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Thread: Hold fasts

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Fairbanks AK
    Posts
    1,566
    Quote Originally Posted by Edward Weber View Post
    When something gets to the size where I would need a holdfast with a 1" thick shaft, gravity alone usually takes over.
    I found the crucibles most useful when I was trying to learn timber frame joinery indoors in the winter time. I bought two rough sawn pieces, a 4x10 and an 8x8. Both were over ten feet long. For scrubbing those down to where I could use a fore plane to get them smooth enough for pencil layout I found the crucibles nearly ideal. I could have used maybe ratcheting tow straps, but that would have been time consuming.

    The Doug Fir blank for my face vise chop was 16/4, 9 feet, 13" wide. The gramercy's might could have handled that, the plank I bought had been surfaced green, so I was able to go immediately to straight edge and pencil layout. Besides the chop I got all four legs for my next bench out of that plank.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,469
    An older photo, but I did not say anything about the Veritas hold downs. The Gramercy cannot be beat for their price. Some have experienced difficulty with this kind of hold down in their bench. The reason is usually that the bench top is under 2” or 4” and greater. There is a fix for both. My Gramercy hold downs work effortlessly. Now consider the Veritas. They are even better. They set with a twist of the brass knob. This allows also for a range in the downforce. They can, therefore, fit into more confined or restricted areas (where you cannot swing a mallet). They have a longer reach. I’ve used them in a sliding deadman, mine being 1” thick. The down side is they are expensive. I got lucky with two of mine for $50 at a garage sale.



    More recent photo … note the space between the bench and cabinet for the shafts. Plan for this if considering something similar …



    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Last edited by Derek Cohen; 07-31-2021 at 8:58 PM.

  3. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Mills View Post
    Does Gramercy say their holdfasts are forged? I'm not sure on the technical details of forging, but theirs are made from bending steel rods. Maybe the flattened business end is forged? I'm not trying to discount the product, I'm just not sure they even claim they are forged.

    A bit late getting back, but Gramercy's may be formed cold rather than forged, I don't know. The important part is that they're steel and not cast iron.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Santa Cruz, CA
    Posts
    157
    I made holdfasts by bending concrete forming stakes (and other cold rolled rod) right out of a forge. They work well. This how the gramercy hold fasts appear to made to me.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    A small limb from a tree can be used to make a holdfast. Of course it isn't as strong as one made of steel.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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