Michael Posted November 19, 2015 Posted November 19, 2015 Family life has taken its toll on my smithing of late, but I managed to grab 3 hours the other day. Worked on holdfasts (old timey bench clamps) for a woodworker I drew in a gift exchange this year. 5/8 cold rolled was where I started. Holdfasts are often done from 3/4 round stock, but I couldn't find any 3/4 that wasn't plated and didn't have the time to safely remove the zinc. 5/8 will work and makes for a lighter tool. Isolated a knob at the end for the pad, squared up 4 inches (width of the anvil face) behind the knob and then bent to 90 degrees and inch past that. Square (ish) corner, then sorta straight to draw out the arm, squish the pad out to round (ish) and try for an artful bend. First side came out better than the second, forgot the square corner, so the arm was drawn further that it should have been to upset back into the corner. After cutting the main bar in half, I put a few facets on the shafts to grip the holes they are driven into. A little tweaking on the pad angles and then I like to contact cement a bit of 1/4 inch leather onto the contact surface. Quote
gilgaron Posted November 20, 2015 Posted November 20, 2015 Those look great, the woodworker will be thrilled! Quote
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