Gramercy Holdfasts arrived and, WHACK!, do they ever hold fast

[bill epstein]

I've seen the lengthy threads on do they or don't they, prep, what to hit them with and I've had and discarded several $25 cheapos that did nothing.

So I just want to say that in my 3" thick SYP bench top, 3/4" spade bit drilled with a cordless at no particular phase of the Moon dog holes, the $40 buck pair hold like ___________________ (simile of your choice) and take some effort to release. All the prep I did was what Gramercy recommends, a little round 'n round with some 60 grit paper.

Along with a $10 card scraper, the most cheap skate Neanderthal tool of all. Better even, you can't hit the scraper with a hammer!

[Frederick Skelly]

Never had a problem with my Grammercy's either. But others have.
Glad they work for you. They're a nice bench accessory.

[Jim Koepke]

Good holdfasts are a basic necessity of the hand tool woodworking shop.

Glad to hear yours are working well.

jtk

[David Eisenhauer]

They work for me in my 4" thick SYP benchtop too Bill. You may want to glue some thin, soft leather to the faces of them to prevent marring whatever you are gripping.

[Derek Cohen]

The easiest way to add a cushion to the underside of the Gramercy, or other, holdfast is to use a stick-on felt protector for chair- and table legs. They work well.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Ben Ellenberger]

Those holdfasts work great in my bench top, which is about 2 1/2” Doug fir. I like to save the offcuts from cutting small tenons then use them as pads under my holdfasts. So I have a stack of little 1/4” thick pieces that are 1-2” square laying around. They are also nice to split into sticks if I need a glue spreader.