and flexible shaft.

Il some cases (especially for reaming) it is useful to install reinforced-shank drill bits in the chuck of a flexible shaft, keeping the shaft in one hand, and slowly rotating the chuck with the other hand. Useful to have a 2-operator setup, one checking the alignment, the other doing the manual part or the operation.

But, whenever the shape of the piece renders it possible, we use our Proxxon precision milling machine and reinforced-shank drill bits. The results is always better than the best hand positioning.

All the best from Milan

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

Both...

For very fine work nothing beats a pin vice. When you have to do a lot of holes a low speed drill with a microchuck (like you guys were talking about above) is perfect. You'll have to decide which suits your particular project.

So, yes, you do want both. And you'll never regret either. In fact, buy two pin vices so you don't have to keep changing drills.

Reinforced Shank Drill Bits

The price is rather high

  https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tnpla/85891372?&cid=ppc-google-New+%E2%80%93+Zero+Traffic+%E2%80%93+PLA_sNZzujccF___291133167099_c_S&mkwid=sNZzujccF%7cdc&pcrid=291133167099&rd=k&product_id=85891372&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIocPWkf6S6AIVjobACh13SQtIEAQYAiABEgJsuPD_BwE

at $171 for 10 bits. 

Guhring Drills

The Guhring bits are quite costly, so it's nice to have a friend or two to split the 10 unit minimum. They are sharp and I have not had one break in either hand pin vice or my motorized version as of yet. The sharp part is a big deal. They drill quickly and accurately.