Ben Rivel
05-11-2017, 1:18 PM
I picked up a Bosch GCM12SD 12" Glide last Black Friday after jumping on a 20% off coupon AcmeTools.com put out to replace/compare it with my DeWalt DWS780 12" slider. After comparing the two a bit and due to space constraints I decided to keep the Bosch and sold the DeWalt. The only thing I miss about the DeWalt is the very nice upgrade hold down clamp I had for it that had a quick release (DeWalt DW7082). That was an awesome clamp and sure the beat the heck out of the industry standard terrible screw clamps that come with all these miter saws.
After reading around the net I found from multiple sources that a Festool Kapex hold down clamp (Festool 494391) actually worked with the Bosch Glide saws. Ignoring the cost as Im already desensitized to the green ludicrous pricing, I immediately placed an order for one. After playing with it a bit I ended up deciding to return it but wanted to share my findings so that others knew what they were getting into if they decided to go this route.
First off, here is the connection portion of the Festool hold down clamp:
360024
And here is how it fits in the Bosch Glide hold down clamp hole:
360026360027
Doesnt go down into the hole very deep, but it does seem to hold securely enough.
For reference this is how the Bosch hold down clamp looks:
360030
This is as low as the clamp reaches when clamped and locked at its lowest setting:
360028
You can see that for most thickness pieces it will work fine, but anything I think less than 3/8" it probably wouldnt work. Sorry I did not measure that minimum height.
And the real problem I had with it, the clamp does not reach far enough out from the saw's fence to allow a sacrificial fence thicker than maybe 1/2". The piece of wood in the image is 1" thick.
360029
And for that reason I had to return it since I like to use 3/4" plywood for a sacrificial fence for zero clearance cuts and the Festool clamp just didnt stick out far enough for my liking.
So there you go, now you know. :)
Hopefully someday Bosch will wise up and make a good clamp for this amazing and extremely popular saw similar to the DeWalt quick release design.
After reading around the net I found from multiple sources that a Festool Kapex hold down clamp (Festool 494391) actually worked with the Bosch Glide saws. Ignoring the cost as Im already desensitized to the green ludicrous pricing, I immediately placed an order for one. After playing with it a bit I ended up deciding to return it but wanted to share my findings so that others knew what they were getting into if they decided to go this route.
First off, here is the connection portion of the Festool hold down clamp:
360024
And here is how it fits in the Bosch Glide hold down clamp hole:
360026360027
Doesnt go down into the hole very deep, but it does seem to hold securely enough.
For reference this is how the Bosch hold down clamp looks:
360030
This is as low as the clamp reaches when clamped and locked at its lowest setting:
360028
You can see that for most thickness pieces it will work fine, but anything I think less than 3/8" it probably wouldnt work. Sorry I did not measure that minimum height.
And the real problem I had with it, the clamp does not reach far enough out from the saw's fence to allow a sacrificial fence thicker than maybe 1/2". The piece of wood in the image is 1" thick.
360029
And for that reason I had to return it since I like to use 3/4" plywood for a sacrificial fence for zero clearance cuts and the Festool clamp just didnt stick out far enough for my liking.
So there you go, now you know. :)
Hopefully someday Bosch will wise up and make a good clamp for this amazing and extremely popular saw similar to the DeWalt quick release design.