Clamp Questions

[Steve F]

I am trying to plan my TS purchase, but am still a but confused about the clamps.

I have seen a lot of information about the standard clamps and the quick clamps, but not much about the Rapid Clamp.  I am not getting the MFT, and wonder .  whether there is any reason to consider the Rapid Clamps instead of the standard ones.  Also, I have seen so much praise of the quick clamps. I also wonder whether there strong sentiment that it's worth going for the quick clamos.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I have used the rapid clamps a few times.

I rarely need any clamps when I use my saw and rail.

I do have a pair of the screw ones and a pair of the quick clamps.

A man can never have too many clamps. [big grin]

 

[Brice Burrell]

Steve, the screw type clamps are a good value but I like the quick clamps the best. I have the rapid clamp and it's not something I use everyday, But in certain applications (when you can't use a regular clamp) it's great. DeWalt's quick clamps will also fit Festool's rail so that's another option.

I don't know if you heard or not, but rumor has it Festool will be offering a 10% discount on their plunge cut saws and some of the accessories in April. 

 

[peter halle]

Steve,

I am going to echo the sentiments of Brice regarding clamps and throw in one other thought.  I don't have the rapid clamps, but before I switched over to Festool, I had 2 rails that I used to guide my circular saw.  The clamping system for the rails clamped on the edge like the rapid clamps do.  I don't know about the festool rapid clamps, but I couldn't clamp the rail if I was making an angled cut across the material.  If the festool rapid clamps are the same way, you would still need two sets of clamps.

Peter

 

[Corwin]

The Rapid Clamps are probably not discussed much here because they are not used nearly as much.  I've had mine for about four years and have never needed them -- I tried them once or twice but never had the situation where I couldn't use the screw or quick clamps.  Choosing between the screw and quick clamps is more of a personal preference thing.  I really prefer the screw type over the quick clamps, as it seems to me that you have better control over how tight you are clamping them.  Since you are not getting the MFT (yet) you really would only require two clamps.  I recommend getting a pair of the screw clamps.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I have been cutting doors off in place using my rapid clamps.
They paid for themselves the first time I clamped them to
a door.  They work great for trimming cabinets as well.

 

[JohnDistai]

I thought the rapid clamps were for clamping the rail to something where you could not get a clamp leg under.  For example, lets say you have a 16" deep box that is already assembled, and you want to make the box 12" deep.  Since the sides of the box impede any of the other clamps, you would use the rapid clamp to hold the rail in place, using the sides of the box as the clamping surface.  At least that's what I think these are for.  I could be completely wrong, and I'm sure that someone will correct me if I am.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Thats how I use them.  I was talking about not even taking a door off it's hinges to cut it off.

You really can't use the normal clamps on a door like that.

 

[Steve F]

Thanks for the feedback.  Thanks Brice, I had heard of the impending sale.

I have never owed anything Festool before, so I'm really excited.  I do some very basic woodworking for fun, but, since a table saw was not an option, was getting really frustrated by my inability to make cuts that were straight and square just with a circular saw.  I was also planning on getting the new QWAS square, although I wish there was something that did "shorten" the track so much.

Thanks again,

Steve

 

[harry_]

I have been cutting doors off in place using my rapid clamps.
They paid for themselves the first time I clamped them to
a door.  They work great for trimming cabinets as well.

how do you cut a door "in place"? Dont things like casings get in the way of the rail or am I missing something?

 

[Forrest Anderson]

I have been cutting doors off in place using my rapid clamps.  They paid for themselves the first time I clamped them to a door.  They work great for trimming cabinets as well.

how do you cut a door "in place"? Dont things like casings get in the way of the rail or am I missing something?

Since the Quick Action FS-RAPID/1 clamps...

...grip the edges of a flat board, they can be used on a door as shown in the following still taken from a video showing the DeWalt plunge saw in action:

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Note that the door has to be open, so that there is room for the "fixed" part of the clamp on the hinge side of the door.

If I had these clamps I'd take some photos of them being used to clamp a rail to a door - is there another member who could oblige?

Forrest

 

[jonny round boy]

Steve, the screw type clamps are a good value but I like the quick clamps the best.

This doesn't happen often, but I'm going to disagree with Brice [eek]

I have both, and I find that I much prefer the screw clamps. This question comes up quite regularly, and here's what I posted on a previous occasion:

I prefer the screw clamps to the quick-action ones, for various reasons:

1. I've heard the quick-action clamps described as 'one-handed' clamps, which sounds good but in reality I don't find them to be any easier to operate one-handed than the screw clamps.

2. Movement - when the quick clamps are closed, there is some slight lateral movement in the pad. Not always a problem, but if you're clamping a glue-up it can sometimes cause the work to move slightly. You don't get this with the screw clamps.

3. Controllability - I find it very easy to judge the clamping pressure with screw clamps - not so with the quick clamps.

4. Price - Current list price on the screw clamps (489570) is GBP23.05 ex VAT per pair, versus the quick-clamps (491594) at GBP32.15 each. This makes each screw clamp around 64% cheaper than the quick clamp!

I've seen the rapid clamps in store, but never bought or used them so I can't comment on those!

 

[Alex2]

I still don't get it how the rapid clamps works....

maybe I'm still sleeping..

Alex

 

[Qwas]

The rapid clamp works like the clamping elements, only it's for the rail. Like others, I've had mine for years but it's only been used once. Just not a lot of need for it.

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[Forrest Anderson]

I still don't get it how the rapid clamps works....

No problem.

Are you familiar with the ProGrip type of straight-edge clamp?

If not, have a look at the first 1 min 12 secs of the ProClamp video to see how they work:



The ProGrip (and others like it) has three main parts:

A rail, which is longer than the board you are attaching it to
A movable jaw at the far end, which slides up and down the rail, hooks over the far edge of the board, and then locks in place
A lever-operated clamping jaw at the near end. When the lever is moved, the clamping jaw exerts pressure on the near edge of the board and holds the rail in place.

With the above type of clamp, all three components - rail, movable jaw, and lever-operated clamping jaw, are in one unit and not usually disassembled.

The Festool clamp works on a similar principle, but comes in three separate pieces:

The guiderail forms the "backbone" of the clamp. Since it is assumed that you have a guiderail already, it's not part of the clamp kit.
The movable jaw fits into the slot in the underside of the rail, and just like the ProGrip clamp, it slides up and down the rail until locked in place at the far side of the board with the Bristol lever.
The clamping jaw also fits into the slot in the underside of the rail, but instead of having a lever, it has a "trigger" operation like a one-handed F clamp.

Once the rail assembly is snugged up to the board, the Bristol lever is tightened. The trigger on the clamping jaw is then pulled, and the guiderail will now be tightly secured onto the board, just like the ProGrip.

For a door, just imagine the horizontal board being vertical!

Does that help?

Forrest

 

[ccmviking]

    In my opinion the screw clamps are much better than the quick clamps.  The FS/Rapid clamp serves a different purpose than those all together.  I can see where a lot of folks might not have a need for the FS/Rapid.  I use if for oven cutouts, etc. in cabinets.  I look at it as basically to clamp my rail to a box, something you can't do with the other clamps.  Ok now back to the quick and screw.  The biggest problem with the quick clamps is that they pretty much require 2 hands to use and are somewhat fumbly to use.  I have about 6 of them and use them, but the screw clamps are so much easier (go figure huh).  The screw clamps can be used with one hand especially if you put a rubber band or paper clip on the shaft of the screw to keep it in place. 

Chris... 

I am trying to plan my TS purchase, but am still a but confused about the clamps.

I have seen a lot of information about the standard clamps and the quick clamps, but not much about the Rapid Clamp.  I am not getting the MFT, and wonder .  whether there is any reason to consider the Rapid Clamps instead of the standard ones.   Also, I have seen so much praise of the quick clamps. I also wonder whether there strong sentiment that it's worth going for the quick clamos.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[JohnDistai]

So in theory, if I wanted to rout something like a dado across a board, I could apply a Rapid clamp to a rail and board, and then attach my router parallel guides to the rail and rout at an angle perpendicular to the edge of the board.  Do I have this correct?

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Yes.

 

[RONWEN]

So in theory, if I wanted to rout something like a dado across a board, I could apply a Rapid clamp to a rail and board, and then attach my router parallel guides to the rail and rout at an angle perpendicular to the edge of the board.  Do I have this correct?

That is provided you use a square to attach the clamp perpendicular to the edge -- I believe the clamp will also attach at angles.

 

[JohnDistai]

I used the term "perpendicular" just to give a better illustration of what I was describing.  I realized I would need to square the rail to the edge.  Thanks though!