No one uses wood wedges?
I drop a pin in one of the holes and a pair of wedges to clamp things.
Or even handier, I unfold my 35 year old Black and Decker Workmate. Push in the stops on the top and crank the arms to clamp. (Actually, I keep it set up adjacent to my two home made benches with MFT style tops.)
I see that both sets of clamps work, but with all that molded plastic, they look like something to buy at Toys R’ Us, and not at a woodworkers’ supply house.
In any case, the wedges are very useful for clamping.
This guy uses wedges more or less as I do. Ignore his haircut and everything after about 4:30 where he tries to sell tee-shirts.
I usually make mine from scrap poplar, oak or pine. This guy uses MDF. I might try that.
My wedges seem to grow legs and wander off after a few months. They take only a couple fo minutes to make on a taper jig so I don’t worry about it.
Wedges can generate huge amounts of pressure—more than you will ever need in the wood shop. I usually tap them together using a soft faced hammer, but I’ve also used a small bar clamp to tight the wedges.
My wedges are about 6 or 8 inches long and I generally cut a pair out of 1-1/2” x 3/4” stock.
If you are going to make ones for long term use, then a hard wood like oak or maple would be best. Also, 1-1/2” thick would be good—it offers up a larger face to tap into place.
