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The new Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp take this style of clamp to new levels of usefulness and durability. Click image to enlarge

Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp

Taking this style clamp in new/all directions

Text, photos and video by Tom Hintz

Posted – 4-14-2015

The T-track-based lever action clamp has been a favorite of woodworkers because it essentially mimics an extra set of hands. That versatility makes many project tasks easier which in many cases allows you to be more accurate. Now the big-thinker squad at Rockler has released their take on this popular type of clamp. It shouldn’t surprise us that the result of their efforts makes this clamp even more useful.

The Basics

The Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp shown here (# 54280) is a refinement of the clamp style that brings new versatility and ease of use to your shop. The Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp is made mostly from heavy-duty metal to insure a long service life in the busiest of home shops. Perhaps the most eye-catching feature is the automatic sizing that lets you clamp any material thickness from 0'' to 2-3/4'' without adjusting anything on the clamp. Put the material under the clamp, press the lever and the work piece is secure just that fast. And the clamping pressure remains constant over that size range as well. Think about the repetitive jobs we often face in the wood shop and the benefits of this kind of automation become clear.

The clamping pressure generated is adjusted with a simple set screw. You can set the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp to exert from 5 to 250 lbs. of pressure and that setting carries over throughout the thickness range. I think most of us will find a pressure setting that works for most of our projects but knowing how easily it can be changed is comforting.

Rockler got rid of the base screws (left) that forced you to use the clamp parallel to or 90-degrees to the T-track. The dumb nuts are gone from the pressure foot (right) and replaced with a nice finger knob that works great. Click images to enlarge

The clamping foot on the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp has a 1-1/2'' to 3-1/2'' from the center of the track range of reach that is easily adjusted. You adjust the reach using a knurled knob rather than a wrench. The knob is sized to give you a good amount of leverage so that locking the clamping foot in place is easy for those of us without a super hero grip.

Because the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp is intended for real world woodworking and its many processes the clamping foot is mounted on a ball swivel. That lets the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp get a better grip on material that might not be fully processed yet and have a less than flat surface. Also many project pieces will have an irregular surface due to shaping and the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp works great in that situation as well.

One of the truly handy features of the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp is being able to secure it to standard T-tracks but at any angle to that track! Gone is being stuck with parallel to or 90-degrees to the T-track. The Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp lets you position the clamping foot anywhere in the 360-degrees surrounding the spot on the T-track you need. If your project list includes shapes other than simple squares this angular clamping capability will be of special interest because of how it simplifies setup while increasing your clamping ability at the same time.

In the Shop

I’ve had the Rockler T-track table in my shop for some time and it has become a center for many woodworking processes as well as assembly. The limitations of T-tracks being straight sometimes forced me to clamp pieces near the edge of the table, often with other types of clamps assisting. One of the first things I noticed about the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp when I started using them was that I can clamp more sizes and shapes of stock without having to cheat the pieces to the edges of the table. Being able to turn the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp however I needed let me secure pieces better and clamp them in more positions that made working on them easier and safer.

The auto-adjustment or thickness is an obvious plus as is the consistent clamping pressure. The wide range of available pressures is also important because not all of the materials we use are rock solid. Being able to put the clamping foot wherever I need it without tools is just plain nice. I suspect that I was not the only one that repeatedly tried to snug down the nuts on the screw to hold the old style clamping feet in place only to have them loosen up and start sliding up and down the arm.

The simple pressure screw (left) controls the amount of clamping pressure delivered regardless of the stock thickness between 0 and 2-3/4"! Click image to enlarge

However, the one feature that surprised me is being able to secure the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp at any angle to the T-track. I did not anticipate how much of the surface around the T-track was now available for use, or how limiting the old parallel/90-degree restrictions really were. Now I am usually able to put a work piece on the table and slide a Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp up to it to place the pressure foot where needed. Turn the locking disk and the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp is locked down and ready for use. This is good stuff!

Conclusions

The Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp is a breath of fresh air in the lever clamp world. The choice of materials and manufacturing techniques reflect Rockler’s dedication to long-lasting tools that give woodworkers more bang for their tool dollars. The range of great features could have made this clamp tough to use but the engineers took the extra step to simplify applying the clamping pressure where needed. The range of both pressure and thickness capabilities makes the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp useful in more of our everyday working situations.

Another nice feature of the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp is their price. Rockler is selling these nifty pieces of clamping power for $29.99 each (4-6-2015). Considering the overall quality of the materials and design there is no good reason this side of outright abuse for the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp to not give you a very long service life. I have never minded paying for quality tools and when they are also as versatile as the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp, that’s a bonus.

Visit the Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp web page – Click Here

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