Easy-to-use Toggle Clamps - ShopNotes

JIGS &Accessorieseasy-to-useToggleClampsReach for these clamps forthe ultimate in versatility andsafety in your shop.Part of the enjoyment I get out ofwoodworking is finding ways towork smarter and safer. So if I findmyself needing an extra pair ofhands, I’ll often turn to toggleclamps. They help me concentrateon the job at hand.Toggle clamps make your worksafer by keeping parts in placewithout slipping. You get bettercontrol of the workpiece, especiallysmall or hard-to-hold parts.Their uses in the shop areunlimited. For example, I use themHOLD-DOWNCLAMPSOFTRUBBER CAPSPROTECT THE WORKPIECE12 www.ShopNotes.comto make clamping jigs for gluingup projects. And they make excellenthold-down fixtures forrouting, drilling, or sawing.I also like toggle clamps becausethey’re easy to use. With just a quickflip, I can snap the handle into theclamping position. Releasing themis just as easy. All it takes is a gentletug on the handle with a couple offingers. They really do “toggle” theclamping pressure on or off.When you first look at theseclamps, it’s hard to understanda.b.how they work. But after experimentingwith them, you see whatmakes them so powerful.It’s really physics at work. Thehandle acts as a lever that transfersall the force you apply into a singlepoint and then locks it down. It’san ingenious design. It doesn’t takemuch effort to put a lot of clampingpressure on your workpiece.Two types of toggle clamps that Ifind most useful are the hold-downand straight-line types.HOLD-DOWN CLAMPSHold-down clamps apply clampingpressure vertically. They’regreat for making a ripping jig(main photo above) or miter sledfor your table saw. They also comein handy at the drill press. You canuse them to hold small parts inposition so your fingers don’t haveto be close to a spinning drill bit, asshown in the inset photo above.Adjustability. What I like mostabout these clamps is how easythey are to adjust. With the holddownstyle of clamp, you canadjust the spindle both verticallyand horizontally. Simply adjust theheight of the threaded spindle byloosening the top and bottom nutsand turning the spindle to change

the height. Detail ’a’ on the oppositepage shows how it works. Thiscontrols the amount of pressureapplied when you push the leverdown to the clamping position. Italso lets you adjust for differentworkpiece thicknesses.You’ll also notice that the holddownarm is slotted to accommodatehorizontal movement of thespindle. This allows you to slidethe spindle along the arm to finetunewhere the pressure is applied.Detail ’b’ on the opposite pageshows this adjustment.STRAIGHT-LINE CLAMPSStraight-line clamps are a little differentthan hold-down clamps.They work by applying pressurehorizontally. This makes themideal for use in jigs for gluing upprojects, as in the main photoabove. I’ll also use a straight-lineclamp on my drill press to hold aworkpiece against a fence, like yousee in the inset photo at right.On a straight-line clamp, theplunger moves in or out horizontally,similar to a piston. Thisdesign only allows horizontaladjustment for the spindle. Youloosen the jam nut and turn thethreaded spindle in or out tochange the clamping pressure(drawing below).STRAIGHT-LINECLAMPa.CUSTOMIZED PRESSUREWith both types of toggle clamps,you can customize the amount andtype of pressure you apply. Theycome with rubber caps, as shownin the drawings. But you can alsoorder other types of caps.For more versatility, you canreplace the spindle with a standardhex bolt, as illustrated in the mainphoto above. This lets you applymore pressure in a concentratedarea than you might get using justthe soft rubber caps.Other Choices. One of thedownsides to the metal toggleclamps shown here is that they canbe a little pricey. I’ve found thatplastic versionscost less andwork very well.And becausethey’re plastic,they aren’t aslikely to harmyour tools if they happen to encountera sharp cutting edge. You can readmore about these in the box below. Forsources for the metal and plastictoggle clamps, see page 51.Once you start using toggle clamps,you’ll find all sorts of handy uses forthem in your workshop. They makeyour time spent in the shop a lot moreproductive with better results — andthey’re a whole lot safer.PlasticToggleClampsEconomical Alternatives.Plastic toggle clampsare suprisingly strong.For occasional clampingneeds, or if you’re justwanting to give toggleclamps a try in yourshop, these are goodchoices.www.ShopNotes.com 13