I'm flattered and glad I can help but if I were you, I'd be copying JR's work.:)

Let me know if you need a better picture of something. I'll be happy to take more if you need it.

Greg,

You are also helping me, I copied your Many other Gr8 builders are also inspiring me. I think very soon I'd be posting pictures (hopefully):)
http://www.mechmate.com/forums/attac...3&d=1209733571

Sharma,

imitation is the best form of flattery. :)

We are all imitating Gerald then :)

Inexpensive Low Profile Clamps
 

I ended up redesigning my dust collector foot after a collision with a clamp trashed it. :o It now looks something like GregJ's foot only ugly and more rectangular. (So I'm not going to post pictures of it.) I also use brushes for the sides. Even though the brushes should allow it to easily pass over my clamps, I wanted them to have a lower profile. I was worried that the thickness of the brushes would cause the Y motor to lose steps as they passed over the highest point of the top of the clamp. Attached is something I came up with.

The red piece is one half of a 3/4" pipe clamp set that cost $5. The pipe was approximately $3 and the silver floor flange was approximately $3. It is extremely rigid and clamps the plywood very tightly. Also, the safe Z height can now be set lower.

Tonight, the switch on my Milwaukee router fell apart. I worked on it for an hour or so and never could get it to work right so I'm going to install something like J.R. made only mine probably won't be as pretty.:)

Hi Doug,
Now that I see your pipe clamps again. Are they working well? Any problems?

"Sliding arm" clamps, where the head and shank are one-piece bent steel, have a nice low profile.

Johan: I haven't actually cut with them yet. I was going to cut a full sheet yesterday when I found out the router switch was broken. Hopefully, I'll get it working today. If you haven't noticed, I'm REALLY slow.

Gerald: I considered those but they are pretty expensive compared to my homemade clamps. I'm slow AND cheap.

Strong and very adaptable as well.
Don't feel alone on the speed. I like to do things slow myself. How else can one enjoy it!;)

JA, call me Mr. DIY if we don`t try we won`t know.

Hi Doug.

Now that looks quite professional - 10/10 .

Cheers Nico

Thanks guys.

I got the new switch wired up but today was one of those days when everything goes wrong. I made 6 trips across town to different stores, bought the wrong stuff, ruined a couple of good things, had to go back to the store, etc. Finally got it wired up at 4 o'clock in the afternoon so I decided I would cut some stuff out. I was making two passes around a rectangle that was 8"X10" and had almost finished the second pass when the Z Axis plunged an extra 1/2 inch and kept cutting. Luckily, I was sitting close by and pressed the pause button. I checked the G code and it was correct. Then I checked Mach3 and the location of the Z Axis was where it was supposed to be. I'm guessing that signals from the unshielded router wire I had used jumped over to the short section of unshielded wire going to the Z Axis motor and caused it to plunge. The wires were only a few inches apart. I'm hoping that's what it was because it took me 3 more hours to rewire it with shielded wire. Hopefully, I can test it one of these nights this week.

Doug,

How do you hold small parts in middle of table. I am having problem holding them away from sides. collision with clamps is also a big issue. Suppose to build some jigs and fixtures.

Sharma,

I haven't had to hold anything in the middle of the table. The few small things I've cut have been clamped at the 0,0 corner of the table. You are probably right, you'll need to build some fixtures.

Thanks for quick reply