Thread: Custom Holdfasts

Ian's wooden "holdfasts" are a very real alternative. I have both the Gramercy product and timber equivalents.

The steel is stronger and you can exert more holding pressure, but not much more. I did make a comparison using a set of bathroom scales, which was a very crude set up, but it did yield the sort of results I was expecting. I know that is not the most scientific approach . You can view the results in the link IanW provided.

Also there is reference there that if your benchtop is very thick, you may need a slightly larger diameter hole for the shaft to grip. Whilst that sounds wrong at first glance, the shaft is angled in the hole and contacts the timber top and bottom of the hole on opposite sides.

Also, this is from the Gramercy site:

"Note: we have discovered that while the holdfasts work great they will work even better and in more benches if you just rub a little 150 or 220 sandpaper around the stems (not up and down, round and round)"

One last point on the postage from the US is that while it does seem expensive, and it is expensive, it is on a par with postage from Australia to the US. That too is expensive. The exchange rate at the moment is very unfavourable and that makes US postage even worse.

Even importing direct from the US postage is more than half the cost. I suspect Colen Clenton is making very little at all on the retail price of $95.

Regards
Paul

Like tuscany33, I too thought I would support the local blacksmith to make some holdfasts for me based on a design referenced in the post by FenceFurniture.

Well, as it happened, they were less than impressive and although they looked functional, if not rustic, they needed quite a lot of additional work both by myself and the blacksmith (to straighten the toes/feet) before I was anywhere near happy. They also cost nearly as much as the Gramercy pair I bought on a subsequent group buy on this forum.

Not much gained at the end of the day!

Cheers
Brian

So while i was waiting for some glue to dry tonight, i got inspired by Ian's wooden holdfast.

I grabbed some scraps and spend 5 mins on it. Very very rough, but very surprisingly to me this actually works. Its all pine, but i wass able to give it a decent wack without any issues. The softness of the wood seems to give it a fair bit of spring and seems to help. A bit of sandpaper to help with the grip and holds things down fairly well. I can't lift my bench by it - but for 5mins with scraps i'm really not going to complain.

IMG_20150220_212035215_HDR.jpgIMG_20150220_212057677.jpgIMG_20150220_212104745.jpg

There you go! Crackajack mate! Prolly the first tool you've made?

Originally Posted by marphlix

....... I can't lift my bench by it - but for 5mins with scraps i'm really not going to complain.....

Not MY wooden holdfasts, Marphlix, full credit has to go to Berlin, who dug up the old reference & was first to give it a try.

I'm amazed that pine worked at all, but there you go - crapiata can be tougher than you might expect. Actually, I once made some 3/4" bench dogs from Hoop, just for fun, and tested them to destruction. It took a surprising amount of force to bust them, & in fact, I couldn't get them to break under vise pressure unless they were notched to at least half their diameter. On average, I reckon radiata would be significantly tougher than Hoop.

Anyway, an encouraging start - now try it with some decent hardwood....

Cheers,

So they actually got a proper work out today. They do work ok, just not great. They did have trouble holding stock while I was jigsawing (vibration shook them loose), and in my frustration, hitting them harder and harder to try and grip more snapped one of the dowels I used.



Conclusion is that they work for light work and defiantly need something on the contact point to help grip the stock, but in a pinch, and with nothing else to use, they do work.

wouldwood gave me some plans a few years ago and went round numerous blacksmiths to try and get them made , no luck . i bought the Mcjing ones last year , they work but hace a shallow bend so wont hold thin stock , plus the shaft is threaded which counterintuitively stops them from working as well as they might. i'll rework them when i next access to a forge to take off the thread and put more of a hook on them. i'll see if i can find the plans with dimensions and post them here.

Hi everyone, thanks for the great replies. I will keep you posted on how my search goes. I think that the pleasure of having a (somewhat) unique product versus one available off the shelf will be worth it - then again, I'm not sure how well that optimism will hold out; time will tell. I recall seeing similar(virtually identical) tools to a holdfast mentioned in 'The Art of Modern Blacksmithing' where they were described as 'pritchel hold-downs'. They perform the same function as a hold-fast and work in the same way only in the pritchel hole of an anvil rather than a dog hole in a workbench. The only challenge will be making sure they work in a ~4" thick bench top -- I know that some people have experienced difficulty getting some of the mass-produced holdfasts to grip in benches over 3" thick.

I shall have a chat with some 'smiths and see what we can come up with.

If you post the drawings, I may have a go at forging one. I have a few things on the go so not sure how long it will take though.

Originally Posted by tuscany33

The only challenge will be making sure they work in a ~4" thick bench top -- I know that some people have experienced difficulty getting some of the mass-produced holdfasts to grip in benches over 3" thick.

I think you will find that a slightly larger diameter hole will do the trick.

I suggest you do some trials in a piece of scrap timber of the same thickness first. Whilst you could start with a 19mm hole in your bench, it is difficult to open that hole up, although one way is to clamp a piece of timber with a guide hole over the top of the hole you want to enlarge. That way you can drill with most types of bit (spade, forstner, auger etc) as you are no longer reliant on the point for location.

Good luck. I will watch with interest.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

I think you will find that a slightly larger diameter hole will do the trick.
I suggest you do some trials in a piece of scrap timber of the same thickness first. Whilst you could start with a 19mm hole in your bench, it is difficult to open that hole up, . . . . .l

Recently at RSL care we refurbished a very tired looking Workmate. The original ply top was stuffed so we replaced it with pieces of 135mm wide Jarrah floorboards. The hole size required to fit the plastic stops were a whisker over 3/4". To achieve this I reamed out with an adjustable HSS metal work hand reamer. I used linseed as a lube and it worked a treat. I bought a complete set of these reamers that covers the range from 6 to 32.5 mm a couple of years ago mainly to make close fitting arbors for machinery but I have used then way more than I thought I would for all sorts of things including wood.

I have heard it suggested in thick tops to bore in from the underside with a larger hole. So say a 4" bench bore a one inch deep hole from underneath and have essentially a 3" top where the dog holes are.

Originally Posted by DSEL74

I have heard it suggested in thick tops to bore in from the underside with a larger hole. So say a 4" bench bore a one inch deep hole from underneath and have essentially a 3" top where the dog holes are.

Excellent idea DSEL.

Cheers, Vann.

While I generally use some veritas hold fast in my bench which is 5 inches thick. I have found that 16mm diameter hold downs that I have forged work fine in the 3/4 holes on a thick bench top.