Clamp rack on side of MFT

[Dan Clermont]

I think I may have to pay a visit to Carey's shop.

Seems like he's got lots of good ideas.

I'll be stealing that clamp idea Carey!

Dan C

 

[TahoeTwoBears]

Cary,

Now that I've had a great night's sleep, the real questions begin. I'd like to steal your idea, but I need to adapt it in a manner so that I can fit it (hopefully) into a systainer. My table goes up and down all the time. Can you tell me what the spacing , the depth, and the width is on your clamp slots? Any chance I could ask you to measure the overall length of one of your 300mm clamps? Thus far (I'm a real newbie), I've got 2 of the rapid clamps, 4 of the Jorgenson hold downs, and one set of the clamping elements. I can see that my little set is going to continue expanding.

Thanks again for posting. I really, really appreciate it.

Mike

 

[Corwin]

Hey Mike, I'm not Cary, but those FSZ 300 clamps measure as follows:

  Overall length of L shaped bar................... 346 mm
  Overall length with handle hanging down....  460 mm

And that is one nice clamp rack!

 

[Cary Swoveland]

Now that I've had a great night's sleep, the real questions begin.

How can you sleep, Mike?  You still haven't found the original posting...

...Can you tell me what the spacing , the depth, and the width is on your clamp slots? Any chance I could ask you to measure the overall length of one of your 300mm clamps?...

I made mine with 15 slots; i.e., to accomodate 15 clamps.  I made it from 1/2" Baltic Birch ply.  The magnetic bar is 24" long and approximately 1"x1" in cross-section.  The back is 5-3/4"x24"x1/2".  Attached to the back, flush at the bottom, is a piece 3"x1"x24", the 1" dimension being approximate.  I laminated two pieces of 1/2" BB and then ripped a little off to make it the same depth as that of the magnetic strip.  This piece supports the magnetic bar; the latter is attached to the former with a couple of screws.  The blocks on the front (except for the two end pieces) are about 1-5/16" wide; height is 3" plus the height of the magnetic bar.  I attached these block to the piece that supports the magnetic bar using glue and brads.

I used one of the hold-down clamps to obtain the spacing between the blocks.  It's about 6.7mm, which is a shade over 1/4".  The needed spacing for both types of hold-down clamps is about same.  Less spacing is needed for the clamping elements, but I used 6.7mm spacing for them as well.

Cary 

 

[TahoeTwoBears]

Cary,

I did find the original post after you wrote back. Thanks for that. And thank you for taking all the time to tell me about the clamp rack and the dimensions. I truly appreciate it. I'm in the middle of a bathroom remodel right now, so it'll be some time before I get to play with this new idea, but if and when it comes to fruition, I'll be sure to post back with pics. Thanks again.

Corwin,

Thanks for the clamp size. It looks like I might be able to fit what I'm trying to envision into a Sys 5.

 

[Cary Swoveland]

You're welcome, Mike.  I didn't mention the construction of the carousel in the lower right corner, used for holding the clamping element stops, because its dimensions are flexible.  Moreover, you might choose to store those stops differently, especially if you want to put everything in a systaner.

I look forward to seeing what you end up building.

Cary

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Cary's excellent idea lead me to think of adding a magnetic strip clamp rack to one of my existing pair of tool boxs that mount to the side rail of an MFT.  I got the basic idea from another post here on FOG and made a pair of different depths from scrap 1/2" ply, each about 6"W X 24" L.  I currently keep a tape measure, Toolie Tool, try smeasuring, a few Festool L-clamps and clamping elements in them, but modification to add Cary's idea would enable more clamps and free up space within the box.

One thing I learned from making two of these side boxes is to keep the fasteners that secure them to the MFT rails near the corners of the boxes.  On one of mine, the fastener holes are about 2 1/2" inches from the ends of the box, and on the other (first one I made), about 6".  Moving the fasteners away from the corners enables the side of the box to twist when loaded.  Keeping the fasteners near the corners makes them much more resistant to deflection when loaded.

Dave R.

 

[Cary Swoveland]

If you like the idea of using a magnetic bar for storing clamps, here's another application:

[attachthumb=1]  [attachthumb=2]

Both the clamps and the wood blocks that support them are held in place by the magnetic bar.  I attached a large steel washer to the inside face of each of the blocks, locating it so that it would contact the magnetic bar when the block is fully in place.  The magnetic attraction is strong enough to keep the blocks in place, but not so strong that it's difficult to remove or reposition them.

Cary

 

[Corwin]

Now this is a nice place to hang around!      ;D
  CD

 

[Dave Rudy]

Where are you guys getting the magnetic bars?

 

[Cary Swoveland]

Where are you guys getting the magnetic bars?

I bought several at Lee Valley (local store) a couple of years ago.  They were a "special buy" and very cheap.  Lee Valley still has them in their catelog ("magnetic tool bars"), in 13" and 24" lengths, but at a price quite a bit higher than what I paid.  Most other mail-order tool haunts (Rockler, Woodcraft, etc.) have them or something like it.  Sometimes they are called "magnetic tool holders".

Cary

 

[Eli]

I think I got my pair through Garrett Wade, same sort of deal. This is exactly the sort of thing I might be able to find here direct from China, same product. Thanks Cary, I like that rack almost as much.