This blog has to do with auto adjust clamps. There are many brands on the market, however, there are 3 brands that I will sort of cover in this article.
The clamps I refer to are designed to be mounted to a table through either t-tracks, dog holes or simple screwed to a table or a base that can then be attached to a table. SOme may be screw/bolt mounted, however, I am not a great fan of fixed clamps.
1. Currently my favourite clamp is the TSO branded “clamp“, that makes use of my favourite MFT style tabletop mounting devices, the TSO loc-dogs.
Using the TSOs, I added a base plate to a Bessey Auto Adjust,
and managed to clamp it in any dog hole of an MFT style workbench,
It was poorly engineered as it lifted off the workbench with the single dog hole to the back of the working forces…
may not be a major issue, however, I didn’t like it. Changed the configuration of the base,
By moving the hole up the front, an aesthetically better hold was achieved,
Then those bloody boffins at TSO decided to plagiarise my idea and incorporate their TSO loc-dogs into the Bessey clamp,
They redesigned the dog (shortened it by approx. 19mm) to compensate for only one thickness of sheet good… nevertheless, the result was a lower profile clamp.
While on the Bessey Auto Adjust clamp, I have used them on t-tracks secured with 2 t-bolts,
2. The next foray into these auto adjust clamps in my arsenal are these offered by Rockler,
I have just published a review on these clamps which included my customisations that I feel make them just a tad more versatile... so that's all you get.
3. Kreg have their version of these type of clamps with their own type of mounting bracket. I haven’t used one so I can’t comment... and as have a bitch with their product support, no kind words would come forth from my fingers, if I did.
Hey everybody, I am kinda feeling sorry for LBD, because he has no tools, and I was thinking of taking up a collection to get him some. Oh...great posting Duckster.....
I like the utility of this style of clamps, a real treat to have them for a jig. I only have the standard style that is adjusted for object height by raising or lowering the rubber tipped plunger ('cause I'm cheap!)
If only ever used for stuff of the same thickness, they are perfect, minimal footprint. Takes some finagling to set up as the rubber tip compresses, but spend an hour and you'll be golden!
Auto-adjust would be a dream of mine but I was always a bit too put off buy the cost.
If you just need a clamp to hold something that will always be the same, the old style are fine, otherwise dig deep into your pocket and eventually you'll forget you ever spent that much and just enjoy the versatility.
Folks from Oz are collectors. They wonder the remote beaches looking for washed up debris from the civilized world. Ducky just happens to be a master at finding clamps, evidently… secret beach somewhere I guess!
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
I have a few "C" clamps, but these are the only two I use... but only because I'm too lazy to swap them out. If I ever need to move that tray, they'll be relegated to the archives. These may be ok on metal, however, I reckon if you want them to hold, they'd scar the bjesus out of wood
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
That's the beauty of the MFT styleworkbench and the TSO loc-dogs... you can design any format of tabletop, with t-tracks dovetail tracks, screwed on attachments and anchor that to your MFT styletabletop (underneath) with a couple of TSO dogs for a totally sacrificial workbench...
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
