Thread: Blacksmith made holdfasts

yep got all the gear to make them.

HAve thought of the springs as material to use. if I can find them cheaply enough, then they require straightening, easy enough but it all takes time. However they may grip and hold better than the shiny bright bar that many commercial makers use. I would have thought hot rolled (black bar) would be better as the surface imperfections might hold better than a shiny smooth bar would.

Bit more reading and it seems for thinner benches a closer hole to bar fit may be better, and 'thicker' benches may need them a bit loser. It also seems that 'less perfect' hand forged ones tend to grip better than smooth shiny looking ones.

Anyone have some experience to share on what they have found to work?

Cheers

I just had a quick re read through the start of this thread and it seems mild steel bar works ok .
I would prefer spring steel ,but if mild steel does the job without bending under use it will be a lot less hard work.
One of the pictures back there is a rod with a few local heats where it needs to be bent. easy compared to straightening a whole coil spring.

Although straightening some would be a bit of fun if you prepared to get serious about it and do a batch of them .
Build a temporary pit forge sort of thing,next to a big camp fire. Weld an eye to the end of each spring , hook them out of the fire , place them on a spool anchored to a gum tree, place a hook through the eye which is attached to a chain attached to a tow bar and drive off. maybe with a blanket draped over the middle of the chain.

Are we not woodworkers? Do we not have rampaging shrubs and trees? I have a few kicking around, supplement my 2 Gramercy. The 3rd image is of the deluxe model, with no metal equivalent - might be worth patenting?

Cheers
Peter

The holdfasts that I recently had made up (using the plans) were made from 18mm spring steel. The blacksmith had some offcuts lying around. They seem to work fine.

Originally Posted by Heavansabove

Are we not woodworkers? Do we not have rampaging shrubs and trees? I have a few kicking around, supplement my 2 Gramercy. The 3rd image is of the deluxe model, with no metal equivalent - might be worth patenting?

Cheers
Peter

Great to see the Crusoe hold-down in action, especially the multi tasker

Do they hold as firmly as the iron ones?

Cheers

Originally Posted by Berlin

Great to see the Crusoe hold-down in action, especially the multi tasker

Do they hold as firmly as the iron ones?

Cheers

Pretty good, need to get the cut angle on the holding end pretty accurate for good holding, but close to the steel holding power for the fairly short ones I have, I doubt that they will work effectively say on something several inches thick (too much flex in a branch/twig going through a 3/4" hole. Now if the hole was 2" diameter I guess the holding power might be impressive (I do not plan to drill big holes in my bench... but in a Moxon vice ...).

THe multi-tasker needs more work

Preparing a Holdfast to hold fast « Full Chisel Blog

I received the Lie-Nielsen Toolworks Newsletter: Volume XIV, Issue I. Low and behold the new product advertised in the newsletter is the Lie-Nielsen holdfast.


Regards,

Denim

Originally Posted by Denim

I received the Lie-Nielsen Toolworks Newsletter: Volume XIV, Issue I. Low and behold the new product advertised in the newsletter is the Lie-Nielsen holdfast.


Regards,

Denim

They look nice. Not too expensive.