>So here I am with an almost completed Roubo bench. I still have to flatten the top (slight bow after all wood was clamped for glue up) and I will soon be drilling holes for the hold fasts. I have two from Gramercy tools and I am wondering what size holes people are using. I have tried two sizes in a test 2x4 and both the 3/4 and the 7/8 seem to work but the 7/8 seems pretty big and I can always enlarge the 3/4 if it is too small. If some one with experience can answer this I would be very grateful.
>What exact size are the holdfasts? Did you measure them? Right now, up here, if I drilled snug holes and left the holdfasts in, I would probably not be able to remove them in the summer. Tight holes in the summer is another thing. Some kind of deal if your wood is going to dry out due to it not being perfectly dry. If you don't accidently leave the HFs in the bench, you could always run a chucking reamer through the hole if they tighten up.
Not much more experience than you. I only got my Gramercy's a week or so ago, but I have been making fair use of them.
So far I have only drilled one hole: 3/4".
It works pretty well. My benchtop is around 3 1/4" thick - spruce. Most of the time the holdfast works fine. Some times it comes loose unexpectedly. I have wondered about using a somewhat smaller hole.
You might also want to consider a dedicated mallet. Mine is starting to show considerable wear - after only a short while of banging on these things.
Good luck.
Regards -
Dave
P.S. A couple of my childen are enjoying whacking the holdfast to set and release...thought the occasional problems with holding happen as frequently as when I set it as when one of the kids do.
>Good info, i will try some larger holes on scrap and see what happens. i will also rough up the shafts and see if that helps. i have used them a bit on my work mate (the bench not my wife :) and i am excited to try them on a real bench.
>Dave I bet the sandpaper will do the trick. I think the hand forged holdfasts have a naturally uneven surface that assists in the lock down.
Gramercys have a smoother surface due to the material used so start there. The dog(for want of a better name)holes you drill for the holdfasts will probably enlarge slightly in use due to the side loading of the holdfast.
On another note...the 21st approaches, should we post another announcement?JR
You may know what part of the country Patrick lives in and so been able to understand what his seasonal humidity issues are, but I always feel compelled to point out that seasonal expansion/shrinkage vary from place to place. Scott Burr and I (as well as other California rainy-region coastal folks, and probably everyone up and down the left coast) are now dealing with our sticky-door, expanding-wood season. Next August, when y'all in the summer thunderstorms/winter zero-humidity parts of the country are able to wring a glass of water out of your workbench tops, we'll be dealing with garden gates that won't latch because they shrank too much to engage the catch anymore and wood at 6% moisture levels.
>Fair point for sure. I hope any woodworker has some idea what his local humidity patterns are, which can be variable by domestic arrangement as well as regional pattern.
>I'll save you a bunch of trouble. Just send me the holdfasts (use clamps and stuff, you'll be fine), I'll even pay the postage!! Besides you don't want to ruin a nice benchtop with all those holes do you? :)
>Well, I live up in Montr�al where the humidity climbs close to 80% when it gets bad. So I guess now would be a good time to drill as the holes will only expand later in the summer, I will not be in any danger of having my holdfasts...held fast!
I have not drilled anything out yet as I am still chopping the mortises for the legs in the bench top. Soon though.
How did you use the file? Just to roughen up the base? Did you use a patterns or just at random?
I've used the 220 grit sandpaper that Joel suggested and switched to a heavier hard rubber deadblow mallet (from my wooden mallet), and appear to be having better success. The success (in my judgement) appears to be from setting the holdfast deeper as a result of a firmer blow from the heavier mallet.
I have just finished making my first octagonal shaped chisel handle (for a flea market find chisel) and used the hold fast to keep a batten in place while I worked the handle with a plane. In the past I would have held the wood between a bench dog and a dog in my tail vise. I really like the flexibility that this method of work provides. I was able to both switch the postion of the wood - virtually at will - as well as check on how close I was approaching the lines without having to release the vise each time. This made for a much more efficient (i.e. faster) process.
Any way, just in case it goes back to being more difficult to set, I was wondering how you used the file on the holdfast.