This is, of course, assuming that their holes were woodworking bench holdfast value as well… I am interested in exploring further, and will probably have to start with your book. Holfdast the shafts just a bit and these economical babies will work just fine. Are Prototypes Worth the Work? Happy Christmas to you and Helen! It will change your workholding for the better - instantly.

Though a holdfast is not as important to me as my planing stop. And that could just be a nail…. Holding work down for morticing or in this case cutting bridle joints. A single holdfast fixes the work in place, and gives you two free hands. So I plonk my work on the bench top. Your work keeps itself still enough while you mortice, but then you need to prise out the waste, so you end up needing one hand to hold it down.

Front Of The Workbench — I also find myself keeping a holdfast in the front apron of my workbench. Arguably the apron holes would have been used for pegs, but I find the holdfast more versatile.

Leave it hanging and it acts like a peg. And if you need an extra vice — whack it. A holdfast in the front apron, or sliding board jack teams up with your face vice to steady wide boards. So the holdfast will be well out of the way, holding some sort of batten that cradles the work without harm. Remember, in woodwork, any holding problem can be solved with a head scratch, a holdfast and a stray nail.

Because of the way I incorporate holdfasts in to my work; as a third hand, I prefer the light weight ones. In fact, the bent steel bar variants are probably the best thing to come to holdfasts since they were invented.

These are cost effective, but the continuing rod of steel keeps them indestructibly strong yet flexible. They are good, and do hold well. But take too long to set up. There seems to be a few blacksmiths that are making lovely examples now. Buy these if you desire the looks. A holdfast gives a single point of contact, Free Woodworking Plans For Outdoor Benches With so the work underneath will be able to pivot.

If you try to solve the pivot by hitting down harder, then you simply crush the wood. To reduce the pivot you might want to increase the friction by adding suede or similar to the bottom of the holdfast. Similar to why I avoid a tail vice. Note: You can see these work holding methods in action throughout our Premium Video Series. I general do my morticing about a foot or so back from the face vice, so I have a couple of holes around there that get used a lot.

It tends to be the thicker tops that cause a problem. The holdfast needs to be able to twist in the hole to grip, and a thick top restricts the movement. If you have difficulty, then you can increase the hole diameter slightly. Or, relieve the underside of the top around the hole, so the holdfast is less restricted. This will help it grip. You need strength in the material to resist the force pushing against it. Although you may just be better learning how to build a simple yet solid workbench top.

Holdfasts are wonderfully simple. My Traditional style holdfast features a heavier square corner and is more in keeoping with historical styles of holdfasts. For thicker benches I need to adjust the arm length for more holding power. I have found that the largest reason people have trouble with hold ois that they oil or wax their holdfasts, while this makes them The Best Woodworking Bench Quiz look good it also reduces their ability to hold. To order holdfasts you may sign up for the wait list or you can check the Etsy shop , if I have any available for immediate shipping they will be listed on there.

Skip to content Holdfasts are an age old way to secure work to your workbench. Worked like a charm as I have been using a Kreg adjustable clamp which couldn't do the job.

Damn Yankees this almost makes up for the Braves losses in the World Series '96 and '99 Drat can't hate a company that makes such wonderful tool--even have your dovetail saw- fabulous. I recently finished my roubo style bench out of 2 11x4 ash slabs. After drilling the holes for the blue, Taiwan holdfasts I got from amazon I found myself near tears. Having never used one before I wasn't sure what I'd do with 7 new holds in the top of my bench as these did not hold squat.

I found Gramercy holdfasts and one tap is all it took, faith restored. Not to forget how wonderful Sean and tools for woodworking are to deal with. These are the first holdfasts that I have tried, and they worked excellent.

I can't believe I never looked into these before! Ordered a pair of the holdfasts and am glad I did! They are impressive. I mentioned the shipping rate when placing the order, and the method of shipping was changed to power the shipping cost without missing a beat, really appreciate it, and will be ordering again in the future, thank you.

Based on my experience, I suspect he will regret that decision as a waste of his money for no gain. And if he increases the size of his bench holes, he won't be able to go back very easily. And with the larger diameter and often longer tails of most forged holdfasts, he'll be straining his back every time he has to pick one up.

If you're a hobby woodworker, save the money to get a better saw. If you're a pro, save the money for your bottom line. These work so well, there's no benefit to looking elsewhere. One wack with a rubber mallet and they "holdfast" I highly recommend a pair of these for your bench!

Have been using your Holdfasts for 4 years now. Always finding another use for them, power tool work or hand work. Best bargain in woodworking. I am newer to the old style hand tools. I saw a You Tube poster using these hold downs.

I just got them and they worked just as advertised. How in the world did I get by without them? The price is very right Thanks Gramercy. Great price, and solid!!! I cannot wait to use these when making bowls and other greenwood items. The shipping was fast!!!!!!!!!! I am impressed with these Gramercy holdfasts, wished I could have had them 50 years ago.

They are so much quicker than my old leaver screw type. My wife bought a pair of these for me last Christmas. I just got to putting holes for them into my bench we had a baby girl before it got warm enough to go back out to the shop! Gramercy holdfast pat.

These tools are so user friendly and tactile it makes you wonder why there is not a bigger demand in the DIY market for them Five stars from me. Tom Mainplane. Constantly reaching for the pair that I bought several months ago.

I have a 2" thick bench top and they work perfectly. On softer woods, I use an extra piece of wood to prevent marring. They hold tight and release quickly once you get the knack for the right amount of force to use.

Buy a Build A Simple Woodworking Bench Name pair now! My Gramercy Hold Fasts arrived so quickly, I've not had a chance to drill out the holes I'm adding to the elevated Moxon vise I'm building. The product is both simple and extremely well made. Any cast iron hold fast doesn't stand a chance up against the Gramercy products.

Cast iron cannot take the beating without cracking and forged hold fasts were beyond my budget. I'm pleased I found these beauties! Just received these holdfasts by Fed-Ex today.

The product arrived on time and is exactly as advertised. These things are beefy and breakage does not seem possible!

What a great American made product. Buy two Recently added two of Joel's holdfasts to my bench, because I wasn't pleased with the cast holdfasts I've used for a long time. The Gramercy holdfast is excellent, which is not a surprise.

The surprise is that, by a simple 'workaround', it also works beautifully in my Sjoberg bench, which has 1" holes. This short 'bushing' goes into the bench's hole, and then the holdfast is inserted.

Works great, and my bench is not damaged by an ill-fitted shaft. Thanks, Joel! Received my pair of Gramarcy holdfast's yesterday, just in time to put them to use on my new bench. Couldn't be better. Highly recommend these to everyone who wants a quality product that does the job perfectly. Deseo destacar que el producto es excelente y felicitaciones a todo el equipo de Holfast por fabricar tan buenas herramientas para el oficio de carpintero. I wish to emphasize that the product is excellent and congratulations to all the team for making Holdfast as good tools for a carpenter.

Happy to you and all the best!!! Having taken the last year building my workbench, I promised myself that upon completion my reward would be to purchase a set of these holdfasts. Well, the workbench is done and the order was placed on Cyber Monday!

The holdfasts arrived at my doorstep by the time I arrived home from work Wednesday and I took little time unboxing them. After one whack of the mallet I knew these were quality! They held the stock down securely and released it just as easily with a few firm taps to the side stem. However, even with the lightning fast delivery, product that worked perfectly, professional and personal A-1 Customer Service As your website shows their products are of excellent quality.

These holdfasts work perfectly. They are a traditional concept made from modern material. Some of the holdfasts on the market look great but are made of a brittle material cast iron?

They break. I doubt you could break one of these. I bought 1 and will buy another. I bought one of these holdfasts and only had to use it once to realize I needed a second one. No more messing with on the edge of my bench. One hit with a mallet and it's solid. A tap on the back and it's loose. Thanks to the team at Gramercy for this very well made, traditional gem. Just a note to say thanks for the quick service. I received my holdfasts in four days plus a nice note from Marisa.

Great service and nice touch too! Thanks Tom. After years of clamping projects to my bench, I finally pulled the trigger on two of these. What a revelation! Don't think twice about purchasing a set; you will love the quick, simple, and amazing holding power. I purchased two of these holdfasts about a month ago and I absolutely love them.

Prior to purchasing these I was clamping everything to my workbench which took an exorbitant amount of time, now it takes just a couple of seconds to clamp wood to the bench.

Great job Gramercy. Best holdown going. Since you have gone to this effort, would it be possible to simply extend the leg, machine flat the palm of the arm, and make a handscrew fitting similar to a standard pipe clamp?

Bought two of these holdfasts after my second cheap cast one broke. These are terrific. Ancient design but nothing in my shop holds like these. Recommended on the Chris Schwarz Xmas list. I had to modify my bench as Gramercy recommends in the video, if your bench top is thicker than three inches, you have to widen the hole the holdfast goes into from underneath up to the 3 inch depth. Will be back for more Gramercy tools when needed. Having searched for a classic hold-fast and going through at least one dramatic cast hold-fast failure , I was about to purchase a ductile iron model.

I then stumbled upon the Gramercy hold-fasts and in that process, discovered TFWW itself as a bargain. I ordered a pair, the price could not be resisted. These I use for the usual mortising functions, to hold dead-stops for planing and to hold down jig assemblies. Nothing exotic. At first, Best Woodworking Bench Ideas they came loose without much side pressure. Re-seating did not make much difference.

But then I read some of these comments and, indeed, the stems do need to be scuffed up a bit. I used a 60x sanding disk I had lying around, others said 80 grit, I suppose not enough difference. It did the trick! The work conventionally, tap-down to tighten, back-tap to release, fast and easy. A spare set of over-sized old holes at the back of the bench make for handy storage in my case.

As one refinement, I used Barge Cement contact cement to glue a pad of leather to the seating face to forestall marring. Seems to work just fine but time will tell. I recommend these highly, for performance, strength, looks and price, all in one package. Best damn Holdfast I've ever owned!! Depth, length, strength, etc.

They work, but the Gramercy Tools Holdfasts are faster. Can't beat the price, and they'll last several lifetimes. I bought 4. Got to make a mallet for whackin' 'em, now. I have designed and built my own very basic Roubo-style bench.

Money, time, skill and tools were all in short supply so I built the whole thing out of construction grade 2X6 studs using only 90 deg cuts and an old, dull D12 saw. I do not have the money right now to buy any kind of decent vise so I thought I'd use holdfasts on the side in addition to the top. The problem is that the holdfasts will not clamp down to the side no matter how hard or at what angle I strike them.

I've used them successfully in my sawbenches that are built out of 2X4s. One good whack with the mallet on top sets it tight, another whack on the side and a pull up frees it. Otherwise they're great and well worth the money. Any advice or information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I will be returning to buy in the future - Thanks - Bill.

Quicker than clamps or vises and they hold just as strong. Exceptionally well made. I've got a 4" bench top and 6" legs with dog holes. Clamps down well on both.

I'm not exaggerating when I say mine are among my favorite tools. I've had these Gramercy holdfasts for a couple of years now and just wanted to let you and others know how I love using them. So much faster and easier than other methods of clamping to the top of my workbench. Although I'm recommending users glue a piece of leather on the contact point to avoiding marring your wood. I haven't been able to find any other holdfasts of this quality any where near this price.

Definitely one of the best values in my wood shop! Just got my holdfasts and they perform exactly as advertised. My brother in-law was visiting NYC but couldn't make it in to the store so I had it delivered to his hotel.

The package arrived at the hotel the next morning and the cost was very reasonable. I can't believe I waited so long to buy these! They are hands down the best work holding device I have ever used. In terms of cost to usefulness there is no question that these are one of the highest value woodworking purchases you will encounter.

Many thanks to Joel and the gang for producing such a excellent and so well priced item. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. Just got a set and after some grit they hold great in my 3" thick bench. I think I have to relieve the back of the holes about 1" x 1" and then they will work great there too.

I've had these since they first came out, seems like 5 years now. They are great, form, function, and tremendous holding powers. Love them and all the Gramercy products I own. I have a pair of these for my 3 inch thick woodworking bench and they have awesome holding power after a few passes if 80 grit sandpaper.

They have been in my garage for almost a year and they are the only metal item in it that I haven't had to clean rust off of. The metal is high quality and they look cool too!

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