Clamping elements issue

[Wood_Junkie]

I'm finding my clamping elements were getting hung up when I retracted the clamp head and tried to slide it away from my workpiece (in other words, free the workpiece).
After some examination I found that the bar has little notches, with a correspond "burr", apparently from the clamping cam action.

I am not cranking down on them.  I simply put the head up against my workpiece and move the handle to it's "closed" position, parallel to the main body.
Is this nicking/notching common?  Is the metal that soft? Any solutions, other than continually filing the little burr off?  I know there is a set screw, but that seems to have more to do with the rest position of the cam levers, not the locking position.

 

[Frank-Jan]

This issue has come up before: link to thread
My clamping elements don't have it in such a bad way (they slide back freely if the lever is fully in the open position, but if it's not open all the way, I can feel it catching)

 

[Wood_Junkie]

A ha.  Thanks for the link.  I didn't try to hard with search and shoudl've.    [embarassed]
Consensus seems to be:  break 'em in.  I'll file the nicks off in the mean time and use a thin shim to offset the clamp head a bit so it's not so tight. 
I still value their function, just does seem silly for $100 clamps.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Mine did that, I called Festool to see if I was doing something wrong.

I have one that sticks a bit more then the other.
I hit the burs with a file once and again, or just pull really hard on it. [big grin]

 

[kfitzsimons]

Mine do the same thing.  It is pretty bad for clamps that cost almost $100! They should work flawlessly.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

You can try backing off the little allen head set screw and see if that helps.

They are cam action, something has to bite into something else to hold the clamping force.

 

[GPowers]

Mine do the same thing.  It is pretty bad for clamps that cost almost $100! They should work flawlessly.

me to + 1

I even had the spring fall out.

 

[Julian Tracy]

Odd that this is a manufacturer represented forum and no where in all the different threads on this issue has Shane or anyone from Festool addressed this seemingly consistent problem with these clamps.

It's not like they're a discount item, they're a premium priced product.

Have you looked into this Shane?

Julian

 

[GPowers]

They can be very frustrating when you are trying to slide the lever assembly from the tail back toward the pressure pad. The locking tab gets stuck on all the burs. I fussed with one for several minuted trying to get the dam thing to slide [scared]

 

[Alan m]

does any body know if these are the same as the walko 1s

 

[festooldude]

I got the same problem with de Kapex clamp!!

greets rick

 

[GPowers]

does any body know if these are the same as the walko 1s

They sure look the same.

 

[Theshipstore]

now two different threads on the same subject but still no answer,
Peter maybe you can combine these into one, just for the sake of ease on this topic

 

[GaryB]

It doesn't seem universal, the old ones on the Festool table in my local woodcraft operate flawlessly, however, I'm still a little reluctant to buy a set after reading all this. I'll probably get them anyway and keep my fingers crossed that they're the good ones.

 

[Eli]

does any body know if these are the same as the walko 1s

They are sort of the same. The Walko ones are a bit stiffer and the profile is higher, in other words, if your workpiece is shorter than something like 22-24 mm the sander won't pass over it. I also found the peg a bit more snug than the Festool elements, so you had to force them into the worktable. This could obviously have been that they were newer/the holes in my table had a lot of crap built up in there.

If you guys don't like that the shafts have a burr you're going to hate it in another year when the clamping end of it falls right off!  [eek] [scared] [blink] [eek]

Still handy. I'm not sure what I would have spent that $100 on that would have done the same thing.

One more note, don't know if it's relevant, but the clamp will often not open correctly unless the handle is swung *all the way* open.

 

[Julian Tracy]

I took a close look at my clamping elements and found that by adjusting the little setscrew a bit, I was able to get them to operate much more smoothly.  In fact, they operate smoother when NOT opening the handle to full position.

I'm still surprised that Festool has not chimed in with the adjustment suggestion...

JT

 

[Theshipstore]

Jukian  I to did a same adjustment on the set screw , yes it did help, but again at the price of these clamps something is still wrong....
            You are right that to date this has not been picked up by anyone from festool yet.
            I spoke to Festool Service a while back and they actually had no real resolve to this issue at this point

 

[sl_1800]

Mine have been rough to slide for some time, it's amazing what a file can do, smooth as silk now.  But I agree the metal should not tear out this easy.