Domiplate clamping mod

[fshanno]

It would seem that the DeWalt track clamp would be ideal.  It goes in the track and has the quick one hand action. 

 

[James Watriss]

Interesting idea, but I think I'm not explaining it clearly... Picture setting up a clamp: With a regular F-clamp, you use two hands. One to hold the end of the clamp in place, the other to close and twist the handle. Problem I had is, I also needed a hand to hold the Domino during all this. I was able to operate the clamp one-handed, but it was slow.

The track is just acting as a third hand to help with this operation. My left hand holds the machine, which stays running. The track is holding the end of the clamp in position for me while I use my right hand to close and twist the handle, so I now have two 'hands' (one being the track) to hold and operate the clamp in this setup.

Given that, the one-handed feature on the DeWalt clamp would actually become redundant, and that mechanism would actually be slower to use.

 

[RONWEN]

James, I also wanted to ask about your pattern maker's vise -- is that the version that is cast in Taiwan?  How is the quality?  What is the optimum work bench thickness for mounting?  I would like to incorporate one in the bench I build but if I build the bench with a thickness of around ~5" it seems I would need to route a tremendous amount of material away for clearances for this vise.  From what I can find out it seems the vise is best mounted on a bench that is around 2" or maybe 3" thick at most ( I would like mine to be thicker but I'm not committed to that).  So I guess my primary question is what is the ideal thickness for mounting this vise?  They appear to be extremely handy for workholding although if Festool would finally pull the trigger on their vacuum vise here I would probably go that way.  I doubt it will be this year because I don't see it in the new Festool catalog. 

 

[James Watriss]

No, I'm afraid this is the version that was cast in Pennsylvania.

Having seen and sold the Taiwan version, I can say it's pretty good. We mounted one in the store to a slab of bench that was 2.25" thick, and while there was some clearance chopping to be done, we only had to clear out for the hub. My current bench is 3" thick in the center, and I had to dig a trench past the hub to clear the beam to allow it to settle in so the vise would sit squarely, and then dig some more to allow it to rotate. The 2.25" thick slab was a pre-made top that came from Bally Block, so it wouldn't be too hard to get your hands on one.

The more I use the domino with a pattern vise, the more I think the vise pays for itself. It's just that versatile.

 

[RONWEN]

So I take from your comment you would prefer the Taiwan vise to the PA cast vise?  What store do you work for? It sounds like I best not try to mount that vise on a 4" or 5" thick bench.  That vise appeals because it is hundreds (thousands?) less than the Festool holding system if and when it becomes available.  I do have another bench that I might mount the pattern maker's vise to.

 

[James Watriss]

Oh, quite to the contrary... This thing is awesome, and it's even bigger than the new ones by half. But they are harder to find.

I worked for Rockler for a year, and Woodcraft for two, and quit retail after 2007.

I think you should go with whatever bench thickness appeals. There's no substitute for a good, heavy bench. One day I'll have time to build a better bench, and when I do it's certainly going to be beefy. Don't chicken out, build the bench you WANT. Just plan with the vise in mind. Mounting a pattern vise is certainly a little more labor intensive, but it's not as hard to do as it looks. Don't be scared off by the thought of the mounting process. There's more wiggle room than you think, and if you're scratch building, there are things you can do to make the process go more smoothly than if you were hogging out of an existing benchtop like I did.

PM if you really want the nuts and bolts of the process. Or google 'mounting an Emmert.' You'll see my name towards the bottom of page 1. One of these days I'll finish writing a more comprehensive article...