Two new versions of the Leigh hold-down clamp have been keeping my wood steady. One is a surface clamp that comes with flush-mount anchors that you counterbore into the surface of any work area. This feature is handy where it’s impractical to access the underside of the work area or where the surface is too thick for the other version of hold-down, the bench clamp. This latter clamp mounts in any standard 3/4" bench dog hole or any hole from 7/16" to 1 1/8" in diameter. A speed nut tightens the clamp in position and can handle work surfaces up to 4 1/4" thick, which suits my bench.
If you recognize these clamps, you may have seen them before on the Leigh FMT or other Leigh jigs. The clamps are made from a metal alloy and glass-filled nylon and have enormous clamping strength. Both versions clamp boards up to 3" thick, and in my own tests, they proved to be strong and very useful. I even tested the bench-clamp version on my drillpress, sliding the threaded rod through the slots in the drillpress table. It worked beautifully.
Leigh Bench and Surface Hold-down Clamps, $50. For more information, call 800-663-8932 or visit www.leighjigs.com
Read more in Tools & Materials and Hand Tools
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1 Comment
Hi Hendrik, I was looking for this type of clamp lately, so I`m glad to see Leigh had theses. I seen in another magazine on how to make this tpye of jig, so for now with money a little tight I`m going to make them for now. Thanks for bring this to our attention. Robert Gingerich