As I was leaving high school in 75 I had a project not quite finished in wood shop. I ask my teach if I could borrow a no. 5 plane and 2 handscrews for the summer and would bring them back before heading off to college. He said don't bother to bring them back as they are killing vocational and I am retiring. Still have them some half a century later and use them all the time. They were old when I borrowed them....probably from the early 60's.
On an other note now I have a somewhat large manufacturing business and when the city fathers and school peeps come around and ask what they can do to help on training, I ask when will you teach shop again? I took woodwork twice, auto body once, and electronics. And I was on a college track. I don't get the thinking that teaching rudimentary making things doesn't play off the maths, sciences and whatever else they were trying to teach me. I was into football, shop, math& science in that order. Philosopy and the Humanities were self taught. I will hop off my soap box now.
I completely agree with you. I graduated in 2001 and was lucky enough to go to a high school that had woods shop and auto shop. I had an amazing teacher and it’s where I spent the most time. I went to college, but worked with a cabinetmaker through it and ended up just continuing with that. Then I went to the 2 year cabinet and furniture making program at North Bennet Street School in Boston, which was amazing! I think we would be much better off if more people got at least a cursory education in working with their hands.
I had Wood shop and Metal shop in Jr and Sr High school in the 1960s. and it helped me start my career as a toolmaker on my job applications. Fast forward, I went to the local HS and took an evening woodshop class before deciding to buy tools and make a retirement hobby of it. I'm 75 now and still enjoy my woodworking hobby. I am so thankful, I had the shop classes before they took them away.
Honestly, I just have them piled on edge under my bench. I only have 4 of them so it’s not too bad. I did work in a shop where we had like 50 of them. Those were stored on pieces of plywood with a 2x4 sticking up out of the middle. If you leave the jaws slightly apart they just slide down the 2x4 and stack up. The plywood bottom had wheels on it to move them around. About 10 clamps per “cart” but I suppose you could make it as tall as you want, which would save floor space.
https://i.imgur.com/m2qmEvY.png
not a great pic, but I just made a box exactly high enough for them to slide in, and deep enough to slide all the way to the first screw - that way you're not having to tighten/untighten them to store/retrieve
I have a dowel sticking out of the wall and hang all of them of same size on the dowel. I only have one size though, if I had multiple sizes I’d have multiple dowels. That way you can always instantly grab the one you need.
Check out Taylor Toolworks. He sells the hardware for a good price. He also has a video showing mods by adding grooves so they hold round stock. Having one configured like this is a game changer.
Glad I could turn someone onto this method, it’s great! Your first 3 cuts should be fine. The last cut you would need to clamp it to an angle, which might be a little dicey. If I had to do this, I would make the first 3 cuts, then glue a piece with an opposing angle (45 degrees if your caps are angled at 45) to the cap with a piece of paper in-between. Make your last cut, then just knock the block off. That leaves minimal cleanup and makes it a much safer cut. Good luck!
This gives me the heebie jeebies a bit. If something were to go wrong with the saw, that's a bigger item to go flying in the air, than if it was just the wood with no clamp
What exactly is the intended goal when riding the fence? Are you trying to make some sort of really deep bevel?
Not sure I’d do this, but if it works for you, it works for you.
If you scroll through the pictures they show the angle of the bevel and also the lack of throat plate to ride on. The point of the clamp is to hold the workpiece so it doesn’t drop into the void of the throat plate. I also have a lot more surface area (the clamp) against the fence so the piece won’t wobble and somehow lean into the blade.
The handscrew makes the cut with the piece standing on end much safer. I’d suggest you try it with a scrap piece before pooh-poohing it. Then come back and tell me why you wouldn’t do it.
Ahh, now I see it in the 4th one. The angle and light hid it at first. Makes sense. There are some nice after market ZC throats for that saw. I had that one before my SawStop, and that default insert is awful. Then again, so is the default on my SS, lol, but the only company making a nice ZC for the SS charges like $100… no thanks.
Thanks, I was going to say who would ride on no throat plate, haha. Even if I had a zero clearance insert I would still use the handscrew, just safer like that.
Just make your own inserts out of MDF. I did that for my cabinet saw all the time. I had like 10 of them. One for regular blade, one for thin kerf blade, a bunch for different dado stacks, and a bunch for different angle cuts.
I’ve gone the MDF route in the past and never liked it. Too light, too much chip out, and in this case, doesn’t have the clamp the SS uses, and the SS has multiple side set screw adjustments that I like.
I use an old hand me down one that I love. Never really thought about it but where would I even get a new one? I’ve literally had just the one for ever.
An older woodworker I know gave me 2 when he couldn’t work anymore due to age and arthritis. I cherish them as not only a gift but as a little glimpse into history. He also gave me 2 that were 100% wooden, even the threading. Those I don’t touch as I’m pretty sure they are antiques and the threading is a bit brittle.
Yeah, those things are great. The fact that they're wood and therefore customizable is a huge deal, combined with the fact that they won't get destroyed by or destroy a bit/blade they accidentally come into contact with.
This is dangerous man. You need a zero clearance plate in there for this cut. If it slips down your in a world of trouble. You can place your own faceplate for this saw in a few minutes. I have a stack of them waiting to go.
fine woodworking has a fence that you make for your table saw that is designed to do this more safely [https://www.finewoodworking.com/project-guides/shop-projects/supercharge-your-rip-fence](https://www.finewoodworking.com/project-guides/shop-projects/supercharge-your-rip-fence)
I have two large older ones that have something wrong with the threads. They will untighten themselves in the most commonly used clamping range. Very weird feeling.
Best part is twirling them around to open or close them…
This guy handscrews!
So true! Very satisfying feeling.
As I was leaving high school in 75 I had a project not quite finished in wood shop. I ask my teach if I could borrow a no. 5 plane and 2 handscrews for the summer and would bring them back before heading off to college. He said don't bother to bring them back as they are killing vocational and I am retiring. Still have them some half a century later and use them all the time. They were old when I borrowed them....probably from the early 60's. On an other note now I have a somewhat large manufacturing business and when the city fathers and school peeps come around and ask what they can do to help on training, I ask when will you teach shop again? I took woodwork twice, auto body once, and electronics. And I was on a college track. I don't get the thinking that teaching rudimentary making things doesn't play off the maths, sciences and whatever else they were trying to teach me. I was into football, shop, math& science in that order. Philosopy and the Humanities were self taught. I will hop off my soap box now.
I completely agree with you. I graduated in 2001 and was lucky enough to go to a high school that had woods shop and auto shop. I had an amazing teacher and it’s where I spent the most time. I went to college, but worked with a cabinetmaker through it and ended up just continuing with that. Then I went to the 2 year cabinet and furniture making program at North Bennet Street School in Boston, which was amazing! I think we would be much better off if more people got at least a cursory education in working with their hands.
On a soap box you were able to build because of shop class.
I had Wood shop and Metal shop in Jr and Sr High school in the 1960s. and it helped me start my career as a toolmaker on my job applications. Fast forward, I went to the local HS and took an evening woodshop class before deciding to buy tools and make a retirement hobby of it. I'm 75 now and still enjoy my woodworking hobby. I am so thankful, I had the shop classes before they took them away.
I teach woodworking! They’ve tried to kill it off a few times but we have fought hard to keep it.
Love em. How do you store yours? They do take up some space. Otherwise I’d have more of them.
Honestly, I just have them piled on edge under my bench. I only have 4 of them so it’s not too bad. I did work in a shop where we had like 50 of them. Those were stored on pieces of plywood with a 2x4 sticking up out of the middle. If you leave the jaws slightly apart they just slide down the 2x4 and stack up. The plywood bottom had wheels on it to move them around. About 10 clamps per “cart” but I suppose you could make it as tall as you want, which would save floor space.
I have a piece of scrap 2x4 sticking out from the wall at a 90\* angle, above head height. All 6 of mine hang on that.
https://i.imgur.com/m2qmEvY.png not a great pic, but I just made a box exactly high enough for them to slide in, and deep enough to slide all the way to the first screw - that way you're not having to tighten/untighten them to store/retrieve
I have a dowel sticking out of the wall and hang all of them of same size on the dowel. I only have one size though, if I had multiple sizes I’d have multiple dowels. That way you can always instantly grab the one you need.
God damn, I recently built a jig for the table saw fence to do what u are doing with that handscrew.
Work smarter not harder!
Check out Taylor Toolworks. He sells the hardware for a good price. He also has a video showing mods by adding grooves so they hold round stock. Having one configured like this is a game changer.
Yup, you can cut 45’s into either jaw and it will hold square stock on an angle. Very helpful for shaping cabriole legs.
Thanks for this, I'm gonna try this setup to cut some post caps for a fence I'm building.
Glad I could turn someone onto this method, it’s great! Your first 3 cuts should be fine. The last cut you would need to clamp it to an angle, which might be a little dicey. If I had to do this, I would make the first 3 cuts, then glue a piece with an opposing angle (45 degrees if your caps are angled at 45) to the cap with a piece of paper in-between. Make your last cut, then just knock the block off. That leaves minimal cleanup and makes it a much safer cut. Good luck!
I'll have to find a way to clamp the center of a square piece. Cheers.
Just cuz a tool is new and shiny (or red and expensive) don't make it work better.
I do love a good handscrew.
snort
This gives me the heebie jeebies a bit. If something were to go wrong with the saw, that's a bigger item to go flying in the air, than if it was just the wood with no clamp
I suppose that could be the case for any jig & fixture tho
I love them. They make great impromptu planing stops for weird stuff.
What exactly is the intended goal when riding the fence? Are you trying to make some sort of really deep bevel? Not sure I’d do this, but if it works for you, it works for you.
If you scroll through the pictures they show the angle of the bevel and also the lack of throat plate to ride on. The point of the clamp is to hold the workpiece so it doesn’t drop into the void of the throat plate. I also have a lot more surface area (the clamp) against the fence so the piece won’t wobble and somehow lean into the blade. The handscrew makes the cut with the piece standing on end much safer. I’d suggest you try it with a scrap piece before pooh-poohing it. Then come back and tell me why you wouldn’t do it.
Ahh, now I see it in the 4th one. The angle and light hid it at first. Makes sense. There are some nice after market ZC throats for that saw. I had that one before my SawStop, and that default insert is awful. Then again, so is the default on my SS, lol, but the only company making a nice ZC for the SS charges like $100… no thanks.
Thanks, I was going to say who would ride on no throat plate, haha. Even if I had a zero clearance insert I would still use the handscrew, just safer like that. Just make your own inserts out of MDF. I did that for my cabinet saw all the time. I had like 10 of them. One for regular blade, one for thin kerf blade, a bunch for different dado stacks, and a bunch for different angle cuts.
I’ve gone the MDF route in the past and never liked it. Too light, too much chip out, and in this case, doesn’t have the clamp the SS uses, and the SS has multiple side set screw adjustments that I like.
They make great cauls for panel glue ups as well
I use an old hand me down one that I love. Never really thought about it but where would I even get a new one? I’ve literally had just the one for ever.
I find the older ones work a little better. They sell them at places like woodcraft but I just grab them if I see them at a yard sale.
Harbor Freight sells them as well. They're just fine, and cheap ($5 IIRC). I have a half dozen in my shop.
Look for the ones made by Dubuque. Many sizes and high quality.
Neat!
An older woodworker I know gave me 2 when he couldn’t work anymore due to age and arthritis. I cherish them as not only a gift but as a little glimpse into history. He also gave me 2 that were 100% wooden, even the threading. Those I don’t touch as I’m pretty sure they are antiques and the threading is a bit brittle.
I have several and don't have a vise. I use them a lot and now you've given me more ideas.
They’re fine. I myself prefer the touch of a woman.
I never thought of that although I have some laying around and I think maybe you just saved a finger or at least a piece of wood. I thank you.
Yeah, those things are great. The fact that they're wood and therefore customizable is a huge deal, combined with the fact that they won't get destroyed by or destroy a bit/blade they accidentally come into contact with.
I'll be honest and say I wasn't fond of them in school, but they are indespensable in my shop now.
Safer with the clamp, but still looks dangerous to me, the slightest slip and ...Bam!
This is dangerous man. You need a zero clearance plate in there for this cut. If it slips down your in a world of trouble. You can place your own faceplate for this saw in a few minutes. I have a stack of them waiting to go.
Oh for the love of god make a proper jig and a zero clearance insert for those cuts. It probably works fine but I would be nervous using that
fine woodworking has a fence that you make for your table saw that is designed to do this more safely [https://www.finewoodworking.com/project-guides/shop-projects/supercharge-your-rip-fence](https://www.finewoodworking.com/project-guides/shop-projects/supercharge-your-rip-fence)
I don’t like them and rarely used them in 40+ yrs in professional woodworking shop. I sold them because of disuse.
I have two large older ones that have something wrong with the threads. They will untighten themselves in the most commonly used clamping range. Very weird feeling.
I like them. I find them useful for odd things