Woodworking Holdfast Review

The holdfast needs to be able to twist in the hole to grip and a thick top restricts the movement. When hand mortising the edge of a board for example the holdfasts tend to work loose as the piece is manipulated. Using two holdfasts helps with this but keep your mallet handy for a quick cinch down.

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Mass produced holdfasts we tested front to back.

Woodworking holdfast review. I see me getting one someday. Jorgensen 1708 veritas woodcraft jorgensen 1716. This article was weighing the difference between mass produced and hand forged. Holdfasts that really work holdfasts are something of an obsession of mine.

We reviewed this version of the gramercy holdfast in print in the december 2005 issue of popular woodworking magazine. We have discovered that while the holdfasts work great they will work even better and in more benches if you just rub a little 150 or 220 sandpaper around the stems. This article was originally published in issue 4 of woodworking magazine which was published in the fall of 2005. If you aren t already using holdfasts i can t recommend them highly enough.

The holdfast is tough and at 17 30 for a pair it s a great value. Phil koontz and don weber were mentioned several times as blacksmiths who produced outstanding holdfasts. The holdfast was sufficiently important to rate almost half a page in moxon s mechanicks exercises 1678 the first book on woodworking in english. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users.

If you have difficulty then you can increase the hole diameter slightly. Maximum clamping 7 1 4 in a 2 thick benchtop. However if you have storage cabinets below your benchtop you may have to cut the shaft to fit not recommended by the manufacturer or remove the cabinets. I read a woodworking magazine article from one of their first issues about holdfasts and how they work.

And veritas is a very fine quality tool maker as well mike. Here is what then editor christopher schwarz had to say. John i have had my eyes on the veritas ones for awhile. But by the middle of the 19th century as regular vices of all sorts of designs became more popular the holdfast disappeared from view.

Pop woodworking ala schwarz just did an article on holdfasts and he noted that while traditional holdfasts are quicker to use no other is as predictable as the veritas. The holdfast is designed for 3 4 hole in a workbench top of a 1 3 4 thick or thicker. I was particularly drawn to the koontz model but. Hey it s still faster than f clamps.

Or relieve the underside of the top around the hole so the holdfast is less restricted.