Member
I never had any success with that brand of holdfast, no matter what I did to them. The steel rod they are made from is just not suited for some bench designs / materials. If you have roughened them and still have no joy, then I would suggest you look to a holdfast made of forged or cast iron. I would also be wary of altering your bench in any irreversible way. Now I will seek cover from the return fire........
Contributor
Consider making some divets with a nail-set to the contact points of the holdfast - should work much better than sand paper.
"The reward of a thing well done is having done it." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Contributor
I can't believe the BLO is the culprit here. Following along with interest.
[OP]
Contributor
I know, that's what I'm thinking! But that's the only thing that has changed. Absolutely nothing else changed other than skimming off maybe 1/32nd of surface. At someone's suggestion in the thread I cleaned off my holdfasts in case there was BLO on them and they still didn't hold. The project I'm doing right now (a jointer plane build) I don't think I'll really need the holdfasts so that gives me some time to see if curing will work. I will be sure to post the results, whatever those results might be.Originally Posted by Warren West
Member
How about reaming the hole back out with whatever drill or reamer you used originally?
There's a chance the solvent/oil swelled the holes a bit and they are tighter than they were originally...
Member
If you have ruled out all other factors (change in humidity, change in the holdfast etc), the BLO has to be the culprit.
And if you have tried all other solutions in vain, you may try this: Glue a solid hardwood dowel (a hair larger if possible) into one of the holes and let it cure (18 hours or 24). Then redrill that sample hole and try the holdfast. If it works, plug all the rest and drill. That should not be a lot of work if you have a row of two dog holes.
Another alternative is to glue a board 1/2" to 3/4" thick to the underside of the bench and use the existing holes as a guide to drill new holes. Again, try this out with a sample hole first.
Waiting for the BLO to dry? That is too passive for me, plus there is no guarantee that once it dries (it could take months), your problem is solved.
Simon
Last edited by Simon MacGowen; 06-22-2018 at 4:32 PM.
Guest
The BLO in the hole might have something to say about the glue curing, no?
Member
According to the OP, the holes are not like flooded with oil, and it is more likely part of each hole is contaminated only, leaving enough surface area for the glue. I suggest a test with one of the holes and that will reveal if the dowel method will work or not. Same for gluing a board to the underside, using a test piece first.
Simon
Guest
I'd still stop the holes and flood them with solvent and let it evaporate out. Use some other means of work holding in the meantime, like a week may two, tops.
Member
I wouldn't disagree with you or to any other solutions people may have suggested, because I offered my suggestions with this rider: "And if you have tried all other solutions in vain..."
Simon
Contributor
Chris,
I tend to go with the least aggressive simplest thing first. This is my approach on most things.
One problem with the BLO is that it cures, polymerzing to where the material becomes chemically bonded together. If it gets to that point, it will not dissolve in a solvent. It may soften, but won't dissolve and leach out.
I think the first thing I would try after waiting a couple of weeks, as you mentioned, is light sanding. If waiting does not help, I would wrap a dowel with something like 100 grit sandpaper and lightly sand the inside of the holes near the top. I would just remove a little, and only try one hole first.
Stew
Last edited by Stew Denton; 06-23-2018 at 6:56 PM.
[OP]
Contributor
Update.
Well, just now I decided to wait no longer and counter bore the underside of the holes. I figured I should only need to take them down just a tiny bit, like a half inch. Nope. I ultimately had to take them down to 2.5 inches to get them to hold solidly (testing; not real-world scenario... which might be different). Still, I have one hole that doesn't seem to want to cooperate and will only hold the fast in certain directions. Bear in mind, when these holes were 4.5" thick they had ZERO problems; I could just use hand pressure and it was enough to be able to lift the bench. At this point I can go no further. Given that the bench is SPF construction lumber, I'm afraid at the depth they are I will likely wear them out fairly quickly. I think I have usable holes for upcoming projects... we'll see how they do.
The good news is worst case scenario, my bench is designed in such a way that I could actually replace just the top without having to really disturb any other part of the bench. So that may be in my future if after a month I'm having problems. I can just build a new top exactly like how this one WAS.
I might add, I did not get much BLO in the holes. There were no "drips" into the holes. I just wiped down the whole surface twice with a rag.
So I'm kinda bummed right now. But the good news is I built a jointer plane, so I'll post about that to cheer me up.
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