My clamping method for smaller parts with lots of one off's

[knight_toolworks]

I seem to do lots of one off's and oddball things and solid wood. so vacuum clamping can be a pain unless I am doing several.
I have modified this method quite a few times. The last one was a pegboard type setup with threaded inserts and big wooden cams.
This works well but for the threaded inserts. They do not hold great in mdf and I need to use the cheap soft ones so if I hit one it is not a big deal.
Another issue was keeping thins flat. I had solved that issue with the treaded inserts mostly.
So I finally broke down and bought some t track and shofox cam levers. I debated on just cutting t track into the mdf but I think ¾” mdf may be too thin for strong enough slots. Though feedback on that would be good.
The advantages to this are that the cams put downwards pressure on the piece so it should stay flat. Plus I don’t have to hunt for chunks of wood when the cams are not close enough on their own to reach and that’s most of the time it seems.


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[magic]

I've just been making my cam/clamps from wood and screwing them to the table or a jig.

[knight_toolworks]

thats what I did. but it gets to be a hassle plus it is repeatable over time.

[joe]

Thanks for posting your technique.

Like you I'm partial to physical hold downs and keep my eyes open to new methods.

For years, even centuries, craftsmen have been holding their work pieces secure for tooling. It's good to see how you manage yours.

Keep up the good work. It's always a pleasure to see your product.

Joe

[wendell]

Steve,
Where did you buy your parts? (channels and cams)

[ed_lang]

Wendell,

One source for those parts is Grizzly.com

Here is the cam-
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Shop...am-Clamp/H5740

[knight_toolworks]

right all from grizzly in this massive box packed with peanuts (G) I had to go fishing to find everything.
I still want to get some different vacuum setups going. but it's hard to find the versatility in them without making a lot of them.

[wendell]

Thanks! I've been a little reluctant to do a vacuum table since I'm too cheap to buy a Fein for the house.

[knight_toolworks]

I still like vacuum but this is so much faster for all the oddball and one off's. I find it's easy to make it any size and to clamp any shape.
the fiens get spendy. they heat up my shop too much right now so I only use them when needed.

[harryball]

I added two exhaust ports and set my fiens outside the shop to help with the heat. Works well.

I also discovered, using squares of 1/4" hard board and some tape I can tape up a "one off" vac mask and cut parts as well. Limited application and I've only done this with parts I don't cut all the way through.

/RB