Thread: Hold fasts? What do I buy?

Hi Chook, I don't use either type as my benchtop is just melamine (just screw toggle clamps when required)

Wouldn't be too keen on the cast iron though as it is just too brittle, guess that narrows down the choice a bit.

I have a pair of the CI McJing hold fasts and they work fine. Never had a problem with them. However I also have a pair of Gramercy hold fasts and they are much much better. I rarely use the CI ones anymore because I just reach for the Grammercy.
I'd be interested to hear from someone who has some of the McJing solid bar versions. They look like the bend is too shallow to me. You can get the Gramercy from HNT Gordon.

IanW will be along soon to tell you to make your own from timber. If he doesn't show up then do a search for "ducks" with him as the poster (advanced search)

Chook

Have you seen these threads? Might help and/or give you some ideas:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f152/custom-holdfasts-192646

Post No.61 onwards is probably the relevant part below:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...ht=bench+ducks

Regards
Paul

I have just gotten two of the bent bar ones (the CI out of stock). They work fine and are quite strong. My only criticism is the angle is fairly shallow/straight (??), meaning that it can't hold thin stock - the end of the bent part (where you put your stock) is not lower than the bend - about equal. it holds fine at about 18mm or higher. Easy solution is to just at a shim when holding thin stock (which should do anyway to prevent damaging your stock).

Sorry i don't have any photos - i'll try to get some for you to show what i mean.

For the price though, unless you are doing a lot - i think they are quite worth it. I would love the Gramercy ones, but $18 ($36 for 2) vs $96 is a big jump.

Cheer, Dave

I have made some quick and dirt holdfasts out of pine. They do work in a pinch:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...55#post1845655

Cheers

I have the Mcjing cast ones and they work fine. I have a feeling they are cast steel as they have so far not proved brittle. I use a steel hammer to set them in. Only tweek I did to mine was file the casting marks off the holding face so as not mark the wood on the odd occasion I forget to use some scrap wood protection.
Regards
John

Here are the images of them working. the first is a "loose" 20-21mm hole. THe second standard 18-19mm hole. both holes hold fine.

IMG_20150426_182137880_HDR.jpgIMG_20150426_182217415_HDR.jpgIMG_20150426_182315613_HDR.jpgIMG_20150426_182359607.jpg

Originally Posted by marphlix

Here are the images of them working. the first is a "loose" 20-21mm hole. THe second standard 18-19mm hole. both holes hold fine.

IMG_20150426_182137880_HDR.jpgIMG_20150426_182217415_HDR.jpgIMG_20150426_182315613_HDR.jpgIMG_20150426_182359607.jpg

Well they work and they are cheap. So as soon as I get off this forum I will be getting two.
thankyou to all those you responded to my question.

WiI do not know how I ever did anything before the internet came along. I can recall clearly the first time I ever heard of it. I was washing my car and a story about it came on the ABC news (sometime in the early 1980s). I remember thinking that it sounded all vey science fiction and that it would never have anything to do with me.

How wrong I was.

I don't think I have ever bought a tool or much else for a very long time without using the interne and this forum is an amazing resource.

So to all those who took the time to respond to my question: thank you.

I have seen Ian Wilson's hold fasts. I will add them to my long to try list.

So after a bit of use, i have ended up slightly modifying the holdfast.

It was annoying me having to find scraps to protect the piece i was working on, and also the fact that i couldn't hold small stock without shimming it. I also found that the holdfast slipped some times.

Anyway, bit of left over blackbutt, leather and liquid nails and all solved

IMG_20150511_204445555.jpgIMG_20150511_204544195_HDR.jpg

My bench is 90 mm thick. That turns out to be just a bit thick for the holdfasts to hold fast. So I have to use a block on the work pice to get the holdfast shaft to hold fast. Not much of a problem really.

Hi chook.
Either the holdfast shaft is too smooth, or the hole size in your bench is to close a fit on the holdfast shaft. Quite possibly it's a combination of both.

Hand forged hold fasts or those made for 'rougher' hot rolled bar stock will always hold better.

It may be worth trying to rough up the shaft of the hold fast with some coarse sand paper - however maybe you have found something that works anyway.

I'm not sure if chook got the mcjing ones, but if he did, those don't need to be roughed up, they have a thread like protrusion on the shaft already (can kinda see from one of my earlier pictures).

Not sure about the hole size issue or bench thickness. I think my bench is 75mm thick, but is pine, so fairly soft and compresses in the holes to allow the holdfast to hold.

I hope you can get them working for you chook.

Cheers, Dave