Holdfast not holding

[Blake M Williams]

I bought two holdfasts from Gramercy, 3/4 inch.

At first they held, as in first two times and then after the pieces would move. Tried different sized pieces small and large all move. Smack the holdfast in place with out holding anything though and it doesn't budge. I have read a lot of ways people have fixed this, and I'm sure it has been covered here, but I would like your opinions on mine before I started possibly messing up my bench.

My bench by the way is made out of laminated 2x4s. I made the top and then took my jack plane to it until both sides were nice and flat. Drilled a couple of 3/4 holes, tested hat they held and then drilled a few more holes and now I'm stuck with a bunch of holes! Oh, and I use two holdfasts per work piece, still moves. Hit piece with chisel and it completely loosens.

So what do you guys think? leather? hardwood sleeves? add more depth to hole, take some depth away? make holes bigger?

[David Eisenhauer]

Try adding some "roughness" to the sides of the holdfasts (part that is driven through the 3/4" hole) by either filing the vertical part with a rough file or hammering in some dimples with a center punch or something similar. Also, adding in (suede?) leather to the face of the holdfast has to help some as in the same use for vice faces.

[Kees Heiden]

How thick is your bench? Mine is 4" and I needed to counterbore the holes from the underside, so the holes are only 3" deep. That cured the non stickyness of my holdfasts.

[Prashun Patel]

I have the Gramercy Holdfasts and had the same issue. As soon as I roughed them with 80 grit, they held fine. In fact, now I find that they work better with my holes that were not so precisely 3/4" but just a tad larger. They release easier.

I was amazed how much a difference this made.

[Stephen Clement]

Sam problem. I did the same as Prashun, except 60 grit, and it is usually fine. Make sure you rough around the shaft, not along the shaft. Sometimes I still get slips, but not much. It used to still slip a lot with a doe's foot, but I added sticky back sandpaper to the bottom of the doe's foot and that solved it.

[Blake M Williams]

How thick is your bench Prashun?

Mine is 3 1/8 inch thick. I will try to rough up the holdfasts when I get home and see what difference that makes. They are not a tight fit, but would larger than 3/4 hole be better?

[Blake M Williams]

I really wish I hadn't drilled a few more holes. I thought I was good at first, what a bummer.

[Mike Brady]

I had those those and they never worked in my bench, regardless of what I did. The guy that bought them says they work fine in his. There have been many complaints about these holdfasts over the years and also many satisfied users. That is not a very good record. I don't know what the company's policy is regarding their products, but you should return them in original condition if they will refund your purchase. I recommend cast or forged holdfasts. The Lee Valley holdfasts with mechanical or screw levers work extremely well. That is what I use 90% of the time because they never fail.

[Frank Martin]

I had those those and they never worked in my bench, regardless of what I did. The guy that bought them says they work fine in his. There have been many complaints about these holdfasts over the years and also many satisfied users. That is not a very good record. I don't know what the company's policy is regarding their products, but you should return them in original condition if they will refund your purchase. I recommend cast or forged holdfasts. The Lee Valley holdfasts with mechanical or screw levers work extremely well. That is what I use 90% of the time because they never fail.

I never used anything other than Lee Valley hold downs and they have been flawless for me. Their shaft is ribbed, which may be one of the reasons for its performance.

[Prashun Patel]

My newer 3/4" holes are a rather tight fit. Most are a tad looser not by design - but because my drilling was probably not precise.

I wouldn't worry about it. Rub your shaft wish sandpaper (OUCH!!!) and see how you fare.

My bench is 2" thick.

[Nick Stokes]

Try roughing up the shafts that will help. Then also counterbore the hole under your bench by a half inch or so.

They are great holdfasts. Don't worry about the extra holes, you'll use em.

I accidentally waxed the holdfasts once because I noticed rust... bad idea, they didn't work for awhile.

But now they're perfect.

[Stewie Simpson]

https://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/...cy%20Holdfasts

[Tom Paulley]

Blake, I recently purchased two Grammercy holdfasts for my Roubo bench, and I couldn't make them work at all. Like some of the other contributors, I roughed up the surface with sandpaper, going around the shaft and learned that you have to hit them reasonably hard. It's not a light tap, but a pretty good whack and they will hold like crazy. Give this a try before giving up on them.

[Joel Moskowitz]

. I don't know what the company's policy is regarding their products, but you should return them in original condition if they will refund your purchase.

The return policy is simple. We take everything back in any condition except abused (except festool power tools) for six months AND we pay return shipping.

Of the thousands of holdfasts we have sold over the years we have gotten less than 10 back. As it suggests on our website when you first get them, as it says in this thread too, go round and round the shafts with coarse sandpaper. Sometimes counterboring from the bottom of a very thick bench helps too. But its pretty rare for them not to work well. But Yes, if you don't want them we are happy to take them back.

Joel

[Stewie Simpson]

Its interesting to compare the difference in shaping between the Gramercy and the Lie Nielson Holdfasts.