Yeah, I had a similar problem.I looked at all of the cheap ($40) drill guides and the reviews were terrible. Hopefully I can snag a sale with the drill and vise. I've been wanting to pick up a drill guide for some time, but have seen so many bad reviews/comments on the cheap ones and not enough commentary on the Japanese guide. In the photo here I have chucked up the largest fostner bit I own and as you can see it clears the vise jaws when open. The vise is very solid and adds a lot of mass and stability to the guide once installed and it does not interfere with any drilling operations. First off the guide is really heavy duty with an outstanding chuck and very smooth sliding action. If it had not been for the promotion I probably would not have gotten the vise but I am sure glad I did.
They sell the guide for $150 and the vise for $50 but I got the combo for about $160 on a promotion they had a few weeks ago. That changed a few weeks ago when Rockler came out with this drill guide. I find that issue all the time and until now there just have not been acceptable alternatives. Have you ever had a job that you needed more than an 8 inch reach of the Shopmith drill press or just wanted to drill a hole or two with the accuracy of the drill press but not want to tear down Shopsmith that is setup in another mode.