teenylittlemetalguy Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 I have decided to put my amazing "skill" of drilling off center holes to use! Been messing about with forging cam latches and decided to try a cam action hold down. Used leaf spring so the clamp pivot was built in.i cut pipe to make an angle adapter for the bottom nut. It takes a little more time to set up but if you were doing the same repeated job I think it would be a big help. To make construction easier I cheated and built a bandsaw mount that lets me make end cuts. I used it on the cam lever and the big threaded rod so it could fit through the spring and into the cam cleanly. Below are a few pix and a couple of the latch levers that started me on this tangent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 This little innovation from Tristan's work shop works a treat. It's wide enough to work long stock bypassing the shank. Sliding the shank closer or farther from the pivot fine adjusts for thickness nicely. I found the angle on the pipe section isn't too important, any of the 3 you gave me work as well. I'm thinking a short straight piece will cock enough to match the bottom of most heels. Want an Aloe Vera Tristan? Fresh soil and happy. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Aye a veritable Cam Bridge it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 6 hours ago, Frosty said: This little innovation from Tristan's work shop works a treat. Thank you, glad it's working well. I made 3 and they all seem to have found new homes, I gotta make another. Guess I wont break out the angle guage for the bottom. I would love some aloe, I figured it was all taken already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Nope, one fellow took a couple, the rest are sitting here feeling all rejected. Deb's trying to get trimmed leaves to take root. She didn't even want a small one for the RV, she's rooting them in the same size pots though. Do we know anybody traveling between the Valley and your neighborhood? I don't plan on going to Anch. if I don't have to or until after a vaccine is approved. Jer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 6 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Aye a veritable Cam Bridge it is! It is a tad on the big size. The one I made for Frosty is more compact. One could make it tiny if they wanted.8-) 4 hours ago, Frosty said: Do we know anybody traveling between the Valley and your neighborhood? I don't plan on going to Anch. if I don't have to or until after a vaccine is approved. Is Sean near you? Haven't seen him in a while, maybe he could? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 That sound you're hearing in the background is me slapping my head. Sean doesn't live far and he's working in down town, probably drives by you twice a day. I'll ask. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 16 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Aye a veritable Cam Bridge it is! Har, Har, Har-vard. Now fit a Yale lock to it, and you'll have created a new haven for securely held workpieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Gesundheit! I'd call the Hogs but that would probably get me escorted from the building...(Interesting to work for a university without Football/Basketball/Baseball/X though we do have a semi organized Rugby team---The Pygmies!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 We have an ultimate frisbee team called the Flying Horsecows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Are the fields particularly fertile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Lol, back on topic,, it's a cool idea and i see uses for it. As a hold down, I just have to stick to the KISS principal and am um, er, locked in to a coil spring type hold down wedged in the hardy hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I'm not tossing my old style hold fasts out, Tristan's cam lock hold fast isn't so hot for general work, where it really shines is for repetitive tasks. For example you need to make 50 leaves. Forge the leaves and use the cam lock for texturing. One time adjustment then it's in whack whack and out. Another just occurred to me, incising the faces for cable or diamond twists. It's more of a specialty tool but an excellent one in it's bucket. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleave Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Very nice. I once had a bunch of 2x8 lumber to jigsaw off templates, and wanted a fast way to hold it on the workbench. So I cut a cam shape into the end of a few scrap pieces of 1x4 wood. The cam just pivots on a bolt in a hole in the bench, and pushes the work up against a fence. It worked great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 I sourced some destaco clamps at the scrapyard. Having used them in a commercial shop I realized their usability in my shop when I saw them in the scrap stream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Were I able to graze the scrap stream I'd grab all the destaco clamps I saw. We only had a few in high school Heavy Metal shop and it was always a scramble to claim them to use on the drill press, mills, etc. Not having even one I can't compare them to Tristan's cam lock hold fast for withstanding blacksmitherly treatment. The cam lock holds hard and takes a licking. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 Hmm, notifications aren't getting to me on this post I see. Thank you all for the kind words and the ideas. I am going to have to go look up destaco clamps now, bet I could learn something. I agree this isn't going to replace a regular hold down but it does have a nice niche. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Cams are great for lots of repetition of the same size. Good for production tooling. Set it up once and go to town! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 Tristan: There is a box at the top right of every page that says "Follow" select it and pick how you want notifications, there are choices. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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