T-Slot Wood Clamps for my CNC

Four clamps conspiring

This is not a new design of mine.  I've been using these wood clamps for several years.  They are sacrificial though and many have encountered spinning router bits during their lives. 

A few of the scrap wood blocks in my collection have hinted that they'd like to be clamps. As such this post is about granting that desire and replacing some previous clamps that are near death. 

My previous clamps were cut from larger boards,  A few were cut as two halves that I glued together.  A few were cut from thicker boards, then turned 90 degrees so I could cut the slot for the bolt in them.  

The length of these clamps is not critical to their usefulness and can vary. 

The first one (upper right)  I made from a dense white oak scrap.  It suffered a few broke out chips when the bottom edge was flush cut after the CNC was done. It works despite those missing bits. 

The second clamp I cut from a scrap of birch (lower left).  It also gave me some grief as I made a mistake when clamping the scrap block down. I stopped the CNC after the first pass when I realized that mistake.  It works but has a few scars from my bandsaw, drum sander, and disk sander.

The last two clamps were cut from a 5/8" thick scrap of walnut. Room enough for 4 halves that when glued together made two clamps. I added an alignment hole for a 3/4" long section of 1/4"diameter wood dowel to make it easier to clamp the halves together and aligned. 

One Scrap, Four clamp halves

Making them in halves is the most reliable method. Especially if you don't have an easy way to cut the slot after cutting out the clamp profile from the side. 

Here are two made from one block of white ash.  Both cut out as one piece, then turned sideways to cut the slots in them. 

Short Ash Clamp

Long Ash Clamp

These clamps hold the work down and also prevent it from moving sideways.  Made from wood you don't have to worry if a spinning router bit accidently encounters one. Should one or more  be ruined from such encounters making replacements is easy. 

4D 

Walnut Box with a Hinged Lid

  I've had this block of Claro Walnut in my stash for a month or so. Recently it dared me to make something from it. 

Rough Block in Vise

It took a few steps to turn this block into a hinged box.  First step was to cut out the inside and then the outer edge using a 1/4" end mill. 

Inside and Outer Edge Done

Next step was to use a 3/16" end mill to cut slots for a hinge plate near each end. 

Hinge Slots Cut

The last step using the CNC was to round over the back edge using a 3/16" ball nosed bit. 

Rounded Back Edge

While in the vise I couldn't cut the bottom 1/2" of the perimeter so the box moved over to my trim router table to be flush cut.

Ready to Flush Cut

The flush cut bit struggled cutting the end grain sides and left some sanding to be done to even out the surface.

Flush Cut. Some Sanding Needed.

A lid and hinges were still needed.  For the lid I found an old strip of 3/4" thick walnut.  I cut off 10" or so, then ripped it  2" wide using my table saw. Next I used my bandsaw to slice it in half.   I took one half and ran it through my drum sander to sand it smooth and uniformly thick.  That strip was cut into 3 pieces, which I then glued together side by side.  This left me with a thin piece large enough to cut the lid from. 

Lid.  CNC Done

Next came the band saw to free the shape from the rough block.

Bandsaw to free the lid.

Then to my trim router table to clean up the edges. 

Flush Cut the Edges

Now trimmed close to the shape of the box, and waiting for hinge plate inserts.

Slots align.

Hinge plates are cut from 6mm thick Baltic Birch plywood.  Glued into the slots in the lid. Pinned into the box with 1/8"d steel pins.

Lid Attached

The lid opens 90 degrees but no more. Action is smooth but I may test if a little wax on the hinge plate makes a difference. 

Lid closed.

All machining processes done.   Some manual sanding and a final coat of finish or two or three is all that is left to do.   A fun project. A good mental exercise. A useful box. Fewer wood scraps to deal with.  4 wins!

Comments encouraged!

4D