Shop bot buddy hold down

[cowboy1296]

After several weeks of trial and error, lots of errors, i seem to have mastered the hold down. However i must admit i copied some one else's plan. My buddy is a prs 32 with a 4 ft power stick. I cut 5-2 foot long slots into the sacrifice board, inserted t-tracks in each and utilized 7 clamp hold downs . I have just ordered 2 more clamp hold downs which might be an over kill but nothing is worse then a project slipping during cutting. 4 clamp downs are slide into the power stick t-tracks, two on each end of the table and surprisingly enough it seems to work. Had i not already built my power stick table i would have again copied some one elses plan and made mine longer. I am still a rookie and so many others on here know best but if you want to see a picture of my hold downs just ask.

[dana_swift]

Rick- just presume we would like to see a picture and post them.

We all get ideas from each other. I have put many ideas on here for hold down from my BT-32 experiences. Search on my name, you will find lists of them. Since then I have added a few more also. :)

"Overkill" on holddown? There is no such thing, there is "underkill" that is when the project shifts and gets ruined. Or worse decides to see how fast it can go from the shopbot to the wall. Shopbots rarely throw things, but always CAN. Beware.. overkill is another word for safe holddown.

D

[cowboy1296]

the last time i had a board shift i cut about a foot long arc .15 inches deep in it. lucky for me it only hit the waist material. my version of the hold down i am using 90 dollars worth of clamps and 50 dollars worth of t-tracks, so its not cheap but it works. since i am hobbyiest i clean up the dust after each project instead of having a dust collector. i have seen some cams on here that look good but it was important for me to be able to force a board down on to the table so that i could plane it square. still working on my first cup so i hope all of this made scense, plus i will add some pictures later this morning.

[cowboy1296]

Once again i copied someone else's plan so i can not take credit for it. Had i been knowledgeable enough i would have made my table longer then the spoil board enabling me to add a t-track on both ends of the table. In the pictures the clamps were successful in reaching a 2.1 inch board to clamp it down, but just barley. If my table was longer then i could have increased my reach to more then 2.5 inches. The side clamps will be primarily used to hold a board from moving. The tool guide is not strong enough to hold anything in place (learned by trial and error) but it does help me square up a board once i put it in the machine. I used the router to cut .8 inch wide 25 inch long slots in the spoil-board for the 24 inch t tracks. The slots are roughly .2 inch deeper then the t track, hopefully to keep from running into them. The extra inch allows me to add clamps or remove them. The side t tracks can sure be used when adding a shorter board to the buddy (which was referred to as the beast during those times that i did not what i was doing). The t tracks and clamps can be bought at rocker for about 10 bucks each.

Now if any of you have tried this method and it failed please let me know.

[curtiss]

I hold a lot of items with a few lag screws that come through the table from below. The work is usually on 3/4 of an inch above the table on a spacer.

I set up a 5 1/2 inch grid of holes that starts at the point 2,2
Those points come throught the "high points" on the vacuum plenum.

Of course you have to miss the screws or your screw up the bit rather badly... so far so good...

[cowboy1296]

Generally i work with thicker stock up to 2.25 inch. I dont have a vacuum and if there is ever a market for saw dust i am rich. I was looking for something quick and would not continue to eat holes in my table.

[Ron Pogue]

I just bolt 1/4 x 20 through the wood and aluminum table.

I use nylon bolts, just in case.

My buddy is just for hobby use, so no worries about mass production.

[Coleman Becker]

i use corner pieces to wedge the part into the corner and 23 gauge wire finish nails if a bit hit it the "nail" the bit does not even notice it