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Thread: Compact Cabinet Door Clamp Jig

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    Dawson Creek, BC
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    Compact Cabinet Door Clamp Jig

    I have a larger than normal need of doors, and I am tired of my regular clamps. I do not have room for a typical door clamp setup, so I fashioned my own based on some other designs I found. It was a fun CNC project. I suppose I could just order the doors, but where is the fun in that?

    Started with a piece of Baltic Birch with a shop grade laminate on one side. I drilled 90 20mm dia holes and cut out the sheet in about 25min. I used 20mm diameter so I could use my Festo clamps. The dog hole spacing does not match the Festool bench because I would need too much air hose or quick connects to use the cylinders on the festool bench below. Cutting the sheet was a bit slower because I used a pecking drill routine. I have not drilled much laminate, and I didn't want to do this twice.

    PEG-HoleCut.jpg

    Next, I needed a base to bolt to my air cylinders. Here is a picture from milling 3/4" aluminum down to what I needed. The stock was held in using the vacuum, and a board screwed to the base for added comfort.
    AlumBaseCut.jpg

    Here are the two parts after they were cut out from the rough stock. The plate was counter bored and center punched for final drilling on my drill press.
    AlumBase.jpg

    Here is one base attached to the cylinder. These cylinders extend 4", and will apply 310lb clamp force at 90psi. You can order cylinders that have a spring release to open instead of using air. That saves a bit of tubing, but it cylinder was not a standard part at McMaster, so I opted to add the extra tube.
    Cylinder.jpg

    Here is the assembled jig. When not in use the jig can be easily moved up the wall so it hangs tight to the wall out of the way. I know the professional versions have clamps in the opposite direction as well, but I found examples without the extra cylinders that seem to work. I can add two more cylinders later if need be.
    Compl.jpg

    Here is a door I had sitting on a bench clamped in the table. I am not quite done with the steel plate the bolts to the cylinder. It turned out I did not have a counter sink for 1/2" diameter bolts. I also think I will add a wood plate to the front of it so I do not have to fiddle with the wood spacer. I can see that will be a nuisance.
    Clamped.jpg

    Anyway, I thought I would share with the gang here.
    Last edited by Brad Shipton; 11-20-2018 at 6:22 PM. Reason: corrected poor english

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Very kewel project!!!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #3
    I have wanted to build something like that for a long time as well. Dont do enough cabs for something like a ritter and had nearly the identical idea as you but a little large and affixed to the wall. We have a 4x7 manual clamp setup on the wall now that it would take the place of. Very nicely done. I like the idea of the ply core with the laminate face. We were planning to just use melamine and I was going to machine the holes to accept some inserts to save the PB core a bit over time yet make the table cheap enough that when it got roached you'd just call up the file and run another one and swap it out (which would probably be never at the rate we build cabs).

    I agree with Jim, very cool project and I'll bet its handy as heck.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Dawson Creek, BC
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    Thanks guys. I am anxious to try it out. I was pretty pleased how it went together. I was nervous about the dogs being too tight, but a 15thou design gap worked in the end. All told I suppose it took roughly 6hr or so not including the dweeb time to create a 3D model. It would have been a little faster if it were not for making a mistake in the model that led to re-cutting the bases. Other than the air cylinders the cost was reasonable. The air cylinders were $140 each and the control was another $70. I toyed with using smaller cylinders, but the cost was not much less.

    In fairness, this is where I got much of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fam1e4ZoVtY

  5. #5
    The Ritter type tables have an under cut on the dowel pins that register to the table (on the opposite side of the cylinder rod) so the cylinder holds tight to the table when clamped. Be interesting to see how your pins work over time. I would never skimp on the cylinders because we fit out m&t and cope and stick pretty tight and would be worried about the 400lbs. I'd want as much as possible

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Dawson Creek, BC
    Posts
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    I tried coming up with a quick solution for the pins from below, but in the end I gave up. I have an idea for a quick hold down for the top rail or stile if need be. The clamp did not appear to lift off the table in my early tests, but that could change as the holes loosen. I hope 800lb will work. If not, I can swap out the tubing and a couple other parts so I can crank up the air pressure. Then I could get up to 600lb each.
    Last edited by Brad Shipton; 11-22-2018 at 1:09 PM.

  7. #7
    My guess is with your attention to detail your joinery will be fine with the clamping pressure your at. I'd like to give one of these a go.

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