Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
You stated that you have one Veritas Hold Down, but in you last photo I count three. Another one of your photos was also confusing, until I blew it up and studied Lee-Valleys "RELATED PRODUCTS" on the hold down page and figured out that (in addition to various bench pups) you had at least Veritas Surface Clamp stowed in the back side of your board jack. You can never have too many clamps.

I have tried gluing wooden and leather pads to the tongues of my Gramercy holdfasts, but eventually they peel off when I hit the back of the holdfast with a mallet to release it. It looks like the Veritas products would not have that problem. Can you verify?

William, eagle eyes for the Surface Clamp!

The story again. I will say it s-l-o-w-l-y : I had a single Veritas clamp, and this lived in a dog hole. I was looking to get another, and then lucked into two, which were sold together. That is how I ended with three.

My Moxon is held down by a Gramercy hold down at each end. Since making the new one, the position of the dog holes is about 1” further back than optimum. The vise can be seen rocking slightly in the videos I made. A Veritas hold down can now replace these as they are longer.

The Surface Clamp rarely gets any use. I bought it to use in the sliding jack, but find it fiddly. One day I will master it as it is otherwise the ideal clamp for this purpose. It is not much use on a bench as it does not have any reach. It live on the inside of the jack as it projects quite far, and I kept bumping into it if placed on the outside.

All my hold downs have leather pads attached (with 3M contact glue). I last replaced them about three years ago.

Regards from Perth

Derek