Hold pocket clips while drilling

[FunkCoaster]

My goal is to drill pocket clip screw holes in 0.45" thick titanium without losing fingers.

I have a mini mill and a vise.
Currently these approaches have been attempted:

1) Hold the clip with my hand. The drill turns the clip into a titanium helicopter. While cool to look at, it poses a risk to keeping my blood inside my body
2) Put the clip in the vise, held up by parallels. The non-square shape of the clip means it deforms and slips while drilling
3) Clamp the clip to a small piece of wood, and hold the wood in the vise. This works okay

Any better approaches?
Basically, the same issues are present when I drill any irregular shaped object.

I'm certainly new to machining, so don't assume I know much.

 

[Boogaloo]

Holding it down to a sacrificial plate is a good technique. Some use a plate with threaded holes and toe clamp to that.

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

It depends on the shape but try backing it with a piece of micarta. Hold the clip and backing together with some small vise grips or kant-twist clamps. Stand up a 1-2-3 block and use it for access.

I just hold mine by hand on a 1-2-3 block until my bits start to get dull... after that things tend to get more "exciting."

 

[TexasWade]

Any chance of being able to drill the holes before cutting the clip out and bending it up?

 

[Varga Knives]

I use a 1-2-3 block and hold-downs. Helicopter = ouch.

 

[Drew Riley]

Are you making these clips from scratch? If so, drill the holes before you cut, profile and bend them. Use sharp drill bits and take care on the break through, which is where most grabbing happens.

 

[Bob Ohlemann]

I believe my setup is the best combination of speed and safety. I have a 1-2-3 block attached to my drill press table with a bolt threaded in from underneath; you can just clamp it in your vise on parallels. On the top of the 1-2-3 block is a 3/8-16 socket head cap screw threaded into one of the holes. That screw head provides a stop so that the material cannot be spun past it. I very seldom have to remove the 1-2-3 block from the table because it works so well for most tasks. I drill all my Ti liners, backspacers, clips, etc this way; never had a helicopter.

Also, since I'm talking about this setup, I drilled a 3/16" hole right near one corner of the block with a carbide drill and that hole is aligned with my drill press spindle. This allows me far more flexibility than just using one of the pre-existing holes in the block.

Bob