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Not sure if anyone else has tried the Legacy Woodworking Low Pro clamps, but I LOVE them.
I’ve got way too many other style clamps that have been chewed thru or worse yet have smacked my suckit acrylic shroud and ruined a carve.
These things aren’t cheap, in the $60 range, but they are strong as hell if you have t tracks, and unless my material dimensions are wrong there’s no way I would hit them with a bit or ever make contact with the dust boot.
Thought I’d pass this along, I plan to buy another set and toss all my other clamps…
Two clamps at the top and my square against the bottom edge was enough to hold this stock down strongly enough that I moved the torsion box trying to make it budge…
I like your clamping method more than mine. I use a festool domino to create mortises on the sides of my workpiece and shove a modified version of the inventables wooden clamps into the mortise to apply both downward and side pressure. I like that your method is faster and more convenient than mine. However, it means I really need to switch my spoilboard to a t-track system like yours.
as long as the groove for the t-track is the same size as the track, the body of the clamp would rest on the surface of the MDF and you would just need longer bolts to reach the t-slot nut.
I ordered a set of these about a week ago. I got a reply that “we’ll let you know when they’re available”. So, I guess that they may be collecting orders for a large build.
I was tempted to design my own using my 3D printer. But, I decided to buy rather than spend a lot of time designing and testing. I did order T-track from e-bay. These people sell a 24" T-track pack, but, I wanted to go with 36" for my X-carve.
I think these clamps have a great deal of potential although I’m not sure how they would work with thinner material. I asked, but they never replied.
Same, I filled out the form online and got a call within a day with the total, and the clamps about 4 days later. Make sure you subscribe to their YouTube channel to get the $10 discount
I use printing quoins, if you can find any die cutting companies close by or printing companies that still operate letterpress equipment they may sell you them. They are very quick to lock up and are only 5/8" thick.
Thanks to Stacy and Darryl for the suggestion. I DID call them and they’re now on the way! I was told that they are “just getting their online store up”. So, if you want to buy these clamps, I would suggest that for the time being you call instead of filling out the online form.
In response to Allan’s question about his track being recessed .75 inch, I had the same question. In an online video, these people show making an MDF wasteboard. They took a large piece and “milled” slots for the T-track. It was noted that the tracks should be “just below the surface”. This didn’t make sense to me as, in general, you would want to “surface” the top now and then. The tracks are 0.5 inches high. The MDF board I’m currently using (without any tracks) is .625 (5/8). So, when I redo my wasteboard to add the tracks, I will go with a thicker MDF, giving up a little more “Z” height. The tracks will be screwed to the X-Carve wasteboard with strips of the .75 (3/4) MDF between so I’ll end up with about .25 (1/4) clearance for surfacing. Worst comes to worst, I’ll double up on the MDF and invest in those Z Axis elevator plates I now see for sale.
No, I did not ask. I will say that they are pretty well made. Have not used yet because I’m still redoing my "wasteboard as I described. Going with a sandwich of 3/4 MDF on top of 1/4 ply. Attached photo shows what it looks like. Still need to screw down the t-track and level the surface. Has taken longer to do than it should due to other interruptions. I think there’s a good chance that one pair of the clamps will do for my purposes. If not, I’ll buy a second set.
Two of the biggest and unforeseen (at least by me) CNC concerns are the vacuum and the clamps. SuckIt has solved the vacuum problem and hopefully these clamps the second. For newbies, and I’m still one, I’d go with wooden or plastic clamps until one gets better with the carving s/w. I’ve chewed up other clamps by making various mistakes like not setting the xyz datums correctly and by having the clamps too close to the carve area.
I’ve moved up to Vectric Aspire and one of its nice features is that you can output a “job sheet” that shows the material, the datums, the tools used, and tool properties. A quick scan of this sheet can show potential problems.
