Cheap Surface Clamp

wow grate idea

i did this with a griping type clamp.

if you make the ends round they will not dig into wood. take 3/4 in dowel and cut notch in it to fit clamp shaft

-- I get out in the shop when I can

I just recently saw this idea in a book I was reading and planning on implementing it soon. A great idea.

CtL

-- Chris L. "Don't Dream it, Be it."

very nice idea…great way to save some money and I’m into that!!

-- Todd, Oak Ridge, TN, Hello my name is Todd and I'm a Toolholic, I bought my last tool 10 days, no 4 days, oh heck I bought a tool on the way here! †

Nice idea, I’m all about saving a few bucks this way. I just can’t help thinking that there’s got to be a way to use the “head” with a threaded rod and wing nut, or something, to make yet another clamp/hold-down.

-- Respect your shop tools and they will respect you - Ric

Why wouldn’t you just drill out the rivet instead of cutting the bar ? How much money have you saved if you now have to go out and buy another clamp in the future ? It will probably cost you more than the $8 to replace the one you sawed through . Thanks for the other link on how to do it properly .

-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.

great idea. Thanks for posting it. I think one could probably use the top part with a slotted dowel or two halves to function like a hold down. You wouldn’t have to put the toggle on or fiddle with it to get it unhooked ;-))

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence

Great idea… I like anything that is frugal…. thanks for the post…

Steve

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †

I did drill out the rivet on the bessey clamp and spend a while prying on it.The bar is also welded on this clamp so no go on following the original directions, the original instructions use another brand clamp.

-- eric post, tallahassee FL

Ok , I wonder if you could grind off or drill out the lower rivet , slide the clamp off , and then slide the bar up through your bench hole , leaving the clamp head intact and then slide the clampworks back onto the bar . Maybe this is too difficult an operation or would take too much time . I don’t have a “real” bench yet , so I’m just offering an idea to save a Bessey from extinction. LOL

-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.

I cut the top stopper off. The top slides off and all you have to do is line up the holes.

-- Dan -- Always work like a gentleman.

wish I had that luck,dustys idea is good though.But I use mine just for the bench more and more everyday.Just think if you bought one from the catalog,it would also be a dedicated bench clamp and a lot more expensive.Thats the great thing about design, you can modify it to suit your needs.thanks

-- eric post, tallahassee FL

nice! this probably is a lot more sturdy than the one i made with a broken HF quick clamp.

Nice! my neighbor has an identical rig on his bench. Thought about doing it for my bench too. Glad that worked out for you! (And yeah I don’t have any money either! haha)

fantastic idea, thanks.

-- I played with Legos as a kid and I never had the part I thought I needed, so I learned to improvise. Now I'm an engineer with a woodworking hobby.