Safe & Secure

“Hold it, Pilgrim!”

Nope, John Wayne wasn’t telling Jimmy Stewart to clamp some stiles and rails together. The movie was 1962’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and the characters were talking about hoglegs and shootin’ irons — tools that are more likely to take things apart. The only assembly those boys put together back then was a friendship that lasted the rest of Wayne’s lifetime.

Clamping and holding devices have come a long way since that movie came out. Among the latest additions are several options for a smaller CNC, which is a machine that’s actually a little older than the movie. The CNC concept was first introduced in 1952 and patented in 1958.

Among the newest arrivals are some manual and vacuum table options for the new ShopBot MAX ATC V2, a lateral clamping system from Axiom, and some rotating clamps from PantoRouter.

ShopBot (shopbottools.com) describes the newest MAX ATC as a desktop machine, which in truth doesn’t do justice to this 36’’ x 24’’ open-ended machine. When it comes to securing work, it can be set up with either an aluminum deck for manual clamping that comes with an MDF spoil board, or else a vacuum table version. The aluminum deck comes in strips, so parts of it can be removed to make room for traditional clamps. The vacuum deck includes a plywood plenum, an MDF spoil board, and a Fein Turbo II Vac for clamping sheet goods. This deck option works best for larger parts and it does its job without physical aids such as screws, nylon nails, tabs in the toolpath, toggle clamps mounted in T-slots, or wedge clamps.

The affordable new Lateral Clamping Kit from Axiom Tool Group (axiomprecision.com) provides a fast, low-profile way of securing a workpiece to a T-slot table. Traditional hold-down clamps reach over material and can interfere with machining operations. The new kit offers a low-profile design capable of holding nearly any workpiece without impacting the top surface of a part. It offers significant holding power without marring the edge of the substrate, so it’s ideal for fast, secure, repeatable clamping operations. The kit was designed specifically to fit the T-slots on all of Axiom’s CNC machines. Each kit includes two lateral clamps, two serrated tips, two non-marring EVA tips, two dual-height extruded fences, and a hex driver. The clamp body is made from glass-filled resin with infinite adjustability, and 3/8’’ of clamping travel. The fences are extruded aluminum with a pebble texture and anodizing.

PantoRouter’s new 360-degree Rotating Clamps (pantorouter.com) are tall air-driven or manual lever clamps that fit the company’s T-slot table and look like they will work well with similar T-slot tables on other machines such as small CNCs, router tables or workbenches. They’re fast, easy to use, and can be purchased as single or dual packs.

There are many different fixturing systems available, and the best place to start searching is in the catalog of the company that supplied the CNC. One note of caution: many small-format and desktop machines will need to have their tables beefed up to handle pneumatic clamps.

The idea of vacuum holding isn’t limited to CNCs. Virutex USA (virutextools.com) has developed a range of small pod-based benchtop units that run on compressed air and can hold work in ways that mechanical clamps simply can’t manage. The huge advantage here is that they can secure a solid panel from the underside, leaving the top and sides available for routing, carving, coating, or milling such as creating grooves. There’s a mini vacuum table (SFV50) that can work alone or in pairs to hold odd-shaped panels or counters for edge banding or routing. And there are two fastening systems that can either tilt (SVN470) or tilt and swivel (SVN460). Virutex also sells the vacuum pad on its own, without the clamp bases.

Bessey (bessey.com) introduced the new EZR one-handed table clamp about a year ago, and it was originally created to work with track saw guides. Since then, users have discovered that beyond standard clamping and spreading (with 100 lbs. of force), it has this unique step-over solution. Insert a 2’’ adaptor into the upper or lower jaw to reach over obstacles. The release mechanism can quickly convert from clamping to spreading without tools by using a push button release.

New from Rockler is a two-pack of Mini Deluxe panel clamps (rockler.com, item No. 66150). Similar in design to the company’s larger clamps, these are optimized for scaled-down projects such as cutting boards and assembling frame and panel doors. They’re built with thick steel and have scissor-action couplers that apply pressure from all sides. Since they sandwich the panel, they force the face flat and the joints flush, saving lots of sanding time. Plus, there’s no need to stagger clamps top and bottom. The new clamps work on panels from 1/2” to 1-1/2” thick, and up to 16’” wide.

Visit a small woodshop and you’ll see rows of clamps along the walls, and maybe a few more on rolling carts or already at work holding parts together. Clamps are everywhere but one doesn’t often see assembly tables, which is puzzling. These devices can seriously cut the time required to assemble, glue, square up, and clamp subassemblies such as 5-part doors, face frames, drawer boxes and even casework. Plus, assemblies don’t just need to be square. They also have to be flat, and a table is a great option there, too.

Face frame and door clamping tables from reputable suppliers are as much vertical as horizontal. That is, they lean back at an angle to take advantage of gravity. They’ll work with dowel, biscuit and mortise joinery, but they really shine when combined with pocket screws. The table will level and square a glued or dry assembly. Then it will hold the parts in position while the operator locks dry joinery in place with screws, or leaves glued joints under pressure to cure. Some systems depend on pre-drilled pockets, while others allow drilling right on the table when everything is locked in place.

Ritter (rittermachinery.com) offers face frame assembly tables with adjustable hold-down cylinders in 5’ x 8’ and 5’ x 12’ sizes, and door clamping units in 3’ x 6’, 4’ x 8’, 6’ x 9’ and 6’ x 12’ versions. Designed to also hold doors in place during sanding, routing, or finishing, the door tables have adjustable clamps, built-in dust collection systems, and some have the capacity for oversized assemblies. Castle (castleusa.com) offers a 4’ x 8’ and a 4’ x 12’ face frame table, both with open backs for larger doors or panels. The quick clamps on the Castle clamping arms have dual handles and centered activation, for easy clamping from either direction.

The concept has been taken to another dimension by Barth’s RPG-V Multi-Press (available at martin-usa.com). This ingenious clamping and holding device combines a mechanical face-frame/door/panel press with a vacuum membrane press that folds up out of the way when not in use. It’s an ideal solution for gluing and laminating all in one operation.

The James L. Taylor Co. (JLT, online at jamesltaylor.com) carries a wide range of door and panel clamping tables and machinery, including edge gluing and lamination units plus drawer clamps.

And taking that 3D challenge to the next level, there are casework clamps from several major manufacturers that can square up and clamp entire cabinets or shelving units. These can be held together with traditional dado glued joinery (which requires cure time), or by one of several types of mechanical fastener that either pop together or are tightened with screws or bolts. For example, the BOA-S from Pillar Machine (pillarmachine.com) is a servo-assisted, manually operated unit designed to clamp cabinet boxes, drawer boxes and case goods that have been doweled together.

Similar machines can be researched on the websites of suppliers such as Hermance Machine Co. (hermance.com), Akhurst Machinery (akhurst.com), and SCM Group (scmgroup.com).

In addition to several Homag case clamps, Stiles Machiney (stilesmachinery.com) also carries the JTL line that includes high production rotary door clamps such as the Taylor Door Pro. That unit is designed for medium to large woodshops that clamp either sizeable door production runs or do a full kitchen at a time. All of the clamps and bars are easy to reposition for changing door sizes, and rotating units such as this can dramatically reduce processing times, while also saving a lot of floor space. A foot pedal operates the rotating function, so when a door is clamped, the machine just raises its arms to make way for the next one.  

This article was originally published in the October 2023 issue.