Thread: DIY Holdfast prototype

Hi All,

First post here - joined as I was wanting to find some fellow kiwis for a group buy of Grammercy holdfasts. Well landed up spending the money on some much needed chisels (just starting out with woodwork and going the no power tool route).

Well after much thinking about how I could make my own I came up with the attached prototype this arvo. 20mm mild steel is cheap as chips but my problem is with the anvil/vice and heat source to get it bent. Also 20mm is too big for my 3/4" dog holes.(apologies for the shocking photos).....





Welding is shocking but seeing as it was a prototype I wasn't too fussed.

What you see is made from 20mm bar (nicked from a friend before I buy a 6m length) and two pieces of 20mm*3mm flat. This was all done with the following tools

cheapo angle grinder
borrowed arc welder
hammer
couple of vice grips
some pieces of firewood aka anvil
plumbers pliers (used for bending)

Ground down the bar to fit in the dog hole. Then bent one piece of flat for the bottom (next time will do the top one first) and welded on. Put in dog hole and bent to what I thought may work - tested but it bent as expect but looked about right. Then took second piece of flat and gripped against first - welded into place and then bent around top of bar and welded.

Couple of minutes angle grinder work later and voila.

It works a charm in my 3/4" dog holes in MDF bench top (2*18mm) and works just as well in the dog holes with a 2*4 backing.

So going to play with it for a couple of weeks and if all good will buy 6m of 20mm round and make some better ones - already thinking of some nice ways to bend the flat over the back for looks.

Hopefully this of some help to you who don't have the kit to make a holdfast from the bar stock alone - I am sure the hook on mine can probably still be tuned with a hammer if needed.

cheers
Robin