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2:50 am
March 22, 2010
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Someone on Facebook ask to see my platen tooling so I had to take a few pictures and figured since I did I'd post them here as well.
I have made a series of adapters and bushings so everything can be used on any of my tables. A 1 3/4" hole platen, a big T slot table with 1 1/4 pin holes or my 2" thick steel table with 1 3/4 holes drilled on 12" centers...
Also a key part of the tooling is a good assortment of angle and square blocks... The simplest and ones I use the most are just 3" cubes that are machined perfectly square.. but you can never have too many... These where all bought cheap at auctions and what not..
The cart is built with 4 crazy wheels and is real low so when not in use the whole mess rolls under the table....
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln
3:07 am
August 14, 2010
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That is a lot of angle plates!
What keeps that stuff in the holes? I figured the angled force would hold a clamp in my acorn table and it just rose straight up. (Could be my table or too much draft on the pins. Things seem to stick when I want them loose and vise-versa.)
3:13 am
March 22, 2010
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You know there is a lot going on... I have built some smooth shank stuff ( I try to knurl everything now days) that I had issues with it not wanting to grab... I think it has a lot to do with how far out/up the screw or pinch point is... Like the vise grip one, when I first made it it sat flat on the table and it would just push it right out the hole... but by making the pin a extra 3/4 of a inch longer it raises it up and now it pushes back more and its solid as a rock... I have made some stuff I though would be great that sucks and some stuff made in a hurry for a single job that turns into something used all the time..
I got lucky on the angle blocks... about half of those I bought in a single auction lot for $75 and it came with the cart they where on....
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln
3:32 am
November 8, 2010
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Top notch as usual, Larry! The :bomb:.com 😉
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12:09 pm
August 14, 2010
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Larry, I got it. Don't post pics on the internet until the tools work. Thanks. (Nice to know I'm not alone in needing two tries on everything.)
Gonna post picture of those angle plates being used as welding fixtures? We can spread them around the internet and make the machinists cry.
3:06 pm
March 22, 2010
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Lewis;8061 wrote: Larry, I got it. Don't post pics on the internet until the tools work. Thanks. (Nice to know I'm not alone in needing two tries on everything.)
Gonna post picture of those angle plates being used as welding fixtures? We can spread them around the internet and make the machinists cry.
I wouldn't say I need two tries for everything, sometimes it takes three or four:p
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln
6:40 pm
January 18, 2011
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I haven't yet, but you have done it with the Bessy clamps. All the platen table boys do is chop off the clamp end of the ''L'' put a bushing on it and then charge an arm and a leg for em'. Weld sale charges between $150_$180 each for ones like Larrys! Even if you pay retail for the Bessys you come out ahead........bm
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
— Dr. Seuss
2:50 am
March 22, 2010
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Yep, way back when I bought a couple of those clamps, I think they where about $180 each... I bet I dont have that in all the rest of the tooling combined..
The clamps I am using I bought new surplus and got a really good deal, the Wiltons are not quite as good, but I paid about 10% of what the Bessys cost..
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln
3:34 am
August 2, 2010
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Larry, Nice tooling collection. Thanks for the pictures and sharing the ideas. I'll post a couple of some of the tooling I use with my T slot tables and then the drawer I store a lot of it in under one of the tables. The drawer rides on two Accuride 500 pound capacity full extension slides but it's getting near maxed out. Both of the T Slot tables are on stands that can be moved around with a pallet jack and have bolts in the feet to allow them to be leveled to each other. Unfortunately no platen table here yet. Steve G
9:06 pm
March 4, 2011
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Hi guys.... I saw this thread and thought I would chime in. Hey, if you guys can make some custom tools in just four tries... more power to you! Sometimes we go though 18 or 20 different designs with about 10 different prototypes of an item, working on getting it right! In our defense, we have to make them Industrial Strength, Gorilla proof, idiot proof, and bullet proof. They have to look good and be simple enough so they don't need instruction manuals, etc., etc.
I love some of the ideas I see here.
We have stuck with Bessey Clamps - and not gone with the competition - primarily because of the heat treating that Bessey does. Secondly, their engineering is next to none.... they have loads of subtle design elements..... in our opinion they are way out ahead of the other clamping guys. And, hey, I could use whomever's clamps I wanted! But I have stuck with Bessey.
If you ever see them at a Trade Show, stop in and ask them a million questions. I believe you will come away a believer! They are Vertically Integrated.... they own their own steel mill (and they don't use just ordinary carbon steel!), they do their own extruding and forging and heat treating. Look "below the label" you will find out why they are so expensive. You are investing in a clamp you will use for DECADES. They were the first to have a replaceable swivel pad (twenty five? thirty years ago??) and I could go on and on.
PS: The bushing, or Boots, we (Weldsale) use are always knurled, and hardened, and we don't use just any old kind of steel to make these, either. So, yes they are expensive and they make (an already expensive) Bessey even more expensive. Plus, fella's, I DO make a profit. But.... need 50 or 80 of them shipped out tomorrow? MOST of the time I can do just that, no problem. And we can ship them overnight to you - if you are willing to pay for that. So, there are some benefits to buying from Weldsale, too.
Guys, I did not joining this discussion to argue. You guys rock! I think metalworkers are some of the most creative, ingenious, and industrious guys out there. You HAVE to be to survive. I see lots of great, creative ideas here and I applaud you. (I could use some of you guys on my design team!!) Keep it up!
9:22 pm
March 22, 2010
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Hey cleat glad you could join us! Hope you stick around
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln
10:03 pm
May 13, 2010
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Good to see you on here Clete, do you make those clamps for a table with 1 3/8" holes? Most of my table tools are shop made but I don't have a lathe and knurling tool and having a machine shop make me up the stub may cost me as much as buying the completed tool from you.
10:34 pm
March 4, 2011
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Sorry, we do not make one for 1-3/8 square holes. The wall thickness of the boot would be too thin and we feel the clamping force would just "blow out" the (wall of) the boot. And it apparently could not be heat treated - or at least would be too brittle if heat treated. and, btw, we DO NOT heat treat the boots we make for 1-1/2" square holes, only for 1-3/4 and 1-5/8"..... again, too thin of material.
Suggestion - but at the peril of destroying a clamp: just weld successive layers onto the rail of the clamp.... build the rail up into a round shape that would fit into your hole. Not too tight or it won't bind in the hole. I am not saying this would work, but it might. And I hope you are a good welder! Or know someone who is!
We have sold tons of Used Platens over the years, and a very few do have 1-3/8" square holes. I avoid these like the plague. I have VERY few tools that will work with these extra small holed platens, and most of what DOES work are magnets!
Most old used Platens have 1-1/2" or 1-5/8" square holes.
11:21 pm
May 13, 2010
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Yes this one is an oddball the holes are a little small and it is solid underneath unlike most tables.
1:29 am
January 18, 2011
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Hi Clete,
I am the one that mentioned the high cost of your clamps, didn't say the weren't worth it, cause I'm sure they are. At those prices though I think most of us would at least consider a less expensive alternative.
Allot of us have made a science of being as self sufficient as possible, for fun and profit.
I have an acorn 5x8 I picked up used for $1,500, in very good condition, I made 6 dogs. forged some tapered pins,and a few other things because I could. Buying the table and accoutrements new was not in the cards for me. If I were more prosperous I'd gladly whip out the catalogs and buy a shipload of toys............
I remember starting out and seeing a new champion hot cut hardie,and thinking were the hell am I gonna BUY this stuff? Couldn't see the forest through the trees. Once I got out of that box, making things for myself when I could became an obsession for me and many others, so don't take it personally it's in our blood.
Your gear is top notch American tooling..........BM
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
— Dr. Seuss
1:15 pm
August 30, 2010
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Nice collection of clamps Larry, what make is that section roller in one of the photos and do you use it much?
D.
1:25 pm
March 22, 2010
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Its not something I use every day, but when you need it its a beautiful thing to have. One of the most expensive machines in my shop though so hard to justify. it will roll 2.5" sq tube or 3" angle.... I have rolled a bit of 3" X 1" tube the hard way...
The tooling is a killer, about $800 for each size of round you want to roll...
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln
12:38 am
March 21, 2011
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Larry L;8065 wrote: I wouldn't say I need two tries for everything, sometimes it takes three or four:p
I call this my "error and error" method instead of "trial and error". I do it wrong, do it wrong again, and again and eventually I blunder into the right way of doing something.
Works for me! [Image Can Not Be Found]
4:21 am
NWBA Member
August 1, 2010
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Larry - what are the 3" square cubes for? THe use of everything else is readily apparent to me.
By the way - some of these look a little bit like a woodworking tool called a holdfast. A traditional holdfast has no threaded parts, it's just a hook, and it is "set" by hitting it with a mallet. (Traditionally a thing a woodworker bought from the local blacksmith by the way.) I guess that works in part because there is more given in a wooden bench. But some of these look like they're being used the same way, and depend on the same "wedge in there darn it!" theory of use.
3:09 pm
March 22, 2010
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The cubes are just set up blocks. You can clamp to them three ways and they are perfectly square. Very handy for the tops of frames and boxes
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln
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