Woodstock W1500 manual Section IV SET-UP, Planning Horizontal Clamping, Clamping your Work

SECTION IV: SET-UP

A. Planning C. Horizontal Clamping

Enough cannot be said about proper planning during any project. A job thoroughly planned is a job almost done. Go through the operational steps necessary to complete your project and determine which steps may benefit by using the Shop Fox®. It helps to number all your parts and pieces. We also recommend that you have plenty of scrap material on hand so that you can make periodic tests before cutting, machining, or sand- ing your actual workpiece.

Planning also includes making sure your shop is clean, that you have the necessary clearance for the stock you are processing, that there is enough lighting to see what you are doing, and that you have reviewed all of the safety rules concerning your project and the machines that will be put to use.

Use the sliding hold-down bracket and toggle clamp to hold work flat against the sliding table as shown in Figure 7. Place your work inside the Shop Fox® and adjust the toggle clamp to yield adequate clamping pressure. Support the horizontal workpiece against one of the hand-holds for maximum stability. Remember to clamp your workpiece securely so it does not move during the cutting operation. Use enough clamping pressure to hold the workpiece in place. However, excessive clamping pressure may mar the workpiece or distort the hold-down bracket. When machining softer woods, place a protective block between the clamp and the workpiece.

B. Clamping your Work

The advantages of using the Shop Fox® include pre- cision positioning and versatile clamping to yield safer, more accurate results. Of course, every clamp- ing method cannot be covered in this manual. Some methods will only become apparent during special applications.

The primary consideration when clamping is to make sure the workpiece is held safely for all machining operations. Ensure that your workpiece will not kick- out from under your clamping set-up when cutting pressure is applied. Do not clamp work in the Shop Fox® in such a way that the angle of attack is so extreme that kick-back will likely result. We will cover basic clamping methods on the following pages.

CAUTION: Always use two clamps for any workpiece clamped solely to the face plate.

Backing

Block

Figure 7. Horizontal clamping with backing block in place. The backing block will protect against tear out.

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