Yes! Gramercy Holdfasts:

Re: Yes! Gramercy Holdfasts:

Barryvabeach

>David glad you like them. I love mine and it works great even though did not sand it. Barry

Re: Yes! Gramercy Holdfasts:

Ian Smith (Sydney Australia)

>I took delivery of a pair of the Gramercy holdfasts yesterday. I tried them out in my bench last night and they work quite well. I didn't have to rough up the posts with sandpaper, I found that a whack with a hard rubber mallet lodged them in place more than adequately. My first impressions are that they are simple yet effective.

Regards,

Ian.

Yes! Gramercy Holdfasts - Weird Anomaly

Dave (Arlington, VA)

>I have two holes for holdfasts in my benchtop, and they were drilled by the same 3/4" bit. The holdfasts do fine in one, but come loose in the other. The hole that does not hold them was drilled just last week, so I'm thinking of scuffing them up to see if they do better. I hadn't needed the scuffing treatment on the first hole.

Go figure.

Dave

They are one of the best...

VTAndy4

>... new tools that I have found in my adventures in hand tool woodworking! Kudos to Joel.

-Andy

Re: Yes! Gramercy Holdfasts - Weird Anomaly

Joe Rogers, Northern Virginia

>Good to see you post Dave. I've been trying to justify drilling some holes in the bench top I got from Bally Block. May have to break down:-)JR

Re: Yes! Gramercy Holdfasts - Weird Anomaly

David Hammond, in Powder Springs GA

>I had a hole do that the other night Dave, but I haven't had any time to fool with it further... Like you say, that doesn't seem to make any sense, but maybe Adam or Dean, or somebody could help explain the physics behind a holdfasts - I mean, it seems simple, but I wonder if there's anything I'm missing...

David

Re: Yes! Gramercy Holdfasts - Weird Anomaly

ThomD

>I Just made my own, so I can't really coment on the commercial ones. As you know, what locks them in place is the upward force at the end of the arm levers the bar within the top. In the test I saw, the critical feature is that, given your hole size, bar friction and the thickness of your top, you will have different foot angles to bar angles that are more or less effective. What you want is for the rear of the foot to have sufficient clearance so that it doesn't bottom out when tapped down. Flat is good, but if it needs to go in flater than flat to achieve the required set, then you have a geometry problem.

So first thing you could check is whether your particular pair has the same foot angle one to the other, has the same foot angle in either hole (try both in each hole), do they seem to have the same spring tension when set, check it out for the range of worpiece sizes you have. Check to make sure the foot angle is right through all your tests.

A super smooth shaft isn't particularly needed, but if it's too rough it either doesn't release, or it wears your holes. Geometry and spring are the key factors. A thicker top than what the maker could reasonably expect may require a different foot angle or the underside of the hole relieved, though that will accelerate wear.

Re: Yes! Gramercy Holdfasts - Weird Anomaly

Dean J in MN

>Well, that is just what I was going to say!

I have a pair of blacksmith made holdfasts, with the expected slight differences in the foot angles. Each one acts just a bit different than the other. In addition, each hole in my bench is a little different. I bored each with the same auger, but the angle is just as close to 90 as I could muster.

In addition to ThomD's post above, I find the type of mallet/hammer I use makes a difference. Really! If the item I strike my holdfasts is "bouncy" my holdfasts are picky about setting. They like a non-rebounding blow, sort of a slow pressure rather than a shock. A shot filled dead-blow sets them really well. But, I can't stand the looks of a dead-blow so I use a shop made wood mallet. Also, there is no need to wail on these things. If you are having trouble, try a ligther tap rather than a huge smack.

You'll get to know your holdfasts, each has its own favorite spot to be hit to set and unset. Not unlike wood planes, each has a unique personality.

-Dean

Weird Anomaly is normal holdfast behavior

Bob Lang

>As the guy who smacked a bunch of different holdfasts into many, many holes in different thicknesses of wood for the "Woodworking" Magazine test, I'm convinced that there is more art and magic than science involved. Just when we thought we had things figured out, we would get an odd result that made our theories pretty much meaningless.

When some of them almost worked, or didn't quite work, a little change in where and how hard they were hit would make a difference. One of the things that kept the test from being white lab coat scientific is that as we progressed, we found ourselves learning how to make them work rather than learning what the reasons actually were.

Congrats to Joel for coming up with a reasonably priced design that works almost all the time. If the Gramercy holdfasts don't work it's likely that you're not holding your mouth right or not grunting appropriately when you swing.

Bob Lang

Don't take me wrong - I love my Grammercy holdfast

Dave (Arlington, VA)

>I very much appreciate all the comments, and would not want anyone to think I don't love my Grammercy holdfasts. In fact, if you don't have one run out and get one (or two) right now. But it just struck me as weird that you could have the same holdfast work in one hole and not in another....in the same bench.

I take what has been said about experiementing and I plan to. I am not giving up. They are way too helpful when I get them to work.

Dave

Re: Yes! Gramercy Holdfasts - Weird Anomaly

Dave (Arlington, VA)

>Thanks, Joe. Not getting much woodworking done lately. Very sad. I am trying to get down and knock out a mortise or two. Glad to hear you had a good time at PATINA. Sorry I missed it.

Dave

P.S.

Dave (Arlington, VA)

>I've also had a chance to knock out a few rabbets recently with that LN blade you helped me with for my Craftsman version of the 78. Very sweet. Yes...like everyone elses...the mouth does need to be cleaned out very regularly, but it worked like a charm. Was thinking of your help with that blade as I did the rabbet. Thanks again.

Dave

Re: Don't take me wrong - I love my Grammercy hold

Joel

>Dave,

Try going round and round the stems with some 150 or 180 sandpaper. It cleans off any grease from manufacter or wax and oil that may have drifted into the holes and seems to give it a little grip. What Bob L says is true but the scuffing really works.

Glad you like them!

joel